Have you ever been to a doctor that gave you advice that he or she was obviously not following. In my opinion that’s just not right. I believe that as someone people are looking to for help in getting healthy, I need to not just be knowledgeable of the facts, but also living the lifestyle–actually practicing what I preach.
Here is a great example of what I’m talking about. Today I’m doing a test to see if I’m done with my treatment for heavy metal toxins. Below is a photo of the test kit before I did the test (I don’t think you want to see the kit after the test 😉 ).
Somewhere along the way I (like lot of people my age) have accumulated heavy metal toxins like lead, mercury and cadmium. When I was a kid these toxins were extremely common in the environment. We had leaded gasoline, leaded paint and mercury thermometers. I remember playing with mercury. Mercury fillings were the normal for most people as well. Here is my first test result:
The problem is that we store these toxins and they are no joke. They can cause many health problems. One of the most common areas of the body affected by these toxins is the cardiovascular system. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attacks, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias, carotid artery stenosis and generalized atherosclerosis are all diseases that can be caused from these toxins. I wrote all about it HERE. This test uses a chelator to “pull” the toxins out through the urine. Treatment for heavy metals incorporates the chelator along with other nutrients that are necessary for detoxification. I also incorporate a summer detox treatment to help get rid of toxins. You can check that out HERE. Last year my wife and I had all the mercury removed from our teeth as part of our treatment to get these toxins out of our bodies.
Over the past few years I have diagnosed and treated members of my family for things like SIBO, leaky gut, adrenal fatigue, appendicitis (I didn’t perform the surgery 🙂 ), food sensitivities, chronic lyme disease, neurotransmitter imbalance, heavy metal toxicity and hormone imbalances.
When I diagnose and treat my patients who suffer similar things that I’ve treated myself or one of my family for, I can go about it not only with real sympathy, but I know which treatments works in real life because I’ve either personally experienced it or seen it in my own home.
Here’s a photo of my family. Being able to caring for them with functional medicine and chiropractic is one of my greatest joys.
My personal experiences have made me a better doctor. It’s important to me that my patients know that their doctor is practicing what he preaches. I absolutely love hearing from my patients how their lives have been changed as they have beaten their health problems. My family and I are on the same journey as my patients. Were all in this together!