I have enjoyed relatively good health over my life – with a few minor/major blips along the way. As an aging male Naturopathic Doctor, I am acutely aware of the fact that – although I have taken care of my body and mind reasonably well over the years – my level of health has not yet achieved optimization. In short, like the rest of you, life gets in the way. I have decided, therefore, to use this blog as an instructional tool (how a naturopath thinks) over the next few months by using my own situation as a reference point rather than case studies. In other words, I will assess myself as if I was one of my clients – including any 
possible blood work and/or functional tests that are available – and, based on the findings, will put myself on a treatment regimen and monitor the results.
I am currently reading a book (one of many) by Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D. called “Ultraprevention”. He is a brilliant man and far more Naturopathic Doctor than Medical Doctor, in my opinion. I say this because he has come to the conclusion that the human body is complicated and health is a process. There is no “magic bullet to shoot down all your health issues”. There are “forces” that lead us down the path to illness. When we are aware of these forces and make them personal i.e., understand that one size does not fit all when it comes to our own health, we can truly be more in control of our own well being rather than at the whim of “illness”. These (naturopathic) factors as summarized by Dr. Hyman are: 1) Malnutrition/Mal-digestion (sludge), 2) Impaired metabolism (burnout), 3) Inflammation (heat), (4) Impaired detoxification (waste); Oxidative stress (rust). Over the next few months, we will explore these topics in more depth.
Until then, there is one crucial test (according to Dr. Hyman) that will provide you with personally with the inside track on the possibility of preventing diseases like heart attack stroke, dementia, and some forms of cancer. This test is:
- Cholesterol
- Blood sugar
- Vitamin E
- Homocysteine
See the answer in the next blog.
Dr. Gatis
