Why Buy From Us?
Welcome to our online apothecary!
You may be wondering why we recommend supplementation to our patients. It’s a great question and one that ties into what integrative functional medicine is and why we believe in this form of practicing medicine.
We like to think about the body like it’s a beautiful plant in a flower pot. We take a watering can and pour the water into the top of the pot. Most of the water will be absorbed by the soil to be used by the roots to nourish the plant but some of the water will flow out of the bottom through the holes in the pot.
This is the way the body is supposed to function - stuff pours into our body by choice or not. We choose what we eat and drink but we don’t choose things like toxins, stress, infections, etc. Unfortunately most of us have more than simply what we eat and drink entering our body.
Now, the water that flows out of the bottom through the holes represents our body’s ability to detoxify what we don’t need - we urinate, we have bowel movements, we sweat, we exhale, our liver is detoxifying for us, we have lymphatic drainage and we sleep to reset the body.
What happens if you aren’t sleeping enough, aren’t having at least one bowel movement a day, aren’t drinking enough water to urinate frequently enough, aren’t getting the proper nutrients so your liver and lymphatic system can operate optimally?
Well, imagine if instead of a lovely watering can that flows gently into and out of the pot you instead had a garden hose that was gushing water into the pot? Some of the water from the hose would still come out the bottom but eventually the water would also start overflowing from the top of the pot.
That overflowing water represents all the ailments and issues that people experience and why they eventually end up in our office.
Our bodies can’t manage all the processed foods we eat, all the toxins we are exposed to, all the infections and all the stressors. So we overwhelm the beautiful flower pot, our bodies, and we end up with a puddle of water on the floor.
Traditional medicine would mop up the water on the floor, or the problem of pain, cancer, fatigue, an autoimmune disease, insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc., with a prescription to treat those things.
Now, we aren’t anti-mop or anti-traditional medicine! Just to be clear. We were both ER docs for years and loved treating and healing people that way. If you are having a heart attack, we absolutely want to stop the heart attack.
But we believe Integrative Functional Medicine manages what is being poured into the body, while managing how the body processes that and also mopping up the floor!
We want to:
Identify those underlying root issues.
Reduce anything that’s negatively impacting your health.
Optimize your body’s natural ability to detox.
Support your body’s systems but also have personal support so you can individualize your journey.
The reality is, even if you are eating the best, most balanced and nutritious diet your body likely will have some vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These may be caused by poor nutrient levels in the soil in which our food is grown, food transport, storage or processing methods.
Supplements are just one piece to this holistic puzzle. In addition to supplementing, it’s important to eat well, get regular exercise, adequate sleep and limit the toxins you are putting into your body. We recommend consuming a nutrient-dense diet full of low-glycemic foods while avoiding certain foods that cause inflammation, such as overly processed foods, dairy and gluten.
Be Well,
Drs Ellen and Scott Antoine