Introducing the Women’s and Men’s Elite Health Programs

by Dr. Jonathan Otten

Independence Day Sale! We are currently offering an additional discount (up to $500 savings) on our already discounted health packages - see chart for pricing.

I am very excited to announce that Northern Lights Medicine is now offering a women's health optimization program, in addition to our men's health optimization program, which has been quite popular.  

For many years, one of my greatest passions has been to optimize health and aging by using the tools of naturopathic and functional medicine. While it was never my intention, I have become skilled at dealing with rather complex illnesses that often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years. Patients with complex health issues currently make up the majority of our practice. While helping individuals recover from these diseases has been rewarding, we want to make room in our practice for something that I have been passionate about for years - true preventative medicine.

So, today I’m very excited to announce our new Women's Elite Health Program. 

The Background - Likely “preaching to the choir”

In the United States we spend a whopping $4.3 trillion on “healthcare” (really “disease-care”) and over 80% of these dollars are spent treating chronic diseases. Now, according to the CDC, 60% of adult Americans have at least 1 chronic disease! And yet, it is entirely possible to live a life free of chronic, degenerative diseases.

There are areas of the world where people are functional and healthy in body and mind, basically up until the day that they die. This is the life that I hope for every patient of mine. There’s an engaging Netflix documentary about those places in the world where people are routinely living to 100 with good vitality. Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones 

Watch the trailer here.

Every person deserves to have the opportunity to optimize their biomarkers and support healthy aging, functionality, and longevity.

At your primary care annual exam, very few labs are routinely done. This is largely because the medical model is really focused on disease diagnosis and management, rather than on health optimization.  For example, do you know your homocysteine level, vitamin D level, inflammatory indices, full thyroid studies, and testosterone and estrogens levels? Do you know that how your estrogens are being detoxified affects risk for certain cancers? And all of this information can be assessed with a detailed lab workup.

Knowing these metrics and optimizing them (and dozens of others) is key to unlocking robust physical and mental health.

Why a women's and men’s health program?

In today’s medical environment, even if a person is proactive about their health - diligently sees their primary care provider, does their annual physical with basic blood work, and dutifully follows the advice of their primary provider - there is SO MUCH MORE that should be done to optimize their health and aging that is simply overlooked. We are offering these personalized health packages to fill this void that conventional medicine simply cannot provide for their patients under the existing insurance model. 

Why a different package for men and women? While this is potentially a larger discussion, simply put - there are different metrics that are crucial to optimizing the health of a biological male vs. a biological female. For example, we monitor a PSA (prostate specific antigen) to monitor a male for the risk of prostate cancer. This marker has no utility in women, but other metrics (such as estrogen metabolites), can help us to assess and reduce a woman's risk for breast and cervical cancers. 

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” - Benjamin Franklin

At Northern Lights Medicine, we are offering a very extensive, in-depth analysis using numerous lab tests (biomarkers) that give us valuable information as to how we can optimize your health. Many of these markers are not routinely assessed in primary care, in part because there is no drug treatment to correct many of them and insurance companies dictate which labs they will cover, based on a patient’s diagnostic codes.

The bottom line is that our health is our #1 resource. Without good health, it’s tough to be fully present for our loved ones and we cannot serve our community to the extent we otherwise would. Poor health can rob us from enjoyment of relationships, sports, recreational activities, and hobbies. 

Perhaps there is a person in your life that you would like to see in optimal health. Perhaps he or she appears perfectly healthy (has robust energy levels, is physically fit, has good libido, and is cognitively sharp, etc.). Believe it or not, this is exactly the time to intervene by optimizing hormone biomarkers, nutritional indices, cardiometabolic markers, inflammatory markers, and insulin signaling. When these markers are optimized, many feel their best and serious disease can be prevented.

Alternatively, there may be a man or woman in your life who has no major health issues, but has some minor aches/pains, lacks the energy of youth, has low libido, suffers from anxiety or poor sleep quality, or is simply 20 pounds overweight. This person could benefit from this workup, especially if they have the motivation to make some adjustments to their lifestyle to feel great again! 

Many individuals at their annual physical only get about $50 worth of lab work. Included in each of our health packages is over $2000 of lab work! Each of the health packages will include a health history intake visit, including our taking the time to understand his/her health goals, a lab visit (fasting), and a detailed follow up visit to review a personalized treatment plan based on the laboratory findings. We are including a discount on each of these health packages, so there will be some savings vs. the “a la carte” model that we currently use in our practice. This would be a great way to spend your HSA dollars!

Our practitioners’ schedules are largely booked with chronic illness patients, so we are limiting this offer to the first 20 men and women who sign up. We are currently offering an additional discount on our packages that is good through Independence Day! (You do not have to schedule your first visit before Independence Day - just call or reach out to take advantage of the additional savings.)

Please see the illustrations above & below for different plan options!

Call our office today at (651) 493-1845 to take advantage of this promotion while it lasts! If you do not connect, just leave a message with your name, and please let us know that you would like to take advantage of our Independence Day Sale. 

You can also email staff@northernlightsmedicine.com, or leave a message in our secure patient portal. 

*Depending on each individual’s health history and lab results, additional follow-up may be recommended, which is not included in these packages.

** While a detailed plan of action is provided, this package does not include the cost of any supplements or medications, lab imaging or additional workup that might be recommended based on initial lab findings.