The Pyramid of Health

What Is the Pyramid of Health?

The Pyramid of Health is Dr. Proodian’s visual representation of functional medicine. This science-based approach to healthcare focuses on:

• Gaining a better understanding of what affects your health.
• Applying this knowledge to make better lifestyle choices.
• Preventing disease and maintaining good health.

Why Is the Pyramid of Health Important?

Most people focus on the end goal at the top of the Pyramid and the activities just below. In other words, they say they’re going to “eat right and exercise,” a generic phrase with no real meaning. They might explore stress reduction gimmicks. Society spends billions of dollars and countless hours on these daily activities.

The problem with this approach is that it ignores bio-individuality, which states that every individual has unique body chemistry and genetic structure. Decisions about how to exercise, what to eat, and how to temper stress should be based on information about the individual from the green and blue layers of the pyramid.

The key to achieving optimal health is to build a strong foundation of knowledge from the ground up. When you understand what affects your individual health and how your body functions, you can make informed decisions that move you closer to the ultimate goal at the top of the Pyramid.

An Overview of the Pyramid of Health

Foundation

These eight basic elements must be considered collectively to achieve optimal health. The traditional healthcare system typically treats them separately.

• Detoxification. The process of removing harmful toxins from the body.
• Epigenetics. How genes can be turned on or off by the life choices we make.
• Immunity. The body’s ability to fight off infections and toxins and maintain balance.
• Inflammation. The body’s natural response to injury, infection, and irritants.
• Digestion. The process of breaking down food for absorption into the bloodstream.
• Structural Integrity. The strength, stability, and health of trillions of human cells.
• Stress. How the body responds to different types of pressure or threats
• Energy. Resources in the body that enable physical and mental activity.

Topics

These four topics have the greatest impact on your health as an individual and public health across society.

• Healthcare vs. Sick Care. Proactively preventing disease to maintain good health (functional medicine) vs. reacting to sickness to restore good health (today’s healthcare establishment).
• Environmental Xenobiotics. How harmful toxins in the air, water and soil make us sick.
• Industrial Farming. The use of substances such as pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to grow crops and/or animals.
• Chronic Illness Epidemic. A worldwide problem largely caused by an endless cycle of treating symptoms of disease with medication rather (today’s healthcare establishment) than addressing address the root cause of disease through lifestyle change (functional medicine).

Triad of Health

• Physical, Nutritional, and Psychological. All three components of health must be addressed through daily activities to achieve true balance across the body’s many interconnected systems, resulting in an optimal state of health.

Daily Activities

• How to Exercise, What to Eat, and How to Temper Stress. The lifestyle choices you make each day should be based on knowledge of the lower levels of the Pyramid of Health and comprehensive testing and evaluation

Goal

• Feel Better. Function Better. Live Longer. The goals and benefits of optimal health are the ability to participate in activities you enjoy without pain or discomfort, have productive relationships with people you love, and live as many disease-free years as possible.

Schedule a Complimentary Consultation

We don’t expect you to know the Pyramid of Health like the back of your hand. However, the more you learn, and the more aligned your core values are with these principles, the more successful you’ll be on your way to the top of the Pyramid.

To begin your journey, schedule a complimentary consultation at Natural Healthcare Center. We’ll review your health records, discuss your history, answer your questions, and offer recommendations about steps you can take to improve your health.