Medical Reports: Balanced Body

WSVN -- These days there is a pill for everything.

So when Jim Personius was diagnosed with diabetes his doctor immediately wrote him a prescription.

Jim Personius: "Like a lot of people, I'm overweight and have high blood pressure -- and I didn't really want one more prescription drug to go along with all the others."

Instead of filling that prescription, Jim turned to Dr. Matthew Cooper in Aventura for an alternative treatment called enzyme therapy.

Jim Personius: "He specifically told me the liver isn't processing fat and proteins quite right and that was causing sort of implications all over my body."

Enzymes are essential for digestion because they break down food.

Dr. Cooper believes most of us are not getting the enzymes we need in our daily diet.

Dr. Matthew Cooper: "My feeling is that everybody needs enzyme supplementation, and you really can't get it from your food as much as you used to."

When your body doesn't have the enzymes to digest food properly, food is stored as fat or harmful chemicals.

Dr. Cooper's solution: Give precise enzymes for each patient's body chemistry.

Dr. Matthew Cooper: "When you digest and absorb your food properly you work better, and so it can help all kinds of conditions that are there because of nutritional deficiencies."

Anna Marie Pizzarello sought Dr. Cooper's help when rheumatoid arthritis kept her from doing what she loves most painting.

Anna Marie Pizzarello: "After three hours of drawing and painting, the next day I would have pain in my hands."

After a physical exam and a complete urine analysis, Dr. Cooper pinpointed what enzymes were missing and the foods she 'didn't digest.'

Anna Marie Pizzarello: "He said, 'Follow this diet, and if you follow it really strictly and formally your going to see a big change."

Thanks to the diet and enzyme supplements, Anna's joint pain is gone.

Anna Marie Pizzarello: "It's one year that I haven't had a joint flare up, which is miraculous. The quality of life really went up."

The enzyme therapy also worked for Jim -- his blood sugar is down -- something that shocked even his regular doctor.

Jim Personius: "He was a little surprised at the numbers, and I hadn't taken the prescription medicine."

For now, enzymes are Jim's prescription for a balanced body.

Jim Personius: "I think the enzymes are a good answer for me right now, and I'd like to stick with them."

Another side effect of enzyme therapy -- most of the patients lost weight.

And it's not cheap, the urine analysis alone costs about $600, but the enzymes cost about the same amount as vitamins.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dr. Matthew Cooper
Florida Chiropractic & Sports Rehab
20754 W. Dixie Hwy.
Aventura, FL 33180