Category: Gut Health

Vital Trio: Top 3 Supplements for Health and Wellness

3/11/2024

March is National Nutrition Month. It's a perfect time to dive into the world of Functional Medicine and explore how it can supercharge your health, especially through targeted supplementation of vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D. First, let's talk about why so many people have deficiencies in these key nutrients.

Vitamin B12 is mainly found in animal products, so if you're a vegetarian or vegan, you might not be getting enough. Plus, as we age, our bodies can have a harder time absorbing B12 from food, leading to deficiency. Vitamin B12 is essential for nerve function, red blood cell production, and DNA synthesis. Deficiency in vitamin B12 can lead to fatigue, weakness, and neurological problems.

Iron deficiency is also common, especially among women with heavy periods or those who don't eat enough iron-rich foods like red meat, poultry, or beans. Iron absorption can also be affected by certain medications or digestive conditions. Iron is crucial for the formation of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. Iron deficiency can lead to anemia, characterized by fatigue, weakness, and pale skin.

And let's not forget about vitamin D, often called the "sunshine vitamin." Many of us don't get enough sun exposure, especially during the winter months or if we live in areas with limited sunlight. This can lead to a deficiency in vitamin D, which is crucial for bone health, immune function, and mood regulation.

That is “why” you need to pay attention to the nutritional gaps in your food consumption, but let’s look at “what” you can do about it and “how” you can become healthier.

Functional Medicine takes a holistic approach to health, focusing on finding the root causes of health issues rather than just treating symptoms. This approach considers factors like genetics, environment, and lifestyle, which can all impact our nutrient levels.

How to increase your intake of vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D // Add the following foods to your diet:

Vitamin B12: Found primarily in animal products, so include more of these in your diet if you're looking to increase your B12 intake:

Fish (salmon, trout, tuna) choose fresh or frozen wild-caught varieties
Meat (beef, lamb, liver)
Poultry (chicken, turkey)
Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt)
Eggs

Vitamin D: While it's challenging to get enough vitamin D from food alone, you can include these sources in your diet to boost your intake:

Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Egg yolks

And getting daily sunlight exposure can help your body produce vitamin D naturally.

Iron: Iron is found in both animal and plant-based foods, but the type of iron (heme vs. non-heme) and its absorption rate differ. To increase your iron intake, include these foods in your diet:

Heme iron (more easily absorbed):
Beef, lamb, pork
Poultry (chicken, turkey)
Fish (salmon, tuna)
Non-heme iron (found in plant-based foods):
Beans and lentils
Tofu and tempeh
Spinach and other leafy greens
Quinoa

So, this National Nutrition Month, consider incorporating Functional Medicine and a balanced diet rich in whole foods into your health routine. At Flourish we use advanced testing to assess your nutrient status and offer recommendations to optimize your health through targeted supplementation. Professional grade supplements are available at the clinic, or you may order them from our online store.

Ten Ways to Flourish in 2024

12/31/2023

At Flourish Medical + Wellness, we're all about making sure your body works at its best. We’re very aware of the research compiled over hundreds of years on how to keep people healthy and thriving. And we aren't fond of just extending life by taking meds every day to cover up symptoms. Our approach to medicine is all about helping you live long and stay healthy, as God intended. Here are ten ways to flourish as we partner with you in your wellness.

#1 Weight Loss

At FMW we believe that an effective weight loss program needs to be tailored to each individual’s lifestyle, health, age, and hormone levels. Therefore, we offer a variety of weight loss options in order to provide optimal results for each individual patient. With the goal of sustainable weight loss, the best approach is with a balanced and individualized strategy that considers factors like nutrition, exercise, mental well-being, and long-term habits. Restoring optimal hormone levels, testosterone, estradiol, and thyroid, is an integral part of a successful weight loss plan. This makes weight loss more attainable as well as sustainable! Learn more about FMW weight loss testing and treatments>>

#2 IV Therapy

Intravenous (IV) nutrient therapy is a treatment which includes ingredients like essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids proven over decades to play a significant role in our health and wellness. IV nutrient therapy is a safe, effective, and restorative therapy used to aid in treating several medical conditions and to boost your immune system. Our IV therapy is customized to meet each individual’s nutritional needs and is administered directly into the veins which provides significantly more benefit than oral and traditional supplements and medications. Check out the benefits and our nutrient menu>>

#3 Hormone Therapy

Hormone imbalance happens to both men and women and can have a significant impact on overall health and wellness. Hormones are one of the most important regulatory systems in the body. They function as messengers, interacting with specific target cells and organs to stimulate them into action. Hormone replacement therapy offers relief from many of the uncomfortable symptoms caused by a hormone imbalance. It can change your life! Read our patient’s stories>>

Understand your options and learn more in the video from Jackie Tewes>>

#4 Toxin Removal

God designed our bodies to be able to detoxify and heal in most circumstances, however, with continuous toxin exposure and a lack of nutrient dense foods to nourish our bodies and support healing, those natural detoxification pathways can become blocked or stagnant. When this occurs, toxins build up inside the body and can cause diffuse inflammation, leading to disease processes. At Flourish, we offer thorough toxin testing and detoxification options. Discover the symptoms of toxin overl oad>>

#5 Nutrition

We have all heard (and likely tried) dozens of diets to help us achieve our weight goals. Nutrition means so many different things to each of us. The focus that we offer is to rely on natural, healthy foods that nourish our bodies in order to help us function optimally. Small, sustainable changes are the focus as they are often longer lasting solutions and easier to implement. That’s why we offer a handy (free) Food Swap Guide to make healthy grocery shopping a little easier. At Flourish, we also partner with you through holistic Functional Medicine methods. Perhaps intermittent fasting is an approach you’ve been wanting to investigate. We’ve got a great resource for you.

#6 Supplementation

Our best resource for nutrition should be food but there are many situations where we need to look at supplementation to enhance the amount of vitamins and minerals our bodies are receiving. Most American diets are full of refined carbohydrates and sugars and are insufficient in essential vitamins and antioxidants. This can leave you deficient in many key nutrients that are needed to prevent chronic disease, and to run all body systems effectively. A balanced diet provides a source of vitamins and minerals, but taking dietary supplements with your healthy diet is beneficial in ensuring your body has enough of the nutrients it needs each day. Our (free) Holistic Home Remedies booklet is a great place to start! And our supplement recommendations are available for you to purchase online or at our clinic.

#7 Essential Oils

Essential oils are concentrated extracts derived from various plants and have been used for centuries for their potential health and wellness benefits. While individual experiences can vary, here are some commonly reported benefits of essential oils: aromatherapy, stress and anxiety reduction, improved sleep, pain relief, immune system support, headache relief, skin care, natural air freshener, home cleansers, mood enhancement, and repelling insects. With so many benefits and essential oils to choose from, it’s a great way to flourish! You can learn more and order from our own doTERRA essential oil shop>>

#8 Aesthetic Therapy

At Flourish, our definition of wellness encompasses all aspects of whole-person care, including physical, mental, and emotional wellness. Appearance can have a profound impact on wellness and how we interact with those around us. That is why we offer aesthetic treatments and have chosen to use the safest FDA-approved products to keep you feeling and looking your best. Botox® Cosmetic is the first FDA-approved treatment to improve frown lines, crow’s feet, and forehead lines in adults. The best results come from a well-trained medical provider who understands facial anatomy and musculature and customizes treatment to each individual patient. That's one of the reasons to schedule your Botox® Cosmetic treatments with us. Learn more>>

#9 Gut Health

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the relationship between gut health and overall well-being. We now understand that the gut plays a central role in our health, impacting everything from digestion to the immune system and even mental health. One approach that's gaining traction in the pursuit of optimal gut health is functional medicine. At FMW we also know the increasing exposure to toxins in our environment can worsen symptoms. That is why we offer a parasite protocol. Parasites weaken the body’s natural defense mechanisms which allows for easier invasion by parasites. They may be the underlying trigger for a variety of chronic health conditions, like autoimmune diseases and irritable bowel syndrome. We offer testing and treatment! Learn more about parasite protocol>>

#10 Emotional Health

To flourish, we must place a priority on our emotional wellness. Our medical practice seeks to bring wholeness through physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. That’s why we offer more in-depth testing. If you have been struggling with physical, mental, or emotional symptoms that have no known or identifiable cause, a trapped emotion may be the cause. Working with the Governing Meridian energy pathway and applied kinesiology, these trapped emotions can be identified and removed, leading to healing and improvement or resolution of the associated symptoms. Learn more>>

We’ve shared a few of the ways you can flourish in 2024! Hopefully, you’ve discovered what makes us different from other medical clinics. Our personal approach to YOUR individual needs is the focus. And the treatments and plans we suggest for you aren't determined by insurance companies. Instead, we give you the care that fits you like a glove. We look at your symptoms, offer appropriate testing, complete a comprehensive assessment to determine your care plan.

It's all about personalized care here at Flourish Medical + Wellness. Learn more about our Team and call us to schedule your first visit!

Next Level Testing Options to Better Understand Your Symptoms

6/15/2023

At Flourish Medical + Wellness, we take a holistic approach to medicine. Therefore, we offer more testing options than the typical blood work labs. What this means for you is that we can use clinical results to determine the cause of physical symptoms you may be experiencing. These deeper-dive options will help us see the full picture of your health and create a personalized treatment plan. The tests include organic acid testing, muscle testing, and toxin testing. Learn more about each of these offerings and how they can benefit your health.

Muscle Test

Muscle Testing, also known as Applied Kinesiology (AK) or Nutrition Response Testing (NRT) is done through testing the response of the body’s nervous system. NRT analyzes the flow of energy at different areas of the body to help us better understand how every organ is functioning as it relates to the state of health of an individual.

With NRT/AK the practitioner gently contacts different areas of the body with his/her hand. With the other hand, the practitioner will test the strength of the muscle of the patient’s arm. If the area/organ being tested is under stress, the nervous system responds by reducing energy to the arm muscle and the arm weakens. The weakening of the arm muscle signifies underlying stress or dysfunction. How can this possibly work? Consider what happens in the body with hypothermia. The extremities have the most damage because the body pulls all its energy to the core to protect the life-sustaining organs. The same concept applies when we make contact with a stressed organ/area, the body pulls energy to the organ being tested and the patient’s arm will weaken.

Organic Acid Test

Are you experiencing…

Slowed reaction time
Poor memory
Headache
Hyperactivity
Digestive problems
Abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating
Hypo- or hyperglycemia
Unexplained weight gain or loss
Muscle weakness
Dermatitis
Immune deficiency
Anemia
Hearing, speech, or visual impairment
Mental and/or developmental delays
Fatigue and weakness
Depression and/or anxiety
Dizziness
Mood swings
Difficulty concentrating
Nausea
Sleep problems

If you’re dealing with any of the listed symptoms or have been seen by a provider and told your symptoms are “normal” but you know what you’re experiencing is not right, Organic Acid Testing may be the next best step for you. It is a gut health urine test that identifies organic acid markers. These organic acid markers can provide great insights toward discovering underlying causes of chronic symptoms. An organic acid test completes the clinical “picture” of root causes and can guide us in developing the most individualized and effective interventions.

The Vibrant Organic Acids panel uses the most advanced mass spectrometry technology to assess 75 metabolic markers in urine. It includes 11 subpanels and provides accurate evaluation of intestinal microbial overgrowth, detoxification, mitochondrial markers, neurotransmitter metabolism, glutathione status, fatty acid metabolism, and inborn errors of metabolism. (We’ll share an explanation of each during your test results visit.)

Environmental Toxin Test

An additional method of understanding the state of your physical health is with urine toxin testing by Vibrant Wellness. This urine test provides an in-depth look at the toxic burden on your body. This test detects:

Mold
Phthalates
Parabens
Herbicides
Pesticides

If you’ve been told your bloodwork is normal, but you know something’s not right, it could be due to toxin exposure. The Vibrant Lab urine test will give you a clearer picture of your health and guide us toward providing the recommendations needed to bring optimal results.

At Flourish, we support you on your wellness journey by offering a holistic approach to health and healing. We address physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness as we know all are important to your ability to flourish. Call us to discuss our expanded testing options and to schedule a consultation.

Call to Schedule

Detoxifying Your Body From Environmental Poisons: Why it Matters

5/12/2023

In today’s world, we are exposed to a multitude of toxins and pollutants in the environment. From the food we eat to the air we breathe; our bodies are constantly bombarded with chemicals and substances that can harm our health. While our bodies have natural processes to remove these toxins, they can become overwhelmed, leading to a buildup of harmful toxins. We’ve heard a lot about toxins, but it’s important to be aware of the ways they can enter our bodies and take steps to minimize our exposure. We’ve taken you through The Effects of Toxin and Pollutant Exposure in a previous blog post.

How toxins can enter our body:

Inhalation: Toxins can be present in the air we breathe, such as pollutants from car exhaust, industrial emissions, and second-hand smoke.
Food: Our food can be contaminated with toxins such as pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and artificial additives. Processed and pre-packaged foods are particularly prone to contamination.
Water: Contaminants such as lead, chlorine, and pesticides can be present in our drinking water.
Skin Absorption: Toxins can also enter our body through our skin, particularly when we use personal care products that contain harmful chemicals.
Injection: Toxins can enter our body through injections, such as vaccines and medical treatments.
Occupational Exposure: Individuals who work in certain industries, such as manufacturing and construction, are at a higher risk of exposure to toxins.

To maintain optimal health, it is important to regularly detoxify our bodies from environmental toxins.

Why it's important:

Supports a Healthy Immune System

Toxins can weaken our immune system, making us more susceptible to illness and disease. A regular detoxification program can help to remove these harmful substances from our bodies and support the functioning of our immune system. This can help to boost our overall health and reduce our risk of developing serious health problems.

Helps Maintain a Healthy Weight

Many environmental toxins are stored in our fat cells, leading to weight gain and difficulty losing weight. Detoxifying your body can help to eliminate these toxins, allowing your body to function more efficiently and promoting weight loss.

Improves Energy and Mental Clarity

Environmental toxins can also affect our energy levels and mental clarity. A detox can help to remove these toxins, allowing us to feel more energetic and focused. This can have a positive impact on our daily lives, allowing us to be more productive and efficient. We offer Total Toxin Testing here at Flourish.

Supports Better Digestion

Toxins can also disrupt the normal functioning of our digestive system, leading to symptoms such as bloating, gas, and constipation. Detoxifying your body can help to improve the functioning of your digestive system, promoting better digestion and reducing symptoms.

Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases

Research has shown that exposure to environmental toxins can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune disorders. Detoxifying your body can help to reduce your risk of developing these conditions by removing harmful substances from your body.

Reducing our exposure to toxins can help us to maintain optimal health and reduce the risk of serious health problems. At Flourish, we offer a helpful list of daily, weekly, and monthly Detox Tips. Regular detoxification of your body from environmental poisons is essential to maintaining optimal health. By supporting your immune system, promoting weight loss, improving energy and mental clarity, supporting better digestion, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases, a detox can help you feel your best and lead a healthier, more fulfilling life. Consider incorporating a detox program into your routine to take control of your health and protect yourself from the harmful effects of environmental toxins. Get your Daily Toxin Handout>>

More Resources

Your Wellness Resource

Vital Trio: Top 3 Supplements for Health and Wellness

How to increase your intake of vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D // Add the following foods to your diet:

Ten Ways to Flourish in 2024

#1 Weight Loss

#2 IV Therapy

#3 Hormone Therapy

#4 Toxin Removal

#5 Nutrition

#6 Supplementation

#7 Essential Oils

#8 Aesthetic Therapy

#9 Gut Health

#10 Emotional Health

Next Level Testing Options to Better Understand Your Symptoms

Muscle Test

Organic Acid Test

Environmental Toxin Test

Detoxifying Your Body From Environmental Poisons: Why it Matters

Supports a Healthy Immune System

Helps Maintain a Healthy Weight

Improves Energy and Mental Clarity

Supports Better Digestion

Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases

Blog Categories

Your Wellness Resource

Vital Trio: Top 3 Supplements for Health and Wellness

How to increase your intake of vitamin B12, iron, and vitamin D // Add the following foods to your diet:

Ten Ways to Flourish in 2024

#1 Weight Loss

#2 IV Therapy

#3 Hormone Therapy

#4 Toxin Removal

#5 Nutrition

#6 Supplementation

#7 Essential Oils

#8 Aesthetic Therapy

#9 Gut Health

#10 Emotional Health

Next Level Testing Options to Better Understand Your Symptoms

Muscle Test

Organic Acid Test

Environmental Toxin Test

Detoxifying Your Body From Environmental Poisons: Why it Matters

​Supports a Healthy Immune System

Helps Maintain a Healthy Weight

​Improves Energy and Mental Clarity

​Supports Better Digestion

​Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases

Blog Categories

Supports a Healthy Immune System

Improves Energy and Mental Clarity

Supports Better Digestion

Reduces Risk of Chronic Diseases