Bambú Clinic

In a landmark UCLA study on the stress response, Drs. Laura Cousin Klein and Shelley Taylor cast a new light on five decades of stress research – 90% of which has been based on the male stress response. Until this study, scientists generally believed that when people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that provokes the body either to stand and fight or to flee. We now know that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than simply ‘fight or flight.’ Under stress, women release the hormone oxytocin, which buffers the fight or flight response andencourages her to tend to children and gather with other women. When she engages in this ‘tend and befriend’ behavior, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not occur in men because testosterone – which men produce in high levels when they are under stress – seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. The fact the women respond to stress differently than men has significant implications for health.

Increasingly, researchers believe that the hormone oxytocin is the elixir of friendship – and by extension, of health. In females, oxytocin levels spike following childbirth and when nursing, and also increase at times of isolation and stress. When the hormone interacts with estrogen, studies have shown it impels females to seek the company of others. The ‘tend and befriend’ notion developed by Drs. Klein and Taylor may help explain why women consistently outlive men. Men are more likely to deal with stress with a ‘fight or flight’ reaction – with aggression or withdrawal. Aggression and withdrawal take a physiologic toll, while friendship brings comfort that mitigates the ill effects of stress. Studies show that social ties reduce our risk of disease by lowering blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol, and improving the function of our immune systems.

The ideal way to get Vitamin D is by exposing your skin to appropriate amounts of sunlight.  That’s right, folks – spending time outdoors in the sun – DAILY – is essential to your health!

We each need about 20-40 minutes a day of unprotected sun exposure (meaning, without sunscreen and with at least 40 percent of your skin exposed) to maintain proper blood levels of this important vitamin.  People with fair skin need less time in the sun, while people with darker skin will need to stay out a little longer.

During the summer months, the average sunbather (30 minutes in the sun with a bathing suit on) will produce about 20,000 IUs of Vitamin D, which is as much Vitamin D as is found in 200 glasses of milk, or in 50 typical multivitamins!  The key is to get out in the sun when its rays are at a low angle... either early in the morning when the sun is rising or late in the day when the sun is setting.  The physicians at Bambú Clinic do not recommend unprotected sun exposure at the hottest parts of the day. Remember that too much of a good thing is not a good thing.  Don’t go overboard with unprotected sun exposure.  As we all know, excess exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays causes premature aging of the skin, cellular damage and malignant skin cancer. 
 
And, it is important to understand that there are two primary forms of ultraviolet radiation from the sun – UVA and UVB rays.  UVA rays have a longer wavelength, and therefore penetrate all materials (e.g. the earth’s atmosphere, windows, clothes) more easily than do UVB rays.  UVA is one of the primary culprits behind cellular damage to the skin, and actually destroys Vitamin D.  UVB rays are necessary to convert immune-enhancing Vitamin D into its active form.  Vitamin D is a potent defense against melanoma (malignant skin cancer).  New research shows that increased UVA exposures combined with inadequately maintained cutaneous levels of Vitamin D promote melanoma.  So, you need the right kind of sun exposure and in the correct amounts.

Link between Vitamin D and Showering?

Vitamin D is formed when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun.  However, the Vitamin D3 that is formed on the surface of your skin needs to be absorbed into your bloodstream in order to be carried to the liver and kidneys (where it will be activated for use by all the cells in your body).  New evidence shows it can take 48 hours to absorb the Vitamin D produced by a single sun exposure!  Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin.  Soaping your body within two days of a sun exposure not only washes away the protective oils on your skin, but also carries off the Vitamin D that is waiting to be captured!  So, in order to maximize your Vitamin D absorption, try using soap only on the areas of your body prone to bacterial overgrowth, such as your axilla (armpits) and groin.  Just rinse the rest of your skin with plain water so as not to disturb the absorption process.  By adhering to this showering practice, you will reap more of the health benefits of sunlight and Vitamin D!

References: mercola.com, vitamindcouncil.org

What is cranial therapy?

The healthy, vital tissues in our bodies subtly 'breathe' with the motion of life. This motion, which is known as the 'primary respiration', establishes the rhythm of all movement in the body. When this delicate rhythm is expressed in a smooth and full manner, we experience health and a sense of well-being.

When, however, the natural rhythmical movements of the body become repeatedly disrupted due to physical and emotional stress, we experience imbalance and dysfunction. Cranial therapy is a gentle, hands-on method of assessing the movement of the subtle pulses of the body. Directed by the patient's own physiology, practitioners guide the body back into balance with the primary respiration. By enhancing the expression of the natural rhythms of the body, the patient enters a state of deep relaxation, which then stimulates the body's natural healing process.

Cranial therapy is a sophisticated approach to healing that acknowledges the interconnections of mind, body and spirit. It is an effective form of treatment for a wide range of health challenges, both acute and chronic, and is suitable for people of all ages. Cranial treatments complement any health care program by creating the optimal conditions for health, encouraging vitality and facilitating a deep sense of well-being.

Our Approach to Patient Care
The practice of natural medicine is one that emphasizes the interdependence of science and art.  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians draw on the strengths of the scientific mind (discerning, practical, and systematic) and the gifts of the heart (compassion, creativity, and joy) to develop an innovative, wholistic approach to patient care.  Deeply rooted in naturopathic philosophy, we apply four important approaches to each individualized treatment plan: cure, palliation, suppression and prevention.  Understanding these principles is fundamental to tracking the progression of a healing journey. 

Palliation: 
From the Latin pallium, meaning ‘to cloak’, palliative care aims to cloak, or ease, symptoms.  It is important to be aware that palliative care does not alter the course of disease, nor does it attempt to move a patient towards cure by addressing the underlying causes of imbalance.  Instead, palliative care focuses on reducing uncomfortable signs and symptoms that disrupt the activities of daily living and can inhibit a felt sense of well-being. The lessening of signs and symptoms experienced by the patient will last as long as the therapy is continued.  However, signs and symptoms will return as soon as therapy is suspended.  Utilized as a tool to reduce pain and discomfort, palliative therapies also act to enhance quality of life by soothing the harmful effects of stress on psycho-spiritual health.  Palliative therapies are routinely used in the beginning phase of treatment, to quell symptoms while working to restore balance and find the underlying cause of illness.  In the conventional medical model, palliative care is often employed in end of life care, with a primary goal being to minimize discomfort.

Suppression: 
Literally meaning ‘a pressing under,’ suppression is an aggressive medical strategy that strives to keep an existing condition from spreading.  Suppression sometimes begins as well-intentioned palliation (alleviation of symptoms).   Prolonged palliation, however, has the potential to insidiously morph into suppression.  Any forceful, continual blocking of the body’s attempt to communicate (which is how we understand the body’s signs and symptoms), will result in the creation of a deeper dysfunction.  Using suppressive therapies will minimize the original signs and symptoms, but to what end?  By definition, suppression disrupts the body’s natural means of communicating imbalance, making it necessary for the body to finding other means to relay its messages.  Clinically, this presents as the body driving the imbalance deeper, causing more serious signs and symptoms, in an attempt to get you to pay attention!  In time, the body will move further into chronic degeneration, and at some point pass a threshold where cure is no longer possible.  Suppression is medically necessary, for example, in life threatening situations, or when signs and symptoms make daily life intolerable.

Cure: 
In the broadest definition, cure means to bring about recovery from a disease or disorder.  In the conventional medical model, an illness is often considered ‘cured’ if a certain amount of time passes without recurrence of a disease.  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians hold higher standards of cure.  To us, cure is only possible once we have seen the restoration of homeostasis (balance) in all systems in the body, and the person is living a full and contented life (free of any pharmaceutical or nutraceutical interventions or medications).  Once this level of optimal wellness and deep healing has occurred, focused treatment is no longer necessary.  Our aim is to guide patients to the point where they are able to maintain their health with simple, daily lifestyle habits.

Prevention: 
True preventive medicine focuses on establishing a strong foundation for health by incorporating healthy lifestyle habits into your daily routine.  Taking these daily steps to promote health –today (!)- not only begins to correct imbalances that are causing the current health challenges you may be experiencing, but will also increase your over all sense of well-being, and, perhaps most importantly, will decrease your future risk of developing chronic, debilitating disease.  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians know that prevention can only truly be measured by its future effect.  For example, treatments that reestablish health are curative -- the symptom in question resolves completely without the necessity of ongoing medications.  However, sometimes, the remedy itself is what causes the symptom to disappear, without ever addressing the underlying driving force.  These types of treatments are considered either palliative or suppressive.  The only way to distinguish between these two is to look ahead in time: a palliative treatment can ease discomfort while working towards correcting the root imbalances and regenerate balance, while a suppressive treatment will cause a future deeper manifestation of the original health challenge.  To practice true preventive medicine, we must adopt strategies that will bring about long-term balance by optimizing normal physiology.

Prevention

PAP smears, colonoscopies, mammograms…what do these routine screening exams have in common?  Often, these routine exams are mistakenly referred to as ‘preventative’ medicine.  But, the tests themselves do nothing to prevent a new diagnosis from arising, nor do they prevent chronic disease from progressing.  Although routine exams are an essential aspect of our overall health care routine, it is critical that we understand that these screening exams are designed only for ‘early detection’ of disease – not prevention of disease.  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians believe that practicing true prevention means we must maintain one eye on the present, and one eye on the future.  Preventive medicine does this by encouraging daily healthy habits that will increase health today AND decrease the risk of chronic disease tomorrow.  Preventive medicine includes treatments that have the long term benefits of balancing and optimizing normal physiology.

Consider another example, for a moment: the routine prescription of aspirin to ‘prevent’ heart attacks.  Physiologically, heart attacks result from complex interactions between various systems throughout the body.  In at-risk patients, we find sub-optimal heart muscle function, poor blood composition, high levels of inflammation throughout the body, and hyper-vigilance in the nervous system.  Aspirin does not restore balance to any pieces of this puzzle—it simply inhibits the formation of blood clots by thinning the blood.  When prescribed to a patient with a nutritionally poor diet (e.g. one high in simple carbohydrates, saturated fats, food additives, refined sugar, and low in vegetable fiber), who smokes and/or drinks alcohol, does not routinely exercise, lacks stress management skills, and has unfulfilling work and/or relationship demands, daily aspirin will do nothing to move them towards better health or cure.  In the short view, aspirin may make a blood clot less likely, but it does nothing to balance the heart muscle’s ability to meet the demands placed on it.   Without addressing this discrepancy, this patient remains at risk for a heart attack, as well as an increased likelihood of developing liver disease, kidney disease, lung problems, digestion issues, hormonal imbalance, anxiety, depression, autoimmune disease, or cancer.

The physicians at Bambú Clinic believe preventive health care is measured by the future reduction in incidence of chronic illness and degeneration.  In addition to a complete assessment of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle-based risk factors, we utilize how patients have expressed dis-ease in the past to determine their susceptibility to future health challenges.  We then recommend remedies and other interventions to return the body to balance while providing the tools and support necessary for patients to make life long changes in diet and lifestyle.  Using this model, our patients achieve the greatest likelihood of a long, healthy life—free of chronic illness.  This is true prevention!

Doctor Means Teacher

Many of us have clear and diverse images of the teachers that have crossed our paths. Very few, though, recognize their doctor’s role, first and foremost, is as a teacher.  The very word ‘doctor’ derives from the Latin word ‘docere,’ which literally means ‘to teach.’  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians are dedicated to teaching you how to live a healthier, more meaningful, and fulfilling existence.  Through education, we empower patients to make the changes necessary to move the body toward optimal health.

The natural state of the body is that of balance, or homeostasis.  Provided with the basic necessities, the body will spontaneously achieve health and harmony…it really is that simple!  Illness, then, can be understood as the lack of one of these fundamental requirements.  First, patients must learn to listen to and acknowledge the incoming messages from the body.  Only then, according to these discoveries, can the proper lifestyle adjustments be made.  Do you know the differences in how you feel with 7, 9 or 10 hours of sleep?  Do you notice that your mood stabilizes when you eat regularly timed meals and try to provide your body with wholesome sources of nutrition?  Does your overall energy improve with frequent rigorous exercise, or does your body prefer more calming activities?  All of us must answer these types of questions based on the specific demands of our lives and our bodies.  By taking the answers to heart and considering them every day, we move one step closer to optimal health!

In addition to encouraging you to identify and establish the habits and rhythms that best support your natural disposition, we are also here to provide you with medical insights (both ‘tried and true’ and innovative ‘up to date’) to help you with your specific health challenges.   Did you know, for example, that according the The Lancet over half of all neurological disorders of unknown origin are related to a food sensitivity to gluten?  Studies published in the journal of Psychosomatic Medicine demonstrate that a regular meditation practice increases activity in the left pre-frontal lobe of your brain, thereby enhancing your body’s immune function!  Science magazine has written a thought-provoking article on the link between toxic environmental exposure and the obesity epidemic.  As physicians, it is our responsibility to be continuously informing ourselves so that we can direct your medical care.

Cultivating a purposeful life is an important aspect of health largely neglected by the current medical model.  At Bambú, we believe that our role as teacher expands as our relationship with each patient grows.  With many patients, we are given the honor of serving as a guide as they pursue meaning in their life.  We have a keen interest in facilitating the discovery of your life purpose, and will help to identify and remove the obstacles you encounter along the way.  We hold ourselves to the highest standards of care, and aspire to facilitate the journey that you choose toward optimal health.

The Body Has Inherent Wisdom to Heal

Naturopathic physicians believe that the body is programmed to achieve wellness. In other words, the body will return itself to health if given the correct stimuli to set the healing process in motion.  The Latin translation of this principle is “Vis Medicatrix Naturae,” meaning the healing power of nature.  We witness this amazing ability to return to health each time a child falls and scrapes a knee or breaks a bone.  Even more awe inspiring, is the body’s moment-by-moment ability to regulate complex neurological and hormonal cycles, modulate proper levels of electrolytes and proteins in the blood, and to breakdown, digest, and eliminate food particles and other ingested substances or stimuli. Throughout a lifetime, the body continually responds and adapts to both internal and external events, forever attempting to return to a state of balance (also known as homeostasis).  By being aware and supportive of this natural phenomenon, the physicians at Bambú guide patients back to optimal health.

An elegant example of the body’s innate healing capacity is the fever process.  For about 300 million years, fever has evolved to help fight off invading organisms in the physiology of numerous members of the animal kingdom, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates.  During an infectious process, the body creates a fever that will kill invading organisms, increase metabolism and elimination, promote immune function, and return the body to health.  As we eliminate the ‘bugs,’ we may feel tired and achy—a sign that the body needs rest in order to adequately repair itself.

For thousands of years, medical practitioners have held the view of fever as an integral aspect of healing.  But, in the last couple of centuries, we have developed medicines to inhibit this natural process—an attempt to rid ourselves of troubling signs and symptoms.  Numerous scientific studies, however, (from the National Institute of Health and other respected sources) verify the position that suppressing fever, not only decreases the body’s overall immune function, but also makes us more susceptible to infections in the future!  In fact, the body’s ability to mount an efficient fever increases survival rate, decreases recovery time, and reduces the chances of spreading infection to others.  A good fever (101°F-105°F) is a natural, healthy and necessary part of the healing process.  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians support the body’s natural immunity by enhancing the fever process because we trust the body’s power to heal itself.

When challenged, the body communicates its imbalance by producing symptoms.  Rather than using medicines to eliminate those signals, we use the symptoms as a guide to what the body needs to heal itself.  At Bambú Clinic, we see that the inner workings of the body mirrors the principles of Life itself, and are committed to working with the body, rather than against it.

Treat the Whole Person

Recently, more health care providers are paying closer attention to the importance of lifestyle in both building and maintaining a foundation for health.  Increasingly, both allopathic and naturopathic doctors are stressing the importance of the individual and acknowledging that the spiritual and emotional aspects of health are connected with physiological functioning.  It is becoming more common for physicians to recommend a wholesome diet, to advocate the proper functioning of the organs of elimination, and to encourage nourishing interpersonal relationships and a supportive work environment.

Unfortunately, an essential piece is all too often missing in the growing practice of “wholistic” medicine.  The physicians at Bambú Clinic know that the systems of the human body are intimately interconnected, each a reflection of the whole.  We recognize that optimal health is achieved when all aspects of the individual – including physical, mental, emotional, genetic, spiritual, environmental, and social factors – are functioning together in harmony.  Each body system is responsible for a specific portion of the physiological workload—maybe nourishment, elimination or communication.  Any deficiency in one of these functions places an undue burden on other systems ill-equipped for the job and inefficiencies result.  Therefore, an imbalance in one system of the body can create, as compensation, a symptom in another location.

This multifaceted nature of health and disease requires an approach directed at these fundamental causal links.  For instance, a child with eczema exhibits a clear skin lesion.  The parent can see it, the doctor can measure it, and the child certainly feels its itch.  But, eczema is not just a skin problem, it is a sign on the skin that a more complex problem exists.  As naturopaths, our work is to discover what that problem may be because under the skin’s surface, a similar process is at work in every cell of the body.  And, this process is likely creating imbalances in many areas of the patient’s biology.  As a result, we recognize it is not possible to ‘remove’ the eczema.  We must, instead, address the dysfunction and restore each organ system to its proper biological role.  When we are successful in this, the external expression of dis-ease will resolve itself.

First Do No Harm

Across the central tenants of the major cultures and philosophies, primum non nocere (translated from Latin as “first do no harm”) has been a guiding principle for spirituality, medicine and various sociopolitical movements for millennia.  At Bambú Clinic, our physicians embrace the highest standard for this philosophical principle. 

We strongly believe in the body’s inherent ability to heal and are committed to utilizing non-toxic and non-invasive medicines that promote physiologic balance rather than those that ‘override’ biological functions.  Although it is true that the physicians at Bambú are dedicated to the usefulness of natural remedies, we realize that even the mildest substance may be harmful when used indiscriminately.  To ensure ‘no harm,’ we must meticulously consider every course of action and every treatment choice for each patient.  For instance, a high quality multi-vitamin is a great idea for pregnant women who need extra nutrients for a growing baby.  However, for other patients, something as ‘simple’ as a multi-vitamin can place extra demands on a system already struggling to process the world.  Rather than providing essential nutrients, it would, in fact, have the opposite effect of further clogging an already overburdened system.

With this principle in mind, we must also consider which symptoms need to be expressed by the body, and which symptoms need to be addressed by the physician.  Our medical practice is based on a deep trust in the body’s natural ability to heal.  Time and again, we see that staying ‘out of the way’ of the healing process is one of the most powerful ways to enhance the body’s capacity to return to homeostasis (a scientific word for full body balance).  Take, for example, the joint pain of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. Suppressing this pain through the indiscriminate use of palliative medications (over the counter, pharmaceutical or natural) will actually increase their risk of further joint degeneration. In this case, the patient has not altered the original factors that contributed to the development of the disease.

Another vital component of doing no harm is considering the long-term impact of our recommendations on both our patients and on the environment.  We are passionate about choosing medicines that are easily assimilated by the body with no risk of harmful side effects.  Additionally, we promote daily lifestyle habits that not only leave you feeling nourished and energized, but that also minimize your environmental impact on the local community.  At Bambú Clinic, we are committed to the principle of doing no harm.  We will coordinate treatment options by considering your whole health history and use individualized medicines and lifestyle recommendations that are aligned with our vision of sustainability—sustainability for your life-long health and for the health of our planet. 

Identify and Treat the Cause

Spend an afternoon with a two-year old and you will discover the endless opportunity of the question “Why?”  You will think you have resolved their curiosity when here it comes again, “Why?”  At Bambú Clinic, this simple question is one of our doctor’s most valuable tools.  Because the body has the inherent ability to heal itself, illness does not occur without a cause. 

Symptoms, themselves, can be understood as a self-attempt at cure.  So, then, as curious physicians, we must ask ourselves, “Why?”  Why did this symptom occur?  Why does it continue?  Why is it not successful at returning the body to health?  Why does one person have this health problem when another similar patient does not?  And just when we think we have found an answer, we will ask the question again to access even deeper roots of each patient’s imbalance.

 

In order to restore health, we must discover the underlying causes of disease on all levels (including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, genetic, etc.) and in the case of chronic symptoms the reason why the body’s natural attempts at cure have been unsuccessful.  As chronic illness is the result of long-standing dysfunction, the answers often exist in the patient’s ancient past.

 

The diagnosis of breast cancer perfectly illustrates the point.   The American Cancer Society warns of many known risk factors:  age, positive family history, genetic predisposition (defects in one of several genes, like the BRCA 1 or BRCA 2), radiation exposure, excess weight, early onset of menstrual cycles, etc.  However, according to the Mayo Clinic, most women with breast cancer have no known risk factors, other than being female!  In other words, many women, with all of the aforementioned risk factors never develop breast cancer, while most women who do develop breast cancer have none of those characteristics! 

While we agree that diligently managing all potential risk factors for disease is an essential part of your overall care, we also acknowledge the complexities of health that cannot be accounted for by a statistic.  A risk factor, or even a host of risk factors, is not absolutely causal for any condition.  So, then, why do certain women (and even some men) develop this condition and others, who are at higher risk, do not?  Or, more specifically, why has the woman sitting across our desk developed breast cancer regardless of perfect health, negative family history and no genetic predisposition?  For her, the question might be a life saver.

 

In the case of cancer, the condition is not simply a tumor.  If that were the case, cancer would easily be cured by eliminating the mass through surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.  Instead, the tumor is the result of a process. The cancer process is one of unregulated and disorganized growth that has evaded the body’s natural defenses.  To wholistically treat a cancer patient, we must address the underlying causes and circumstances that led to this disintegration of normal function.  If the tumor is removed or ‘destroyed,’ then, our approach to cancer care remains the same.  We still focus on the factors that have allowed ‘renegade’ cells to survive and multiply—the process.  And, the solutions are often different for each individual patient.

 

When patients present at our office, it is common for them to discuss their signs, symptoms, and diagnosis with the doctor. 

The condition may compromise their ability to work, sleep, eat, play, and enjoy life with their friends and family.  To the patient, these symptoms seem like ‘the problem.’  At Bambú, your physician will explain why your symptoms are actually not the problem.  The problem, instead, is the reason why you have those symptoms and the solution lies in addressing that cause.  Your symptoms simply provide insight and guidance along the way.