Live Better Now – Part 1

Mimi Guarneri, MDMimi Guarneri, MD, a founding board member of the American Board of Integrative Medicine® (ABOIM®) and a board-certified physician in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, and integrative holistic medicine, exhorts viewers of her public television special to choose the path to health. Whatever our health challenges are, she says, they can be improved through a comprehensive process that involves seven simple steps.

The Science of Health Creation

Dr. Guarneri began her career in 1994 as an interventional cardiologist, performing procedures like stent placement and balloon angioplasty. She was soon performing more than 700 surgeries a year but came to realize that she barely knew her patients. Not only that, she was seeing the same patients every few months. At the root of her dissatisfaction was the profound disconnect she perceived between the treatment she provided for her patients and the measures they could take to stay healthy – between the science of disease, as practiced by conventional medicine, and the science of health creation.

In 1996, Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, a renowned physician and researcher, asked Dr. Guarneri to teach a group of patients yoga and meditation, how to exercise, how to follow a vegetarian diet and to give them group support along the way. Skeptical, she nonetheless embraced the challenge.

A year later, the results were startling. Patients lost weight, their chest pain decreased by up to 91 percent, and their cholesterol levels fell dramatically. She realized that as knowledgeable as she was in the science of disease, her knowledge in the science of health was limited, and her patients were receiving no information about health creation. So Dr. Guarneri embarked on a career change. She learned as much as possible about the science of health and began sharing this knowledge with patients. After 25 years of caring for heart patients with every conceivable risk factor, she now firmly believes that chronic disease is preventable and, in many cases, reversible.

Treating Chronic Conditions

Dr. Guarneri makes clear that conventional medicine has its place in acute care. It falls short, however, in its treatment of chronic conditions. Frequent knee pain? Take Advil. Constant heartburn? Pop an antacid. “A pill for every ill,” she says. “Name it, blame it, tame it.” Whereas conventional medicine prescribes medicines for chronic conditions, the science of health focuses on disease prevention.

“We are a system,” Dr. Guarneri emphasizes. “What’s good for the heart is good for the brain.”  If you’re given a diagnosis, whether for heart disease, high blood pressure, or arthritis, you should ask why. What’s causing it? What’s the root cause?

People may fault their genetics for their chronic illness, but genes are not destiny. Lifestyle trumps genetic risk. Dr. Guarneri cites a study of an Amish community that had the obesity gene but whose members were not obese. Researchers concluded that the community’s physical activity – members took 17,000 steps a day on average – helped them avoid obesity.

In another study conducted by Dr. Ornish, men with prostate cancer were taught a vegan diet, yoga, meditation, and exercise. The study found that 500 cancer genes were downregulated as a result of these lifestyle changes.

Now that we know that lifestyle makes a difference, Dr. Guarneri says, we should seek to understand the root causes and final common pathways of disease, namely inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune dysfunction.

Let’s consider inflammation and the 10 causes of hidden inflammation:

  1. Sugar
  2. Converted sugar
  3. Food sensitivities, such as to gluten, dairy, corn, eggs, and citrus
  4. Infections
  5. Environmental toxins
  6. Midline weight
  7. Stress
  8. Air pollution
  9. Chronic disease
  10. Sleep disturbance

In part two, we will examine how seven simple steps can help us avoid inflammation and achieve optimal health.

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Patient Care Is Our Priority

Medical organizations throughout North America understand that our rigorous certification standards prove that ABPS Diplomates are capable of delivering the best patient care possible.

Far too often, medicine is led by less than 5% of non-practicing physicians taking away and replacing the voice of the 95% of physicians practicing and placing patient safety and care first on the front lines every day. The American Board of Physician Specialties has raised the standards in physician board certification not only in the quality of their boards of certification, but in hearing and allowing for the voice of those active physicians caring directly for patients. Having been a part of the ABPS over the last 28 years has allowed me to grow as a woman leader in a field often wrought with challenges. It helped me and others raise the bar of the standards of care in my specialty, Emergency Medicine, through their Board Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). ABPS also helped raise the standards of care for 21st century medicine through their certifications in other specialties, particularly in Integrative Medicine & Disaster Medicine. Having physician voices heard matters to medicine and is essential in the betterment of patient safety and care.

Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
On October 18, 2007, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), calling on our nation, among other initiatives, to “collectively support and facilitate the establishment of a discipline of disaster health”. It is a great testament to the wisdom and foresight of the American Board of Physician Specialties that it immediately set to work and created, within the short span of only one year, an educational blueprint and set of certification examinations, both written and oral, for a new subspecialty of disaster medicine—and it is why I chose to be part this vital initiative and this wonderful organization. This is but one of the many innovative programs initiated by the American Board of Physician Specialties over the years, and why I am proud to support its work on behalf of our nation’s public health.

Art Cooper, MD
Disaster Medicine
When the American Board of Physician Specialties offered to host the American Board of Integrative Medicine, ABPS became a landmark organization working to move medicine into the twenty first century. Certifying physicians who have completed rigorous academic training in Integrative Medicine ensures that the field of Integrative Medicine will continue to develop academically, clinically, and professionally. The leadership of ABPS continues to impress me - they are diligent in constantly innovating to provide certifications for physicians who want to advance their careers and their areas of expertise. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
Integrative Medicine
There are many ways board certification advances a physician career. ABPS Board examination verifies your accuracy, precision, and reflects your mastery of your residency training verifying your expertise. ABPS Board certification demonstrates your level of expertise beyond your practice experience, primary education degrees, and training which are necessary for insurance reimbursement and practice privilege requirements. Attaining your ABPS Board Certification will clarify your purpose, secure your practice growth, and expand into leadership positions. Board certification can serve as an indication of a physician’s commitment to medicine, beyond the minimal standards and competency of training, their measurement to quality of care, and attaining an award for excellence.

Chris Kunis MD
Internal Medicine
When I think historically, advancement in medicine and patient safety and care has been driven by the diversity of people and scientific thought. That’s what I found at the ABPS and more. For over 60 years that is just who we are. I found a physician certifying body that provides a choice and voice to all physicians ensuring that patients are always placed first.

Jerry Allison, MD
Emergency Medicine
When I decided to pursue a full time role as a physician executive it was important to me to obtain additional professional training, education and work experience. Board certification through the ABPS in Administrative Medicine is validation of my efforts and a demonstration of dedication to professional development. We need more physicians to become full time health care executives, knowing there is a board certification option in Administrative Medicine encourages physicians to take the leap from full time clinical practice to healthcare organizational leadership.

Richard Paula, MD
Administrative Medicine
The American Board of Physician Specialties has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of internal medicine through board certification. As a hospitalist, board certification is an expected credential, and hospitals recognize the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) as one of the three standard credentialling bodies for Internal Medicine. Additionally, the ABPS has helped me develop leadership skills as a Board member and Committee Chairperson. ABPS has also helped me sharpen critical thinking skills as a test question developer and reviewer. The Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) physicians in the ABPS are lifelong learners and frequently pursue multiple board certifications. I enjoy the camaraderie of my peers in ABPS.

Loren Jay Chassels, DO
Internal Medicine