Nutritional & Lifestyle Counseling

Emerging scientific studies indicate that the internal environment we create in our bodies—through our eating and drinking habits, the frequency and level at which we move our bodies, and medicines or supplements we take—impacts whether we develop disease or maintain good health.

 Nutritional & lifestyle counseling focuses on optimizing an individual’s existing dietary and lifestyle habits to achieve optimal health.  Laboratory diagnostic interpretations from your primary care physician serve as a tool to guide recommendations, which are selected and personalized for each individual based on principles of Holistic Nutrition and informed by the latest research available on the effects of diet and nutrition.

Holistic Nutrition emphasizes the use of whole foods to achieve the proper balance of macro- and micro-nutrients.  Patients’ constitution and other environmental influences such as climate, season, and lifestyle are taken into account to customize an achievable diet and meal plan targeted to their specific needs and health goals.  Supplementation may be recommended and will likely include certain nutraceuticals: reputable medicinal foods and nutritional vitamins and minerals that are used as part of an optimum health program to support the immune system, boost overall health, and facilitate healing from illness or disease. For example, nutraceuticals prescribed as part of a patient’s detoxification program may include plant-based protein powders, greens, and digestive enzymes. 

 Lifestyle counseling recommendations typically fall into the following two categories:

• Stress Management: In addition to acupuncture and herbal and manual therapies, stress management exercises, such as mindful breathing techniques, meditation, and guided relaxation exercises, are offered to patients who are particularly active and/or exhibiting a high degree of stress.  Breathing techniques and guided meditations are provided during in-office treatments and prescribed as part of a patient’s at-home regimen.

• At-Home Physical Exercises:  Physical stretching exercises, such as yoga, Qigong, and Tai Chi, often accompany recommendations for mindful breathing and meditation.  By integrating corrective postures, body movements, and breathing with focused intention, these at-home exercises help to restore adaptive potential and promote optimal physical function and mental health..

The combination of these remedies serves to create a holistic approach to patients’ health and wellness, one which is easily implementable into even the busiest of lifestyles.