By Dr. Marc D’Andrea
We know that given the proper flow of energy, the body holds innate wisdom to
heal itself. Why, then, do we witness such disparity in patient response? Is
correction of subluxation the only means at our disposal to assist our patients
in achieving health and healing?
Throughout the early years of my practice, I saw this disparity many times.
Patients with identical symptoms and identical subluxation patterns, showed
an amazing diversity of response to treatment. So I asked myself, what else
was impeding or interrupting the innate flow through the body? After years of
practice, I found one of the answers—nutritionally incompetent cells.
Nutrition in the form of whole food nutrition and energy are symbiotic to the
healing process. For healing to occur, the human body requires energy and the
building blocks for tissue repair in order to generate new cells and thus reestablish
proper function. Consider this in other terms: If you rebuild the engine of
a car but neglect to install the accelerator, the engine will have no way to
respond, despite its rebuilt state. Conversely, if you replace the accelerator
in a car with a non-functioning engine, no amount of depressing that pedal will
cause the engine to respond.
In terms of the human body, an organ can receive all the nutrition it needs
to be healthy yet never achieve optimum health without a freely flowing, subluxation-free
nerve supply. But an organ with a freely flowing nerve supply has little vitality
and cannot function properly if it is suffering from “malnutrition.”
What is whole food nutrition?
In this context whole food nutrition is defined as the nutritional quality of
a food source. With the “evolution of modern agricultural practices”
our food has become a mere shadow of what it once was.1 Consequently, much of
our food lacks the nutritional quality necessary to sustain our health. I have
read that if you ate one cup of spinach in 1954 the amount of iron you would
receive is comparable to eating 60 cups of spinach today.2 To ensure as best
as possible that foods are “whole” certain agricultural methods
have to be employed.
Why whole food supplementation?
During the time when I first became interested in nutrition, I was given whole
food supplements. I did very well on them. But in order for me to be “sold”
on the idea of whole food nutrition, I wanted to look at other available alternatives.
I started reading the many conflicting theories on nutrition, which suggested
“what would be good for what.” Within three months I was thoroughly
confused. Fortunately my background led me to look at the subject from what
I already knew. Through my training and through validation in practice, I knew
the body’s innate intelligence was far greater than mine. My function
as a healer was to assist the body in healing itself.
Therefore we emphasize whole food supplements. These are defined as, “that
which has been derived from whole food nutrition in a fashion not to adulterate
the constituent parts.” These “parts” are vital to our health.
It is difficult to know if we have identified which of the constituent parts
are the essential ones, since the components of whole foods have not been completely
identified, nor the bio-active components characterized even with the most sophisticated
biochemical methods. In contrast, many of the vitamins sold are just fractional
parts of the complete vitamin and lack the essential factors that are necessary
for the best functioning of the body.
At this point, I believed I just needed to teach people to eat well, because
foods heal. So I studied diets recommended for particular deficiencies. In theory,
this approach seemed plausible, but problems arose. The acquisition of foods
of the necessary quality and the rigorous preparation of these foods made these
dietary changes impractical for many of my patients, even those committed to
implementing this new regime into their lives. Some patients did manage, but
their small number rendered this approach factually exclusionary since I was
searching for an approach to help as many patients as possible.
So I narrowed my parameters. In order for supplements to be a viable compliment
to diet alone and for the body to recognize and utilize the nutrition, the supplements
had to be food—whole food concentrates, not synthetic fractions of the
nutrition. Finally I had come full circle, back to the use of whole food supplements,
which had originally worked very well for me.
How to Integrate Nutrition into Your Practice
How do you know what nutrition tissue really needs? Herein lies the beauty of
whole food nutritional supplements. Whole food nutrition is as close as possible
to what nature intended. Its intention is to nourish the tissue with its natural
nutritional components so that innate can do its magic through it. Supplements
are made for specific tissue of the body, making appropriate choices easier
for the practitioner.
Following these steps will ease your transition into utilizing nutrition in
your practice.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to use select whole food nutrition.
Benefits to Your Patients
By offering nutritional supplements in your practice, you patients receive quality
nutritional supplements that only a licensed health care provider can provide.
Your patients receive guidance on what nutrition they need. It is estimated
that people spend billions of dollars on over-the-counter vitamins. Marketing
rather than quality motivates the majority of purchases.
Many patients respond to whole food nutrition. The direct benefit is that a
patient’s health can be revitalized. Hope can be restored. Despair and
the belief that poor health will be a lifelong burden can disappear.
Nutrition can reinforce the paradigm that our bodies are self-healing organisms,
and use that knowledge to make healthier choices.
Benefits to the Doctor
As experience with nutrition increases, doctors realize the benefits to their
patients.
Nutritional practitioners draw from a larger potential patient base. Many people
recognize the need for nutrition to better their health and are looking for
doctors who will advise them.
Nutrition develops a non-linear source of income. Implementing nutrition into
a practice can provide a means to transition to a cash-only practice.
After more than 20 years of practice and more than nine years of nutritional
practice, I have found incorporating nutrition into a chiropractic practice
to be a sound, highly advantageous aid in healing. Through simple steps and
the use of whole-food nutritional supplements, every practitioner can learn
the basic skills required to enhance healing by combining chiropractic and nutrition.
About the author: Dr. Marc D’Andrea graduated from Life Chiropractic
College in 1980. He implemented nutrition into his Dunwoody, Ga., practice in
1994. He currently teaches practitioners how to implement nutrition into their
practices through a combination of seminars and on-on-one instruction. His next
seminar will be at Life University on Dec. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For questions
about nutritional practice or information regarding Dr. D’Andrea’s
seminars, please contact him through email at the following address: healthquestion@aol.com.
References:
1 Frost, M. Going Back to Basics of Human Health ( 1997 )
2 Jensen, B. & Anderson, M. Empty Harvest (1990) Garden City Park,
N.Y., Avery Publishing Group Inc.
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