The Integrative Medicine Perspective
A dialogue with totalhealth associate editor, Dr. Hyla Cass
by Lyle Hurd, editor
Editors note: Dr. Cass has been an associate editor of totalhealth magazine since 1999. She has incorporated nutrition and other natural techniques into her medical practice for over 20 years. Her core beliefs are: 1. Treat the whole person—mind, body, spirit and environment. 2. Look for the deepest root problems beneath the symptoms, which include using the best science has to offer. 3. Utilize a continuum of treatments, always beginning with the safest, most natural and most benign.
In her quest to evaluate and incorporate the constant strides in integrative approaches to restore body balance and general health, Dr. Cass attends upwards to 30 seminars, forums, and industry expositions a year. She also appears as a featured speaker at many of these events, on radio and television, is a frequent contributor to both professional journals and consumer magazines.
TH: Dr. Cass, please give us an example of one of the conferences you have attended, and would recommend to others?
Dr. C: Last year I attended The Scripps Institute’s Integrative Medicine Clinic Annual Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Update Conference.
Americans spend over $20 million annually on herbal and dietary supplements, most often without the guidance of a health care practitioner. As a doctor who practices integrative medicine, I hear from many people all over the country who want to learn more, have their doctors learn more, and above all, find a qualified integrative physician whom they can trust.
Now, Scripps Institute’s Integrative Medicine Clinic is sponsoring their 5th annual conference January 17–20, 2008 at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, California. More than two-dozen nationally renowned medical experts will present an evidenced-based, comprehensive and timely update of natural supplements to physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, other health care providers and the general public. They will address a wide variety of areas, including pain management, heart disease, women’s health, cancer and other medical problems. The Scripps Institute Integrative Medicine Clinic itself is a world-class center that combines the best of natural and conventional medicine. I attended this conference last year, and not only learned a lot, but also made some wonderful connections in the integrative medicine world.
Whether you are a health practitioner or an interested lay person, this course provides an excellent in-depth look at evidence-based approach to the use of supplements, including benefits, risks, and regulatory issues. Anyone interested in more information can access: www.scripps.org/services.asp?ID=320.
TH: I should also mention you are a prolific author. Please give us an overview of your recently released book Supplement Your Prescription—What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutrition—The Essential Guide to Making Prescription Drugs Work Better for You.
Dr. C: Many prescription drugs are nutrient robbers. My new book explains how to balance this serious problem with food and supplements.
Half of the U.S. population is taking prescription medications, but are unaware that most drugs rob them of vital nutrients, causing serious side effects. Patients may not notice this at first, but over time—months to years—of taking one or more prescription drugs every day, they may have additional symptoms that are considered “part of the disease.” Often other medications are prescribed that only make the matter worse. Neither the patients nor their doctors may be aware the real problem is that the medications have deprived the body of essential nutrients. Other factors also contribute to drug-nutrient depletion, such as: being under chronic or intense stress, either physically or mentally; having a chronic disease; having pre-existing gastrointestinal problems that reduce the body’s ability to absorb nutrients; and the use of multiple medications for any disorder or disease.
We begin with a multi-nutrient supplement plan that benefits every adult and provides guidelines on what to look for on the label of daily multivitamins. I then address the drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, acid reflux, heartburn, constipation, arthritis, and depression, offering specific advice on choices that can be made to enhance biochemical balance. The doses of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants may be safely used with the medications. Herbs and amino acids, on the hand require more care, especially when being taken with medications.
Less commonly used prescriptions are also addressed, with information provided for drugs for obesity, epilepsy, AIDS, contraception, menopausal symptoms, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, gout, and cancer, as well as general principles for those who are taking multiple drugs.
Supplement Your Prescription deals primarily with drugs intended for long-term use that cause slow depletion over time, with serious effects—ones that mainstream medicine rarely traces back to the medication. The book also includes resources for accessing additional information on one’s own. Each section also includes condition-specific nutrients that can in many cases, even replace the medications entirely. This is certainly what I do in my own practice.
TH: Dr. Cass, please give our readers information on how they can access your book and Web site.
Dr C: Certainly. My Web site is www.drcass.com. “Supplement Your Prescription” is published by Basic Health Publications and available through my Web site, or through your local bookstore.
TH: Thank you Dr. Cass.
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