Most people reading this have read or heard either their doctor or alternative practitioner say that they “treat the whole person.”  This statement is usually followed by some form of disclosure that says they address their clients on each level of health:  Spiritual, Mental, and Physical.  However, when you look at the reality of the doctor-patient interaction most of the spiritual and mental health concerns are actually left to the patient to figure out, possibly with some form of counseling assistance.  Usually the patient is given some form of diet, drug, nutrient, herb, homeopathic, positive feedback technique, etc. in attempts to correct the problem by balancing or treating their symptom.  Is this treating the whole person?

I agree that every patient brings to the table a degree of individuality that requires you to meet them “where they are” and hopefully provide them with some answer to the problem they laid before you.  However when you are looking at specific symptoms and giving therapies specific for that complaint, I do not believe this is “treating the whole person.”  Naturopathic medicine foundations as found within the 5 Phase Optimal Health Program© attempts to address this issue by redefining on a cellular level how the whole body interacts with the world around it, then using a focus to identify burdens, support, restore, and maintain health as a whole.  Keeping this in mind, we must first address the functional belief in the toxin origin of “disease.”

The eclectics and founders of naturopathic medicine placed a high emphasis on the health of the colon and especially the blood, which was considered the “life” of the body, when addressing any health concern.  This is because they believed in the theory of body toxicity as the origin of “disease,” along with the importance of pH balance to assist in restoring optimal cell performance and health.

The best way I can explain this health model is to begin in the colon and a focus on the accumulation of toxins along the colon surface as the gateway to “disease”.  As the colon pH becomes imbalanced through the intake of poor diet, a general acidity develops.  In today's world, the consumption of the Standard American Diet (“SAD” Diet), rich in acidic food, such as sugar, red meat, white flour, caffeine and alcohol lays the foundation for this chronic stress and irritation to the colon surface.

When the bowel becomes unnaturally acidic, it attempts to protect itself by secreting a glyco-protein substance that coats and lines the entire intestinal wall. This forms what is referred to as mucoid plaque.  The formation of mucoid plaque affects the colons ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients, which in some cases is associated with micro-nutrient deficiencies.  As the bowel becomes more toxic and pH imbalanced, it begins to become less efficient and allows toxins to begin to contaminate the blood. This toxicity also leads to an imbalanced intestinal flora that causes a negative effect on immune function and colon detoxification.  This decreased colon efficiency is often referred to as “leaky-gut syndrome” by many alternative practitioners.  As the toxins enter the blood they rapidly spread to the vital organs (heart, lungs, brain, muscles, etc.) as the blood serves to deliver nutrients and remove waste to every cell of the body.

In this model, as the daily chronic load of various toxins becomes an overwhelming burden for the body's elimination processes (i.e. more daily  toxins coming in than what the body can eliminate each day), the body begins to deposit and store toxins primarily in fat cells.  After years of relentless accumulated toxicity, the body's storage capacity becomes exceeded and progressively higher concentrations of toxins begin to circulate in the blood.  The end result of this process is chronic liver and kidney stress where the organs become sluggish, congested, and inefficient, which further decrease the body's ability to detoxify perpetuating and adding to this vicious cycle.

This accumulated toxin period causes basic inflammation on a cellular level and the body begins to present with symptoms based where the body is most heavily burdened.  Symptoms are the body's attempt to let you know it either can't handle the toxin load or that it doesn't have the needed nutrition and/or defenses to repair.  All the while these symptoms begin to present themselves; each affected cell is doing what it can do, based on its current nutrient and stress level, to be as healthy as it can in an attempt to heal.  This continual repair attempt is referred to a cellular homeostasis.  The pattern of symptom development is considered the “disease” process, which will manifest wherever an individual is most genetically susceptible or, as previously stated, occurs in the most burdened areas of the body.  With all that said to explain the “disease” process, you must now step back to the original question of how to “treat the whole person.”

As you look at this “disease” model and the interaction of your body with the world around you, this model must also be considered in the process to restoring physical health.  Yes, “treating the whole person” must include the spiritual and mental components; however, you must also understand that these components of health all affect each other.  In other words, if you physically cleanse and feel better your mental clarity and attitude will improve, which improves your self-awareness and spiritual acknowledgment, appreciation, and development.  However, within the patient-doctor interaction, the most impact can be made on the physical level.  I created the 5 Phase Optimal Health Program© as a guide to address your whole health issues, beginning with the interaction of your body and the world around you.

A “whole body” treatment needs to begin with the health of the colon and the blood addressing pH and toxicity concerns through diet and lifestyle.  This may sound archaic within today's scientific and information age where alternative medicine therapies are continually gaining validity and rationale to justify their place in today's health market.  However to focus your therapy on direct treatment of your concern is not a true naturopathic approach when considering the ”whole person.”

Yes, I do use today's scientific research and understanding to provide “support” as outline in Phase III of the 5 Phase Optimal Health Program©; however the basis of support is to assist the “whole body” to physically perform optimally to deal with the daily stress/burdens placed upon it.

With this support focus, we always start with a high fiber, low glycemic, and alkaline diet as outlined in our First Line Therapy Lifestyle Program.  To assist in creating an alkaline pH balance we also encourage daily consumption of ionized water as produced by a water alkalinizer.  Next, the Environmental Support Basics™ were created and suggested as foundational nutrients in a “whole body” program as they stimulate and support the body organs to improve circulation and blood cleansing.  However, nutrients are not the “cure.”  You must re-establish the health and ecology of the colon.  To address this concern we suggest replacing colon flora with Bio-Ecology Factors™ and to begin a colon cleansing regimen.  Beginning November 2008 we will begin to offer colon hydrotherapy  using state of the art equipment to cleanse, tone, and restore the large colon. Additionally, we continue to recommend bi-annual internal colon cleansing kits to bind trapped and stored material in the small intestines.  To complete your support the addition of direct functional nutrition through office consultation is recommended until balance and restoration occurs in the affected systems.

As you review the 5 Phase Optimal Health Program©, you will see that mental and spiritual development begin in Phase I, with setting goals and making personal commitments to health, and continue in Phase V with the encouragement to read and listen to information that gives life focus and direction.  Treating the whole person is a foundational principle of naturopathic medicine as described in the Latin term Tolle Totum.  As a physician using a standards outlined by the founders of naturopathic medicine, I find it difficult to teach these basic tenants in the time allotted during consultation.  My goal is to teach and assist all who desire health to find it.  

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