The Six Pillars of Vibrant Health.

with Richard Linchitz, MD

It’s now 45 minutes past my scheduled appointment time, and I’m still sitting in the waiting room of the dermatologists office, reading some useless publication permeated with advertisements for side-effect-ridden concoctions.  I booked the appointment some two months prior and respectfully showed up 15 minutes early.  Finally after an hour in the waiting room, I am ushered into one of the many exam rooms, where I spent the next 15 minutes reading brochures with pictures of bone chilling skin conditions, and the side-effect-ridden concoctions that were the purported answer to them. 

The doctor is a nice enough guy, who is friendly and obviously very busy.   I pointed to a thumb sized patch of flaky skin on my head, just on top of my right ear, to answer his “What seems to be the problem?” standard issue inquiry.  He was already scratching on his prescription pad when he said “Psoriasis” is what your condition is called.  He gave me a brochure with pictures of frightened people who have advanced stages of my condition, a sample of a hormone based foam medication, and 4 minutes 37 seconds later, I was paying my $40 dollar co-payment to the lady at the front desk, who by the way did not have time for those “please and thank you” niceties, that I must say I’ve grown surprisingly attached to since immigrating here from socialist Russia.

This is how our health care works.  Or functions. Or doesn’t.  It’s normal, it’s the way it is.  We live life the best way we know how, then eventually we break down and the only thing our system of medical ‘disease care’ can offer is waiting rooms, prescription pads and side-effect-ridden concoctions that treat the symptoms, yet do nothing about the underlying conditions that are causing them.  So I am destined, to for the rest of my life take a medication that will cost me some $250 per month, on top of my monthly payment   of $850 for family health insurance, and at the same time suppress the only evidence of an underlying problem, a problem that I intellectually understand will manifest itself in some other form later in life.

Identifying the markers of wellness and “The Six Pillars of Vibrant Health”

Dr. Richard Linchitz is just one of a handful of doctors, peppered through-out Long Island, who has a powerfully different approach.  Generally, these wellness oriented practitioners will not permit a third party to dictate how they approach treatment, how much time they spend with a patient or the protocols they choose to administer.  So I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose the two models and see which one you think is better for your health.

Now perhaps, because I like Dr. Linchitz personally, as well as help market his practice, my opinion of him may not be 100% objective.  On the other hand, it is because I like him and believe in his efficacy, that I can, with a clear conscience, introduce him to you.  An Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society graduate of Cornell University Medical College, a Tri-athlete and a ‘broncho-alveolar carcinoma’ cancer survivor.  At one time Dr. Linchitz ran a busy medical pain management practice that employed 50 people.  Today his focus is to help those who are dealing with health challenges get well, as naturally as possible, primarily by identifying and removing the cause while rebuilding and strengthening the core.  One other thing I really like, is that Rick exudes this wellness philosophy, he himself is in terrific physical shape, he’s body fat is under 10% with a build that most 25 year old gym enthusiasts would envy.  Finally, Rick is one of the most humble people I’ve met, most of the things I found out about him, I learned from sources other than him.  If I accomplished half as much, I’d probably be much more arrogant, I’m sure!

The first time I went to see Dr. Linchitz as a physician, was about a month ago.  The first session, which included a thorough history and basic work up, took about two hours ($450).  He then ordered a urine test from Doctors Data ($120) to check for toxicity, a food allergies profile with Metametrix Lab ($274) that identifies 90 foods for immediate allergic reactions as well as 30 for delayed reactions, and later a much more thorough Individual Optimal Nutrition Profile, from Metametrix Lab ($679) which identified among other things, a high level of Homocysteine, a precursor to heart disease.  Yeah, I never heard of it either! 

Turns out, although fairly healthy, I have extremely high levels of mercury in my blood, I am dangerously allergic to milk and all milk products, egg whites and almonds, I have psoriatic arthritis, which explains the pain in my hip joints that began roughly two years after my ‘$40 medical quickie’, and I am emotionally attached to about 15 useless pounds of fat.  Other than that, I am your average 38 year old man, who lives on Long Island, drinks red wine and although fairly health conscious, my approach, probably like yours, has been not to worry about what isn’t broken.

My body however, is probably the only thing I own that I think this way about. My house I want to improve, I want the latest model car, the best computer on the market, the fastest internet service, a nicer suit and ‘betterandbetter’ vacations.  Until Now!  With the help of Dr. Linchitz and his team, we are going to get on the offensive of creating an optimum, science based, futuristic model of health care, that looks to strengthen the core, remove toxic inhibitors and attack the problem at its very root, and I am its first public and very willing subject.

Intelligent Nutrition

Having interviewed 100’s of doctors on our weekly radio talk show, I know what’s healthy … clean water, almonds, eggs, fruits and vegetables.  In my case however, after a thorough evaluation, I am severely allergic to two out of the five.  So it’s not only nutritional concepts hung on a ‘one fits all’ coat rack and marketed to the masses, but custom tailored personalized nutrition, based on ones fundamental biological function and need.

Supplements

Walk into one of those vitamin stores, there are literally thousands of choices, and each one of them claims to be better, more potent and natural then the one on the shelf next to it.  Which one should I buy, does my body need it, or does it need something else that’s on that Great Wall of products?  Having identified that my Homocysteine levels were elevated, Dr. Linchitz prescribed an all natural Anti-Homocysteine Complex by Premier Research Labs, as well as a State-of-the-Art Multi-Nutrient Formula and Mitochondrial Energy Optimizer from Life Extension, as well as a HepatoGen Liver Support from Complementary Prescriptions. Including some other office protocols, these are the fundamentals of my customized and personal needs for optimum function.

Correct Exercise

When I first stopped smoking cigarettes some fifteen years ago, I began jogging and eventually even ran the NYC Marathon.  Although I prefer running outside, when I belonged to a gym, I would use the treadmill.  In an effort to burn those last 15 pounds of fat, that seem to be following me throughout my life, I would run until the bottom of my T-shirt would bleed sweat.  Turns out, when the body is over worked, it no longer burns fat but retains it.  “In nature, children and animals exercise in bursts” Dr. Linchitz explains.  “They never do any sustained exercise.  A cheetah chases an antelope and if he doesn’t catch the antelope, he sits down and rests while the antelope rests maybe 50 or 100 yards away.”  So exercise that’s short and high intensity, that perhaps mimics the peak and valley of a cardiogram rather than the monotone of its flat line.

Stress Management

If you pay Long Island taxes, you’ve got stress! Period.  Add a couple of children, a daily commute, a type A personality spouse, and that sound you hear is your immune system opening the door to a new set of problems.  Understanding and incorporating a couple of simple ‘steam whistle’ pressure releasing levers is crucial for your body’s operating system to reset.

Detoxification

It has been found that a newborn can have as many as 78 traces of pesticides, industrial by-products, and mercury in the blood of its umbilical cord.  So it stands to reason that after 38 years of living on this planet, having 13 of my teeth filled with peanut sized amalgams that contain 52% mercury, breathing exhaust fumes and inhaling tire particles from millions of cars, not to mention all the tons of processed Chicken Kiev I’ve eaten over a lifetime, my body is filled with polluting agents, suffocating its natural desire for optimal health.  There may be little you can do about our toxic world, but there is plenty we can do to regularly and effectively detoxify our bodies, so that we can function in it.

Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy

As we age, the body becomes less and less cooperative in manufacturing the chemicals that kept it young and well.  Adding Bio-Identical hormones can help treat the symptoms of menopause, perimenopause, and post-menopause. A common misconception is that bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is only for women. Andropause or "male menopause" can also be alleviated by biologically identical hormone replacement therapy.  Dr Linchitz is Board Certified in Anti-aging Medicine and has extensive experience in bio-identical hormone balancing.
 

Richard Linchitz, MD is Board Certified by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry and the American Board of Pain Medicine, he graduated from Cornell University Medical College in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, has written two chapters in major textbooks on pain, articles and given numerous lectures and presentations. Doctor Linchitz retired from the pain field after he developed cancer, and after his recovery went into Integrative Medicine, he has since dedicated his life to helping people overcome and prevent illness in the most natural and least toxic way possible.  He can be reached directly at (516) 759-4200 and www.LinchitzWellness.com