Do You Feel Lucky?

As a long-time naturopathic physician and after being on the medical school faculty at Bastyr University for over 20 years, I am thrilled to now have the privilege of focusing on the part of medicine that gives me the most joy - working with

By By | 2 min read

Category: Heart Health

Tags: heart-health

<p paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{190}" paraid="526834632"><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US"><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">As a </span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">long-time</span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"> naturopathic physician</span> <span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">and after being on the medical school faculty at Bastyr University for over 20 years,</span> </span><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US">I am thrilled to now have the privilege of focusing on the part of medicine that gives me the most joy – working with patients who are motivated to improve the quality of their health. </span><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US"><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">As a new member of the </span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">NaturoMedica</span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"> team</span></span><span data-contrast="auto" xml:lang="EN-US"><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">, </span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">I’d</span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"> like to share my philosophy and approach to helping patients live longer, healthier lives. </span></span> </p>

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<p paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{226}" paraid="1289841058"><span data-contrast="none" xml:lang="EN-US"><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">My many years of clinical practice have led me to conclude that being healthy is mostly a calculated bet along with a bit of old-fashioned good luck.  </span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">A calculated bet is one which is rooted in playing the known odds of being diagnosed with a significant disease.</span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">  Once you know and understand the odds and the factors contributing to those odds, </span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">it’s</span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"> up to you to decide. Do you want to </span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">take action to reduce</span><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)"> the odds, or do you want to gamble and ignore the known risk factors and put all your hope into potential medical interventions?  </span> </span> </p>

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<p paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{238}" paraid="2124303758"><span data-contrast="none" xml:lang="EN-US">There are well-established odds of developing some of the most common diseases such as heart disease and stroke. Lucky for all of us, we also have knowledge of how to significantly reduce these odds.  </span> </p>

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<p paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{248}" paraid="437402469"><span data-contrast="none" xml:lang="EN-US">Five core principles of Naturopathic Medicine guide my approach to helping patients hedge their bets and delay the onset of many chronic diseases: </span> </p>

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<li paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{248}" paraid="437402469">The Healing Power of Nature</li>

<li paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{248}" paraid="437402469">Treat the Whole Person</li>

<li paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{248}" paraid="437402469">Identify and Treat the Causes</li>

<li paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{248}" paraid="437402469">Doctor as Teacher</li>

<li paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{248}" paraid="437402469">Prevention</li>

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<p paraeid="{c9751818-dba6-4ff5-ae22-f20dcc04fd7b}{254}" paraid="1216176241"><span data-contrast="none" xml:lang="EN-US"><span data-ccp-parastyle="Normal (Web)">Keep these principles in mind as we take a glance at the odds with respect to cardiovascular disease.</span> </span> </p>