HealthNOW Medical Center is a medical clinic that has a medical director who is certified in Internal Medicine and also has other professionals in Physical Therapy, Chiropractic and Clinical Nutrition on staff. This array of practitioners allows the doctors to treat with a wide variety of tools and not be limited to the use of drugs as the only tool of treatment. HNMC concentrates on diagnosing and treating the root cause of health problems. The diagnosis involves using the latest in medical technology but the treatment tries to focus on non-drug therapeutic approaches whenever possible.

Everyone is very different in this regard. It is very difficult to predict who will respond quickly to care and who will take longer. Discuss with your doctor what you are noticing and he or she will give you a good idea what time frame you should consider to be "normal" for your particular condition.

The problem with drugs is twofold: 1. They don't tend to get to the root cause of the problem but rather only mask the symptom thereby allowing the underlying cause to worsen. 2. Drugs have dangerous side effects. In recent years many drugs have been taken off the market due to dangerous side effects which had been previously thought to be safe. In general drugs should only be used as a last resort and then only temporarily until the root cause can be properly diagnosed and handled.

Here at HealthNOW we've been diagnosing and treating gluten intolerance for over a decade. While it was all but unheard of then, a simple internet search will reveal its growing popularity during that time. Today it's pretty easy to find gluten-free food and some restaurants even have gluten-free menus. There is a local coffee shop which advertises its gluten-free "goodies". While it may not be a household word the awareness of problems with eating gluten is definitely rising.

If you haven't looked at the section on gluten intolerance on this site I invite you to do so now. Many questions should be answered there.

Wheat, oats, rye, barley and other glutinous grains are obviously very prevalent in our society. And for most of the population they aren't a problem. But a substantial portion of the population has an inability to digest them. That inability puts a strain on the whole digestive system resulting in compromised digestion, absorption and multiple health problems.

In our over 20 years in practice we have seen a reversal of many, many different problems when we have diagnosed a gluten intolerance in a patient. Symptoms you wouldn't think were necessarily related to diet such as headaches, fatigue, sleep problems, hormonal imbalance, arthritis, high blood pressure, just to name a few, have all been irrefutably linked to gluten problems.

If you are having any chronic health problems I would definitely recommend that a gluten intolerance be ruled out. If it is missed the ability to truly regain health would be next to impossible.

I have been diagnosing gluten problems for a decade now. During that time the awareness of the problem has risen considerably. This doesn't mean that all doctors know about it but with more research coming out about it each year the knowledge will be more widespread.

If you are on a gluten-free diet wheat grass is okay. You must insure that you are only consuming the grass of the grain and none of the grain itself however.

This is a very common question. We live in a society which stresses treating organs which have become diseased. The adrenal glands don't often get diseased and therefore they are not often spoken of or addressed. But they do malfunction frequently and we're finding that malfunction to be affecting a large number of Americans. Those doctors which study adrenal function agree that optimal adrenal health is critical for normal bodily function. Adrenal Fatigue is one of the most pervasive, yet under-diagnosed syndromes affecting people today. And since Adrenal Fatigue occurs both as a distinct clinical disorder as well as a contributing factor to many chronic illnesses and pain disorders, we don't feel that its importance can be overemphasized.

Yes. Natural or bio-identical hormones are the only hormones we do prescribe. Synthetic hormones can have negative reactions in the body and we therefore avoid them.

Yes. There are glands and organs of the body which, when restored to their optimum function, repair the effects of aging on the body. Many of us are biologically older than we are chronologically. This can be reversed so that while you are aging chronologically, biologically you are much younger.

This program does not involve drugs or surgery. We are discussing restoring optimal function to the glands and organs of your body, not cosmetic or plastic surgery. Although many patients who do this program notice that their restored health does cause them to "look" younger as well.

We live in a society which likes to "take a pill" and have the symptom go away. The good news is that these drugs do often make the symptom go away and they do so rather rapidly. The bad news is that the effect is only temporary and the drug doesn't solve the root cause of why the symptom developed in the first place. So where does food come in? Food is fuel. Just like your car needs fuel to function, so does your body. All too often we find our patients putting "bad fuel" into their bodies and wondering why the body doesn't work well. Missing the fact that the food someone is consuming is not fueling their body well is a big mistake and one we don't make here at HealthNOW. Patients are often so amazed when "all they did" was change their diet. They can't believe that just doing that made such a difference in how they felt.

We have excellent compliance from our patients. There are several reasons. First, we will be putting you on a program which is tailored for you. This isn't some generic "one size fits all" diet. This diet will be designed for you, your biochemistry and your symptoms. Because of this it won't be difficult to remain on. Also, our diet programs are not so restrictive that you will feel hungry or deprived, two of the key reasons people have failures on other diet programs.

Initially some people actually feel worse when they change their diet. The reason this occurs is usually one of two things. Most commonly it's because they have stopped eating something that their body reacts poorly to and their body is now starting to detoxify as a result of the offending substance no longer entering the system. This is why it's important to be consuming a lot of water at this time in order to flush out these toxins. Secondly, and less commonly, a person has inadvertently started eating more of something which is "allowed" on the diet which they actually don't do well with. As an example, corn is allowed on the modified diet. While it is not a very common allergen some people do react to it. If that type of person started consuming more corn they would feel worse as their body would be reacting to it.

If your doctor ever told you to lose weight or exercise more he or she was suggesting a lifestyle change. It's just that most doctors don't go beyond a general recommendation because they aren't nutritionists. Nutritionists know the value of lifestyle changes and thereby put a tremendous amount of time assisting their patients to successfully implement them.

Vitamins are micronutrients - meaning small quantities of nutrients. Food is a macronutrient - meaning a large quantity of nutrients. It makes sense that if your food intake is poor that just taking vitamins probably won't be enough to counteract the effects of a poor diet. We encourage our patients to both change their diet and take vitamin supplements. This combination will speed your health recovery. It would be great and very easy to be able to just swallow a pill and eat whatever we wanted. Unfortunately it doesn't work.

There have been many research studies done which confirm the need to augment our diets with nutritional supplements. Unless you are truly optimally healthy you'll probably find benefit from taking supplements which are of high quality and suited to your particular health needs. Supplements are not a "one size fits all" proposition. Your program should be tailored for you individually. At HealthNOW we design nutritional programs which address the root cause of your problem. These specific nutrients will improve the function of whatever organ or system which was discovered to need assistance.

No. We probably deal with over a dozen different companies. We strive to find the very highest quality supplements for our patients and our research has taken us to different companies to get what we need. Most of the companies we deal with only sell to health care practitioners and not the general public.

Our weight loss program is derived from science and clinical research. It is not from a book and doesn't have a particular name - but it does work!

Everyone is different. The real goal is to restore function to the body so that, over time, it can slowly but steadily get back to its ideal weight. The average person loses 1 to 1½ pounds per week.

Not necessarily. Plus a lot of times the reason you're having trouble losing weight is because of the underlying health problems you're dealing with. Many people feel that if they have weight to lose that is reason behind all their problems. We find this to often not be the case.

Yes. It isn't difficult to get to the root cause of allergies. We have treated allergies successfully for 2 decades. While it does require some lifestyle changes, if you are willing to discover what you are doing which is burdening the gland responsible for making natural antihistamines, then the likelihood of improving your allergies is excellent.

Many of the tests we use are "functional" tests because they measure how the body is functioning from day to day. These tests are important because it is the malfunction of the body that causes it to become sick. These tests help us identify the cause of the symptoms.

Because these tests are not often requested by the "typical" physician, most clinical laboratories don't carry these tests as a part of their menu of choices for doctors. Therefore, specialty labs have sprung up which fill the niche of providing most functional lab tests for clinics like HealthNOW.

Functional lab tests are not done by doctors usually because they are unaware of them. These tests, while a major tool for us at HealthNOW due to the way we practice, are not yet mainstream. We consider them to be invaluable because they allow us to assess more sensitively the actual function of a certain system or organ. We don't want to wait until someone develops a disease. We'd rather use more sensitive testing which allows us to see malfunction long before a disease state develops.

Saliva sampling for lab tests is an effective method for testing both hormonal and immune system activity. Research studies have shown saliva to be more accurate than blood when hormonal activity needs to be assessed. There is an excellent article about the efficacy of saliva testing on the following website: http://www.biodia.com.

Yes. Functional lab tests have been around for several decades. They are more widely used in Europe but have been in the United States for about a decade and their use is growing. For more specifics on this please consult the web site for BioHealth Diagnostics at http://www.biodia.com

Chiropractic care is a unique form of health care which not only addresses pain in the body without drugs but has the ability to improve the communication between the brain and the body's organs through removing any stressors in the nervous system. Most people don't realize the importance of a functioning nervous system. Nerves which are irritated can create pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and muscle spasm. Not getting to the root cause of pain but rather just continuing to medicate it creates bigger problems in the long run.

Yes. Our Physical Therapy department is excellent at changing posture. Programs are designed to strengthen and balance the muscles responsible for posture. These programs are not hard to do nor are they time consuming. They do require a commitment on your part of course, but nothing which you should find difficult to execute.

Exercise is very important. But what if you can't stick with it? What if you feel more tired and sore after exercising? What if you frequently get injured while exercising? There is a reason these things are happening which is part of your underlying health problem. While lack of exercise can be part of the problem; it is rarely the sole problem.

Absolutely. We believe that exercise is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle. But the question becomes what type of exercise program is best for you? Our Physical Therapy Department specializes in evaluating and creating a tailor-made program for each individual. Programs are typically easy and not terribly time consuming. But if done regularly will result in the changes you're looking for.

Current research puts that average at 8 to 8½ hours per night. Most people in our society are a bit sleep deprived due to poor sleep quality or just not allowing themselves enough time to sleep each night. Trying to "make up" for missed sleep during the weekend is not successful. It is interesting to note that deficient sleep is associated with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression and cancer. Reference: "Lights Out" by T.S. Wiley.

Becoming an in-network provider requires the doctors to see all patients in their geographical area who are signed up for that network. The special treatment that HNMC provides focuses on treating the cause of a patient's problem. This usually requires change in the patient's lifestyle and therefore often requires a period of time. The typical "network" practice involves a lot of one-time treatment for colds, flus, etc. If we were in a network, our doctors would not be able to practice our specialty. The good news is that our fees are similar and in some cases identical to what a patient would pay per visit even if we were a "network" doctor.

HNMC provides a specialty type of medical treatment that focuses on treating the cause of the health problem. Most medicine practiced today focuses on managing the symptoms which are the result of a body's malfunction and breakdown. Since HN is committed to treating the cause and not predominantly the symptoms of disease the HMO system does not provide the structure for HN to treat patients in this manner. We provide care that is not available in the standard HMO system.

Yes. We offer discounted cash plans for those patients who have HMOs or no insurance coverage. Most patients are happy to discover that our care, while specialized, is quite affordable.