Author Archives: Sarenka Smith

International Blog Spotlight: India

July 5, 2017

IV Nutrition Detox and Chelation Therapy in Cancer
Kalpana Gupta Shekhawat, MBBS, DNB, DFM, MD Clinical Nutrition 

A healthy diet rich in nutrients is the best way to nourish the body.

I have observed in my practice that most of the patients suffering from cancer are very low on nutrients and high on toxic heavy metals, with poor livers, low kidney function, poor dental health, amalgam fillings, leaky gut, immune dysfunction, and an inability to detox due to low sulfur levels, leading to inflammatory reactions, which lead to manifestation of the symptoms and tumor formation. If the underlying chemistry is not addressed, it leads to metastasis in the whole body!

It is surprising that a fatal disease such as cancer is largely due to a basic lack of understanding on the part of the patients, which leads them to stray to various available therapies, which do not address the root cause.

I have been treating my patients for the last 7 years in a different way than conventional practitioners by addressing the root cause, and trying to understand the risks associated with their current health statuses, and providing them with a plan to prevent chronic diseases.

I have observed that once disease is established, metabolic correction with IV detox and nutrition therapy is the best solution.

IV therapy gives the most rapid recovery to the metabolism, as compared to oral nutrient therapy.

IV Nutrition therapy has given me enormous fulfillment in terms of patient outcomes when treating cancer patients.

I have seen inflammatory markers significantly reduce as I give up to 10 sessions of IV nutrients, Glutathione, and EDTA chelation: customized to each patient.

I advise my patients surrounding nutraceutical supplementation, dietary guidelines, and IV Nutrition & Detox therapies:

  • High doses of Vitamin C: This critical therapy provides lifelong maintenance for cancer patients; it typically involves a slow IV over a period of 1 to 2 hours.
  • EDTA chelation: For extracellular heavy metal removal, this works best for patients who have high levels of heavy metals in their urine.
  • Glutathione: This is a master detox, and when given through an IV, it works very well for intra cellular detoxification.
  • COQ10: Added to detox drip supports mitochondrial health.
  • Alfa Lipoic Acid: This antioxidant tackles free radical damage.
  • N Acetyl Cystein: Naturally boosts level of Glutathione in cells.

Dr. Kalpana Shekhawat is a Functional and Regenerative Medicine consultant, with an extensive educational and professional background in clinical nutrition and BHRT. In addition to having published various articles surrounding lifestyle disease management, Dr. Kalpana runs a lifestyle disease management clinic: “Freedom Age.” She works to manage disease by addressing nutritional deficiencies, and integrating her knowledge of conventional medicine with Functional medicine. 

Physician of the Month: Wallace Brucker, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM

A4M valued member Wallace Brucker, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM shares insight from his professional experience in this Physician of the Month feature.

Q: Before joining A4M, what was your medical background?

I am a practicing orthopedic surgeon offering community based, general orthopedic services to 2 hospitals in central Wisconsin as well as an army reserve surgeon providing orthopedic trauma services throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

Q: What Anti-Aging techniques have you incorporated into your practice? How did you do so?

I began discussing anti-aging approaches to our Special Forces soldiers that were chronically stressed and plagued with abnormal cortisol levels and diminished testosterone levels. It was my hope that when they returned home, they would have a better understanding of how to maintain their health and what kind of Integrative physicians to seek out to get that care. The patients we take care of in Wisconsin and our newly opened practice in Breckenridge, Colorado have access to our 4 product lines: BHRT for men and women, IV therapies, Stem Cell and PRP therapy and limited aesthetic services.

Q: What are the benefits of practicing Anti-Aging Medicine (as a professional, and for your practice)?

Professionally, integrative medicine allows me to “see” the patient as a whole. Modern, state of the art testing now allows us to anticipate and direct trends thus giving me the opportunity to really affect change. This allows our practice to be more proactive than reactive. This is the part of anti-aging medicine that is most rewarding for me personally.

Q: What are the changes you see in your patients?

The biggest changes come when you balance the hormones, stress and cortisol, diet and lifestyle. The link between low hormone levels and abnormal lipids and sugars is profound. Getting those lab values down and restoring optimal function really impacts our patients long term. Thru education, our patients become interested in this new approach to wellness…thru results, they become committed.

Q: Why would you recommend Anti-Aging Medicine to your peers?

Many of my patients are physicians. My professional colleagues frequently contact me with questions about the “anti-aging” approach to wellness and I simply tell them it is the future! Knowledge of the Integrative approach to medicine is another tool and in Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine, we love tools!

Q: Where do you see the future of Anti-Aging Medicine 20 years from now?

The future is now with A4M and its global reach and scope. I see customized medicine growing larger with continued expansion of genetic testing and, of course, nanotechnology. The anti-aging pill? Perhaps not too far behind.

Yoga Treating Back Pain

June 26, 2017

A new study indicates that yoga may be as effective for back pain as physical therapy.

The yoga protocol utilized in the study was developed by researchers at Boston Medical Center, with additional input from yoga instructors, doctors, and physical therapists. The study included 320 participants with moderate to severe back pain, all of whom received one of three approaches over a three-month time span: weekly yoga classes, 15 physical therapy visits, and clinical education surrounding ways to cope with back pain.

The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are directly in line with new guidelines for treating back pain from the American College of Physicians. concluded that yoga was as effective as physical therapy, and both groups were 20% less likely to use pain medication than those patients solely receiving education.

Dr. Robert Saper of Boston Medical Center, one of the report’s authors, states: “Yoga was as effective as physical therapy for reducing pain intensity. Perhaps most importantly, reducing pain medication use.” At the outset of the study, 70% of the patients were taking a form of pain medication; at the end of three months, the percentage of yoga and physical therapy participants still taking pain medication dropped to 50%.

As opiate overdoses are now the leading cause of death for adults under age 50, the results offer compelling reasons to find approaches for chronic pain that do not involve narcotics–including tai-chi, yoga, and massage. Saper remarks that if research shows that yoga can be as effective, perhaps it should be considered as a potential therapy that can “be more widely disseminated and covered by insurance.”