Prevention: The Key to Health & Longevity
The increasing prevalence of chronic health problems such as diabetes, obesity and thyroid imbalances raises an important question: when is the best time to tackle health problems? Should we wait until we have progressed to a full-blown disease state, or begin at an early stage when diet and nutritional support can help the body heal? In my view, prevention is the key to health, longevity, and maintaining quality of life.
Medicine as it is currently practiced in the U.S. focuses on disease management rather than on creating optimum health. Fortunately, a new paradigm for blood chemistry analysis is now being practiced by many of the country’s most progressive and proactive healthcare providers.
In the traditional medical model, blood chemistry tests draw their numeric ranges from a population of sick people — because sick people are the ones having their blood drawn at the laboratory. This lab analysis throws up flags on results at the extreme ends of the numeric ranges and calls whatever is in the middle of these ranges “normal.” So you may go to your doctor and say, “I’m just not feeling well,” and describe your symptoms. After some initial blood work, your doctor may say, “Your tests are normal. We can’t find anything wrong with you.” Although you may feel relieved, you may also be dissatisfied because you still don’t know why you’re feeling below par.
Dr. Mitchell talking with a patient about a nutritional supplement in Raleigh, N.C.
By contrast, “functional blood chemistry analysis” uses a set of functional, or optimal, ranges that have been established through clinical research based on testing healthy people. By comparing a patient’s results to those of healthy people (while also recognizing disease ranges), the physician is able to identify patterns that are precursors to disease — early enough for dietary changes and nutritional supplements to be used to re-establish optimal health. This approach can be used to detect early stage nutritional imbalances and to recommend appropriate nutritional support for liver, kidney, adrenal, immune, digestive, cardiovascular and thyroid function.
At Mitchell Chiropractic Healing Center, we view healthcare as a continuum in which both traditional and alternative therapies have tremendous value. What I advocate is heading off health problems at an early stage with a functional approach to screening. Because functional blood chemistry analysis can identify a health problem or a nutritional deficiency before it manifests as disease, the patient can often reclaim optimal health through diet, lifestyle and nutrition.
If you are interested in having your health evaluated through a functional blood chemistry analysis, the place to start is with a consultation with Dr. Mitchell so that your individual needs can be carefully assessed. Dr. Mitchell can then order blood work specifically tailored to your needs and arrange for a follow up consultation to review the results with you.
Mitchell Chiropractic Healing Center is able to offer greatly reduced prices on blood work through a co-op that contracts directly with LabCorp.
