When it comes to your health, there’s no quick fix or one-size-fits-all solution. Your age, nutrition, exercise, stress and lifestyle habits all play an integral part. This is why we’ve asked Michele Helfgott, MD, PPG – Integrative Medicine, Parkview Health, Angela LaSalle, MD, PPG – Integrative Medicine, Parkview Health, and Rebecca Minser, MD, PPG – Integrative Medicine, Parkview Health, to help explain what Integrative Medicine is, how it encompasses the whole person and why its healing-oriented, patient-centered approach could be the right fit for you.
The focus
At Integrative Medicine, the focus is on the four pillars. These four pillars are essential to a patient’s healing and for maximizing their health. The pillars include nutrition, stress management, exercise and sleep. Without having a balance in all of them, patients will not get better. No matter how many supplements or medications a patient takes, the foundation is having those four pillars standing strong and being balanced.
The process
We look for the root cause of peoples’ ailments. We create a partnership and help them look at the source while seeing wherein their everyday life they can make changes. We’re not about giving patients a bandage to “fix it”, but rather to find the origin of what ails them and to help with their pillars. The four pillars and the root cause go hand in hand.
One of the first strategies we start with is nutrition intervention. We want to find out what’s causing the problem. There are a couple of ways we can do this at Integrative Medicine. One way is through an elimination diet. This allows us to pull certain foods from someone’s diet to see how they respond. This process is important because it not only allows the immune system to quiet down but also helps the inflammatory process to calm down as well.
Clear evidence
Integrative Medicine pulls from other traditions such as Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, botanicals and alternative strategies, and combines that with a Western medical care plan to put more tools in the toolbox for treating conditions.
We’re very focused on evidence-based strategies in our practice. We have bibliographers and research studies to back up the things we’re recommending to clients. Some of the cutting-edge research, for example, is very focused on strategies such as mindfulness-based stress reduction, the intestinal barrier and micronutrient deficiencies or changes in the microbiome.
Next steps
We’re a great place to start. We explore a vast assortment of health concerns, including thyroid, hormones, autoimmune, blood sugar, sleep, nutrition, stress management, mindfulness and more. If you’re looking for any of those opportunities, we’d be more than happy to see you.
We understand that changing your lifestyle can be overwhelming. Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to overcome any obstacles on your journey to a healthier you. To schedule an appointment, please call our office at 260-672-6590 or to learn more about the services we offer, fill out our request form and one of our care team members will contact you with more information.
