New Hampshire Medical Group reports improvements in patient health with Metagenics

November 16, 2012 — New Hampshire-based medical group Derry Medical Center and the Londonderry Family Practice report that more than 200 patients have seen improved health and lower risk of chronic illnesses since implementing Metagenics’ FirstLine Therapy therapeutic lifestyle program.

“The FirstLine Therapy program has not only helped our patients with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, but it has had a parallel effort on other conditions as well, such as irritable bowel syndrome, food sensitivities and inflammation,” said Ted Brooks, MD, medical director at Derry Medical Center. “Within the structure of our practice, we now have a forum where patients can actually do something about their health instead of following nebulous advice to lose weight and get healthy. My only regret is that we didn’t implement this program when it was first introduced 10 years ago!”

Metagenics, a nutrigenomics and lifestyle medicine company focused on improving health and reducing chronic illness, designed the FirstLine Therapy program based on research to help manage early stages of lifestyle-related chronic illness with therapeutic lifestyle programs, or lifestyle medicine.

FirstLine Therapy provides a practical system for clinicians to implement a science-based combination of healthy eating, nutritional supplementation (including medical foods), exercise, and stress management to help patients manage conditions related to metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity and other chronic illnesses.

“FirstLine Therapy is a clinically tested therapeutic lifestyle change program for practitioners who want to offer their patients an effective option that will address and reverse the root causes of many common lifestyle-related chronic illnesses,” said Jacob J. “Jack” Kornberg MD, FACS, director of professional and clinical services for Metagenics. “Leading health organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health now recommend lifestyle therapy as the preferred first approach for the early stages of many lifestyle-related chronic illnesses. Yet most medical practices are not set up to deliver this kind of therapy. Instead, the old standby protocol likely includes prescribing multiple prescription drugs that fail to address the underlying causes — and may increase the risk for serious adverse events. That’s why we developed the FirstLine Therapy program … to give practitioners safer and reliable tools to help their patients achieve a lifetime of good health.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of two American adults suffers from at least one chronic illness, and chronic diseases contribute to seven out of 10 deaths in the U.S. Therefore, the adoption of preventive lifestyle medicine is critically important to reducing the growing prevalence of these conditions.

Derry Medical has now certified three lifestyle educators to help prescribing physicians educate patients on the fundamentals of the FirstLine Therapy program, as well as provide ongoing support and motivation for patients as they progress to help them meet their health goals.

“With the FirstLine Therapy program, we see dramatic health improvements in a short period of time,” said Sue Olson, RD, LD, director of the FirstLine Therapy program at Derry Medical Center. “In addition to seeing patients individually, we have started a class model also focusing on sustaining healthy behaviors and weight loss. It is really inspiring to see these patients literally reverse their chronic illnesses, gain energy, improve digestion and sleep, and achieve countless other health benefits.”

“I was 50 years old and taking 12 different medications a day for chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, ADHD and metabolic syndrome, when I decided to try the FirstLine Therapy Program,” said Bridget Paris, FirstLine Therapy patient at Derry Medical Center. “In a few short months, I have cut my blood pressure medication in half—reduced to just 10mg/day. I have entirely eliminated the medications I was taking for my fibromyalgia pain, chronic fatigue and ADHD as well. I have lost over 55 pounds, gained my health and self-confidence, and I am actively living my life again instead of watching it from the sidelines. I wish I could shout it from the rooftops and let everyone know that there is something out there that works.”

FirstLine Therapy incorporates nutritional products such as Metagenics’ UltraMeal Plus 360?medical food, which was demonstrated in a recent, 12-week multicenter clinical trial at the universities of Florida, Connecticut and California to resolve markers of metabolic syndrome 40 percent more effectively in conjunction with the FirstLine Therapy food plan (a modified Mediterranean diet) when compared to this diet alone.

Source: Metagenics, metagenics.com