Center for Advanced Wellness of Fredericksburg

The Land of Medica.

cfaw — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 04:46:15 +0000

Once upon a time in the land of Medica there lived a kindly people. It was a good land for many years, flowing with milk and honey. But as the years went by, the strong  and healthy people began to become a people of weakness and illness. All the people dreamed of going to the land called Optimal Health. They had heard from many people who had made the journey and had come back to show the people how to get there. You could only get there by boat.
In the land of Medica there was a young man who was kind hearted and wished he could help people get to the land of Optimal Health. He was in international politics. He spoke several languages and traveled the world in his career. He, like many people, had gone to the harbor to make the journey to Optimal Health.
When he arrived at the harbor he saw many boats in the Bay of Desire. He saw many signs that said this way to the land of Optimal Health. He saw a big ocean liner called “The Song of Pharmacopia” and he also saw many yachts called “Homeopathica.” Most people were following the big flashy signs promising a journey to Optimal Health and were boarding ”Song of Pharmacopia.”
The ticket to ride seemed cheaper and so this young man Grake boarded the ship. As he stood on the upper deck of the ship he looked out into the bay and saw many small vessels also with the destination Optimal Health. He noticed only a few boarded these smaller vessels. He felt sorry for them, not boarding the big and beautiful cruise ship. As the ship left the harbor he was glad he was on his way to the land of Optimal Health.
As the days went by he noticed as he looked out from the deck that the ship was out at sea going in circles. He noticed this because he was a student of the Celestial bodies and as he followed the sun by day and the stars by night, he could tell the ship was going in circles. He knew he could never reach Optimal Health going in circles. He went to the captain of the ship and told him his observations of the sun by day and the stars by night showing that they were going in circles. The captain of the “Song of Pharmacopia” said “I know the way. I am the captain. Just go back to your cabin and take your daily medicine and all will be fine. Trust me, don’t question me, I am the captain with extensive training, don’t you know. I have been trained in the best “Navigational Schools of Pharmacopia.” So he went back to his cabin and tried to quiet his mind  with a pill called Proszika, given to him by the captain.
After days, months, and years, of never reaching Optimal Health, Grake became discouraged. As he looked around at the people on the ship he saw that they, as well as he, were getting sicker and sicker. They were told by the captain “take another pill it will help you feel better.”
Grake didn’t want to just feel better, he wanted to complete his journey to the land  of Optimal Health. He felt he was trapped in a system he could never escape. He went to the ships library and began to study on the ships satellite computer. As he surfed the internet, he came across the facts that people were getting to Optimal Health on these small yachts he saw in the Bay of Desire. He then knew he had to get off this ship. That was a scary thought as he looked at the options.
He went to the people on the ship but they would not listen to him. So one day he saw a small yacht not too far off in the distance. He got a pair of binoculars and he looked over at the small vessel. He saw the people on the ship happy and had a better glow of health than he did. He noticed the yacht was going in a straight line as his ship was in a large arc circling away from the small ship. This fact confirmed the large ship was circling in the ocean and if he stayed on the ship he would die before ever experiencing Optimal Health. He did a daring thing. He put on his life jacket and jumped ship and began swimming toward the small yachts hoping that one passing by would pick him up. As he jumped, the people on the big ship said you are crazy. The ship, “Song of Pharmacopia” is the only true way, we know, we have been shown “Double Blinded Studies” by the captain of this ship.
Very shortly he was picked up by a small yacht. He was surprised that he was rescued so quickly. The captain of this boat said, “I always look toward the big ship as I pass by so I can pick up those people that are brave enough to jump ship”. Eventually, Grake knew he made the right choice changing ships because every day he felt stronger and stronger. One day he arrived at the land of Optimal Health. He asked the captain of the small yacht “can I go back with you to the land of Medica?” I need to help more people find this land of Optimal Health. So Grake went back to Medica and used his resources to start a business that would educate people about the journey to Optimal Health. He got his family to come along the journey with him by developing tools that would help these captains of small yachts make the journey to Optimal Health much quicker and easier. He also encouraged more captains to take their ships out of the Bay of Desire and make the journey to Optimal Health and make it easier for the weak and sick people of Medica to successfully make the journey to the LAND OF OPTIMAL HEALTH. THE END . . .
No, not the end but the Beginning.

Written by Duane C. Anderson, MD, FACOG, ABIHM

First Things First

cfaw — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 04:20:04 +0000

If you are on a journey to optimal health, here are some ideas for starting off on the right foot.

Nutrition is the most important factor to focus on in recovering your health. What we eat determines how well we are. So here are some tips to help you in your dietary choices.

Navigate Your Market
When you go to the grocery store to shop, select foods located on or near the periphery of the store, in search of fruits, veggies, meats and dairy. Try to buy as much organic produce as possible. If you cannot afford to buy organic fruits and veggies, here is a link to help you wash off the pesticides. When locally grown produce is in season, it’s a better choice over well-travelled food. A future blog will help with your choices of meats and dairy. Stay away from the middle of the grocery store as much as possible. That’s where you find more processed foods in boxes and cans. There are a lot of chemicals and less nutrition in these selections.

Be a Gardener
Grow your own food if possible. Not only does this help with the budget, but homegrown gives you a better quality of food. It also teaches life’s lessons to your children when they help in the garden. I know — I didn’t like it either when my parents made me work in the garden, but now I realize what valuable lessons I harvested there.

Filling in the Nutrition Gaps
Since most people do not grow their own organic food in composted soil, the amount of nutrition we get is inadequate to offset all the pollution our bodies deal with on a daily basis. Therefore, for optimal health we need to supplement our diet with good nutritional supplements. We at Center for Advanced Wellness are here to help you determine what your body needs for optimal health.

You Are What You ABSORB
You may have heard, “you are what you eat!” I want to add to that “you are what you absorb!” Most patients I see in my practice have unhealthy intestines. Therefore, they have poor absorption of their nutrition, and thus their bodies’ cells are starving for nutrition even though they are eating nutritious food. If you don’t heal your gut, you will never reach your goal of optimal health. If you are experiencing bloating, gas, belching, stomach pain, heartburn, constipation, and or diarrhea, you may need to make an appointment with us at the Center for Advanced Wellness to assist you in the healing of your digestive system.

Healthy Dining Habits
Here are some eating tips to help you optimize your nutrition:

* Sit down when you eat. Don’t eat on the run – it tends to cause you to overeat.

* Eat slowly, chewing each bite about 30 times. Chew your food until it is in a paste consistency.

* Savor your food more. Studies show when you do this you will feel it when you are full and are less likely to overeat. It takes awhile for the signal to get from your stomach to your brain, telling you that you are full. A little trick I have learned is to set your fork down between each bite of food. It makes me eat slower, and chew my food better and enjoy the flavor of the food more.

* Minimize fluids with your meals to eight ounces or less. “Washing down” your food impedes digestion. Your fluids should be between meals – no less than 30 minutes prior to meals and at least 90 minutes after meals. When you go out to eat, water with lemon is a natural detoxifier to drink when you need a few sips of liquid. You will also be surprised at how much you save on your tab when you do this.

* Eat breakfast – the most important meal of the day. When you start on a trip you like to have a tank full of gas. Likewise, good nutrition gives you energy for the day. When you skip meals your metabolism decreases and thus you gain more weight.

* When possible, eat as a family. Turn the TV off and sit together around the table. This helps you to stay connected with the ones you love.

* The old saying is worth repeating: “Eat like a king for breakfast, like a prince for lunch, and like a pauper for supper.” This will help you maintain a healthy weight. Unfortunately many people eat just the opposite, and thus have difficulty with their weight. Eating a large meal in the evening when most people are the least active tends to cause undesired weight gain.

I hope these health tips to assist you in your journey to optimal health. As Hippocrates (the father of medicine) once said, “Let food be your medicine.”

May you be optimally healthy!

Duane C. Anderson, MD, FACOG, ABIHM

Staying Hydrated and Healthy this Summer

cfaw — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 14:34:00 +0000

As the summer months come,, temperatures rise and we begin spending more active time outside. As our bodies sweat more to beat the heat, staying hydrated becomes harder and harder. Do yourself a favor this summer by staying quenched and hydrated, as this helps avoid conditions such as:

Fatigue
Irritability
Depression
Loss of sleep
Allergy symptoms
Digestive problems

Being over 70% water ourselves, maintaining a healthy amount of water in our systems is critical. Look at the facts:

1% dehydration causes thirst
2% can increase anxiety and reduce energy by up to 20%
4% leads to nausea, dizziness, fatigue and emotional instability
6% leads to loss of certain motor and cognitive functions

So in order to stay optimally hydrated this summer, choose water over sugary drinks and sodas. To find out how much water you should be drinking, divide your body weight in half. This is the number of ounces you should drink daily.

Also, stop by the apothecary for products like ReHydration and Spectramin, that not only help you better absorb the water you drink, but also replenish electrolytes lost when sweating.
Stay cool!

Chris Gregoire, ND, CHT

The CFAW Blog

nathan — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:52:41 +0000

Welcome to the Center for Advanced Wellness blog, where in the future, Dr. Anderson will periodically post updates on new products and services, as well as links to articles he recommends his patients to read. Stay tuned! In the meantime, … Continue reading →