Dr. Ashton Perroni, ND Explains How Naturopathic Medicine Can Strengthen Your Immune System

Now more than ever it’s critical that we practice preventative care to boost our immune systems, manage stress and tend to our body’s needs. I’ve been curious for a long time about Naturopathic Medicine and how/if it integrates with traditional Western Medicine. Can Naturopathic modalities help reduce our chances of contracting COVID-19 or minimize its impact if we do contract it? I interviewed Dr. Ashton Perroni, ND to help shed some light on these questions and more.

1. What exactly is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic Medicine is a primary health care system that focuses on prevention, treating the whole person and finding the root cause of a person's symptoms. Naturopathic Doctors are trained in both traditional healing methods and modern medical science allowing us to treat the mind, body and spirit by looking at disease from a more integrative and holistic perspective. The goal of Naturopathic Medicine is to use our least invasive modalities first, including herbs, food, lifestyle, nutritional supplementation and mind body interventions to stimulate the body's ability to strengthen weakened systems and bring the whole person back into balance. We use an individualized treatment approach that allows us to tailor each treatment plan to a patient’s needs and abilities.

2. How does Naturopathic Medicine "compete with", "supplement" or "replace" traditional Western medicine?

Me and the vast majority of my colleagues are aiming for integration of Naturopathic Medicine and Western medicine. I personally believe both medicines are essential and that people would benefit most if we are able to work together to formulate an integrative medicine model. I have several patients who work very closely with their MDs to monitor more serious medical conditions and prescriptions while working with me to reverse as much damage as possible and to bring the body back into an optimal state of functioning.

3. Many of my clients suffer from health issues related to sedentary lifestyles, overly processed foods, stress and a bevy of other "first world problems". Can you help them and how?

Absolutely! Naturopathic Doctors believe wholeheartedly that food is medicine, movement of the body is essential and that stress contributes greatly to almost all medical conditions. What a lot of people don't realize when they are eating processed foods and not nourishing their bodies is that they are starving their bodies of cofactors (vitamins and minerals) necessary for all processes in the body including metabolism, energy production and hormone and neurotransmitter building. When the body lacks the ability to accomplish these tasks it can lead to chronic fatigue, weight gain or inability to lose weight, inability to stabilize mood (depression, anxiety), hormone imbalances (thyroid disorders, menstrual cycle irregularities, infertility for both men and women etc.) and digestive issues. This coupled with a sedentary lifestyle can lead to more serious medical conditions that become more challenging to reverse such as diabetes, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, liver disease and cancer.

To add chronic stress on top of this throws the entire system into chaos. When a person is stressed the adrenal glands are triggered to release stress hormones, cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine to prepare the body for a fight or flight response. This is a normal reaction and causes no damage to the body when it is an occasional occurrence and we need to escape a dangerous situation. However, when the adrenal glands are triggered day after day for long periods of time due to work stress, family stress, school stress etc. the body is constantly being flushed with stimulating hormones causing insomnia and anxiety which over time drains the body. The adrenal glands begin to crash as they are being overworked, the immune system weakens, other hormonal pathways begin to fluctuate and once again the body is being starved of cofactors because they are all being used to produce stress hormones.

Naturopathic Medicine uses nutritional supplements to replenish the body of all vitamins and minerals, herbs to nourish and restore function to the adrenal glands and other weakens systems and provides stress management techniques (craniosacral, meditation, breathing exercises etc.) and herbs called adaptogens to minimize the bodies reactions to day to day stressors and encourage the rebalancing of all systems.

4. Given the state we're in with the Corona Virus presently, what do you suggest to people who want to safeguard their immune systems? Can you work with patients while we are "sheltering in place"?

During this time of quarantine I am offering telemedicine appointments to help people with any pressing concerns on immune support as well as other medical conditions. As I mentioned before diet and stress management are essential in supporting the immune system. I encourage people to eat whole foods, instead of stocking up on breads, pastas and grains stock up on fresh or frozen vegetables, bone broths and whole proteins. Go outside and take a walk at least once a day to get a little grounded and to get energy moving, exercise inside or outside but please continue to follow public health recommendations and practice social distancing over the next few weeks. Also, try to put some of those stress management techniques into play before you are forced back into the real world.

In terms of immune support vitamin C is huge as well as zinc, medicinal mushrooms especially reishi and cordyceps and antiviral herbal combinations such as echinacea, goldenseal, green tea extract and elderberry. None of these have been proven to 'cure' coronavirus however, they have all been proven to strengthen the immune system and have some antiviral effects so if you are exposed your body is more prepared to fight off the infection.

5. What is your background and why did you choose this path? And how can folks get in contact with you to work with you?

I've known since I was a child that I was called to be a healer but it wasn't until I was in college at SFSU that I realized the typical western medicine paradigm did not resonate with me. It was then that I met a Naturopathic Doctor and found that Western Medicine wasn't the only healthcare option and I fell in love with the principles and ideals of Naturopathic Medicine. Once I graduated from SFSU with a BS in biology and minors in chemistry and holistic health I attended Bastyr University California to acquire my Naturopathic Doctorate. It was there that I discovered a passion for educating my patients on how to take an active role on their journey to health and making sure each patient receives an individualized treatment for their condition. I am currently practicing out of Thyme Integrative Health, an amazing practice in Pacifica, CA that offers a variety of integrative care options. Feel free to check out my bio on our website which gives more specific details on how I practice and contact me with any questions at drashton@thymehealth.com.