You really are what you eat.  You are also very much affected by the lifestyle you live.  Every item that enters your mouth will be digested and reconstructed into your living cells for use.  Although it is true that everything is broken down into general building blocks necessary for life (such as sugar, fat, proteins, etc), the quality of what you eat really affects how healthy each of your cells are.  A diet high in processed foods, sugars, fats, chemicals, additives, preservatives, and low in quality nutrients is harder for your body to process and leads to the building of lower quality cells.  If you rarely exercise, experience high stress, do not sleep well or enough, and do not partake in favorite leisure activities, this also stresses the body and reduces its effectiveness in maintaining balance and health.

It can be difficult in today’s world to fit in all that is conducive to an optimal life.  Missing one or two steps occasionally will generally not be a problem, as your body is very resilient and made to work under less than optimal conditions for a time.  Many people take advantage of this, however, and conclude that since they live the way they do and no signs of illness have appeared thus far, that they are living well enough.  It can take days, months, or years for various signs of body ‘dis-ease’ to begin to appear.  By the time these signs appear, it can take just as long to reverse the damage, if reversal is possible. 

The key is prevention.  Although it is nearly impossible to anticipate exactly which prevention measures should be taken for each individual, there are general prevention methods that can be included in a healthy lifestyle that are useful to ward off the majority of common complaints.  Your naturopath will also take into account your family history, your past and current lifestyle, and what medications and prevention measures you are currently  utilizing to assess which prevention measures may also be appropriate. 

Dr. Barker believes strongly in maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle and encourages her patients to care for themselves the best they can.  As a naturopathic physician, she believes that the best vitaminsand minerals come best directly from a whole foods diet and that, ideally, no additional supplementation should be necessary.  This ideal can be difficult to accomplish and the doctor does prescribe high-quality, absorbable supplements that can be taken to improve health along with a healthy diet.  Among these supplements are vitamins, minerals, CoQ10, trace elements, amino acids, herbal products, protomorphogens (animal derived extracts), and various other items that may be needed for a short time in higher amounts than can be taken in the diet to promote health.  

Dr. Barker also prescribes appropriate lifestyle measures that ensure proper health.  She works to educate her patients on how to correctly and safely perform various exercises and stress management techniques, as well as encouraging people to find leisure activities to enjoy. 

The doctor is supportive of and knowledgeable in various diets, supplements, and products useful in people who are vegetarian, vegan, or who need to take special dietary measures (such as diabetes, celiac, lactose intolerance, candida, etc.).

For more information about nutrition, supplements, and lifestyle, or to schedule your consultation, call
(928) 204-1986 or e-mail.

The information provided in this site should not be substituted for appropriate medical advice.  Each person is an individual and information and opinions provided may not suit your personal needs.  If you have questions, please contact Dr. Barker or a physician of your choice.