The Holistic Solutions M.D. Treatment Modalities

Dr. Branch’s treatment modalities are based on the combination of several medical disciplines:

Traditional Medicine

Dr. Branch graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical College in 1996. He became board certified in family practice in 1999.

Classical Homeopathy

Dr. Branch opened his private practice 1999 to focus on classical homeopathic medicine, and it has remained his favorite therapy because he believes it to be the “queen of medicines,” unsurpassed in its ability to heal the mind and body at once.

He has had years of study under the renowned Bombay Group, including Dr. Rajan Sankaran  (www.RajanSankaran.com), Dr. Divya Chhabra (www.HomeopathyIndia.org/home/teachers-profiles/29-dr-divya-chhabra), and Dr. Jayesh Shah (www.TheOtherSong.com/jayesh-shah.html).

Nutritional Medicine

An integral part of Dr. Branch’s practice is whole foods medicine.  In Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, our digestion holds the key to great health and long life.  The food we eat is foundational because a healthy diet helps maintain healthy digestion and feeds and bolsters our metabolism.  A bad diet stresses us and leads to increasing imbalance.  Many patients today, raised on a diet of artificial ingredients, suffer from clogged or weak digestion.  As a result, heavy use of supplements and nutraceuticals stresses their system all the more.  In such cases, whole foods are an important step in restoring vitality.  Whole foods tend to be easily digested, and when they fit a patient’s constitution, will help greatly in the healing process.

Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine is an outgrowth of whole foods medicine.  Herbs are predominantly plant-based and yet are much stronger than what we ingest at mealtime.  Because we inevitably develop deficiencies of energy and nutrients as we grow older, there exists a need to bolster areas where we fall out of balance.  Although our diet can help this greatly, herbs address imbalances in a more potent and focused manner.  Some of pharmaceutical medicine may address similar concerns.  For example, medicine treats anemia, while herbalists “build the blood.”  For many people, blood building herbs yield superior results to simply taking an iron supplement, which tends to be poorly absorbed and can be toxic in excessive quantities.  Both the Ayurvedic and Chinese systems have a rich history of use of herbal formulas to treat fundamental imbalances that cause disease symptoms.  Such herbal therapies have a permanent place in medicine – ancient or modern.

Ayurveda and Vedic Sciences

Dr. Branch has both a personal and professional interest in the Ayurvedic tradition of India.  Although we know this tradition primarily through yoga, it is a broad and deep tradition that links human life to the divine, i.e. it is a medicine of the mind, body and spirit.  It includes a science of physical well-being (including yoga), a science of breath (pranayama), a science of healing through sound (mantra), a science of disease treatment (Ayurveda, including herbs, nutrition, detoxification, aromatherapy, and body work), and a science of directly linking to the divinity in the universe (meditation).

Jyotish or vedic astrology

Another branch of the Vedic system is their astrology, called “jyotish,”  This is the art and science of understanding the life path of each individual soul.  A rich and scholarly discipline, it directly relates to and informs all other areas of the ancient Vedic tradition.   “Jyotish” comes from the Sanskrit word “Jyoti” which means “light” as in a “torch” or “flame.”   That is, it lights one’s way in the darkness.  Jyotish is a study of the cycles of time, which have a certain order (e.g. a lunar cycle is 28 days, and a solar cycle is 365 days) and how we intersect with these cycles.  It generates information on all aspects of our human existence:  our childhood, our constitution, our weaknesses and susceptibilities, diseases we are at risk for, the relative ease or difficulty of any given time in our life, the type of issues or hurdles we are likely to encounter at any given time, and so on.  Dr. Branch uses this information for those interested in yoga and spiritual disciplines of the east.  It is one important piece of an advanced system of health and spirituality.

Chinese Medicine

Dr. Branch’s interest in traditional Chinese medicine began in 1989 when he began to explore Chinese energetic practices. His collaboration with the brilliant acupuncturist Dr. Yongli Ni in Washington, D.C. began in 2005. He now uses the Digimeridian machine Dr. Ni developed to determine Digimeridian measurement and provide exact information about the energetic strengths and weaknesses in his patients.

Hormonal Medicine, Bio-identical Hormone Replacement

Dr. Branch has taken a special interest in hormonal medicine, particularly as it relates to anti-aging and weight loss and believes that bio-identical hormonal therapy can provide important adjunct therapy in cases where women or men are hormonally depleted.  In 2009, Dr. Branch was certified in the Wiley Protocol, a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) delivery system.