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DECEMBER 2017 LEDGER TRANSFORMING THE PARADIGM OF MEDICINE, ONE PATIENT AT A TIME THE 13375 University Avenue, Suite 100, Clive, IA 50325|www.thelivewellclinic.com|515.279.9900
T his past year has been one of constant change and growth for The Livewell Clinic and myself. Between an array of new hires, solidifying our IV therapy processes, implementing a robust membership program, and the dozens of hours I spent on the road at continuing education events, the business has evolved more in 2017 than perhaps any other year. I’m happy to say that, lately, it feels like we’re driving our vision of empowering our community using education-based preventative medicine forward on a larger scale than ever. When I started the clinic almost a decade ago, my mentality always forced me to think small. While I was certainly equipped with extensive knowledge of functional medicine, I wasn’t confident in my knowledge of running a small business. So, while I had great success helping my patients make meaningful shifts toward optimal health, I never allowed myself to imagine what it would look like to implement these shifts on a wider scope. That, I believed at the time, was for someone with more business savvy and resources at their disposal. But, as the clinic progressed and we implemented more and more services and processes into our repertoire, I began to realize that I was wrong. I was the person to extend the reach of functional medicine to a wider community. Sure, there were things I needed to learn, but through consistent dedication and a passion for the work, I was learning all the time. This idea hit me all at once a few months back. One beautiful, sunny Iowa day, as I was stepping into the clinic to see a round of familiar patients, I was struck by a keen sense of discouragement. Was this the rest of my life? Walking through these same doors every day, seeing predominantly the same set of local patients, addressing the same health concerns? Obviously, I’m grateful for each and every one of my wonderful patients, and I love working with them, but in this particular moment, the scope of The Livewell Clinic seemed strikingly limited.
best versions of themselves, all the lives we’d touched and mentalities we’d transformed, and the feeling passed. I was far from limited. In fact, I was on the cusp of achieving so many of those lofty goals that I never allowed myself to consider possible all those years ago. With every new patient that we empower to drastically improve their health, our overall vision for the future gets a little clearer and closer. The fact is, in today’s new economy of medicine, it’s no longer enough to simply go to your doctor when you’re sick and have them give you a Band-Aid solution. We’re trying to facilitate a widespread change in communities across the country to restructure the way people address their health, fostering a culture of preventative, knowledge-based medicine. Our mission is bigger than simply providing our patients with naturopathic vitamins or encouraging them to avoid dairy. Instead, we strive to deliver hope and to improve our patients’ health on the most fundamental level. We want our patients to live happier, longer, and more fulfilling lives. As the scope of the practice expands, we can reach more patients than ever and make an even more profound impact on our community. It’s a thrilling time for me, my team, and my patients. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together next.
But then I looked around at everything we’d accomplished in the past few years, all the tools we’d given our wonderful patients to realize the
317-776-9942 515.2 9. 00 –Dr. Z a cha ry Watki ns
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WHY THE COUNTRY’S GONE CRAZY FOR THE KETO DIET
CREATIVE GIFT WRAP ALTERNATIVES
There’s something magical about seeing a stack of presents wrapped in bright, multicolored paper. However, that enchanting scene quickly evaporates a few hours later when all those wads of wrapping paper and plastic bows are chucked unceremoniously into the garbage. What if we told you there are countless ways you can still enjoy wrapping and unwrapping presents, without all the waste? Here are a few creative gift wrap alternatives to consider this holiday season. Brown Paper Bags With the holiday season comes holiday shopping, and if you opt out of plastic grocery bags, you’re sure to have a surplus of brown paper bags in the pantry. Drop a present into the bag, tape it shut, and you’re good to go. Add some simple lace or a ribbon for an old-timey feel or get creative with stamps and hand-drawn artwork. This wrap job lets your imagination run wild. Old Maps and Calendars These days, pretty much every phone has a built-in GPS, so you probably won’t need the map from your 1999 road trip anytime soon. If you still have an old map, why not use that for wrapping? The unusual designs guarantee your gifts will be one of a kind. And don’t worry if there are notes scrawled across the paper. Old events or directions will add some unique flair to the presents. Furoshiki Fabric is an excellent substitute for wrapping paper. You can use a scarf to create two gifts in one or pull out scraps of fabric from old projects. The traditional Japanese practice of furoshiki is all about wrapping goods in fabric. Described as “functional fabric origami,” you’d be amazed at how a few well-placed folds can turn your gift into a work of art. Learn how to wrap anything, from boxes to bottles, at ceas.ku.edu/furoshiki-instructional-videos. You don’t have to follow the same gift wrap habits year after year. After the effort you put into finding just the right present, you should be able to make your gift wrap just as special. Find a method that’s uniquely you and get started!
It seems like new diet trends start to show up in the news every year, with a horde of diet evangelists following close behind. But almost always, these dieting trends are a flash in the pan, and the masses jump onto the next weight-loss train as soon as it arrives. However, there’s one diet you’ve probably heard of with a little more staying power. It’s called the ketogenic diet, or “keto,” for short, and it may be the answer to many fair-weather dieters’ woes. The keto diet involves eating mostly foods with high fat content, such as red meat, bacon, butter, nuts, and healthy oils, while keeping carbohydrate intake to an absolute minimum. Fruit, root vegetables, wheat, and sugar must be almost entirely eliminated. Normally, the body uses glucose derived from carbohydrates as its primary fuel source. Unused glucose is converted to glycogen and stored in the liver, where it turns into fatty adipose tissue as the glycogen stores overfill. Basically, the keto diet keeps carbohydrate intake so low that the body is forced to search for another source of energy to keep everything moving. So, the body shifts from metabolizing mostly glucose to metabolizing fats instead. During a process called ketosis, the liver takes fatty acids from the body’s stores and convert them to ketones, which it then “learns” to utilize as its main fuel source. In this way, fat stored in the body is burned away to fuel physical activity. It’s a decidedly extreme diet — to maintain ketosis, strict avoidance of any and all carbs is vital — but there’s plenty of science to back it up. One 2003 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that severely obese participants who kept a strict low-carb diet lost nearly three times as much weight as their low-fat counterparts. resulting in sleepiness and weakness until it acclimates to running on ketones. Afterward, proponents say you’ll start to feel satiated and energetic. But keto can cause problems for high-intensity exercise and strength training, which depend on stored carbs for fuel. Some experts even argue that the diet is dangerous, causing the body to enter “starvation mode.” It can even cause a host of other problems, including making it even harder to lose weight. Whether you’re a proponent or a detractor, it’s clear the keto diet is here to stay, at least for a while. But before embarking on your fat-burning journey, consult with your physician to learn whether ketosis is a safe option for you. However, it’s far from foolproof. As the start of ketosis, you’re essentially starving the body of its previous main fuel source,
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CURIOUS ABOUT FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE? COME TO A PATIENT INFORMATION SESSION!
In recent years, the medical paradigm has shifted. Today, people understand more than ever that, ultimately, they’re responsible for their own health. Gone are the days when everything was fine until your doctor diagnosed you with a disease or prescribed a “take one and call me in the morning” pill. While medication-focused treatment works fine for acute care — one-and-done issues like catching an infection or breaking a bone — when it comes to chronic diseases, a single, blanket solution like a drug won’t work. In these cases, there are underlying processes that slowly and persistently get off track, allowing the body to slip into dysfunction over time, leading to disease. This idea forms the crux of functional medicine. It’s “root cause medicine,” striving to uncover the underlying “why” of the patient’s current state of health, whatever that may be. Think of it this way: If a train went off the rails, the solution wouldn’t be to build a brand-new track, off course from the original destination. It would be to get the train back on the original, correct path. It’s the same with our health — when we find our bodies off track, we need to
take the steps to get it back on course, and, vitally, continue to stay on track after treatment. At The Livewell Clinic, we pride ourselves in empowering people toward their optimal health. The means to this end is the important detective work we call functional medicine. People often want to learn more about what we do, how we do it, and whether our methods work. That’s why one of our cornerstone services is our Introductory Patient Info Sessions! These sessions are the perfect opportunity to learn more about functional medicine, the state of health care today, and how our clinic can work alongside you to help you achieve optimal health, prevent disease, and even reverse potentially debilitating problems. Call our office to reserve a spot for yourself, a family member, or even a friend at one of our upcoming sessions. With the new year approaching, it’s the perfect time to learn how you can make 2018 the best year for your health!
EVENTS: FOR NEW PATIENTS! CALL THE OFFICE FOR YOUR FREE REGISTRATION
THAI SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH PEANUT SAUCE
Recipe inspired by Leelalicious.com.
Ingredients
Directions • 1 garlic clove, minced • ¼ cup chopped parsley • 2 tablespoons crushed peanuts Peanut sauce: • 1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk • 1 medium spaghetti squash • Olive oil • Salt
• ¾ cup unsweetened peanut butter • ¼ cup coconut sugar • 2 tablespoons soy sauce • 2 tablespoons white vinegar • 2 teaspoons sesame oil • 2 teaspoons red curry paste
New patient information sessions: Saturday, Dec. 2 at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 4 at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 5 p.m.
LIVEWELL CHATS (TLC —The Livewell Chat)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Halve squash and scoop out seeds. 2. Drizzle inside of squash with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place squash on baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes. 3. Let cool. Using a fork, scrape out spaghetti squash strands. 4. Place sauce ingredients in saucepan and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. 5. Heat skillet over mediumheat. Add garlic, parsley, and 1/4 of the peanut sauce and combine. 6. Add spaghetti squash and crushed peanuts. Stir to combine until heated through, about 2 minutes. Once served, drizzle withmore peanut sauce.
Come and learn applicable information for you and your family’s health! Call our office to register for free. Next Livewell Chats Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 5 p.m. - Female Hormone Health Tuesday, Jan. 9, 5 p.m. - Significance of IVTherapy
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Thinking Bigger With Functional Medicine INSIDE 13375 University Avenue, Suite 100 Clive, IA 50325
StopWasting Gift Wrap! The Keto Diet: Does It Work?
The Best Way to Learn About Functional Medicine Thai Spaghetti Squash With Peanut Sauce
This Month in History
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
The Magical World of Walt Disney
The legacy of Walter Elias “Walt” Disney is known across the world. Just the name “Disney” conjures up images of magical animated films, grand theme parks, and massively diverse entertainment. What better time to salute this incredible cartoonist and storyteller than December — Disney’s birthday month? Disney’s first job in cartooning was an apprenticeship with Pesmen- Rubin Commercial Art Studio in Kansas City at the age of 18. There, he met fellow artist Ub Iwerks, and the two struck up a lifelong friendship. Together, they created a series of cartoons based on “Alice in Wonderland” and worked with film producer Charles Mintz to distribute the cartoons. You might be surprised to learn Disney’s first successful original creation wasn’t a certain mouse — it was a rabbit. The venturesome Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was a great hit, but Mintz sold the intellectual property rights of Oswald to Universal Pictures. After a falling out, Disney swore he’d never let someone else own his work ever again. From this defeat, Disney and Iwerks created one of the world’s most enduring characters, Mickey Mouse. With this new character, Disney created the short “Steamboat Willie,” which debuted
in 1928 as the first cartoon to feature sound. Mickey Mouse and “Steamboat Willie” signaled the beginning of Disney pushing the envelope with animation. In 1934, he began to work on the world’s first feature-length animated movie, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” His experiment would become the biggest movie of 1938 and the highest grossing sound film at that time. In addition to many other groundbreaking animated movies, Disney also ventured into live- action films and TV shows, and he even fulfilled a lifelong dream:
opening his own theme park. Today, almost 150 million people visit Disney Parks all over the world every year. By the time he died in 1966, Disney had been involved in 81 feature films, won a record number of Academy Awards, and left the world with a legacy of magic and creativity that will never be forgotten.
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