One of Dr. Connie's Favorite Places to Muse is at the Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center in Hawaii

When is the Last Time You Felt Well?  

I Mean, Really Well?

Given my own age, and given that my oldest patients are in their 90s, I consider patients in their late 30's and early 40's to be quite young. Yet these younger patients often come in to the office telling me that they are not feeling well, saying that the reason is that they are getting old. I hear a similar message from recovering cancer patients, told by their doctors that they are not feeling well because they had treatment for cancer, and that the lack of vitality they feel is normal and just to be expected.

Not feeling well is actually not to be expected in either case. In terms of aging, there are many vibrant older people. These are people who have met their health challenges in creative ways, have prioritized their health care, and have made lifestyle changes supportive of wellness. Just as our cars require preventive diagnostics and appropriate maintenance, so do our bodies. If we simply wait until the tires blow, we'll have a disaster on our hands. But if we keep the tires filled with air, rotate them, and replace them when they are worn, we avoid disaster. Such is the case with our health.

With recovering cancer patients, they are feeling unwell because the chemo or radiation has had the effect of imbalancing their bodies. The question for us is how to discern what systems have been affected and what nutrients have been depleted, so that we can treat as appropriate to help the person feel better again. In one remarkable case of mine, treatment was as simple as giving megadoses of vitamin B12 in a form that the patient could absorb. After months of hearing her doctor tell her that her lack of health was to be expected given the therapies she had undergone, she was energetic again within the month.

Many of us have grown to expect that our journey through life will be fraught with minor and sometimes major symptoms of imbalance in body, mind and spirit. We tend to believe that that's the way it is and we adapt. I often ask patients when it was that they last felt well, and find that many people simply can not remember waking in the morning with a sense of health and well being. If that is the case with you, you may want to consider taking a more in depth look at your health.... now, while there is no disaster on the horizon.

Testing For Wellness at Pacific Naturopathic -- Easy, Inexpensive Testing Yields Pages of Information

Connie Hernandez, N.D.

I am delighted when patients call wanting to optimize their health. At Pacific Naturopathic and Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center, wellness and optimal functioning are our goals. With these goals in mind, we designed a comprehensive and economic 24 hour fasting blood work panel which we call the "Wellness Panel" to assess important parameters, and to establish a baseline for our patients. (Test results, of course, are just one of many ways to assess balances and imbalances that affect your present and future quality of life).

Find out more about Dr. Connie's consulting services at:  

The Case of the Utterly Exhausted Silicon Valley Engineer -- 

How a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) 

Helps Restore Vitality

Don, an engineer for a famous computer company, came in to see me telling me that he is tired most of the time and the only thing that keeps him going is - you guessed it - caffeine and sugar binges. His job is high stress; his productivity during the past few months has noticeably declined; he doesn't sleep all that well; his meals are often gobbled on the run; his waistline is expanding; and work and family expectations on him are crushing burdens. I can't tell you how many times I've heard variations on this story in the almost 20 years I've been practicing in the Valley.

Although Don is 39 and works for a technology company, I hear versions of Don's tale from 20-somethings to 70-somethings from many professions. Unmanaged stress, an increasingly negative life experience, erratic sleep, lack of exercise and a poor diet guarantee physical, and perhaps mental breakdown. It's only a matter of time.

Most men respond to physical decline differently than most women do. Men tend to ignore the early warning signs and attempt to push through their health challenges, trying to keep up with the demands placed upon them. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more in tune with their cycles and more proactive in their health care. Many men are literally pushed into my office by their spouses. Those who know their husbands well remain during the initial office visit to assist their partners' memories and provide reality checks, as men tend to unintentionally minimize their level of dysfunction. They are just not that tuned in. Interestingly quite a few men are not even aware that they are stressed out. They accept that their experience is just how life is.

Like Don, by the time many men come to see me, the cumulative overwhelm of their lives has manifested in physical depletion. For some of these men, there are serious, deeply set issues to deal with in addition to the fatigue. These men may need specific cardiovascular protocols, hormonal balancing, or even adjunctive prostate cancer therapy and counseling, specialties of mine which are often called for in my work with men.

With other men, working with lifestyle issues and determining and correcting nutrient deficiencies can be transformational. This work is ongoing and monitored, as restoring vibrancy and vital force is only part of the job. Without the tools to stay centered in their restored vitality, many men drift back into old patterns.

I tell my patients that they are each born with a genetically endowed bank account of good health. Just like a savings account in a bank, if they make continuous withdrawals from this account, sooner or later they will be overdrawn, in a depleted state, vulnerable to unpleasant outcomes.

To continue the analogy, making regular deposits to the genetic bank account provides a deep resource that may be drawn upon in times of emergency without worry of depletion. Deposits are all lifestyle choice based - regular exercise, a conscious diet, a positive attitude and effective stress management techniques. Easier written than done.

Although each person's situation is different, a thorough biochemical evaluation is where I begin with everyone. The Hernandez Wellness Panel, described in Dr. Connie's article above, gives an awesome amount of information to work with.

There is a vast difference between having your blood test interpreted by a naturopathic doctor (ND) or by most conventional doctors. More than just telling you everything is OK or within range, NDs go over each lab component, providing you with detailed information on your own unique biochemistry, and integrating components and systems with one another -- like, how your adrenals influence your blood sugar, or how a congested liver wrecks havoc with your blood lipids. Having this information helps you take command of your own health as you learn how to tune into your own rhythms and supply your body what it needs when you need it.

With the data garnered from the initial office visit (an information-packed 90 minutes), we determine if any other testing is required to evaluate organ function and nutrient depletion.

For many men, normalizing hormone (especially testosterone) imbalances can be incredibly restorative, as can optimizing adrenal gland function. Micronutrient testing can help identify deficiencies in key energy production cycles. Other specialized testing may also indicate the path to restored vitality. Back to Don.

We decided to begin with the Hernandez Wellness Panel and go one evaluation at a time, as needed. We saw that Don's blood sugar and lipids were elevated, he was mildly Vitamin B12 and folic acid deficient, and, as is typical with unmitigated stress, his adrenals were malfunctioning. This was about 7 months ago.

I see Don every five to six weeks. He reports that his energy is 60 to 70 percent restored, he is mostly following his individualized nutrition regimen and is sleeping better. Utilizing his new comprehensive health plan, Don is learning how to make deposits to his bank account of good health. This story will have a happy ending.

Find out more about Dr. Marcel's work with men at:

Rapid Pain Relief 

With Elijah Free

Elijah Free, MH, CMI, CMT  

To contact Elijah, please either call the clinic at 650-917-1121 or e-mail at [email protected].

Looking for a conscious, meaningful, caring gift for a birthday or special occasion? A gift certificate to a Pacific Naturopathic practitioner lets a special person know you really care about their well-being. 

Gift certificates for all practitioners and modalities offered at Pacific Naturopathic are available by phoning our front desk at 650-917-1121, or just stopping by.