Being healthy and having the right team of people around me in order to stay healthy is super important to me. The people that I see may not be the kind of health care providers that you think they would be. And it certainly isn’t just doing whatever my insurance company tells me I should do. So, I’d like to share with you how I find great health care.
The first thing that I want you to know is that there is a massive difference between being healthy, and diagnosing disease. When it comes to optimizing your health, you have to be the leader. No one else is going to do that for you, and no one else can do that for you. You can look to others to diagnose diseases, but you cannot look to them to be in charge of you being healthy.
My team of health care providers consists of the following: a Naturopathic Doctor, a really good deep tissue massage therapist, a chiropractor, a dietician, and finally a general practice Medical Doctor who I see as my GP.
Keep in mind that your Medical Doctor probably doesn’t know what the rest of those people know, although they often like to act like experts in all of those other areas, or are often willing to dismiss what those other experts say or do. If your MD does that, either ignore them or find a new one.
Medical doctors are primarily here to diagnose and treat disease, which is useful and necessary, but it’s very different than optimizing health. They also help refer you to other MD specialists, which you’ll need occasionally, such as when you need the gastroenterologist, or the ophthalmologist, etc.
Let’s start with the Naturopathic Doctor. In my case that’s me. But you definitely want one, because Naturopathic Doctors are experts in all of those cool things that you wonder about and are probably spending money on, like vitamins, minerals, botanical medicines, and all of those supplements you see everywhere. They also have extensive training in food and nutrition. And they also have experience with and appreciate chiropractic work, Chinese medicine, and just about every form of healthcare you can imagine. You can’t get that from medical doctors. It’s not their area, and they do not have training in it.
Your Naturopathic Doctor can also function as your primary care doctor in many states, because they are trained in primary care and can also prescribe medications. They can also refer you to specialists, including MDs, as well as complementary and integrative or alternative providers like I mentioned above. So that’s where I start, because that’s what I want in my Primary Care Provider.
Keep in mind that many Naturopathic Doctors are specialists, like my team of IBS specialists at the IBS Treatment Center. The Naturopathic Doctors who are specialized in various areas have experience and expertise that you simply can’t get anywhere else, not even from your general practice Naturopathic Doctor.
For me, the 2nd person on my team is my massage therapist. I get a massage about once a month, and more often if I have injuries. It’s not a luxury, and for me they are only beneficial if it’s a really deep tissue massage. It’s not comfortable, but it’s really effective and I can’t imagine how much pain I’d be in if I didn’t have fantastic body workers helping me.
The 3rd person on my team is my chiropractor. I have an awesome chiropractor, and I probably see him about once a quarter on average. He is key to keeping me in shape. Sometimes I need to go more often, but if I need to go too often, then I probably really need to work on my flexibility and my posture more.
I also mentioned a dietician. This is super important, because you eat every day, and healthy food is the foundation of good health. Because I’m a Naturopathic Doctor, I have a ton of training in diet and nutrition. So, I function as my own dietician. But I encourage you to have one. Work with them a lot up front, and then check-in every year. Make sure you have someone who truly understands food and diet, and isn’t just counting calories.
And then there’s my Medical Doctor, whom I see once every few years, and he tells me how healthy I am. Seriously. He’s good for covering the basics. I like him, but he doesn’t do much to help me optimize my health. He’s mostly there to diagnose disease. And I should point out that I do not consider his advice more important than anyone else’s on my team. Why would I, when he isn’t an expert in those other areas.
Of course, within each of these areas, you have to find the right people, the one’s you like and who make a difference in your life. Remember, you are the leader of your health optimization team! Keep looking until you find the right people. I know it can be a process and takes time, but it’s worth it. That’s exactly what I do. And sometimes it takes me years. But then I keep them as long as I can, sometimes for decades.
For you the team might look a little different, and it can also vary depending on your needs at the time. For example, there have been times when I’ve had a counselor that I saw, or a physical therapist, etc. These people have all been super important, and have helped me in lots of different ways.
I hope that this was helpful and gave you some insight into how I developed my team for staying healthy. I’ve spent my entire life focused on this, and it’s been super valuable to me.
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Dr. Wangen is the founder and medical director of the IBS Treatment Center, the award winning author of two books, and a nationally recognized speaker on digestive disorders. He has been on ABC, NBC, and Fox as well as public radio, and was named one of Seattle’s Top Doctors by Seattle Magazine.