Dr Julie Reardon, a Harvard-educated physician specializing in integrative medicine, shares how examining the entire person in a holistic way can give a more complete picture of how to obtain optimal health and wellness.

After spending years working in the “production model” of healthcare, Dr Reardon shifted to practicing “integrative” medicine, which allows her to look at many factors of health to develop comprehensive treatment plans that address diet, exercise, genetics, and many other potential causes of disease and disorders.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Dr Reardon’s education and history in the medical field that lead her to choose a different path and open an integrative medicine practice.
• The difference between “functional” medicine and “integrative” medicine
• How integrative medicine is evolving and how that evolution can benefit you as a patient
• Why first appointments with Dr Reardon are lengthy, and her approach to initial evaluations are often called “narrative” medicine
• The most common issues she treats in her practice and how those syndromes are often interrelated with other common health issues
• How she incorporates traditional medical testing in her treatment plans, as well as the less-common tests she utilizes
• MTHFR gene testing and how methylation affects multiple processes in the body
• Why consulting “Dr Google” can be dangerous
• Dr Reardon’s LIVE IT philosophy
• How “leaky gut” can lead to auto-immune or inflammatory issues, and how you can test for it
• Gluten and casein sensitivities, the proteins involved, and the gut biome: How they all interact and how many factors can actually influence those sensitivities
• Actionable tips and steps that Dr Reardon suggests patients try
• Supplements (and/or dietary changes) that Dr Reardon has seen benefit many of her patients
• The importance of meditation to the healing process
• The 4-7-8 breathing pattern to decrease stress levels and improve a sense of wellbeing.

Resources

• Lake Travis Integrative Medicine
• Institute for Functional Medicine
• 10% Happier by Dan Harris
• Headspace
• Insight Timer
• LIVE IT Health Meetup group

The post AAP 006: The Integrative Medicine Approach to Optimizing Your Health and Wellbeing – Interview with Dr Julie Reardon appeared first on Carter Physiotherapy | Austin Manual & Physical Therapy | Austin Sports Physiotherapy.