Category Archives: Weight Loss

Intermittent Starving vs Fasting

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My IG and twitter feeds keep sending me promoted ads for intermittent fasting and young thin women in my Internal Medicine residency program keep telling me they are doing it. As someone with an inherent red flag signal for anorexia and eating disorders, I am triggered. As someone with a 4 year nutrition degree and as a gal raised with a spiritual practice of fasting, I do understand the value behind the concept. The problems start when restriction/binging/restriction patterns are overlayed on the foundational evidence.

This is the best nutritional protocol and evidence I found to implement intermittent fasting into a food plan for weight loss or for longevity. There is good reasoning and practice behind the idea that the liver stores glycogen for storage, and that this “immediate use” supply needs to be used up before the body creates new glucose from adipose cells and muscle. This is reasonable: fasting uses up the supplies . Then fasting decreases fat or muscle from stores.

Some fasting articles I’ve read suggest 16 hours between eating every day. This sounds alot like the “don’t eat food after 7” rule that has quite a few generations of folks waking up covered in cookies from night eating.

Some articles suggest 16 hours between meals twice a week. This seems more reasonable to me as it allows for some pre-planning to have restful, quiet time during the fasting period. Our human bodies are not designed to “run on empty.” I grew up in a yoga community where fasting was part of the practice towards enlightenment, but work was not done during the fast. One’s time in the fasting state is to be spent meditating, reflecting, and processing (like while we sleep.) Yoga is also an acceptable practice during this time as it stimulates glands and organs as well as the musculoskeletal body to return to homeostasis. Fasting is designed as a parasympathetic state to rebalance CYP liver enzymes and clear the intestines. Pushing through fasting with sympathetic, highly motivated activity like mental or physical labor requires the adrenal glands to overachieve and drive metabolism through adrenaline and sheer will aka cortisol.

The one place where hard work on a fasting belly IS indicated is for anyone looking to lower insulin resistance by using the biochemistry of exercise. This could be someone requiring huge doses of insulin for only moderate blood glucose control, or someone trying to beat type 2 diabetes in the pre-diabetic state. Exercising on an empty stomach is one of the few ways to upregulate cellular receptors called GLUT_4 for insulin to bring blood sugar into cells. I have tried this and its oddly satisfying. Nerd out on biochemistry and GLUT-4 here.

I don’t intermittent fast intentionally myself. Some weekend days I wont eat food until 2-3 in the afternoon, just based on my natural appetite; however, I do have black coffee and water and sometimes juice during that time. To be my best self, I need frequent and regular fuel to keep this brain and body going for the intense work weeks I do. Not allowing myself to eat when I am hungry in not helpful for my mental health either – not only do I get edgy or feel anxious, my own disordered eating and body dysmorphia can easily be motivated towards restrictive eating patterns.

Aside from mental health, some people also have genetic metabolic imbalances if their lineage experienced a traumatic food restriction. This has been researched in Irish descendants as well as Jewish folks. Caloric restriction can actually trigger a survival metabolism where minimal resources are burned and every morsel of fat possible is stored. This is ancestral trauma that has caused permanent alterations in the genome that get triggered by environmental circumstances.

The science is compelling: improved metabolism, destruction of cancer cells, immune regulation, cortisol balancing, cellular rejuvenation…. benefits are numerous!

Here is what I would do if I was either doing a period of cleansing/detox and intentionally working on restoring health or if I was committed to a defined period of intentional weight loss (8 months from this algorithm.)

  1. Style 1: two mornings a week, fast until 12-1pm depending on your 16 hour window. On these mornings drink warm water, organic green tea or herbal tea, stretch and do yoga or go for a gentle walk, get into nature, rest/ meditate, write or reflect. Eat a Mediterranean style diet the remainder of the time.
  2. Style 2: For a more intensive weight loss experience, follow the algorithm for 2 days a week of restricted caloric intake from the JAMA article referenced at the beginning of this post. I would not also follow the time restricted feeding patterns myself as I find this too rigid for modern life and overrides the natural appetite instincts which are essential. Eat a Mediterranean type diet or Paleo. Consider pairing this with the Whole 30 protocol or an elimination diet for true restorative food as medicine. Follow the above guidelines for your calorie restricted days with rest, nature, reflection, massage, acupuncture or other healing practices, whole organic foods, teas and water. Once you have completed month 4, return back up the protocol until you are back at full weekly caloric intake and reassess.
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Insulin Resistance

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Insulin is a hormone that is produced by the pancreas that helps cells to absorb glucose in the blood. When we eat a lot of sugar or carbs, there is a rush of glucose (sugar) absorbed into the bloodstream and the pancreas responds by releasing  insulin, signaling the cells to  allow the sugar in. When blood sugars dip low from chronic hunger or lack of food, there is very little insulin produced.

A lifetime of sugar rushes and sugar deficits can lead to Type II Diabetes, a blood sugar disorder that is characterized by insulin resistance. Insulin resistance happens when your cells stop being able to efficiently respond to the presence of insulin. Imagine you live next to a train track, or by a fire station. Eventually the constant trains or sirens become background noise – we stop hearing them out of habituation. Insulin resistance is kind of like this – chronically elevated blood glucose results in cellular apathy. Each little cell stops posting the GLUT4 receptors in the presence of insulin and the glucose cannot be absorbed. This results in a starvation state for the cells with an overabundant state in the blood, with resulting nerve damage from high blood sugar and cellular aging from nutritional deficit. Can you imagine how this could be improved with nutritional regulation of blood glucose?

The good news is it is possible to improve insulin sensitivity at a cellular level, especially at the pre-diabetes stage. The first step is to adjust your eating habits and diet. The chronically elevated blood glucose needs to stop happening as it is the flooding of the system and causing the habitual “resistance.” This can be achieved with high protein and vegetable meals with abundant healthy fats eaten every 6 hours or so.

Our cells like a slow, steady amount of glucose and insulin in the blood. The logic is as follows: protiens and fats and high fiber carbs like vegetables and grains break down slowly in the digestion, giving a slow steady stream of nutrients and building blocks. Processed carbs, sugar and fruits are broken down quickly and result in a rush of glucose. Therefore, to slow the rush of blood sugar one needs fiber, fat and protien present with each meal. This makes sense – it is always easier to handle any situation in life when things come at us in a moderate, orderly fashion. The microcosm is the macrocosm.

look up healthy fats and high protein foods!

The ginseng family including Panax Ginseng and American Ginseng are also used to lower blood sugar while increasing the ability to adapt to stress. This adaptogenic action exhibits effects across multiple endocrine organs including reproductive, adrenal and pancreas, making it a great herb for modern medicine. The ginsengs work at the plasma membrane level as well as improving steroid hormone receptor sites, which may explain their benefit and use in improving insulin resistance.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10571242. There are many other botanicals that have a history of use in blood sugar management including bilberry, cinnamon, gymnemna and more.

Vitamin and mineral deficiency can also worsen existing insulin resistance and exacerbate high blood sugar. The trace minerals chromium and vanadium are both cofactors in the glucose-insulin complex and deficiencies in either of these will worsen blood sugar issues. Chronic magnesium deficiency is also commonly found in people with insulin resistance. This could be due to a deficient dietary intake as magnesium is found in leafy green vegetables and broccoli as well as fish, raw nuts and seeds, avocados, bananas and dark chocolate.

Finally, high intensity, short-term exercise is essential for improving insulin resistance. This kind of exercise shifts metabolism into fuel-burning mode, instead of fuel saving mode. Being active multiple times a day is even better for shifting into glucose utilization mode and improving cell receptor activity. http://www.thebloodcode.com/type-2-diabetes-recovery-needs-daily-exercise/ . Exercise is the only thing that will independently stimulate individual cells to produce those Glut 4 insulin-regulated glucose transporters found primarily in fat and muscle cells, instantly improving insulin resistance and decreasing blood sugar.

In summary, insulin resistance is a complicated condition that is essential to address in the treatment of diabetes. Fundamental nutritional changes and lifestyle basics are essential starting points for anyone interested in improving blood sugar parameters and taking an empowered stance towards metabolic recovery.

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I Always Bring My Lunch

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I was in NYC in August this summer, doing a short 4th year medical elective at the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. I did some couch surfing, and stayed at an Air BnB in Williamsburg my last week. Medically it was an outstanding experience, and in my dream future, I will get to be a physician working at this clinic in Manhatten. Being away from home, I realized how much I rely on having my own kitchen! Making my lunch is I keep my body feeling good despite spending most of my time working in a hospital or relaxing in bed.

What do you do for lunch every day?  By lunchtime every day, I will eat basically anything. I sometimes eats my lunch at 10:30 AM I am so hungry. The more glucose my brain is burning, the more I need that hit of fat, phytonutrients and fiber.

Therefore, my cunning plan is to eat super healthy sometimes boring basics for lunch – lots of veggies, good quality fats, high fiber fruits, raw vegetables and very few processed carbs. Then,  I dont have to think as hard about what’s for dinner and still maintain a good nutrient balance.

So, what do I actually eat? Greens and grains, with cheese, avocado or nuts/seeds and random chopped veggies like carrots, cucumber, tomato, radish. In summer I love to put flowers in my food. A grain free diet is popular with the keto crowd, but I advocate to have at least a few cups of whole grains in the diet per week. The fiber, magnesium, B vitamins and serotonin release metabolically help keep the mind-gut axis regulated. We rotate our grains between short grain brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, and millet to maintain variety of flavor and nutrient profiles.

I heard once in a conference lecture that nutritional studies were done evaluating T4 –> T3 conversion activation (active thyroid hormone.) Subjects were fed fat based diets, protein based diets or carbohydrate (CHO) based diets. Only the diets with carbohydrates evidenced thyroid hormone conversion. Since I am a huge fan of having optimized T3 production for an effective metabolic mileau, I advocate for having a moderate amount of whole grains in ones basic nutritional foundation.I wish I had the study in-hand to back this up but I dont; maybe once I am out of medical school I will have time to research these things more fully. The bottom line is that whole grains are good for health and tasty and I like them in my lunch. They are filling and delicious and beneficial.

I like to layer the grains on the bottom, then a huge handful of greens – whatever has the latest expiry date when I am shopping! We rotate spring mix with herbs, arugula, baby spinach, crispy green leaf lettuce, and occasional kale salad (leftover.) I need fat with my lunch to feel satisfied, so I douse the whole thing with yummy olive oil and a delicious vinegar like balsamic or umeboshi or fire cider vinegar. Then, I add some protein: cheese is the easiest and I love cheese.  Tuna, egg or chicken salads are always a win too.

I also love toasted walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. I buy them raw, and toast them in a dry cast iron pan until they are warm and smell nutty but not burnt. Make sure to stir! I store these in glass jars in the cupboard. The pumpkin seeds are best toasted with some Chalula hot sauce and cumin! Yum. These add a crunch, some richness, protein, and delicious essential fats. Finish the lunch with 2 chopped veggies for color, fiber, and variety: an organic carrot, cucumber spears with pepper, pepper slices, whatever floats your boat.

If you are a hard paleo and refuse grains, or if you are like me and sometimes need a second lunch or a hearty snack then organic nitrite free salami is a good addition. It is filling, savory, and works well with olives, carrot rounds and other veggies for finger snacks. Just veggies is not enough for me.

Lunch Plan B: huge leftovers fan here. If I go out to dinner, I almost always save half for lunch the next day. This is a win-win, because I stop eating when I am full (or save room for dessert) AND I have a pre-made meal to go. I hate waking up extra early to deal with lunch, so I usually get lunch ready the night before. We generally also cook for more than two, planning a lunch or two and maybe even a supper into every meal we co-create. Leftovers are exciting to me because these are usually rich yummy comfort foods like pasta, steak, curries and other “real meals”.

Finally, making lunch saves me money. The first day of my August rotation I went to the nearby Whole Foods for lunch. I wasted 15 minutes wandering around the hot and cold bars, trying to figure out what to eat. My $15 salad ended up being an awkward mish-mash of flavors that did not blend well. That day after work I went and bought $40 worth of groceries (almond flour crackers, apples, greens, cheese, nuts, yogurts and paleo granola for breakfast)  and brought my lunch to work every day for the next week, supplementing with enchilada leftovers.

Bringing your lunch ensures you know exactly what you are eating. It keeps you committed to your intentions with food, and lines up the healthy choices for you in moments of  “Im Starving” brain meltdowns that would otherwise allow for easy Trash. It is also a great way to plan your daily insulin for diabetics! Finally, it frees up dinner for more social food activities that may be less greens and grainy.

Oh, and bring a snack, maybe two. For Fall and Winter I find an apple is the hardiest fruit. Combined with nuts and raisins, it’s a great choice. Someone once said, if you dont want to eat an apple, you are not actually hungry. This holds true as long as your teeth are in good shape.  In winter and summer, cut up fruit like citrus or stone fruits an berries are refreshing and delightful. I also love dried mango slices from Trader Joe’s. If you crave yogurt and aren’t having it for breakfast, it’s a good option too. I love the dairy-free yogurts too like soy, almond and coconut singles, which are far better choices than anything a vending machine or a cafeteria might offer.

My basic formula is eating good quality food 65% of the time. Then I can easily process about 35% cheeseburgers, nachos, pizza, sweets, and other junk. To change your body composition this may need to become more like 75:25 and exercise has to be added in. I eat at least 60% of my daily food at work between 9-5pm. If I make sure these foods are healthy, wholesome and invigorating to my brain and bowels, my nutritional work is done for the day. Yay!

 

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Eat, Sleep, Wait, Repeat.

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glycogen-and-intermittent-fastingI recently read an article that most Americans eat for 15 hours a day. Apparently, the body needs a 12 hour fast daily to clear liver glycogen, thus switching metabolism to utilize the body’s stores (fat) to fuel the basic metabolic rate. Without this 12 hour fast, the liver does not get to ever fully utilize glycogen stores, and food/fuel aka glucose gets stored as fat.

Ive been tracking myself, as I always do when I am trying out a new metabolic theory, and I usually get about a 9 hour fast in. I’m one of those people that likes to eat at night, and with my new academic schedule, I need my 7am morning toast to soak up the coffee that makes my 6am wake-up call possible. Also, beverages counts as food/fuel in this context. Therefore, the last drink of alcohol, milk or juice you have before bed also counts towards the fasting timeline.

The 12 hour fast biochemistry is probably the source of the “dont eat after 7pm” dogma. That, and most of the snacking that occurs after dinner is high calorie and high deliciousness.But what if, like me, you are someone who likes to graze after 7am, eat dinner late, and/or cant sleep with an empty belly?

The moral of the story is: if you are trying to lose weight, make it a priority to fit in a 12 hour fast that includes your hours of sleep (hopefully 8+. Read how more sleep helps you lose weight here.)

For example: If you snack until 10pm, don’t have breakfast, coffee with sugar or cream/milk, juice,  or anything over 5 calories or sweet tasting until 10am. (Ps. Even artifical low calories sweeteners may be linked to weight gain says Harvard med.) This will allow your body to “empty” its reserves, making room for a day of metabolic synergy and a delicious, satisfying 12 hours of food after your overnight fast.

blackHint: learn to love black tea or coffee, green tea, and/or hot lemon water before your 12 hour fast is over if you are honestly wanting to lose weight. If, like me, you are too busy to make changes right now, just think about it, watch your patterns, and see if you can do it every once in awhile or on weekends.

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LGB Trans HRT ~ New Program, Fresh Vision, New You

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imagesWIDJJQD2The flame of Trans* Health has been burning steadily brighter in my life over the past 3 years. I was keen on the practice while still living and working in Toronto, ON but without a scope of prescribing hormones, my work with the Trans* community was peripheral medicine – acupuncture, restoration of transman fertility, anxiety support etc. I continued to take trainings in the hormone and lab protocols to better understand the medical aspects of transition, without the vision of guiding transition myself.

Once I moved to Maine in 2011, my scope of practice as a ND changed. Naturopathic Doctors have different abilities to prescribe and order diagnostic lab work in each state and province. Most of the west coast states plus British Columbia have full prescribing rights, can do IV therapies, and can act like primary care docs for their patients. In the more conservative middle North America and east coast, Vermont and New Hampshire are the only states/provinces with a full scope of practice. However, for me, from Ontario, the ability to prescribe most hormones and antibiotics was a big change of pace!

I mentored and practice with Dr. Michael Bedecs, an Osteopathic Doctor specializing in hormone therapies for the past  3 years. Under his guidance (plus several conferences on trans health, anti-aging and hormone optimization) I have come to better understand the intricacies of the endocrine system, and how they interrelate through reproductive, thyroid, adrenal, pancreatic and pituitary pathways. All this time, my brain has been making subtle connections in Trans* health, drawing pathways to hormonal optimization the bridges the cultural and gender fluidity required with treating the LGBT community with medical advancements in metabolism, subclinical hypothyroidism, fertility, adrenal exhaustion, cortisol excess, insulin resistance and more.

Dr. Bedecs and I have created a new program called LBGT HRT that includes the dynamic possibilities of gender and hormone variation, bioidentical hormone replacement, transsexual transition and transgender health. We will be offering this through our concierge style practice at Age Management Center in Portland, Maine.

Age Management Center is a cash based practice. We do not accept any insurance plans for visits, medication or laboratory services. Some patients are able to pay for our services through Health Savings Accounts, or get third party reimbursement. Working outside of insurance allows us to provide a standard of care far above  the norm. We offer blood work here in our clinic, at physician pricing. Because we are not limited by the current scope of insurance, we are able to test for and evaluate metabolic parameters that are essential to our complete understanding of hormonal health and wellness.  We spend an average of 90 minutes for first visits, and offer a free 30 minute consult before any commitment is required. Furthermore, within our framework of concierge medicine, each visit is not priced and ticketed; rather, the ongoing support of our doctors, nurses and medical staff is included in the program, allowing you unlimited access for questions, concerns, and follow up until your program is fine tuned and ship shape.

We know this style of medicine is not accessible for all members of the LGB and Trans community. Therefore, I created a monthly sliding scale clinic at Justice in The Body the first Monday of each month from 9am – 12pm to meet the needs of the lower income members of the gender queer and Trans* community here in Portland, Maine, and beyond. This clinic is limited in that a prescribing MD, NP or DO is still required to Rx the Testosterone for FTM and Spironolactone or Cyproterone for MTF; however, I am able to order lab work through insurance in Maine and can work with your prescriber to optimize current hormone protocols and work on supporting the Integrative aspects of general health and wellness that come with transitioning. Many of my patients at the Trans* Health Clinic have been fully transitioned, and we are working on other aspects of preventative medicine and optimized health through the lens of Trans* medicine. I am currently working on expanding the scope of the JITB Trans * Health Clinic by finding a prescriber to work directly with us in house. Stay Tuned!

Follow me on Twitter for Trans* Health @LGBTHRT

Follow me on Facebook for monthly updates about the Trans Health Clinic at JITB

Note: Trans* is a new-ish term. The asterisk denotes that the term is encompassing the entire transgender, transsexual and gender fluid spectrum of individuals without having to write all of that every time.

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DETOX 2015: Start the New Year With A Clean Metabolic Slate

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tabula rasa – the latin term for “erased slate” referring to the emptiness of a slate sheet that was previously written on by chalk.

 To start the New Year with a fresh clean slate we need to erase the old clutter from our internal metabolic “chalk board”, which means DETOXIFICATION.

Why detoxify? Intermediate metabolites build up like desk clutter from all of the work that our liver has to do to break down hormones, pesticides, pollution, cholesterol, medications, bacteria, viruses, alcohol, caffeine, and everything else that we inhale or ingest. Symptoms of this “clutter” include allergies, skin disorders, constipation or diarrhea, heartburn, irritability, fuzzy thinking, headaches, low energy, fatigue and many more low grade but uncomfortable signs of poor health.

I do not believe in crazy diets, water  fasting, purges, enemas, or other “heroic” efforts. An effective detoxification process can be simple, inexpensive, easy to accomplish and leave you feeling fresh, renewed and in many cases with less weight! The focus is on fresh, whole foods, clean water, daily smoothies and supplements to improve liver detoxification.

I will be offering an all-inclusive program for one week in January – The tentative dates are January 10-17, 2015. One week is enough time to begin the detoxification process in the liver, but not so much time as to interrupt our busy lives. This program will be a group event, with individual introductory sessions to troubleshoot potential obstacles during the detoxification process.  This program will consist of:

  • A 30 minute detox interview and consultation to assess your personal needs. (The interview can be bypassed for Dr. Wright’s current patients.)
  • A 60 minute group meeting to introduce the program, review the basics of detoxification, and get you ready to start!
  • One week of detoxification with daily email support and a Facebook group for recipe sharing, troubleshooting and cheerleading.
  • A 30 minute group program review at the end to assess the effects, with suggestions on supplements and lifestyle options to maintain the beneficial effects of the detox.

Some people may choose to repeat the detox cycle for 1-3 more weeks in order to really delve into metabolic restoration; however this is an independent option.

Call Age Management Center today at 207-774-1356 IMG_1420or email Dr. Wright at thewrightnd@gmail.com and find out how our New Years Metabolic Detox program can help improve focus, increase energy, decrease allergies and enhance metabolic balance.

Cost: $250 inclusive, prepaid new patients or those needing individualized 30 minute support session.

Cost breakdown: 30 minute consultation: $75, Core Restore Detox Kit $100, 60 minute initial group consultation $50, 30 minute review session $25. Administration, daily emails during the detox program, Facebook group monitoring and detox troubleshooting included.

Current patient & friend/family rate: $175. (Does not include the 30 minute individual consultation.)

Some patients may choose additional Integrative Medicine consultations for more personalized care; individuals who choose to become patients of Dr. Wright’s during or after the program will have $75 taken off her initial consultation fee.

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Vanquishing Fat Improves Weight Loss

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12428062215_8a3fa42d45_zI dreampt I was lying on a comfortable table in a private office, with a machine sending warm Infra-Red rays into my abdomen, melting away my belly fat. I was dozing, and imagining the fat cells bursting and my body’s lymphatic system scooping them up and leaving me with a trimmer waistline as I  thought about my life for 45 minutes…. Oh Wait! That wasn’t a Dream! That is the Vanquish machine!

It must be the 21st century because medicine has finally found a way to literally melt off fat in targeted areas like the belly, hips and thighs. This revolutionary selective radiofrequency technology is non-invasive, safe and effective. Heat penetrates deeply into the body targeting adipose tissue (fat cells) while protecting other neighboring organs and skin layers with cooling air flow.

The Vanquish experience is relaxing, pain free and requires no medication or recovery time. It requires lying still for about 45 minutes. Best results are obtained when repeated twice per week for at least 3 weeks (six sessions). Clinical results are visible within 3-4 weeks after your last session – do not expect immediate results! Physiologically, your fat cells are melted and slowly die, spilling their contents into local tissue to be cleaned up by the lymphatic, immune and circulatory systems. This process takes a few weeks, which is why results are not immediate.

A little science on fat cell physiology. It is now recognized that a fat cell is not just a glob of fat. Adipose tissue is a metabolically active, highly functioning part of the endocrine (hormone) system.

When your energy in (food & alcohol) is greater than your energy out (activity, intellectual work and exercise) insulin directs the body to store fat. The capacity to store fat is seemingly endless,  as individual cells can grow quite large while chemically signalling neighboring undifferentiated cells to turn into new fat cells. Energy deficit (energy out greater than energy in) stimulates the adipose tissue to release free fatty acids and become smaller fat cells, or the cells can die through apoptosis.

Centrally located adipose tissue is used as a storage area for many fat soluble hormones and chemicals like estrogen, pesticides and THC. When fat cells spill their contents, these are also spilled. Adipose tissue also independently synthesizes chemicals like adipsin that activate the inflammatory cascade. (This is why heavier people can have more inflammatory disorders than thin people.) As the Vanquish machine melts away the fat cells, stimulating apoptosis (cell death) your body will have to clean up these excess chemicals and inflammatory mediators as well as the free fatty acids released. Fortunately, a healthy body is designed to effectively remove cellular debris like this through the lymphatic and circulatory systems.

Drinking extra water is essential during this process. We also recommend using herbal teas like the Traditional Medicinal Daily Detox Tea, nettle tea and organic green tea for free radical/antioxidant protection. Taking a good quality multivitamin provides minerals and B vitamins to support liver detoxification while daily exercise will also stimulate fat burning metabolism and support free fat elimination. Nutritionally, a meal plan focused on weight reduction principles will enhance the slimming effects of Vanquish. I suggest small amounts of whole fiber rich grains a few times a week, daily leafy greens and raw vegetables, low sugar fruits like apples and blueberries, lowered carbohydrate intake, no processed foods, and grass-fed meats, vegetarian proteins and fish.

Some individuals with compromised health or congested lympathic or liver systems may benefit from additional Integrative Medicine alongside Vanquish treatment plans to optimize results. Integrative Medicine combines the best of botanical medicine, clinical nutrition and evidence-based nutraceuticals with modern diagnostic, laboratory and pharmaceutical expertise. This style of medicine is patient-centered; no two patients will get exactly the same protocol with our highly individualized care. Targeted therapies could include reducing systemic inflammation, improving detoxification pathways, clearing lymphatic channels, or tailoring nutrition to promote fat elimination.

Dr. Wright will be offered a group metabolic detoxification program at Cosmetic Enhancement Center in January 2015 and again in March 2015. This 7 day detoxification program is the perfect complement to a Vanquish Fat treatment plan. Ask Dr. Wright or Dr. Atkins for more information about the Vanquish Fat treatment plan, Integrative Medicine, or our upcoming Metabolic Detoxification program.

References:

Integrative physiology of human adipose tissue. K N Frayn, F Karpe, B A Fielding,  I A Macdonald and S W Coppack.  International Journal of Obesity (2003) 27, 875–888.

Adipsin and an endogenous pathway of complement from adipose cells. Choy LN1, Rosen BS, Spiegelman BM.J Biol Chem. 1992 Jun 25;267(18):12736-41. http://www.jbc.org/content/267/18/12736.long  Accessed 24/10/2014

Adipose cell apoptosis: death in the energy depot. A Sorisky,  R Magun and AM Gagnon. Department of Medicine and Biochemistry, Microbiology and International Journal of Obesity (2000) 24, Suppl 4, S3±S7 http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v24/n4s/pdf/0801491a.pdf  Accessed 10/22/2014

 

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