As an integrative, holistic physician, Allan Warshowsky, M.D., says his patients fall into one or more of three categories: those who appreciate a natural, whole-person approach to health; those who haven’t found help for their health problems through conventional care; and those who feel well but want to optimize their health as they age. At his office in Rye, Warshowsky designs custom healing and wellness protocols for men, women and teens, combining the best of conventional medicine with the latest in integrative, holistic modalities.

 

As an integrative physician and a holistic gynecologist, what conditions do you treat, and how does your integrative approach work from a clinical standpoint?

I am double board-certified in OB/GYN and integrative holistic medicine, but I consider myself an integrative, holistic physician. That means that I can integrate other healing modalities, from functional medicine to Ayurvedic medicine, into healing protocols for people with chronic illness who have been failed by the conventional system.

We treat conditions related to the thyroid, hormones and metabolism, as well as adrenal fatigue and sleep and mood issues. We also help patients understand the connection between food and health, and spend a lot of time doing nutritional work. We promote this integrative approach holistically—appreciating the whole person, mind, body and spirit; searching for the causes of illness rather than just treating symptoms; and understanding that unconditional love is life’s most powerful healer. For me, this manifests as a commitment to self-nurturing and nonjudgmental self-awareness.

 

You see women, men and children in your practice. What inspired you to create a practice for the whole family?

After being in a somewhat conventional OB/GYN practice for 23 years, I converted my practice into an integrative holistic women’s health practice. I was no longer delivering babies or doing surgery.

Then, in 2006, I received a phone call from a patient’s husband, asking me to help him with his osteoporosis. When I tried to explain to him that I did not see men, he said that I’d healed his wife’s osteoporosis and that I could do the same thing for him. He convinced me to take him on as a patient. His health and his bones significantly improved, and I began seeing men from that point on.

Within a short time I was also working with teens and preteens with mood issues, stomach problems, fatigue, and many of the same health problems that their parents were seeing me for.

 

Thyroid health is a big concern these days. How do you help your patients turn around their thyroid health?

In my opinion, thyroid problems are becoming more commonplace for several reasons. One reason is that we are recognizing it more often in patients who in the past would have been told that they were depressed and put on Prozac.

Other reasons have to do with environmental stressors, from bad foods and worry to too much computer time, which affect the adrenal glands. The adrenal hormones are stress modulators and will reduce thyroid function at a certain point.

Infections such as chronic Lyme, which are on the rise, can alter the immune system, creating autoimmune thyroid problems. And fluoride and similar iodine-interfering minerals—bromide and chloride—are ubiquitous in our environment and also interfere with healthy thyroid function.

In our practice, we evaluate and treat all these issues to correct thyroid function. We use the desiccated thyroid hormones when needed to support thyroid function.

 

What other chronic conditions do you treat?

All kinds. We can treat them effectively because most of these conditions stem from underlying, foundational imbalances. The people with these conditions are generally chronically inflamed and suffer intestinal bacterial imbalance; they also tend to have symptoms like fatigue, mood and sleep disorders, digestive difficulties, weight problems and hormonal imbalances. By evaluating these issues and working to correct them, we can improve their health. Using these concepts, we treat a full spectrum of chronic illness, from neurologic issues to bone issues.

 

People fly in from far away for your nonsurgical fibroid treatment. What can you tell us about this, as well as your natural treatment for menopause and bio-identical hormone therapy?

The fibroid protocol is a prime example of my integrative, holistic approach to healing. My work healing fibroids holistically began while I was still performing surgery. While “waiting my turn” in the OR, I watched a colleague remove a normal-looking uterus from a 40-year-old woman. When I asked him why, he said he just could not stop her bleeding. I knew right then that her surgery was unnecessary, and that natural methods would have saved this woman’s uterus. Studies have shown that fibroids grow with hormone imbalance and inflammation. So by reducing those, we can reduce fibroid growth and perhaps even shrink existing fibroids. My protocol involves dietary changes, exercise and stress management, including meditation and visualization exercises.

During perimenopause, estrogen levels can be quite high, and so fibroid growth can happen if hormones aren’t kept in balance. We can use bio-identical progesterone to balance excess estrogens.

Fibroids stop growing in menopause because hormone levels are generally lower. But bio-identical hormones can help optimize the health of older men and women as they age. I’ve been working with compounded bio-identical hormones for almost 40 years.

 

For regular patients, you offer far infrared sauna for detoxing, weight problems and chronic pain. How does this treatment work?

An infrared sauna is beneficial for detox, weight loss, pain relief and skin healing, because infrared light waves pull toxins from the body.

Our saunas last from 30 to 37 minutes. Unlike a regular sauna that’s usually set at 180 degrees, ours is set at 125 degrees, and the patient’s sweat is comprised of 20 percent toxins, rather than 2 percent for a regular sauna. Patients leave feeling refreshed and energized.

 

Dr. Allan Warshowsky practices at 150 Purchase St. (the Hansa Building), Ste. 7, Rye, NY. For more info, visit DoctorAllan.com.