Two easy tricks everyone should do (according to Jeanne Falk, MD, integrative medicine provider)

The lightbulb moment for Jeanne Falk, MD, came when she was working for an insurance company. There was a weight threshold for bariatric surgery – meaning she would have to deny patients who didn’t weigh enough.?

“I thought, wait a minute. So you have to be in worse shape before we can help you?” she said.?

That insight led her to a new career quite literally dedicated to helping people live the healthiest lives possible.?

Trained as an obstetrician-gynecologist, which she practiced for 18 years, Dr. Falk left the field for a time to work as a medical director for an insurance company – which led her back to practice, but not as an OB-Gyn. She now serves at the Lifestyle Medicine and Wellness Center in Park City, Utah as Intermountain Health’s sole full-time integrative medicine provider. We caught up to talk about complimentary medicine, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the two easy things she thinks everyone should make part of their daily routine.?

What is integrative medicine??

Part of me thinks it’s basic medicine. We look at what we call your health foundations to make sure we’re doing things that science and data suggest can optimize health and wellness, decrease inflammation, and improve chronic conditions. So things like sleep, nutrition, mind and body practices, gut health, blood sugar, cholesterol, heart health. I’m trained as an OB-Gyn, but my integrative medicine practice applies to both men and women, so I see both.?

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Right, you trained as an OB-Gyn but then later did a fellowship in integrative medicine. What did that training entail??

A big focus is nutrition and how it relates to our basic biochemical processes, as well as sleep and good quality brain restoration, which improves cognition and may decrease risk for Alzheimer’s. A lot of botanical training, looking at plants and herbs, Chinese Medicine, ayurvedic medicine, mind-body medicine, energy medicine. These are all complimentary medicines that have a lot of history. It’s just not something most physicians receive a lot of intensive training in.?

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What might that look like in practice??

For example, if someone is going through perimenopausal or menopausal changes, I’m very comfortable with looking at hormone therapy as a treatment option. But many of these women will also have great benefit from investigating sources of inflammation that might be contributing to their symptoms.??

We might look at botanicals that support natural hormone production. We also use adaptogens, plant-based compounds that have historic roots in ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine, that work on the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis to help the body balance stress response through the cortisol pathways. Some can help with blood sugar, some help with pain, some help with relaxation and sleep. I like to utilize a whole-person evaluation to customize treatment to individual needs.?

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How does that fit into what you do at the Lifestyle and Wellness Center??

We have a great team here. A lot of patients are working on goals around improving physical muscle mass or working on weight, and we have clinical dietitians with body composition testing and exercise physiologists that help create individualized lifestyle plans. We also have a fabulous acupuncturist here – a traditionally Chinese medicine-trained acupuncturist. We have massage therapists trained in craniosacral massage and lymphatic massage and all sorts of medically indicated massage therapies. We have a lot of resources here to help put that whole wellness picture together, and we can help create comprehensive care plans to help patients stay on track with their goals.?

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Is there one thing you find yourself always recommending??

One thing I think most people could benefit from is magnesium supplementation at bedtime, especially at higher altitudes for more active people. Often people don’t get sufficient magnesium, and it’s so helpful for sleep and muscle recovery and headaches and gut health that it’s one I think most people could play around with safely. Too much magnesium gives you diarrhea, so you’re not going to get into too much trouble because it’s self-limiting.?

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What’s one thing you wish everybody knew??

The importance of breathwork as part of a daily routine (see below). It’s been shown to be so beneficial for improving stress and inflammation, mental health, blood sugar regulation, pain – across the board. The benefits are pretty remarkable.?

Breathwork basics with Dr. Falk