A Doctor's Story – How I Cured My Lifestyle

How I Cured My Lifestyle

Who Am I?

I am a retired physician who practiced Pediatrics in Overland Park, KS for over 25 years. I also taught medical and nursing students, interns and residents from the University of Kansas School of Medicine as well as from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and the Kansas City University of Medicine and Bioscience. I was also the Co-Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic at the University of Kansas Medical Center from 1979 through 1985.
Since retirement, I have been lecturing on Health and Wellness and Alternative Medicine. I have also developed a number of medical information web sites on Alternative Medicine concepts and nutrition. My research interests deal with cell physiology and I presently teach and write about health and nutrition. I hold a B.S. degree in Chemistry from UCLA, a Ph.D. degree in Biology (Physiology and Cell Biology) from the University of Kansas, Lawrence and an M.D. degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia (Go Tigers!). I did my internship, residency and Chief Residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center before entering private practice. I presently teach Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Pathophysiology and Nutrition at two nursing schools in the Kansas City area.
Today, I’m on the Wellness Council for a new nutritional supplement company and speak regularly on the Healthy Body Calls.

The 3 Stages of My Life

In this section, I will explain the three (3) stages of my life and how I “cured” my lifestyle.

• My School Years – I was indestructible!!
  

  

  
  I weighed a mere 99 pounds when I graduated from high school and when I married my wife, my mother-in-law promptly helped me gain 49 pounds the first year I was married. When I turned 25, I said to my wife that my life was half over. You see, my father died at age 53, my grandfather (his father) at 50 and my great-grandfather at 47 – all of heart attacks related to lifestyle. So I just assumed I would follow in their footsteps and die young too! So I ate what I wanted, didn’t exercise and basically, did whatever I wanted. I had no expectations to live to see my children graduate, marry and have children. After all, my father, grandfather and great-grandfather didn’t live long enough to realize this with their families.
• My Practice Years – While I was in practice, I continued to not exercise regularly, ate all of the wrong foods (fatty and fast) and still assumed that I was going to die at a young age like my ancestors before me. You see, it was that “genetics” thing I didn’t have any control over. So along with my wife, we raised 3 young children at the same time that I spent long hours as a solo practitioner helping my patients lead healthier lives. But did I follow my own advice? No, I gained too much weight, still didn’t exercise and still had that mindset that I was going to die at an early age. But when I turned 50, I experienced the most shocking event of my married life – my wife died of a heart attack at the age of 47!! Now I had to raise my children and I was out of shape and overweight.
• My Retirement Years – Because of the lifestyle I chose earlier in life, by the time I reached the age of 55 years, I now weighed close to 230 pounds, developed Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I definitely was on my way to joining my ancestors at an early age! I now wanted to do the things my father had never done – see his children grow up, see them graduate from college, see them get married and lastly, play with his grandchildren. So I decided it was time to change my life and “cure my lifestyle.” This is my story …

So How Did I Do This?

Before I knew what to do to change my lifestyle, I needed to know what was important to change and what was important to keep. So I asked my Physiology and Nutrition students to list for me the things that were important that they learned from me to sustain a good life. This is what they told me …

1. Nourish the body with the proper foods and fuels
2. Drink pure, unpolluted water
3. Reduce the stress in your life
4. Stop putting toxic substances in or on the body
5. Detox what the body had already been exposed to
6. Supplement the diet with what is missing from the food you eat
7. Get enough sleep
8. Exercise

So I went to my refrigerator and pantry to look at the foods my family and I were eating. My diabetes was under great control, but I still weighed too much and still ate too many sweets (sugars in all the different forms). I saw many highly processed foods – foods high in refined sugar, foods made with GMO (genetically modified) ingredients. I next looked at the water I was drinking. I learned that there were dangerous chemicals in my tap water. This included chlorine (to kill the bacteria in the water – but also could kill the normal good bacteria in my body), fluoride, pharmaceutical drugs not removed by my municipal water company, bacteria, toxins like pesticides and even jet fuel! Bottled water was no better since two of the most popular bottled water brands were simply obtained from municipal water sources. They also are not required to test their waters as strictly as the municipal water companies are obligated to do. And then there are the chemicals that leak into the water from the plastic bottles. So I researched water filters that remove all of the impurities (biological like bacteria, viruses, parasites and protozoa, pharmaceuticals, chlorine, fluoride and pesticides) and was also portable so I could obtain pure water anywhere I traveled.
Next I looked at reducing stress. This is a difficult one to change. Research studies have shown that stress raises some of our hormones, especially cortisol, which in turn raises our blood sugar levels. It has to do with our “fight or flight” mechanism where we need more sugar (glucose) to fight or run when faced with danger. So I retired from active practice of medicine and went back to my first love – teaching. So now I teach and lecture on Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology and nutrition. Much less stressful. I also learn to reduce my stress by relaxation. I now enjoy life more.
I then looked at the toxins I’m exposed to in my daily environment. I researched all of the ingredients in the products, beverages and foods I consumed. I learned what effect these substances had on or in my body. I eliminated the dangerous substances from my life!
I then looked at what was missing in my diet. I switched as much as possible to organic foods as these have been shown to have more nutrition than conventional foods. In addition, organic foods contain no pesticides or GMO ingredients. I researched what was still missing and started taking great quality nutritional supplements for what was missing in my food or what my body needed.
With the stress in my life and the medical conditions I developed due to poor eating habits and improper food (high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and becoming overweight), I was having a difficult time falling and staying asleep. I changed what I did before I went to sleep and worked on changing my lifestyle. I now sleep about 8 to 9 hours a night and awaken refreshed and rejuvenated.
The last part of my life I changed was exercise. I walk or climb stairs instead of using the elevator. You don’t have to be weightlifting unless you want to. Dance, play catch with your children or grandchildren, golf – anything that keeps you active. And guess what? Not only does it keep you fit, but it also helps to reduce stress!

So What Did I Accomplish By “Curing” My Lifestyle?

I lost 46 pounds! But that’s not all. I am now pharmaceutical-free as my blood sugars are normal. I no longer crave sweets or fast foods. I walk and exercise more than I did before and now I can almost outrun my grandkids! I feel younger too and have more energy than I can remember in the past 20 years. I sleep much better and relax more than I have ever done in my life.

Can You “Cure” Your Lifestyle Too?

I believe you can. Dr. David Beaulieu, D.C., M.S. and I have put together a lifestyle change program that will start in September, 2014. We have worked with other healthcare professionals to help create a program that works. This program can be done online through a series of webinars or through our office in Mission, KS. This program was developed after a small clinical study was done that showed it was possible to lose, on the average, 15 to 17 pounds per month safely. It’s even possible to lose more without problems. Dr. Beaulieu lost more weight than he ever did using other life style changes and has kept it off. I lost 46 pounds and can fit into clothes I haven’t seen in years. We did this without an exercise program, but the weight loss can be greater if you do mild exercising. Based on the clinical study, it was shown that there was 3 times the weight loss over the control group (diet plus a placebo) when people followed the program. All this is done without hormones, shots or surgery. We will show you that eating the right kinds of foods and following the program will help you towards your goal of “curing” your lifestyle like we did.. Classes are filling up quickly for September. Fill out the form below to get more information on this program. What have you got to lose? Just that excess weight!
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