Dr. Aieta is not your typical physician. While the conventional medical world has made incredible strides in the treatment of diseases, he firmly believes that we can learn a great deal from the wisdom of nature, and that in many cases, prevention and healing can be achieved through natural means. His unique approach to healthcare marries the best of both worlds, combining traditional medical knowledge with the healing power of nature’s remedies. As we delve into the world of Naturopathic Medicine and Dr. Frank Aieta’s extraordinary journey, we’ll discover how his passion for natural healing has transformed the lives of many and offers a refreshing perspective on healthcare in an age of high-tech medicine. Join Mystic Mag as we explore the philosophies, methodologies, and the remarkable career of a modern-day healer who’s making waves in the world of medicine.
Can you share a memorable patient success story that highlights the power of naturopathic medicine in uncovering and treating the root causes of illness?
I’ve had numerous success stories over my 22-year career as a Naturopathic Physician but one in particular stands out. About 5 years ago a 24-year-old woman sought me out to help her deal with 2 debilitating health issues. She had been suffering from severe inflammatory bowel disease coupled with psoriasis that was covering about a 1/3 of her body. She was being treated with several heavy-duty medications designed to suppress her overactive immune system. She hated the way the medication made her feel and she was still having a lot of breakthrough symptoms with both conditions despite being on the meds. When we met, I took a very in-depth history and performed a physical exam as well as extensive lab work including a food sensitivity test and comprehensive stool analysis. The results of her labs showed numerous sensitivities to foods she had been consuming on a daily basis and some pretty severe nutrient deficiencies. Her stool test revealed an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria in her digestive tract that was most likely thriving due to her immunosuppressive drug treatment which was potentially exacerbating her skin and bowel issues. We immediately went to work on changing her diet and addressing her nutrient deficiencies as well as balancing her digestive microbiome using specific botanicals and nutrients. I’m happy to say that within a very short period of time we were able to put both conditions into complete remission. We were also able to slowly wean her off all her medications. To this day she remains symptom free and continues to adhere to her healing diet and dietary supplement regimen.
After 20 plus years of practice, what have been the most significant changes or advancements in the field of naturopathic medicine that you’ve witnessed, and how have they influenced your approach to patient care?
I think the advancement in specific specialty testing relating to identifying food sensitivities, genetic predispositions, digestive microbiome imbalances and hormones has been crucial in my ability to better identify the root cause of patient illness. Through these more functional tests, I’m now much better equipped to design treatment plans that are more individualized as opposed to following the one size fits all, disease-based model that conventional medicine tends to follow.
What type of services do you offer?
In my practice I implement a lot of nutritional and lifestyle counseling with patients as the core of every treatment plan. On top of this I will use botanical medicine, dietary supplements, homeopathic medicine, acupuncture and physical medicine to address the root cause of patient illness.
Diagnostic methods in naturopathic medicine may differ from conventional medicine. Could you elaborate on some of the diagnostic tools and techniques you employ to uncover underlying health issues?
As I discussed in the case study I presented, I will use more functional testing such as food sensitivity testing, digestive microbiome assessment through stool analysis, and advanced micronutrient and hormone analysis through blood, urine and saliva. I will still run extensive conventional blood work on patients but the difference is in my interpretation of it. I adjust the conventional reference ranges to correspond more to wellness ranges. I tell patients all the time we don’t want to compare you to a population of sick people and lab ranges that are based upon statistics and less on actual wellness. I will also rely on conventional diagnostics especially any imaging and will frequently refer out to specialists when warranted, for a deeper look in ruling out more overt pathologies.
Personalized treatment plans are a hallmark of your practice. How do you go about tailoring treatments to individual patients, and what role does patient involvement play in the process?
The individualization comes from the extensive functional testing and spending a lot of time just talking with the patient though my interview process. Really getting to know the patient and asking the right questions can oftentimes lead me to answers that may have been otherwise missed though a conventional 7 minutes average office visit. I think a good physician really needs to be a detective and try to gather as much information as possible, making patient involvement crucial. That one missing piece of information from the patient can make all the difference in the clinical outcome of the case.
With your extensive experience, you’ve likely seen a wide range of health issues. Are there any emerging trends or conditions you find particularly intriguing or promising in terms of natural treatment options?
I feel that the future of successful medicine really comes down to individualization in patient care. We really need to move away from our current conventional, one size fits all, protocol and algorithm driven, disease-based model of medicine. We need to embrace a more individualized, wellness-based approach especially with the huge emergence of chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes to autoimmune diseases and cancer. I feel that only with a more natural, root cause driven approach can we work on eliminating these rapidly evolving health problems. I feel that conventional medicine does a great job when it comes to more emergency, acute care but really misses the boat by a mile when it comes to addressing chronic disease. Only a true holistic approach can really get deep enough to turn around all the chronic illness we are seeing today. The conventional approach of applying an acute, suppressive treatment to a chronic disease, in the long run, can just end up making the patient sicker and more reliant on the medication.
