Integrative Health in Omaha, NE

While the roots of holistic health can be traced back to ancient Greece, in more recent times it’s an area that’s become widespread and with good reason—many are benefitting from it. Maintaining good health has become increasingly more important, and unfortunately more complicated, with the changes in our environment, lifestyle, and any number of other hazards to be aware of and try to avoid at what seems like every turn. As a society we’ve tried to combat this by embracing integrative health, which focuses on the whole person and makes use of all appropriate best practices to achieve optimal health and healing. Found across the spectrum are a myriad of therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals in a wide variety of specialties, and a host of different professions with the propensity to positively influence outcomes.

With the evident success of this approach, terms have evolved to encompass exactly what integrative health is, particularly in recent years when the most forward progress has been achieved. According to the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, “Many terms have been commonly used to describe this field over the past two decades. Alternative medicine was a term used to express approaches that were separate from conventional medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) then became the preferred term, indicating a broad range of healing philosophies and approaches that were outside of conventional approaches but could be used as stand-alone alternatives or adjunctive approaches to conventional care. Integrative medicine is a newer term that emphasizes the integration of CAM approaches with conventional medicine, and is the term that is preferred by educational and governmental institutions.”

Just as defined, CAM approaches working in unison with conventional medicine is the way to achieve the best possible health and wellness. What’s more, you are likely already engaging in this approach on some level, whether or not you made the conscious decision to do so. Here are a few of the most common ways you could incorporate what are considered to be holistic practices with excellent benefits for health and wellness, courtesy of our local resources!

According to a startling statistic found on NaturalNews.com, 95% of chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies, and lack of physical exercise. So let’s first address the leading three because it’s all about what we put into our bodies–our diet. There are many foods out there with beneficial nutritional content that can help out with any number of ailments, keeping us healthy and properly fueling our bodies. And, unfortunately, there are many that lack any nutritional value whatsoever that we are drawn to because they are “easy” or “delicious”, particularly of the fast food variety. A healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases, making it a key component in an integrative health approach.

“Today it’s just as much about knowing what to put into your body as it is knowing where it was sourced,” advises Kathi Bratberg, owner of Eat Well Nutrition & Wellness. “With the toxicity in our food supply, it’s critical to find places locally that you can trust and are transparent about where the food comes from and how it was grown or raised instead of just going to any store and trying your luck. Avoiding as many of the chemicals and processed foods as possible is the key to prevention of a wide variety of different health issues that have become increasingly prevalent in our population. The best part about healthy foods is that they can help our bodies detox themselves or can be incorporated to target and combat a wide range of health issues! It’s a win-win when you support the environment and it supports you back.

With a background in mainstream and functional medicine, a nutrition degree, and holistic training, I’m uniquely situated to help people find natural, practical solutions that will positively impact their health and wellness. There’s always more to learn, new ways to look at things, and along with new problems come new solutions. Instead of searching for magic pills or quick fixes, focus your time and energy on being proactive, gathering the knowledge that will set you up for success and then committing to the follow-through. Nutrition is very much a lifestyle change, so I advise my clients to pick a place, any place to start, and just go for it! Once you’ve got that down, add another. This way, in 6-9 months you’ll find that you’ve made tremendous changes without it being painful. And remember, if you don’t recognize the ingredient, you probably shouldn’t eat it!”

In addition to eating well, it’s equally important to stay active and keep your spine healthy, which will keep your entire body functioning optimally.

“We see many people that come in with detrimental effects due to prolonged sitting,” advises Brad Schmitt, DC, owner of Schmitt Chiropractic & Rehab, PC. “Sitting does a number of negative things for your health, most often presenting as neck pain and headaches. Low-back pain, mid-back pain, shoulder pain, wrist pain, and numbness in arms/hands are also very common. The posture that is created due to prolonged sitting is a major factor, and simply trying to sit up straight will not fix the problem. Getting the spine functional again and doing the correct type of exercises to correct the posture are needed. One simple thing you can do throughout the day is switch back and forth from seated to standing desk if possible. Also, doing the correct exercises to strengthen stability in the scapula (shoulder blades) is essential.

If you have a spine, and you live in today’s world, there is an extremely high chance that there is dysfunction of some sort. That dysfunction happens well before we even feel pain, so just because someone is not experiencing pain yet does not mean chiropractic won’t benefit them. Chiropractic continues to become more mainstream, but it is a holistic approach nonetheless because it aims to correct dysfunction in a natural way with minimal side effects. All of our services are considered alternative/holistic because they do not include pharmaceutical intervention. Everyone can benefit from chiropractic care.”

In closing, consider the following information sourced from the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, which can be found at aihm.org.

“We are all too aware of the staggering economic impact of the most common preventable chronic diseases. Integrative health and medicine focuses on prevention, high-quality partnerships among clinicians, a collaborative relationship between practitioners and patients/clients, and evidence-based therapies that are not only effective, but tend to improve health. These areas of focus may feel merely conceptual within a conventional framework, but they are the driving factors behind the success of an integrative health model. It is important to understand that integrative health is inclusive of conventional care; over 40% of hospitals offer at least some integrative services to inpatients, and integrative services are now becoming normalized in institutional and clinic settings.

It is clear that the appeal of integrative health and medicine to patients is escalating. Use of integrative health and medicine is as high as 90% for certain patient populations in the US and is 38% for all adult Americans. The most common conditions successfully treated are chronic pain, gastrointestinal disorders, depression/anxiety, cancer, and stress.

Data from the Bravewell Collaborative demonstrated the efficacy of an integrative approach to health care derived from three sources: research conducted at universities, studies at corporations for employee wellness and pilot projects run by insurers. The research also revealed that significant health benefits can be realized by using three strategies: integrative lifestyle change programs for those with chronic illness, integrative interventions for people with depression, and integrative prevention strategies for all.

Additional research is anticipated to continue to confirm that integrative health and medicine support the triple aim to improve the experience of care, to improve the health of populations, and to reduce the per capita costs of health care.”