Dr. Galitzer is an esteemed physician and expert when it comes to energy medicine. Us AOBF girls are all about trying new methods on how to feel and operate at our very best. We took a field trip to see Dr. Galitzer together and wanted to share our experience from three different stages in life with different needs as it pertains to our energy. Kirby is a newly married 20 something who was feeling sluggish and tired despite a rigorous work out schedule and very clean diet. I am a 30 something working mother of three who recently stopped breastfeeding and hormones are adjusting to life after three babies. Chris is a fairly new empty-nester. Without further ado… here’s our take on energy medicine and the best of the business; Dr. Michael Galitzer.
Alatheia x Dr. Galitzer
I am a long time sufferer of migraine headaches. Since I was 16, I’ve had them. The only remedy is chiropractic care (by the one and only Stacey Gillis of Harbor Family Chiropractic)- but I have to go consistently, which I am not the best at doing. One of my favorite clients and dear friends, Cornelia Guest and I chat on the phone all the time and she knows of my ailment and suggested I see her dear friend, Dr. Galitzer. Finally, I went to see him in LA and he is well worth the drive. Funny enough, when I went to see him, several of my other friends and clients are also his patients; Jill Willard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vanessa Williams, Tony Robbins and so on. He has quite the star studded clientele and you can read a more detailed interview he gave to goop below.
I love homeopathic medicine. I believe in it. I’m never sick, I don’t take medicine… I didn’t grow up in a house that believed much in traditional methods. I married a man who comes very much from the same kind of family. We believe in health, nutrition, stress management…that the body takes care of itself (for the most part) when you take care of it.
Dr. Galitzer’s methods were very much in line with this way of thinking. He ran a panel of tests on me to find out that it was my liver that was doing the damage and creating my migraines. I had far too many toxins in my system which were overloading my liver. I also am gluten intolerant so have been suffering from leaky gut, which, btw, has to be the most disgusting term I’ve ever heard. He takes an approach that is all about emotional health as well. Stress management and dealing with your emotions in a healthy way keeps your body running how it should. He talks a lot about letting go of anger and resentment as well as breathing and making sure you take time for self care.
Lastly, he creates a special concoction of vitamins and minerals to help with what ails you. These combinations are taken daily and they taste absolutely awful, much like those adaptogens and such, but I feel so so so much better and haven’t had one migraine since, remarkably.
His office is great because he always has new cutting edge technologies in this field. He infuses water with energy, has light therapy where you shine light intravenously into the body to kill certain bacteria, magnetic therapies, these really cool glasses that have the same wavelength as the earth’s core frequency… sounds crazy, I know, but I believe he is really on to something and I trust him.
The proof is in the pudding. I feel great, I’ve lost weight, I haven’t had a migraine in over 30 days. Incredible! No wonder everyone loves him. Once you start feeling great, there is no substitute.
Kirby X Dr. Galitzer
As a certified Holistic Health Coach, I’m always looking for alternative holistic therapies to try. I went to Dr. Galitzer with what most 20-somethings complain about: stress and fatigue. It’s frustrating to me that I’ve had to deal with constant sluggishness while I still get 8 hours of sleep at night and maintain a clean diet and regular workout schedule.
I’ve been trying to go find the root of this issue for a while now as I’d like to feel my best before I start having children. I love and truly believe in the power of energy medicine so I was excited to learn more about it and hear Dr. Galitzer discuss its future of holistic healing. I also loved that he is such a big fan of light therapy- as I’m learning more and more how incredibly powerful it is. (I recently purchased a handheld LightStim from Hotbox Sauna Studio in DTLA which uses LED light therapy to relieve muscle and joint pain, reduce inflammation and stiffness, increase blood circulation, speed healing, and diminish bruising.- TBD on how it works!)
One of my favorite parts of my appointment was when Dr. Galitzer put me in the VibraSound Room to give me an extra pick-me-up because I was feeling my daily 3PM sluggishness (shocking!). The VibraSound consists of four main parts as Dr. Galitzer states in his book, Outstanding Health:
1. Vibrotactile mattress that sends music as vibration to the body.
2. Visual display that sends music as light pulsation to the eyes.
3. Immersion headphones that send music as sounds to the ears.
4. Sensorium LSV, an interface that synchronizes the sound, light and vibration of the music.
I laid down for about 30 minutes on the bed listening to music, feeling the vibrations, and seeing the light flash in my eyes. It was such a relaxing, yet energizing experience. I felt well rested and also had a second wind of energy to finish my day. I wish I could make that part of my weekly routine!
At the end of my appointment Dr. Galitzer found that I had adrenal fatigue which was affecting my energy levels and my ability to handle stress. He gave me three droppers to treat my adrenals and liver and recommended I take 1/3 a dropper 3 x a day. Since then, I have felt my energy levels rise a bit and that 3PM crash doesn’t hit me as hard. I’m now eager to start his book and see what other lifestyle changes I can make to feel my best.
Chris X Dr. Galitzer
I was interested in seeing Dr. Michael Galitzer as Alatheia had mentioned how great he was and that he was a pioneer in energy medicine. My curiosity was raised as who doesn’t want more energy, but also, what is energy medicine?
According to Dr. Galitzer’s book, Outstanding Health, energy medicine has significant advantages over drug-based medicine. It looks for and treats the causes of the illness, is safe and free of harmful side effects, is more economical and evaluates your health from a whole person perspective versus segmented care that ignores the entire body and only treats the symptom.
I found it very interesting that one of the main causes of energy loss to the body is toxins, whether in the environment, the body, or emotional toxins. When he talks about how to avoid these toxins and when you use some of his remedies to clear them out, it all starts to make sense.
At our visit to his office, I was weighed and put thru bio-impedance analysis, heart rate variability, and other tests before meeting with Dr. Galitzer. From these tests, a detailed questionnaire and his specialized electro-dermal machine that can test for your sensitivities by touching a rod on your finger matched with different components, we started discussing my health and energy levels. He asks questions about lifestyle, diet, exercise, what kinds of dental fillings I had, cell phone exposure, work, relationships, and stress levels.
After reviewing how I felt, he chose some natural therapeutic formulas for my adrenals, pituitary, liver, as well as one for balance. They are in droppers and you put under your tongue twice per day. I have been taking for about 6 weeks now, and definitely feel a change taking place. Additionally, I bought his book, which I think is amazing, as the information is so detailed and easy to read. He says that the six essential keys to outstanding health are creating emotional mastery, cleansing your body, addressing the health of your gut, creating a more energized lifestyle, boosting your body’s energy levels with energy medicine, strengthening your hormone glands and balancing your hormones.
The truth is, we have so much power over our own energy, it just takes willpower and dedication to follow through. Detoxing the body plays a major part in all of this and I know how hard it is to give up carbs, sugar, alcohol, dairy, coffee, processed foods, etc. Dr. Galitzer’s book Outstanding Health gives detailed information in every chapter that is so interesting , I ended up buying books for my parents and friends as I think it is so important and usable.
I love the fact that he is able to pinpoint easily in one appointment what it takes without weeks of waiting for blood work to get back. His office is also on the cutting edge of newer technologies, with BioPhoton light therapy, laser therapy for cell regeneration, acupuncture, and more. I would like to go back and try some of these other therapies in addition to the formulas.
To make an appointment with Dr. Galitzer ::
The American Health Institute
12381 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite #102
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Office: (800) 392-2623
info@outstandinghealthbook.com
See here for an excerpt from Dr. Galitzer's interview for goop.
1. What’s the foundation of energy medicine? And where does it sit among other so-called alternative branches of medicine?
Energy Medicine addresses health at the electrical or cellular level. Just like an EKG measures the electrical energy in the heart, and an EEG measures the electrical brain, there is energy that can be measured in all the organs and glands of the body. The body is like an orchestra and the organs and glands are instruments in that orchestra. Some are strong and playing the right tune; others are sluggish. Energy medicine seeks to optimize energy in all the organs of the body, so that the orchestra plays great music. Another concept in Energy Medicine is the slow accumulation of toxins from our environment. When I was an Emergency Room Doctor, I was concerned with acute toxicity such as a drug overdose, or carbon monoxide poisoning. Energy Medicine addresses the slow accumulation of toxins in the air, water, and food, such as pesticides, heavy metals, and chemicals, and feels that this chronic toxin accumulation greatly impacts our health.
Orthodox medicine uses energy every day in many of the diagnostic tests, such as EKG, EEG, X-rays, CT scans, MRI’s, and Ultrasound.
Other types of Energy Medicine include Ayurveda, Acupuncture, and Homeopathy. In homeopathy substances from the plant, mineral, and animal kingdom are diluted and shaken in order to create a homeopathic remedy, and applied under the tongue. I could argue that every food and supplement that we ingest is homeopathic at the cellular level. We swallow the food or supplement, it is first broken down in the digestive tract by the enzymes in the stomach and pancreas, absorbed from the small intestine into the liver, where it is assimilated, and then sent to the lungs and heart, being pumped out into the
arterial system, finally reaching the cells, being diluted and shaken (by the pumping action of the heart). At the cellular level, this food or supplement is homeopathic.
2. What led you toward energy medicine and what role does it play in your practice now?
I had practiced ER medicine for 15 years, and was a bit burnt out. I answered an ad looking for a physician who could do general practice and nutrition. I was pretty good at the general practice part, but knew little about nutrition. So I went to seminars, read books, listened to tapes, hired a nutritionist, and started ordering food allergy and other blood tests. No one got better. One of those patients was my best friend. The lab tests showed that he had mercury toxicity coming from his mercury fillings in his teeth. I referred him to a dentist in Los Angeles who was used a machine to measure skin resistance (called EAV) to determine which metals were compatible with him in order to put back into the teeth, once his fillings were removed. I also ran a blood test for metal compatibility. The results were identical. I was fascinated. One year later I took a Medical Acupuncture Course for Physicians through UCLA. I was on my way into this new world of Energy Medicine. In my practice, I utilize energy medicine with every patient. In addition to doing a history and physical, and reviewing blood tests, I perform several energy medicine tests such as bioimpedance and heart rate variability, and I treat with herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture, low level laser, magnetic field therapy, sound, and music. The type of medicine I practice looks at the electrical, or energetic, status of the liver, kidneys, pancreas, adrenals, thyroid, and other organs and glands. In an electrocardiogram, the electrical impulse of the heart precedes the physical heartbeat. The same thing is true for all of your body’s other organs. In every case, electrical changes in the organs precede physical symptoms, often months or more before the physical symptoms themselves arise. So when the electrical status of the liver becomes abnormal, as an example, people will often have symptoms such as migraine or insomnia, and this is something you can’t see on a liver function blood test or an ultrasound of the liver.
3. What causes imbalances in our energy, and how does that affect our health?
The major causes of imbalance in our energy include negative thoughts and emotions, environmental toxins, improper nutrition, avoidance of nutraceutical supplements, allergic reactions to foods, food sensitivities (such as to gluten), lack of exercise, insomnia, poor breathing, geopathic stress, and not knowing how to relax and not employing therapies such as meditation and yoga. Toxins need to be excreted into the urine and stool, via the liver, lymph and kidney systems. When those systems are sluggish (which cannot be detected by blood tests), toxins accumulate, and the organs and glands in the body lose energy. Stimulating the liver, lymph and kidney systems with herbs, homeopathics, lemon water, and nutraceuticals is called Drainage. Drainage is frequently overlooked by most practitioners of alternative medicine in the process of reducing toxicity. After drainage, then one can proceed with detoxification therapies such as colonics, infrared sauna, chelation, etc.
4. How do you evaluate a patient’s health? What are the most important tests?
Listening to a patient describe their symptoms is the first step. Fatigue is such a common complaint, especially afternoon fatigue, which frequently correlates with low adrenal function. Insomnia, especially when one wakes up between 1-3 AM is a sign of energy imbalance in the liver, as are migraines. I do blood tests. I find that saliva tests look more closely at adrenal functions. I also do bio-impedance tests to look at body fat, intra-cellular water, and the ability of cells to regenerate, which is called the phase angle. I am a huge fan of heart rate variability, where one lies down for 2 minutes and stands up for 2 minutes, with a monitor, in which I want to see beat to beat variability in the heart rate. The greater the variability from beat to beat, the healthier the autonomic nervous system. I use electrodermal screening to make sure that each supplement, herb, homeopathic, tests well for the patient (I am measuring the skin resistance of the patient when the particular substance is in the circuit). I must make sure that each substance that I prescribe is both effective and tolerated.
5. Can you share an overview of the six key tenets from your book that make up your program for
health?
The first tenet is to look to optimize your Mental/Emotional Health. We all have beliefs from our childhood that no longer serve us. We need to challenge those old beliefs, create new experiences, and develop new healthy beliefs that empower us. Life is happening FOR US, not TO US. We judge too much, and we need to be more grateful. We all need to live with purpose, passion, and gratitude.
The second area that is addressed is the elimination of toxins form the body. There are external and internal toxins. Our lifestyle causes the tissues to be acidic, due to our ingestion of excessive coffee, alcohol, cigarettes, soft drinks, sugar, and stress. Here we learn how to stimulate the drainage organs of the body – the liver, kidneys, and lymphatic system – to eliminate toxins. Next I talk about various forms of detoxification.
The third area is the health of the gastrointestinal system. There is a liver, pancreas, intestinal triangle, any one of which can adversely impact the other two. So we need to stimulate the liver to get rid of toxins, support the pancreas that makes the digestive enzymes, and treat small intestine leaky gut, and large intestine dysbiosis. Identifying food allergies and gluten sensitivity is also imperative..
The fourth area concerns how to optimize energy through daily use of exercise, breathing techniques, and meditation and yoga. High intensity interval training and abdominal breathing are recommended. Avoidance of geopathic (electromagnetic) stress is essential. Not to be overlooked is dental health, which can seriously impact your well being. And lastly stress reducing techniques are introduced, as are ways to optimize our sleep.
Tenet Five shows you how you can use energy medicine such as applied kinesiology and electrodermal screening to evaluate your health, and the use of acupuncture, and homeopathy to enhance your health
The last principle is that an optimal hormonal system will do wonders for your health. The three major hormones are insulin, thyroid, and the adrenal hormones. The sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone also need to be evaluated with lab tests, and optimized, via bio-identical hormone replacement therapy when indicated.. The major hormonal cause of fatigue is adrenal dysfunction, which is so prevalent in my patients.. Here you will learn what you need to do to eliminate hormonal fatigue.
6. What are some of your tried and true tips for increasing energy?
Let’s start at the top. Optimize your physiology by being grateful for your life. Eliminate words such as anxiety and stress from your vocabulary. Learn abdominal breathing. Optimize your sleep, and remember to program yourself for the next day in the 5 minutes while your head is on the pillow before you fall asleep. Stop eating 3 hours before going to sleep. Replace all mercury fillings in your teeth with porcelain. Incorporate High Intensity Interval Training into your exercise program. Meditation allows you to move from thought to feeling and experiences. Optimize thyroid( the fuel injection system of our car) and adrenal function (the gas pedal) through nutrition, herbs, homeopathics, and supplements. Never carry your cell phone in your shirt pocket, and limit the amount of time that you hold it to your ear.
7. Which foods, herbal remedies, and supplements do you rely on most?
As for nutrition, the key is to eat organic, so you are avoiding pesticides. Lemon is a unique food. It is acidic, and becomes alkaline within the body. Lemon helps the liver. My favorite supplements are Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Magnesium, Curcumin, and Proteolytic Enzymes. I created herbal drainage formulas for the liver, lymph, and kidneys, as well as homeopathic regeneration formulas, and I use them extensively with my patients. They are distributed by Apex Energetics.
8. In addition to environmental and internally-generated toxins, you also talk about toxic emotions in the book. What are some common toxic emotions—which organs and health outcomes are they associated with and why? What about positive emotions?
The 2 key toxic emotions are anger and fear. When people say they are “stressed”, they are really saying that they are fearful. Fear affects the kidneys, and anger the liver. But it is not a one way street. Just like the mind can affect the body, the body can affect the mind. So when the liver is sluggish and toxic, one can get quite irritable. Love and gratitude is where we all want to move towards. Organ-wise the pancreas is associated with self-love, the breast with motherly love, and the heart with love of mankind. The most fulfilled people are the ones who live their lives with purpose, passion, and gratitude. They realize that Life is always happening FOR us, not to us.
9. Beyond self-care tips, what are the best professional care therapies available that can have a meaningful difference on our energy levels?
Intravenous vitamin C is a great energy booster. The adrenal glands have the highest concentration of Vitamin C of any organ in the body. IV Vitamin C also improves liver function, has an immune stimulating and anti-viral effect. Bioidentical hormone therapy can make a huge difference in the lives of men and women. Many forms of oxygen therapy such as ionized oxygen, ozone, and hyperbaric oxygen are energizing. Magnetic field therapy (PEMF) can boost energy levels, as can low level laser and photon therapy. Sound and music therapy will also boost energy levels. Any therapy that will reduce the level of tension in our bodies, and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, such as NuCalm, will also boost energy.
10. What resources are helpful for people looking for local doctors who practice energy medicine?
The Occidental Institute Research Foundation (OIRF.com) is an excellent resource for Energy Medicine Practitioners. The American College for Advancement in Medicine (Acam.org) and the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M.com), are becoming more interested in Energy Medicine. Apex Energetics (apexenergetics.com) in Irvine, California is another good resource. In the Resource Section of my book, “Outstanding Health,” one can find many organizations involved with Energy Medicine.