The Medical City’s Center for Wellness and Aesthetics creates medical packages with a customized approach.
The sad scenario is one that Dr. Rolando Balburias, Consultant-Director of The Medical City’s Center for Wellness and Aesthetics, is very familiar with. A client goes to a physician or a medical center, complaining of a persistent headache, chest pains, or overwhelming fatigue. A specialist attends to him, runs the usual cardiovascular and other medical tests, sees that the organ is functioning without any damage, tells the client that there are findings of disease, and prescribes a few drugs that can remove the symptoms and alleviate the pain. A year later, the same client has been diagnosed with more serious health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes.
“The symptoms can indicate an imbalance in the body and it has to be addressed,” points out Dr. Balburias. “While an organ check is helpful, we have to remember that our body is not just made purely of organs. Separate physiological systems wire it together and make it unhealthy or healthy. Think of a car that can run because of a system that synergizes the oil, gas, and battery. If one part is missing, the car will not run efficiently, and sooner or later, it will break down.
“The same is true with our body. Our bodies are not just separate organs but they are running as a system. They need vitamins, minerals, nutrients, hormones, enzymes, and anti-oxidants. These substrates in turn are affected by how we live our lives: they come from the food we are eating or substances we take in like alcohol and nicotine. Our hormones are also affected by the stress levels we face daily or the amount of sleep that we get.”
Exposure to illnesses
The concern of Dr. Balburias and his colleagues that the clients become aware of the conditions they might be exposed to – and address them in time – gave birth to the Center. It is a one-stop shop for preventive, promotive, proactive, diagnostic, therapeutic and rehabilitative interventions, and employs methods and methodologies guided by the principles of evidence-based medicine. The Center helps people adopt a healthier lifestyle and facilitates positive health behavior changes through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior and create environments that support good health practices. It offers organized, comprehensive services appropriate to various segments – from the young to the young at heart. The Center offers Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, Weight Management Program, and Pediatric Weight Management.
Many of the patients who check into the Center are very active professionals who want to maintain their dynamic lifestyle and prevent the onset of illness. Some consider the time they spend on it as an investment in their future. Others saw the effect of illnesses like heart disease and cancer on their loved ones and want to avoid the same. They are often bothered by chronic fatigue, headache, lack of energy, pain in a particular part of the body, sudden gain of weight and the difficulty in losing it, depression, and anxiety.
All of them are enrolled into a program that restores the balance into their system – and each medical package is customized, tailored to fit their lifestyle, and address their individual conditions.
“Genetics, lifestyle, and the environment cause disease. We engage the patient and inform him that his lifestyle and exposure to certain things in the environment make a lot of difference as far as his health is concerned,” says Dr. Balburias. “For example, if he smokes, he is prone to develop a lot of lung and heart problems. From a routine test, we find in their organs early markers that can make them vulnerable to certain illnesses. Or if they are already taking medication for an illness such as a heart problem, we encourage them to quit smoking and exercise regularly. They find out that if they follow the program, their blood chemistry does improve.”
The Center also backtracks to discover when the client started feeling a dramatic turn in his health. Dr. Balburias says, “We ask them: ‘When was the last time you felt well? The feeling of resiliency? Or you finished a project without you being stopped by a nagging headache or fatigue?’ You trace it back to that moment when something happened to their lifestyle. Then we see patterns and explanations which manifest in their nutrition and exercise. These already compromised the determinants of their health.
Customized programs
“That’s when we come up with customized programs that address their unique conditions, not just to lower their risk of exposure to illnesses but to support them with a program that will strengthen their body and increase their vitality.”
Dr. Balburias elaborates on the importance of creating the profile of the patient as a requirement to crafting his unique program. “We check his health profile,” he says. “We determine the conditions he may develop based on his nutrition status, genetic factors, exercise or lack of exercise, the adequacy of his sleep. We can also determine the level of the nutrients, vitamins, antioxidants, and hormones that the client has in his body, and how much he still needs. It is because of this profile that we can tell a pre-diabetic person that if he does not change some of those factors that affect his health that he can develop diabetes in the future.”
Dr. Balburias also expresses his concerns that many people are increasingly developing chronic diseases, or the illnesses that affect modern man because of his lifestyle. A few examples are heart illnesses, diabetes, and kidney diseases.
Dr. Balburias points out, ‘Gone are the days when you just pop a pill into your mouth and hope it removes the condition. You have to recognize that quality sleep is necessary to your vitality. Eat natural, healthy, whole foods as opposed to processed or instant foods. Exercise will provide muscular fitness and help in your emotional and mental disposition and functionality.”
To be healthy, one must always be aware of the following: Am I eating the right food? How much exercise am I getting? Am I getting good sleep? How do I manage my stress?
“Health is a lifetime concern and it is a lifestyle choice,” says Dr. Balburias. “There are no quick fixes. You attain wellness every single day in moment-by-moment choices.”
The Medical City
Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Metro Manila
Tel. nos. (632) 988-1000, (632) 988-7000.
www.themedicalcity.com