I first came to the conviction that diet, lifestyle, exercise, and sleep were primary determinants of health during my chiropractic education. With a Naturopathic Doctor as a mentor, I experienced early successes in my clinical practice that further convinced me that you could restore health by changing lifestyle habits. I knew that patients required resources, encouragement, and coaching in order to make these changes and I did not have the time or the knowledge to discuss them during appointments. I tried many times to give patients a one page handout to help them make those changes but only a small percentage of patients could do it; most could not.
This led me to believe that until I was able to give patients this type of education, I would never see the clinical effectiveness I knew possible and our ability to help patients would never reach its potential. I decided that when I built my own practice one of my first hires would be a nutritionist, who could come alongside people and walk them through the changes necessary to regain their health. Having a nutrition and lifestyle coach on my team allows me to be more involved in a patients’ transformation on the level that I enjoy most, which is clinical decisions and test interpretation. The other aspects of health that are just as important, such as instilling dietary changes, lifestyle habits, and decreasing external stressors, has been delegated to somebody who enjoys it more than I do, and is better at it than I am. The collaboration has been highly satisfactory and has given me additional insight about patients. They tell the nutrition therapist things about their life that they either forgot or never intended to tell me, but give a more complete picture of the patient. As a team, we have significantly improved our clinical success. We are now able to help the vast majority of patients achieve their health goals in five months versus the 15 months to 24 months it took prior to working with my nutrition therapist.
Due to this significant level of success, I have become much firmer in my stance that patients work with my nutrition therapist. In the past, I “suggested” hoping that they would take me up on it and now I insist nearly every patient work with my nutritionist, with very few exceptions. This stems from the fact that patients who open themselves up to change and new information from our highly knowledgeable and effective nutrition therapist, have seen dramatic health improvements versus slight improvements. I also emphasize detoxification and a diet written to reduce toxins. Cornerstone Health Community now offers detoxification classes taught entirely by our nutrition therapist. These classes have been one of the more impactful programs that affect not just dietary change, but life change, leading to health restoration and wellness.
For patients who are reading this, we want you to have confidence that we have an expert who can help guide you in the primary determinant of health, the food and drink that goes into your body. Our nutritionist can guide you through the murky waters of choosing the right diet for you, one that reduces inflammation, balances blood sugar, and provides the kind of vitality that will restore your health. For practitioners who are reading this, I want you to know that you can reach new levels of clinical effectiveness that you have never before experienced, if you will bring in a talented person to help guide patients into a lifestyle of wellness.
~ Dr. Christopher Mote, DO, DC
