Page 126 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2016

HEALTHY LIVING dr. diet on call
FOOD
story by Lisa Kröger photo by Teddy Lewis
STRATEGY
Dr. Stanford Owen, an internist and nutrition specialist, was working with patients at Garden Park Hospital when his health management practice outgrew the space, forcing him to move to a building on Broad Avenue in Gulfport. Many patients knew the new place all too well; it was the former Patty Cake Bakery. For some of his weight-loss clients, the irony wasn’t difficult to miss.
Now located in the former Riemann Funeral Home on 15th street in Gulfport, the Center for Health Management is aiming to make a difference in people’s lives and postpone a trip to a functioning funeral home.
The business serves multiple needs: it is a traditional internal medicine practice, but at the same time it offers clinically researched nutrition-based therapy for illnesses including type two diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.
How does Dr. Owen treat such a wide range of diseases? He focuses on “food strategy,” which involves healthy food habits formed through an initial cycle of “food phases,” a program he developed to help patients identify the food groups that are affecting symptoms, something that is important to long- term success. The food strategy, then, is unique to the person and his or her symptoms. “It isn’t a diet,” Dr. Owen stressed. “Weight loss is irrelevant. Patients get well quickly, and they get well permanently if they incorporate the strategies long term.”
As a medical doctor, Owen will use all the traditional treatments that are available, but he has found that food- based therapy can offer some of the best treatment. It is a simple solution to a complex problem, but most doctors are not trained in the value of nutrition as a medical treatment. He has made it his goal to change that thinking.
He treats all nutrition-related illnesses, including lipid disorders (high cholesterol), heart disease, fatty liver, and some kinds of back and joint pain. Obesity is not the problem, according to Dr. Owen, because “most medical benefits are achieved within the first three to five percent of weight
loss.” This is exciting for him because he can see his patients’ medical symptoms improve quickly.
Dr. Stanford Owen
Clinically researched nutrition-based therapy helps many illnesses
Center For Health Management
3300 15th St, Gulfport 228.864.9669
126 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • August 2016
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