Live from the Integrative Healthcare Symposium

By Katherine Shagoury

Last week, over 1,500 attendees from across the globe gathered at the 15th edition of the Integrative Healthcare Symposium, which was held at the Hilton Midtown in New York City. Integrative Practitioner reported live from the conference sessions and the exhibit hall floor, bringing you exclusive interviews and an insider look in to some of the top presentations.

If you couldn’t make it to New York City, or want to catch up on some of the sessions, we’ve rounded up all our live coverage—consider this your VIP pass to IHSNY19. Enjoy!

Integrative Healthcare Symposium celebrates 15 years

The Integrative Healthcare Symposium celebrated its 15th edition today at the beginning of its 2019 conference in New York City.

Attendees from all over the world gathered at the Hilton Midtown, including many five-, ten-, and fifteen-year alumni, who were recognized today among 1,500 registrants during the opening remarks.

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Breaking News: Rodney and Colleen Yee named “visionary” at IHSNY19

Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, founders of Urban Zen Integrative Therapy, were recognized as the recipients of the Visionary Award earlier this morning at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

The Visionary Award, presented annual at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium, recognizes a thought leader who has moved the integrative healthcare community forward through their leadership and vision. Notable past recipients include Deepak Chopra, MD, Daniel Kraft, MD, Wayne Jonas, MD, and James Gordon, MD.

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Evidence base for yoga practice

Everyone should practice yoga, said Rodney Yee and Colleen Saidman Yee, founders of Urban Zen Integrative Therapy, and recipients of the Visionary Award, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

It’s not putting your legs around your head in a pretzel position, or bowing to mind-controlling guru, said Colleen Yee, speaking to some of the assumptions of the practice. Yoga is simply movement, focus, and breath, she said.

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The failures of nutrition science

It’s no wonder we’re all confused when it comes to nutrition science, said Mark Hyman, MD, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

When Hyman began looking closely at nutrition science and research, he immediately found significant bias and corruption across the board. Coco-Cola funds studies on the health of soft drinks. The sugar industry sponsors studies that find no harm in artificial sweeteners. The diary industry pays for research that concludes milk is an essential part of a healthy diet. The food industry is constantly influencing the opinion in their favor, says Hyman.

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The fully integrated, functional wellness program

Healing is a God-given birth right, said Dane Donohue, DC, CEO of 8 Weeks to Wellness, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Our current healthcare system is reactive, not proactive, said Donohue. It focuses on treating disease after it presents, rather than preventing disease and helping patients live optimally. In fact, 98 percent of healthcare spending is on sickness, not preventative treatment, he said.

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Better nutrition tools for better patient outcomes

You are not what you eat, but rather what you digest and absorb, said Ashley Koff, RD, CEO of the Better Nutrition Program, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

The current nutrition assessment landscape is challenging, said Koff. Patients are facing an epidemic of “infobesity,” or too much nutrition information, and it’s negatively affecting patient care efforts and outcomes.

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Fasting mimicking diets for regeneration, age-related disease

Curing disease is not the key to living longer, said Valter Longo, PhD, professor at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Looking at patients who have lived a long time and their lifestyles draws oversimplified conclusions, he said. Aging, and aging well, is a complex process and is dependent on several factors, Longo said.

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Breaking News: David Perlmutter accepts leadership award at IHSNY19

David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, ABIHM, neurologist, author, and lecturer at Empowering Neurologist, accepted the leadership award this afternoon at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

The Leadership Award, presented annually at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium, recognizes a pioneer whose contributions have shaped integrative healthcare and paved the way for other practitioners. Notable past recipients include Joseph Pizzorno, ND, Mark Hyman, MD, Mehmet Oz, MD, and Tieraona Low Dog, MD.

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Modern health meets ancient medicine

No foods heal you; the body heals itself, said Josh Axe, DNM, DC, CNS, co-founder and CVO of Ancient Nutrition and DrAxe.com, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Your body will use food as building blocks as it repairs itself, Axe said. An herb or food can change the environment to allow for greater healing, but the body possesses the innate ability to heal itself. 

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Controversies and strategies in autoimmune disease epidemic

There’s no doubt that autoimmune disease is on the rise in epidemic proportions, said David Brady, ND, DC, CCN, DACBN, IFMCP, director of the Nutrition Institute and associate professor of clinical sciences at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, at the at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium.

We are in the age of genes and SNPs, said Brady, but this it not a genetically-driven phenomenon.

“Genes don’t change that quickly,” Brady said. “This is about the way our modern environment is dancing with our genes and how it effects our gene expression.”

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Preventative medicine for neurodegenerative conditions, disease

If global dementia were a country, it would be the 18^th largest economy, said David Perlmutter, MD, FACN, ABIHM, neurologist, author, and lecturer at Empowering Neurologist, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.  

It’s costing us over $1 trillion to treat dementia, which is expected to rise $2 trillion by 2030. Many blame genetics, but the increase is not a sudden genetic change, Perlmutter said, but the environment.

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Survival strategies for four top environmental toxins

The four top environmental toxins are air pollution, bisphenols, phthalates, and perfloroalkyl substances, said Lyn Patrick, ND, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

There are 9 million global deaths annually attributed to toxins we breathe in, said Patrick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals tracks chemicals found in people and divides into percentiles, which indicate the levels of concern. The reports offer real-time data related to the chemical burden in free living adults and children in the U.S.

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Managing the gut-brain axis in health and disease

Start looking at your gut, said Robert Silverman, DC, DACBN, DCBCN, MS, CCN, CNS, CSCS, CIISN, CKTP, CES, HKC, FA, founder and CEO of the Westchester Integrative Health Center, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

The gut is 80 percent of your immune cells. It’s a bidirectional system between the gut and the brain and affects every aspect of our health, said Silverman, presenting on microbiota and the gut-brain axis in health and disease.

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How technology, genomics, biometrics, support integrative and functional medicine

Health is personal, said Jeffrey Bland, PhD, FACN, FACB, CNS, president of the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, at the 2019 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

“Lasting health comes from the interaction of our genes with our lifestyle and environment,” said Bland. “Personalizing this connection is the future.”

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Integrative Practitioner LIVE! featuring Dane Donohue, DC

Integrative Practitioner editor, Katherine Rushlau, interviews Dane Donohue, DC, live at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

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Integrative Practitioner LIVE! featuring Robert Silverman, DC, DACBN, DCBCN, MS, CCN, CNS, CSCS, CIISN, CKTP, CES, HKC, FA

Integrative Practitioner editor, Katherine Rushlau, interviews Robert Silverman, DC, DACBN, DCBCN, MS, CCN, CNS, CSCS, CIISN, CKTP, CES, HKC, FA, live at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Click here to watch the live video.

Integrative Practitioner LIVE! featuring David Brady, ND, DC, CCN, DACBN, IFMCP

Integrative Practitioner editor, Katherine Rushlau, interviews David Brady, ND, DC, CCN, DACBN, IFMCP, live at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Click here to watch the live video.

Integrative Practitioner LIVE! featuring Jeffrey Bland, PhD, FACN, FACB, CNS

Integrative Practitioner editor, Katherine Rushlau, interviews Jeffrey Bland, PhD, FACN, FACB, CNS, live at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Click here to watch the live video.

Integrative Practitioner LIVE! featuring Mark Hyman, MD

Integrative Practitioner editor, Katherine Rushlau, interviews Mark Hyman, MD, live at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City.

Click here to watch the live video.