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Natural Awakenings Naples and Fort Myers

Local Physicians and Health Practitioners Are Patient Educators

Jul 29, 2016 01:08PM ● By Linda Sechrist

David Martin

In the evolving world of Western medicine, there have been many contradictory study results, changes to protocols and U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalls of approved prescription drugs that proved more harmful than helpful. In retrospect, since the Golden Age of Greece, there has never been one debate, study or change to the earliest definition of “doctor”, a derivative of the Latin word docere, which means to teach. From such early times, doctors were charged with not only diagnosing conditions and performing medical tests, but also with the responsibility of teaching patients about more than their medical conditions.

According to Dr. Kevin Pho, a physician of internal medicine whose positive influence on the subject of health care is conveyed via his newsletter and website, KevinMD.com, a doctor’s office isn’t the ideal place for patient education. “Anxiety interferes with cognitive function, especially memory, making it difficult not only to process medical information, but to remember it. Medical information can be complex and difficult understand, especially in a foreign and uncomfortable medical environment such as a doctor’s office. More importantly, patients forget 40 to 80 percent of medical information conveyed by health care practitioners immediately and half of the information retained is incorrect.”

Educating individuals about the health of their body is a necessity today. This is likely due to the lack of health classes in public education and the fact that the majority of adults know little about anatomy and physiology or what it takes to maintain health and wellness. Health education has now come full circle. Local doctors and health practitioners are stepping back into this

Deb Martin
Deb Martin
role and offering the public and patients lecture series, cooking classes and workshops in locations throughout Collier and Lee County.

In 2014 David and Deb Martin, owners of Lotus Blossom Clinic, in Fort Myers, began offering a series of classes with content based on Conquering Any Disease, a book by Jeff Primack, a qigong master trained in food healing from an Asian perspective. “We are certified in Jeff’s Food Healing Sciences and teach the basic food class, which covers a variety of topics and introduces the general concepts. We cover things such as phytochemicals [plant chemicals] and their benefit to the body. An example is how the glutathione in asparagus helps the liver with detoxing,” says David Martin, a doctor of oriental medicine (DOM) and Florida licensed acupuncture physician.

The Martins also discuss foods that benefit other organs such as the prostate, gallbladder, and heart. “We include an important section on misunderstandings about fats. Although participants might know that coconut oil is good for them, we can tell them why,” says Deb.

Before participants leave class, the Martins ask them to make a plan for doing just two things to improve their health. “Our clients and students have had great success. Some clients have lost weight. Others have increased their bone density and lowered their blood pressure. People come to the class for 1,000 reasons, and the beauty of it is that we can help them all to improve their health. Even those that have a lot of knowledge

Dr. Robert Gilliland
Dr. Robert Gilliland
and already eat well learn something,” she says.

For four years, Robert Gilliland, D.C., founder of the Southwest Florida Natural Healing Center, in Bonita Springs, has offered seminars on health issues involving the thyroid, diabetes and neuropathy. Gilliland, who is trained in functional medicine, recently added information on his latest protocol, pulsed electromagnetic frequency (PEMF) therapy, to his seminars. “Few in my audiences have ever heard of PEMF, even though there have been more than 2,000 studies conducted on it,” says Gilliand

Audients that become patients are prescribed blood work and other test results used by Gilliland to design a 90-day program with appropriate dietary changes and neutraceuticals. He also recommends 30, one-hour PEMF sessions. “This literally rewinds the cells back to a time when they

Deb Post
Deb Post
were healthy,” he says.  

Teaching a class at Hodges University is one of Deborah Post’s favorite activities. The board-certified advanced registered nurse practitioner and founder of Wellbridges, in Bonita Springs, first began offering lectures on health, nutrition, balancing hormones, insulin resistance and other subjects at Food &Thought Organic Market and Restaurant, in Naples, as well as “lunch and learn” occasions at gated communities.

“I can’t cover everything in one patient visit, so I began thinking about lectures that would teach people how to create health and wellness. Today, I’ve broadened my lectures to include the concept of investing in health and waking people up to the understanding that they are never going to get real health from sick-care services, which are basically the only thing offered by insurance providers,” says Post.

The idea of teaching health-related subjects in local school appeals to Post. “I would love to teach students. A 12-year old with an enthusiastic

Jim Occhiogrosso
Jim Occhiogrosso
contagion for something that sparks their interest will use their powers of persuasion to motivate their parents. Mom and Dad do the shopping, so if kids are motivated to eat healthy, they are going to persuade their parents to do the same,” she says.

Jim Occhiogrosso, a natural health practitioner and founder of Health Naturally, in Fort Myers, uses a weekly newsletter as an educational tool for his long-distance clients. He also lectures at health food stores and in local communities on subjects such as the causes of osteoporosis, cancer and other chronic conditions. “I’ve been doing this years and still find that people are so wrapped in the present medical paradigm that it takes quite a while for them to understand the concepts of wellness and prevention,” explains Occhiogrosso.

Pamela Hughes, D.O., owner of Hughes Center for Functional Medicine, in Naples, notes that the reception to free lectures presented at her

Dr. Pamela Hughes
Dr. Pamela Hughes
office location has been excellent. “During season, we offered lectures on numerous subjects such as fatigue, thyroid, sleep, diet and a few others. Several of the topics hit a home run, particularly the one on the specific nutrients and lifestyle changes that allow for better quality of sleep,” says Hughes, who later welcomed several attendees as patients. It’s always good to see them apply what they’ve learned and how it improves their life,” she notes.

Hughes is investigating additional avenues that will provide better information about health and functional medicine for the public. “My long-term goal is to find time to set up lectures for schools, parents and kids. I feel that the key to long-term health is starting younger,” she says

Carol Roberts, M.D., who also practices at Hughes Center for Functional Medicine, has been teaching for many years. “I teach people how to get

Dr. Carol Roberts
Dr. Carol Roberts
and stay healthy. Almost everything that I teach I wrote 16 years ago in Good Medicine: A Return to Common Sense,” quips Roberts, who names her number one teaching reward as the light of an, “Aha!” moment she sees in someone’s eyes.

Fielding questions sparks Roberts’ enthusiasm. “While the majority of individuals ask about how to treat their conditions, I do get other questions. For example, someone might ask why a big-name clinic says a particular vitamin is bad, when it’s really beneficial or why bioidentical hormones are safe to take. In nearly every class, someone asks why some doctors say that vitamins are a waste of money,” explains Roberts, who advises that the number of lecture attendees varies from 12 to 20 and the audience is diverse. “I’ve had massage therapists,

Dee Harris
Dee Harris
acupuncturists and chiropractors at the lectures,” she notes.

Dee Harris, a registered, licensed and certified dietitian-nutritionist and owner of D-Signed Nutrition in Bonita Springs, loves to work with groups. She leads a monthly cancer educational group to help empower patients through lifestyle and nutrition education in relationship to cancer treatment and prevention. “The diagnosis of cancer is a stressful event and many patients proceed with fear.” Harris contends that there is no place for fear and stress while going through a health crisis or healing process. Education is key. “The group is not a substitute for medical care and it isn’t a place for individual counseling. It is a place where patients enjoy being together, learn and implement healthy changes from their interaction and sharing, which is a different dynamic than depending only on an office visit,” explains Harris, who is trained in functional medicine.

The information Harris offers in her groups and public lectures covers lifestyle changes that help to insure that genes for inherited disease don’t get turned on. Detox pathways, considered important due to the amount of toxins in food, water, air and home environments, are another focus along with the significance of high quality neutraceuticals that support the body’s biochemistry, as well as the connection between the gut microbiome and the brain. “I have patients report that their doctors discourage them from taking supplements because it results in expensive urine. I assure them that each individual has different nutritional needs, which is not met with food alone. Many conventional physicians are not experts in nutrition because of lack of nutrition and lifestyle training in medical schools.” notes Harris.

Terri Evans
Terri Evans
In 1991, when Terri Evans opened TAE Healthy Aging, in Naples, she was already embracing Thomas Edison’s philosophy about the doctor of the future that would give no medicine, but rather interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. As a DOM and Florida licensed acupuncture physician, Evans adapted the philosophy to her career and invested heavily in continuing education to become certified in Chinese herbology, homeopathy, acupuncture face lift, hand acupuncture, Biological Terrain Science, acupuncture injection therapy, cold (low level) laser, functional blood chemistry, functional endocrinology and nutrition.    

Evans used her knowledge, education and experience to develop Magnify Your Health, an educational program she offers her patients. “The human body does an amazing balancing act every day, constantly striving for middle ground. Magnify Your Health allows me to educate and collaborate with patients. Together, we measure how their body is responding to stressors, as well as the food strategies, lifestyle habits and supplementation they use to return their body to balance. Disease happens when our bodies can no longer juggle our stressors and becomes imbalanced,” says Evans.

Concerned that the information age provides too much medical information for individuals to digest and assimilate, particularly from the Internet, Evans notes that her patients are often confused. “People need to learn critical thinking and have the guidance of a knowledgeable practitioner. I offer both in my latest three-part series which covers the mind, a journey through human consciousness, critical thinking, the body and the wisdom within, and the power of love and connecting with the true self,” explains Evans.

Educating patients and the public in a group setting is a win-win situation for everyone. People get to learn about their body, what health really is and why the new focus on prevention and wellness is so significant. What may be the best part is that they get to have a dialogue with an expert that lasts far longer than any office visit.

Local Resources

Lotus Blossom Clinic, 6710 Winkler Rd., Ste. 2, Fort Myers. 239-277-1399. AcupunctureInFortMyers.com

Southwest Florida Natural Health Center, 27499 Riverview Ctr. Blvd., Bonita Springs. 239-444-3106. swfthyroid.com

Wellbridges, 9200 Bonita Beach Rd., Ste. 113, Bonita Springs. 239-481-5600. DebPost.com

Health Naturally, 239-652-0421. HealthNaturallyToday.com

Hughes Center for Functional Medicine, 800 Goodlette Rd., Ste. 270, Naples. 239-649-7400. HughesCenterNaples.com

D-Signed Nutrition, 3531 Bonita Bay Blvd., Ste. 300, Bonita Springs. 239-676-5249. D-SignedNutrition.com

TAE Health Aging, 11983 Tamiami Tr. N., Ste. 100A, Naples. 239-430-6800. DrTerriEvans.com