18 Feb
Wise Gurus

WWB Wise Guru Q&A Series Features New Book By Internationally Recognized Integrative Medicine Expert Dr. Victoria Maizes

WWB WISE GURU: VICTORIA MAIZES
Newly Released Book: HEAL FASTER ‘Unlock Your Body’s Rapid Recovery Reflex’

Victoria Maizes, MD, is the founding executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine and a professor of medicine, family medicine, and public health at the University of Arizona. An internationally recognized leader in integrative medicine, Dr. Maizes lectures worldwide to academic and community audiences on women’s health, vitality, environmental health, nutrition, and cancer. She is the author of Be Fruitful and Heal Faster, the editor of the Oxford University textbook Integrative Women’s Health, as well as the cohost of the Body of Wonder podcast.

CULTIVATING WELLNESS WISDOM

 

Coach Lauroly Q- Welcome Dr. Maizes! What I love about your book ‘Heal Faster’ and
your expertise is your healing approach is grounded in both medical science (you are an MD)
and wellness wisdom. You are a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine and the
founding Executive Director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Weil
is the iconic natural health doctor who put ‘alternative natural health’ on the map. I know
Dr. Weil and the integrative field have moved away from the word alternative. Tell us
why and define integrative health and medicine for us.

Dr. Maizes: Integrative Medicine synthesizes the very best of Western medicine with lifestyle advice as well as evidence-informed alternative medicine. It is a much broader paradigm with a larger “toolkit” that provides an abundance of strategies to help people heal. Because we would never want to eliminate the miraculous advances of modern medicine, the term alternative is inappropriate. Nor would we want to ignore the value of things that are left out of conventional medicine – such as acupuncture for nerve pain or the use supplements for mental health. Finally, we prioritize lifestyle recommendations incorporating what we are learning about circadian medicine and the value of different dietary approaches, reducing environmental chemical exposures, restorative sleep, sufficient movement, and tending to relationships.

Coach Lauroly Q- Okay with this foundational understanding, let’s jump right in and focus on the core concept of your much needed book! What exactly is the body’s rapid recovery reflex?

Dr. Maizes: Your rapid recovery reflex is my term for the intrinsic physiological mechanisms that are responsible for recovering from injury, illness, or surgery. It’s your body’s internal first response system, on call to restore equilibrium in real time. Perhaps it is best understood with a few examples. When you race up a flight of stairs, your recovery reflex instructs your heart to beat faster and pump more blood to your muscles and your brain. When your blood sugar rises after a meal, your recovery reflex signals the pancreas to secrete insulin which causes your body to absorb excess glucose. When a cell in your body mutates into a cancer cell, your immune system releases natural killer cells which destroy the cancerous cells before they multiply. These reactions are automatic and often invisible and they keep us healthy. It is only when healing is impaired that we must take steps to activate or support it – which is the subject of Heal Faster! 

Coach Lauroly Q- Can you share more about the scientific term homeostasis and is homeostasis a state unique to our own bio-individuality?

Dr. Maizes: Homeostasis derives from two Greek words: homoios which means similar and stasis which means standing still. In medicine, we usually define homeostasis as our body’s dynamic, self-regulating system that maintains an internal balance (milieu intérieur) and leads to recovery from any disturbance. We recognize it as an intrinsic capacity of our healing system that operates through a wide range of feedback systems and varies from person to person and within a person depending on their environment. (For example, a person living at a higher altitude will adapt to a new state of homeostasis by increasing their red blood cells to allow for more oxygen carrying capacity.)

Coach Lauroly Q- Your book ‘Heal Faster’ is exactly as it is promoted. A true tool-kit, guide and handbook for bouncing back from illness and injury. You have covered so much and yet managed to organize it all in threecomprehensive parts. Short lived conditions, longstanding conditions (we might know as chronic) and recovery from surgery. There is something for everyone in this book. With limited space and a blog format I decided that in the middle of winter it might be useful to focus on conquering colds and vanquishing viral infections. How many times have we all heard ‘it’s going around!” Why do some people not get sick even when it is going around? And if you do ‘catch it’ can you really reduce the severity and duration of symptoms without over-the-counter drugs? This is where ancient wellness wisdom is more readily accepted. There are so many cultures who have their own healing remedies passed down from generation to generation.

Dr. Maizes: This is an area where integrative medicine really excels; in contrast, conventional medicine doesn’t have tools that shorten the duration or intensity of a cold. I use a combination of the following for viral respiratory infections:

  • Raw garlic can be chopped, pressed or cut. Then let the garlic sit for 10 minutes. While it must be raw to be effective, it can be added to a salad dressing or mixed into a cheese spread on toast.
  • Honey forms a protective coating on the mucous membranes of the throat, reducing irritation and calming the tickling sensation that triggers a cough.
  • Throat Coat tea contains a blend of herbal ingredients including licorice root, marshmallow, and/or slippery elm, which soothe sore throats.
  • Zinc Lozenges are intended for use at the first hint of a cold. Get low-dose lozenges that contain 5-7 mg of zinc and suck on one every two to three hours while awake for an immune boost.
  • Elderberry has been studied and found to significantly shorter duration and severity of cold symptoms and the flu.
  • Vitamin C: While researchers continue to debate exactly how effective a vitamin C supplement is, I recommend taking it at the first sign of a cold as it is inexpensive and rarely cause any side effects.
  • Echinacea is a North American plant that stimulates the activity of white blood cells and reduces cold and flu symptom duration and severity Probiotics are live microorganisms found in foods such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha. They support your recovery reflex and alleviate cold symptoms by stimulating the production of antibodies and boosting the activity of immune cells. Look for a probiotic capsule that contains Lactobacillus rhamnosus or Lactobacillus casei rhamnosus.
  • NeilMed Sinus Rinse is a nasal irrigation system, designed to cleanse your nasal passages by flushing out mucus and reducing viral load.

Coach Lauroly Closing: Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, expertise and wellness wisdom. ‘Heal Faster ~Unlock Your Body’s Rapid Recovery Reflex’ is sure to become everyone’s go to healing guide. As an Integrative Health Coach focused on aging well, I would also like to flag the section of the book devoted to mastering menopause. We’ve come a long way in this area of women’s health and I appreciated your very balanced and integrative approach to the subject. Bravo!

Dr. Maizes Closing: Thank you, Laura! I worked quite hard to craft a “Mastering Menopause” chapter that
addresses the wide range of menopause questions that I hear all the time! I encourage readers to be curious about their bodies’ incredible capacity to heal. I want them to get to the root of whatever conditions they may be wrestling with by asking
questions, experimenting with different treatment options, and ultimately, restoring their health. I firmly believe in the healing potential of the human body. I want you to, as well.