Abundant Health takes nutrition-based approach to lifestyle

The Abundant Health and Wellness Center, specializing in naturopathic health, opened for business in October at 4323 S. National Ave.

Owners Stuart Hoover, naturopathic doctor, and Wesley Delport said their mission is to help people help themselves achieve maximum good health by implementing improved diet and a healthy lifestyle.

Naturopathy is a system of disease treatment that relies on natural agencies, such as water and sunlight, rather than pharmaceuticals.

Hoover and Delport both firmly believe, citing scientific studies that bear them out, that there is a direct link between nutritional choices and arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and many other chronic diseases.

Hoover has worked in the health care industry for 16 years. He worked in conventional medicine in one of the largest rehabilitation practices in Virginia for most of that time, and it was there that he became interested in wellness.

"I wanted to help people with lifestyle habits," he said.

Hoover received his naturopathic doctor's degree from the Tulsa College of Natural Health and opened two wellness centers in Virginia. He is now working on a PhD in the field of natural health through the College of Natural Health in Birmingham, Ala.

Delport comes from South Africa where he was in the diamond industry. He came to Springfield 17 years ago and opened the local Miracle Ear Center, which he sold earlier this year. He is now working on a degree in naturopathic health at the Tulsa College of Natural Health.

Delport's motivation for entering the field of natural health hits a little closer to home. He was motivated to seek natural health alternatives when his wife, Alice, was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1980s.

After going through three major surgeries, doctors did not give Alice Delport much hope for recovery.

To the amazement of medical doctors, her cancer is now in remission. Her husband said he believes the reason is simple.

"We have learned what not to put into our bodies," he said.

Hoover said that the best time to approach nutritional balance is before disease sets in.

However, changing to a healthier diet can reverse many conditions before they become chronic.

The center offers state-of-the-art testing to assess health issues that may be of concern to the client.

Testing of urine and saliva samples can determine how well the body absorbs vital nutrients, Hoover said.

From a small blood sample, live cells are studied through a powerful microscope and recorded on video tape. The cellular structure reveals a wealth of information about the state of the client's health, he added.

Both Hoover and Delport stress that their intention is not to replace conventional medicine. Their goal is to work with physicians to aid patients on the road back to optimum health and to prevent future health problems related to nutrition.

They believe the public is catching on. A 1997 study from Harvard Medical School revealed that Americans racked up 629 million visits to alternative medicine practitioners that year compared to 385 visits to primary care doctors.

Because health insurance does not always cover this type of expense, people spent an estimated $29 billion out-of-pocket for these services.

Many doctors have seen the benefit of the nutritional approach to disease and stress it to their patients, Delport said. It is estimated that many more will embrace this approach to healing over the next 10 years.

Hoover said that many conditions people routinely deal with stem from poor digestion. Conditions such as bloating, indigestion, acid reflux and constipation are directly related to nutrition and absorption.

"If the body can't absorb the nutrients in food and supplements, it becomes depleted. The immune system can become less effective in warding off disease," he said.

Many foods fast food and red meat being prime examples are hard for the body to break down and thus create problems that over time can lead to disease, Hoover added.

Hoover and Delport put together programs for clients that will lead them to better health through nutritional balance in both diet and supplements.

They monitor the results of the individualized program until the client has reached the optimum level of improvement.

The goal is to educate the client and make the diet changes permanent.

Both Hoover and Delport give lectures and seminars to educate people on the value of good nutrition, and have appeared on local radio talk shows to talk about the center.

Hoover said he expects word-of-mouth to be the center's best advertising.

When people get positive results from the program, he said, they naturally want to share it with friends and acquaintances.