With the giant leaps in medical technology, pharmaceutical
companies have enabled us to pop a pill for just about any ailment.
But to actually be healthy, we must start at the root of the
problem, not at the end.
Dr. John Bowman has started a new clinic called Treat the Cause
Clinic, which focuses on functional medicine, a more proactive
treatment to health rather than a reactive one.
With the giant leaps in medical technology, pharmaceutical companies have enabled us to pop a pill for just about any ailment. But to actually be healthy, we must start at the root of the problem, not at the end.
Dr. John Bowman has started a new clinic called Treat the Cause Clinic, which focuses on functional medicine, a more proactive treatment to health rather than a reactive one.
“There are many things in alternative medicine that have to do with spirituality that people think of with alternative medicine,” he said. “That’s not what this is – this is hard core biochemistry.”
Functional medicine deals with balancing the body’s underlying metabolic systems, which will virtually always restore a person’s health, Bowman said.
Because no two people’s metabolisms are alike, this functional approach is based on each individual patient’s unique needs for optimal health.
This type of medicine views the body as a tree and inside the core of the tree there are metabolic pathways, like gears that touch other gears. If those gears get out of balance, your body begins to show adverse signs and symptoms, which can lead to disease, Bowman said.
People traditionally seek medical treatment when the cells in an organ die or are on the verge of dying.
“That’s where traditional medicine lives and actually traditional medicine is very good there,” he said. “But that’s a very end-stage (approach) to what happened.”
Functional medicine attempts to prevent the body from deteriorating to that point. Genetic makeup, nutrition and the environment a person is exposed to determine how the “gears” in the body are functioning, which greatly influence a person’s overall health.
Most people think their genetic makeup predisposes that they are going to have a disease, but that’s not true, Bowman said.
“Knowing that you have a genetic tendency for something and knowing on a metabolic basis what that tendency is empowers you to learn ways to sidestep that pathway,” Bowman said.
Several specific parts of nutrition functional medicine looks at is the balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, which are natural oils we get from certain foods.
Ideally, people should have about a 1.5 to 1 ratio of these fats in their diet. Most Americans have a 20 to 1 or 30 to 1 ratio, Bowman said, which is decidedly detrimental to a person’s health.
“Some people argue that it’s the greatest nutritional problem in America,” he said.
Studies have shown that a huge percentage of children with Attention Deficit Disorder have a tremendous imbalance of Omega 6 to 3 fatty acids.
“It makes sense to try to find those imbalances and correct them before putting (a child) on a drug for the rest of their life,” he said.
A person’s environment influences how their body’s systems function and many people may not even be aware they are in harm’s way, Bowman said.
One factor many people are oblivious to is the amount of toxins and heavy metals they’re exposed to every day. People who have high levels of mercury, lead, arsenic and so on are more likely to get heart disease, cancer and other problems that make them sick.
The amount of sunlight a person is exposed to also affects their health. Sunlight produces Vitamin D in the body, which is the most important vitamin for strengthening the immune system. Having adequate Vitamin D levels protects against osteoporosis and greatly lowers the risk for several different cancers, Bowman said.
“Yet we live in a society where everybody’s afraid of being in the sun because of skin cancer,” he said.
Bowman is holding a series of lectures for the public on different diseases and how functional medicine can help them. They focus on one problem at a time and are being held at the Gil Gallery at Hazel Hawkins Hospital, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The first lecture is today and focuses on Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
Each lecture costs $10, with the money donated to any local non-profit that the attendant wishes.
“We’re not trying to make money,” Bowman said. “We’re using it as a fundraiser for local charities.”
For more information and future lecture dates and topics call Treat the Cause Clinic at 637-9862, or visit the Web site at www.treatthecause.com.
