Vanessa Ruiz – Patients’ Use of Natural and Alternative Treatments to Manage Chronic Disease: Emerging Trends in Healthcare

Outline

Emerging Trends in Healthcare: Natural and Alternative Medicine

• Making the case for natural medicine: When it’s effective; when it’s not
• Explore different alternative modalities
• Water therapy and energetic therapies
• Vitamins as cofactors for biochemical pathways
• Why minerals are important to therapeutic protocols

Explore Evidence-Based Natural Management of Common Illnesses

• Diabetes: Optimal diets and supplements for reducing HgBA1c
• Arthritis: Management of chronic pain through physical medicine, water therapy, nutrition, herbs and vitamins
• Hypertension and Congestive Heart Failure: Explore nutritional protocols, exercises and herbal supplementation to be considered in the treatment plan
• Hypothyroidism​: How nutrition, lifestyle factors, vitamin and herbal interventions can optimize thyroid hormone function
• Insomnia: Improve sleep duration and quality through vitamin/herbal supplementation
  • Herbal/vitamin side effects with commonly used sedatives
• Cancer: Supplements to avoid when a patient is on chemotherapy and interventions to minimize side effects of chemotherapy
• Asthma: Nutritional and herbal interventions to minimize asthma exacerbations
• Common Colds/Influenza​: Analyze herbal supplements that minimize symptoms, boost immune system and reduce duration of colds
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome​: Explore optimal diets, herbs and vitamins to manage IBS
• Depression/Anxiety​: How to manage mood through nutrition and herbal interventions
• Hypercholesteremia​: Nutritional protocols and supplements to minimize LDL/VLDL and maximize HDL.
  • Which supplements interact with commonly-prescribed medications.
• Surgical Management​: Which herbs/vitamins to avoid pre/post-surgery and interventions to optimize surgical healing

Furthering Your Education on Natural Medicine

• Supplementation: Why quality matters
• Continuing education: Best educational resources to learn more about natural medicine
• Incorporating natural therapies into your own life
• Understanding scope of practice and safely practicing using natural therapies