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Well, it's been about a month that I have been operating from two wellness centers.
So, how's that going? I'm so glad you asked. It's going wonderfully. The other practitioners at both locations are very warm, welcoming, and make a great team to work with. It's terrific knowing, and working closely, with so many qualified healers- of all stripes. And with technology being what it is nowadays, I can be accessible by phone and email to patients no matter my zip code. Phone appointments, something that I have always offered, are particularly easy to book as I can be holding those from either location. This is shaping up to be a win-win: I can provide care to more patients in more regions of east Multnomah county without losing any quality of care that my patients have come to know and expect. So where and when can you find me in action? There will be minor adjustments to days and times of both clinics, depending on how the need at each location is shaping up, so just check my When & Where page, or the online scheduler websites for the most up to date information. For Apex Wellness Center in SE Portland, click here. For Gresham Wellness Center, click here. Thank you all for your ongoing support, Dr. Angela
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 So back in my "Nutrition 101" days of my Naturopathic medical education, I learned the commonly taught old school nutrition idea of: "weight loss = more calories burnt than consumed" So that's it, huh? Eat less calories, burn more calories and weight loss will be a sure thing? Well, most of us know it's just not that easy. In fact, many find that they gain weight during and after dieting, even if they increase their activity level. So what's going on?! The fact of the matter is, only 1 in 6 dieters keeping the weight off (after a year). So why can't we all just follow that easy formula and lose those extra pounds?! ...because it just isn't so simple. We are a little more complex than calorie consuming and burning machines (but you probably knew that already). An article published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association provides a little insight into some of those dieting and weight loss complexities. The publishing authors looked at overweight research participant using three different diet and weight loss programs and measured their success.  Hmm, call me skeptical. The three diets were low-fat, low glycemic and low carbohydrate (high protein). Under carefully monitored in-patient hospital settings, the low glycemic dieters burned an average of 200 calories per day more than the low fat. The low carbohydrate dieters lost 300 calories more per day than the low fat dieters but saw an increase in blood levels of inflammatory markers (cortisol and CRP). So what does this all mean?! Just follow the diet where people burned the most calories while being constantly monitored in the hospital? Well, that doesn't sound like a very enjoyable diet program to me. If you're considering a weight loss-focused diet and exercise program, think about getting an expert involved to guide your path to success. If you haven't heard by now, my past 'slim down & happy up' program sessions have provided women (& men) with guided, individualized meal planning, diet guidelines and exercise recommendations. Combined with unique natural formulas that I craft specifically to each participant, this really is my all-in-one tool to address weight loss and stress reduction for long-term success. Registration for our next session opens Monday, August 19th, full details here. Join us for 3 months, and just see what a profound impact you and I can have on your health and quality of life! The U.S. has roughly the same number of licensed Naturopathic physicians as it does comedians. I was surprised to learn this, since I know so many NDs (comes with the territory) but no comedians. I would guess that your average stand-up comedian would say the opposite. The most current statistic on numbers in our profession comes from an article written several years ago, which was seeking to quantify and describe the typical professional duties of an ND. In the U.S. there are about 1300 in the field, in Canada, there are only 500. I don't know what comparison I can draw for a profession of only 500, maybe rodeo clowns? In other words, the field is relatively small. And with hundreds of students graduating this spring from the seven accredited schools in U.S. and Canada, I expect the field to grow exponentially in the coming decades. Already, there have been leaps and bounds in the last few years that I've kept tabs on our profession- one after another, states have been initiating licensure or expanding the scope of Naturopathic physicians. What does the future hold for new and established NDs? And what for their current and future patients? And how about for the role of Naturopathy in integrative medicine, or just medicine as a whole? Some of the current developments are increasing residency positions and increasing integration of Naturopathy into federal and state health insurance programs. This can be seen in the recent changes to add NDs to provider lists in the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Oregon Health Plan's newly formed Coordinated Care Organization.
We have a lot to offer all of the above groups, and this will continue all the more so in the years and decades to come. Yesterday morning the Oregon state Senate passed SB 1580, keeping the non-discriminatory language intact. That's good news for those Oregonians currently or soon to be on OHP, Oregon's state insurance.
Thank you to those who wrote our lawmakers, requesting this language to remain in the bill. Our words of support and encouragement made quite an impact as they received 500 responses in the last five days. Next up, the bill goes to the Oregon House of Representatives for a vote in just a few days. Stay tuned as this story develops. Coordinated Care Organizations will soon be coming to Oregon, and Naturopathic Physicans will now be in the ranks of providing physicans. Have you heard that Oregon is changing its state-wide health insurance rules and coverage? Oregon Health Plan (OHP) will soon be insuring far more people than it currently is. What is now a difficult, lottery-based system to become a member of is morphing into a system of coverage for far more of our uninsured and medically under-served. With many thousands of insured soon to be covered and looking for care, Oregon's lawmakers are scrambling to write new legislation to outline future insurance structure. One thing's for certain: in a country already deficient in the number of primary care doctors we have, adding so many more to the patient pool will make for an even more burdened system. Good thing is, there's a few solutions. One of those solutions comes in the form of non-discriminatory wording of legislation. This allow for all those qualified and trained to step in to help fill the gaps in providing quality primary care to all those who need it. This includes my profession, Naturopathic medicine, which trains medical students to serve as primary care physicians (as NDs), who are not currently covered by OHP. There's only one main group opposed to this legislation wording: HMOs. This stands out, since HMOs (in my understanding) are all about cost savings as a means for profit margin growth, and preventive care has been shown to be the most ideal way to provide care and keep costs low (analysis by RobertWood Johnson Foundation in 2009). The time for submitting comments to legislators is closing tomorrow, so if you agree with the above, please consider taking a minute of your time and contacting your representatives (if you live in Oregon) at this site.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to keeping you abreast of the future developments in our state's healthcare reform. |
I'm Dr. Eloise Cortal, and I want to help you and your joints feel their very best.
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