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Treatments

We strive to find the most appropriate treatment for each individual. We address the physical, mental, and emotional health of each individual, resulting in a comprehensive and holistic approach. Our comprehensive approach helps us treat the underlying cause of illness, offer a larger variety of treatment options, minimize side effects, and provide long term health benefits.

Nutrition is the foundation for health and ensures your body functions optimally. Forming healthy eating habits is essential in reducing the risks of chronic disease and improving health overall.

Addressing nutrition is integral in a holistic approach and is not one-size-fits-all. While we offer nutritional guidelines even for the healthy individual, certain chronic conditions require specific nutritional approaches.

We use nutrition with a variety of health conditions, including arthritis, colds, flus, heartburn, irritable bowel disease, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension, osteoporosis, and others.

Ideally we can help you achieve your nutrient goals through diet alone but when that is not sufficient we will recommend the therapeutic use of nutritional supplements.

North Star offers guidance in generally healthy eating and nutrition. We also help with more specific dietary recommendations such the Mediterranean diet, sports nutrition, metabolic eating, low histamine diet, low FODMAP diet, and many others.

We can help you with the diagnosis of food allergies/intolerances and the dietary modifications that result. Food allergies may include celiac disease, lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance, and others. We understand that changing one’s diet is a challenge but we will support you through this process one step at a time.

We utilize a variety of herbal medicines when appropriate.

Herbal medicines are a powerful tool in the treatment of acute and chronic conditions. However, they can be harmful or a waste of money when used inappropriately. Professional guidance is necessary to assure quality, effective products and avoid harmful interactions.

Herbal medicine can be a useful treatment in combination with other treatment recommendations like nutrition or physical medicine.

Our patients take only high quality herbal products. We generally only recommend products that have enacted voluntary quality assurance and quality control using the proposed FDA cGMP standards.

Many companies voluntarily comply with cGMP standards. However, the companies that don’t implement cGMP guidelines may contain contaminants, fillers, or be absent of the listed contents. We cannot evaluate every product and will recommend only specific companies that we know adhere to these guidelines.

We recommend herbal products for a variety of acute and chronic conditions like anxiety, insomnia, GI complaints, diabetes, urinary tract infections, ear infections, musculoskeletal injuries and others.

Herbal medicines may be prescribed in capsules, tinctures, topical salves, lotions, oils, suppositories, solid extracts, poultices or teas.

Only take herbal medicines recommended by a practitioner well-versed in the indications and contraindications as well as knowledge of the medications you are taking.

Hydrotherapy involves the therapeutic use of water in a variety of forms from ice packs to hot soaks.

Hydrotherapy is commonly used by physical therapists and doctors, and as a home remedy to treat acute injuries.

We may recommend:

Ice to reduce inflammation.

Hot baths to increase circulation, relax tight muscles, or assist in detoxification.

Contrast hot and cold applications to stimulate blood flow and promote healing to a specific area or the whole body.

Steam inhalation to open up the sinuses.

Infrared sauna to assist in detoxification.

Stress is a part of life that can’t be completely avoided. We can help you find ways to reduce your exposure to stress and improve the way you respond to it. We will assist you in identifying your triggers and help you learn coping mechanisms that are realistic for you for when triggers are unavoidable.

Stress reduction is an integral part of a holistic approach in disease management. We recommend the use of stress reduction in the treatment of most acute or chronic conditions. Chronic exposure to stress hormones is associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid dysfunction among others.

Symptoms of Stress

You may not realize that you are experiencing chronic stress.

Common symptoms of stress include rapid heat beat, headaches, stiff neck or shoulders, back pain, shallow breathing, sweating, or gastrointestinal symptoms like upset stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.

Our Recommended Techniques

These may include meditation, guided visualization, exercise, deep breathing techniques, yoga, counseling, foot reflexology, healthy sleep habits, herbal medicines, nutritional supplementation, or community resources in support of making bigger life changes.

 

When appropriate we prescribe pharmaceuticals for a variety of conditions. While we try to avoid the use of pharmaceutical prescriptions, we recognize that there are times when they are the most appropriate treatment.

We can manage medications that have been prescribed to you by other providers. If you have been placed on a medication by another provider and want to discontinue it, we will work with you and your provider to see if there is an appropriate alternative.

Some medications can be difficult to stop and require a slow reduction in dosage to wean your body off of them. Never abruptly stop taking a medication unless told to do so by a doctor.

Please note that not all conditions can be treated naturally or solely by a primary care provider. We may refer you to a specialist for medication management when necessary.

Managing Drug Interactions

Some herbs and supplements can be dangerous when taken in combination with medications.

NDs are trained in pharmacology combined with herb and nutrient therapy, and are uniquely able to recognize potential interactions.

We look into interactions between what we recommend, and also evaluate what you are taking. If taking a medication, never take an herb or supplement without first consulting your doctor.

Exercise is one of the most essential parts of any healthy lifestyle and treatment plan. We will discuss what types of exercise you are getting and help you find ways to optimize your approach to meet your goals.