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Health
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For Immediate Release:
Alternative Medicine Is In The Mainstream: Are you getting what you need and paying for what you get?
A federal report released January 12, 2005 indicates that nearly 1 in 5 adults use herbs and natural supplements for symptoms as diverse as hot flashes, bone health, age management and memory problems. The Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, reported to Congress that Americans are spending over $30 million dollars for alternative medicine products and services. Because these more holistic approaches are typically not covered by insurance or Medicare, these funds are coming directly out of the consumer’s pocket.
According to Dr. C.W. Randolph, Jr., a renowned medical expert on natural/complementary medicine, “there is both good news and bad news associated with the trend of more people attempting to take care of themselves in a more ‘natural way’. The good news is that more and more people are taking personal responsibility for understanding and addressing their health, wellness and age management concerns. I also applaud the fact that individuals are proactively searching out vitamins, herbs and natural supplements in an effort to stay well rather than just popping a pharmaceutically produced pill to fix their every ache and pain.”
“The bad news is that – when a person with good intentions buys these natural products- he or she can’t always be sure what they are getting. A law in 1994 authorized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set good manufacturing practices for all supplement makers; unfortunately, there is inspection process in place to insure that these manufacturing standards are adhered to.”
So how can the average consumer trust what is on the label? “In general, they can’t”, states Dr. Randolph. As a pharmacist and Board certified gynecologist who believes strongly in the potential benefit of natural medicines when coordinated by a physician in a whole-person approach to care and healing, Dr. Randolph decided several years ago to take this issue into his own hands.
First, he set up a compounding pharmacy in his own medical practice to formulate human-identical hormone therapy compounds. Dr. Randolph, co-author of From Hormone Hell To Hormone Well, has treated thousands of patients with human-identical hormone therapies. “As a pharmacist and physician, I oversee the production to insure that my patients are replacing the hormones that they are missing with ones that have exactly the same molecular structure as the ones their bodies produce. Unlike some physicians who continue to prescribe synthetic hormone therapies produced by pharmaceutical agencies, I don’t see my patients coming back with side effects as uncomfortable as weight gain and headaches are as life- threatening as breast or uterine cancer.”
Secondly, to assure that - when he recommended vitamins are herbal supplements -his patients got what was on the label, Dr. Randolph contracted with an FDA approved laboratory. He personally works with the director of the lab to oversee the manufacturing process to insure the identity, purity, quality, strength and composition of what goes into every bottle.
In 2004, Dr. Randolph co-founded Livesse, LLC to help other physicians offer natural/complementary medicine products and human-identical hormone therapies to their patients. “I kept getting calls from other doctors who were asking me to help them learn more about natural hormone therapies, as well as vitamins and herbal supplements. They wanted to help their patients but this wasn’t training any of us got in medical school. I realized that I didn’t have the time to personally train every physician who called and expressed an interest but I could set up a company that could meet their needs and, therein, better help their patients.”
“When a physician becomes a Livesse partner, they have access to all the products that have been extensively reviewed by myself and the director of our FDA laboratory for quality control. They know that what we say is in each bottle, really is. In addition, my team and I work to educate both the physicians and their patients about these products, their advantages, benefits and, also, their limitations.”
Dr. Randolph advises his medical colleagues that: “alternative therapies are not going away. There are volumes of clinical studies validating the value of these vitamins and herbal supplements. Whether or not their physician approves of natural medicine products, there is not denying that more and more patients are taking the matter into their own hands. As more doctors get their heads out of the sand they will realize that the fact that their patients are using alternative/natural medicine is an indication of the future of medicine.”
“Doctors today can do their patients a great service if they learn about these alternative medicine products and help their patients know that they are taking what they need and that they are getting what they pay for.”
For more information and to schedule an interview with Dr. Randolph: Contact: Daniel Decker Quantum Media Group 904-230-7529
Visit Dr. Randolph’s web site at: www.hormonewell.com
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