One of the most powerful tools that has ever been introduced into my practice is the concept of a one week intensive program that is able to create significant changes in a very short period of time. I was introduced to this seven day protocol by my mentor, Dr. Robert Rakowski. This program has evolved in my practice into our Wellness Week. The Wellness Week has at its core the use of an approved medical food and fish oil, along with the utilization of one organic green vegetable consumed each day in unlimited quantities.
- You can make a profound change in the health path you are on in as little as one week!
Tomorrow my wife and I are starting our Wellness Week. I like to do a program like this once or twice each year as part of my wellness / prevention program. In this blog I want to share with you the following things:
- Why the Wellness Week is a week.
- An overview of the Wellness Week.
- Which medical food I will be using.
- Which complementary supplements I will be using and their rationale for use.
- My vegetable plan for each day.
- The books I will choose to be reading to help motivate and educate.
Why the Wellness Week is 1 Week
Let’s face it, everyone wants to get better yesterday. People come to my office with a myriad of complaints. Everything from irritable bowel to fatigue to hormonal imbalances to diabetes. Most people come to my office with a poor understanding of healthy eating, no exercise, unmanaged stress, and toxic overload. This leads them feeling fat, fatigued, depressed and in pain. The majority have been to doctor after doctor and placed on one medication after another…all to no avail. They are frustrated of being told it’s normal to feel sick and they are tired of being tired.
With the Wellness Week we are able to, in essence, provide a reboot of their body’s metabolism. Consider it a “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” for health. This doesn’t mean that all problems magically disappear in one week, but we have seen some amazing things happen after a Wellness Week. Acute pancreatitis pain resolve, reduction in 46 units of insulin, triglycerides lower over 25o points, chronic pain disappear, and twenty year migraines vanish. Admittedly, there are occasions where we don’t get the “outstanding” results we are wanting in one week, but these are actually the minority of the time. The Wellness Week razes the faulty structure of poor health and re-establishes a more solid foundation on which the healing process can begin.
In the June issue of Diabetologia, there was discussion of the ability to reverse Type II diabetes in one week with a program very similar to our Wellness Week. We have seen this happen for the past number of years, before this article was ever published. The key point is this…the Wellness Week is a very powerful approach to health. I have used it with the sickest of sick, as well as those very healthy patients that just want to get even better.
One week is not a huge investment. One week out of your year to focus only on your health, your well-being and your body is really a small price to pay for the long-lasting benefits that can occur from a program like this. One week can be etched into even the busiest of schedules. I have had patients perform this program that were in the middle of calving season, sitting in daily boardroom executive meetings, running around the house chasing kids, or just working a standard “9-to-5” job. I will be performing this Wellness Week starting tomorrow and have made no alterations in my busy clinic schedule. I will still be seeing patients, studying research, playing with my two boys and daughter, mowing the lawn, tending to house chores, etc. The point is your life doesn’t have to stop to do the Wellness Week. You just need to make the commitment to your health and put these as priority for one week and do what you are able to do.
An Overview of the Wellness Week
The Wellness Week is designed to use an unlimited amount of medical food (depending on your need and health goals), support with omega-3 fatty acids, and the consumption of one organic green vegetable (different one each day) in unlimited amounts. The medical foods I use are approved medical foods and have guaranteed purity, potency, safety and efficacy. I will typically choose between Ultra Clear Plus pH, Ultra Clear Renew, Ultra InflamX Plus 360, Estrium, or GlycemX 360 as the options. Each day an organic vegetable can be consumed in unlimited quantities. It can be eaten raw, steamed or sauteed in some olive or coconut oil with a little sea salt. The reason for this is to limit the load of food going into the digestive tract so that the consequences of a leaky gut can be addressed. (If you want to know more about leaky gut, sign up for our newsletter to receive instant access to our one-hour presentation on leaky gut). The importance of organic cannot be underestimated. The sick body cannot rally when it is intoxicated with pesticides, herbicides, etc. So the cleaner the food, the greater your results will be on the Wellness Week.
The decision of the medical food to be used is based on our history, examination and laboratory assessment. For example, one of the most important tests we use in our office for this is the BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis). We will perform this test before and after the Wellness Week to see how the patient’s body responded to the protocol and to direct further intervention if necessary.
Each day the Wellness Week participant should ensure proper bowel elimination, perform regular exercise, consume plenty of pure water, incorporate organic green tea, and also try to read health-promoting and lifestyle-motivating books.
Which Medical Food I Will Be Using
I have decided to use Ultra Clear Plus pH for my Wellness Week this week. This medical food is specifically designed to assist in the biotransformation of toxic substances and assist in elimination from the body. Toxins are ubiquitous and affect all of us. Most toxins are fat-soluble, meaning they must be converted into water-soluble compounds for elimination from the body. This is a very energy dependent process that requires key supportive nutrients. The Ultra Clear Plus pH covers all of these bases to ensure a safe and effective biotransformation process. Key support nutrients can also be used to tailor the program for your specific needs. I will list below the support nutrients I will be using.
Which Complementary Support Nutrients I Will Be Using
The following are the nutrients I have decided to use based on my health goals for this Wellness Week. These are in addition to the unlimited medical food shakes I will be using each day.
- EPA DHA Extra Strength – I will be using two capsules three times daily for three grams of EPA/DHA. Fish oils are anti-inflammatory and provide a healthy support structure to every single cell membrane in your body. They are termed essential fatty acids for a reason…they are essential for health.
- Dynamic Fruits & Greens – I will be using one to three scoops daily of the greens drink. This is a great way to get extra antioxidants, great phytonutrients and support alkalinization which will assist the detoxification process. Each scoop is equivalent to 20+ servings of fruits/vegetables.
- CandiBactin BR / CandiBactin AR / UltraParex – I will be alternating one of each of these each waking hour of my detoxification. I like to use these as antimicrobials. I want to ensure that I have a patent digestive tract that can detox properly and also balance out the good flora in my gut. We all have bacteria, fungus and parasites in our gut that live in a symbiotic relationship with a healthy body. When we are not healthy they can become pathogenic. I want to keep my body healthy and keep my gut flora in check.
- Ultra Flora Plus DF – I will be taking 2 capsules each morning of this probiotic blend.
- Lactoviden ID / Bifidoviden ID – I will taking 1 capsule of each daily to additional probiotic support during this one week.
- Celapro – I will take one capsule daily of Celapro. I like the additional antioxidant support this gives me and I do really well when taking this.
- D3-5000 – I will be using 20,000 IU daily of Vitamin D. This is because I just had my vitamin D levels checked and know my current status. I would not recommend taking this high of a dose unless you know your levels and are willing to have them rechecked to avoid toxicity.
- Serenagen – This is an adrenal adaptogenic support and I will be using two tablets three times daily.
- AdvaClear – I will be using 2-4 capsules with each medical food shake. AdvaClear is a bifunctional modulator and has the ability to balance out Phase I and Phase II of detoxification. This is a great way to buffer the detox process if I start to experience headaches, increased fatigue or some other reaction to the program.
I don’t place all patients on a program this intensive, but I am aiming to achieve some health goals in a short time and know that I can tolerate this well given the previous number of times I have done detoxification programs.
My Vegetables Plans For Each Day
Most of my vegetables will be consumed raw each day, but Jendi (my wife who is doing the program with me) may also lightly steam or sautee some of the veggies on our program. Here’s my intended daily plan to follow:
- Wednesday – fresh zucchini
- Thursday – broccoli
- Friday – green peppers
- Saturday – cabbage
- Sunday – asparagus
- Monday – spinach
Books I Will Be Reading During My Wellness Week
I like to “think right” which is part of the Magnificent Seven lifestyle. To help do this I enjoy reading motivational books that can provide quality to my life. My main “go-to” book is the Bible. The Bible is the road map I use to direct my life and it’s the source of comfort I turn to in time of need. This is my constant companion.
I also plan on reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and Put Your Dream to the Test by John Maxwell. I have read Maxwell’s book before, but it is a nice book to revisit. Good health can become more than a dream…it can become reality when you put your mind to it and make the necessary changes.
I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you. I welcome any questions or comments you have during the Wellness Week process. I will be posting on this blog site and on my Facebook clinic page. The Wellness Week is never really a walk in the park so I hope to help you understand how to overcome some of the obstacles you will undoubtedly face if you do the Wellness Week. I also know this from experience, the benefit of improved health that is measurable on lab testing, visible in the mirror, the improved cognition and mood, and the risk reduction of so many diseases makes the Wellness Week so worth it!
Want to sign up for our newsletter and receive updates, specials and more directly in your email? Subscribe to our newsletter and receive our free one-hour presentation entitled, “Eliminating Your Joint Pain, Depression and Indigestion By Treating Your Leaky Gut”.
