by Kirby Lindsay, posted 9 June 2014
For some, allergy relief at an affordable cost may be too incredible to believe, but Nick Bowden, an NAET practitioner and acupuncturist providing treatments at Fremont’s own Grassroots Community Acupuncture does just that.
“I wouldn’t have gone and learned it if I didn’t believe it worked,” Bowden said of NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques), “I underwent treatment myself.” Bowden had an allergy to alcohol, and with NAET, he can now drink. He still doesn’t imbibe much, but he enjoys being able to have a glass of wine with friends, when he chooses.
Bowden can help others eliminate their allergies through NAET, and thanks to the mission of Grassroots Community Acupuncture, he offers this relief at a price affordable to nearly anyone. Grassroots offers treatments – in acupuncture and NAET – using a sliding scale, without income verification or proof. Bowden believes in this mission. “I’ve been in the position where I’ve needed a lot of health care,” he said, “and I could not afford it. Having been there, I can say that nobody deserves to have to make those decisions.”
An Affordable Model
Grassroots provides our community with high-quality, affordable acupuncture, by trained, licensed and certified practitioners, done in a communal setting. Patients sit, fully clothed, in comfortable chairs in a large, peace-filled room, which allows the practitioner to treat more than one person at a time. This communal approach brings the price down for all. Grassroots patients pay a sliding scale of $15 – 35 per visit. According to Bowden, and Grassroots owner Marit Hanson, acupuncture works best if patients commit to a series of treatments – and the community acupuncture model makes that affordable and accessible.
Grassroots belongs to a growing network of community acupuncture clinics (the Seattle Community Acupuncture Network and the People’s Organization of Community Acupuncture.) Member clinics promise to offer acupuncture on the same sliding scale as Grassroots, to their surrounding community. Now Grassroots, through Bowden, offers NAET, and the astonishing allergy relief these treatments provide, on that same accessible and affordable model.
Eliminating Allergies
“The bulk of the principals [of NAET] spring out of Chinese Medicine,” Bowden observed. Patient testimonies and data show many people finding relief through NAET. “We eliminate the allergies,” Bowden said, “that can be backed up with studies.” Allergy blood tests on patients treated by NAET show a lowered immune response to substances that once caused skyrocketing numbers.
“The lady who developed the technique,” Bowden said of Devi Nambudripad, M.D., Ph.D., acupuncturist and chiropractor, “the reason she got all those [degrees], were her own sensitivities and allergies.” Dr. Nambudripad researched and studied until she found this method, and as Bowden explained, “she figured out a way to speed up the process,” of developing tolerance, or acceptance, of the irritant by the immune system.
“An allergy is an immune modulated response,” Bowden explained, “You encounter something that sends the immune system wacky.” The substance over-stimulates the immune system, “that’s what we are trying to fix,” he said, “trying to uncross wires that are crossed.” Following NAET, the body can even take in substances that can help it stay healthy – foods, nutrients, environmentals – that the immune system previously rejected, and kept it in imbalance.
The 15 Basic Treatment Option
NAET treatments sound almost too easy. “We use a homeopathic solution of the allergen,” Bowden said, and the patient holds a vial of it – not the actual allergen or the solution of it, but a vial that contains a solution of it.
With new patients, Bowden will sit and explain how NAET works and what he will do, and he listens to the patient talk about their experience. Then, Bowden conducts a series of muscle tests (kinesiology) to develop a base point, before handing the patient a vial of the homeopathic solution of the allergen. He then uses acupuncture and massage to calm the muscles and create a healing response to the substance in the patient’s immune system. Once the patient returns to baseline strength – the same as they had at the start of the session – they release the vial. Following this benign exposure, the patient must avoid the substance for 25 hours (except for after the first treatment,) and then they can usually encounter it again with no negative response.
“Treatment depends on each person,” Bowden reported, “it varies from person to person.” However, under the standard, recommended NAET treatment plan, “everyone gets treated for 15 items, to get the immune system to a baseline.” While most people are most allergic to a particular irritant – like cat hair or pollen – they may also be sensitive to others that don’t cause the immune system to over-react as much. Still, patients are not required to do all 15 basic treatments. “They can sign up for as few or as many treatments as they want,” he stated.
The 15 basic substances cover most common allergens. According to Bowden, they are “fundamental to the functioning of the body in general, and the immune system in particular.” Treatment for these 15 basics is, “meant to gain balance. Like fixing up a house, you have to repair the foundation first.” From there, he can treat any remaining allergies, although he cannot treat anaphylaxis. He’s only started with NAET, and he wants more training first. “I’m doing the simplest tip of a very strange, wacky iceburg,” he joked.
Affordable Health Care
“Yea, it does seem a little too simple,” Bowden agreed to my concern, “it can be more complex, but it is that simple.” He does acknowledge, “Each person does have to be treated individually.”
Unlike with community acupuncture, NAET requires privacy during treatment – which means Bowden must meet each patient individually. This means the sliding scale – $40 – 70 for the first session and $30 – 60 for return visits – is higher than with other Grassroots treatments. However, Bowden has chosen to sacrifice higher fees to make this possible.
Bowden really believes in the mission of Grassroots, and the other community acupuncture centers. “People who are involved and dedicated to community acupuncture,” he observed, “Its not an easy job! Marit [Hanson] does more acupuncture than I do, but she also does everything to run the business. They are superheroes to give people access to affordable acupuncture.”
Grassroot’s neighbor, Balance Studio, also makes NAET available by providing the consultation room Bowden uses on Mondays when he sees patients. To find out more about NAET, and community acupuncture, contact Grassroots for a consultation by visiting their website, today!
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©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.