Optimal Health & Wellness

Optimal Health & Wellness Functional Medicine Consultations and treatment plans that focus on Root Cause Owner/Physician: Johnny Gomes, D.O. Wellness Nurse: Sue Gomes, R.N., B.S.N.
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Office Manager: Micah Beaver

Functional & Lifestyle Medicine Education - Empower Yourself and Take Control of Your Health

Functional Medicine uses an integrative approach with an emphasis on identifying root causes that lead to an individual's illnesses and poor health. By addressing these, through modifications in lifestyle factors and other triggers of dysfunction, it is possible to improve, reverse, or even eliminate many of these conditions. It is an holistic approach with a focus on every aspect that makes us who we are. We are presently ill-served by the conventional model of utilizing a pharmaceutical treatment for every condition, "a pill for every ill", focused on suppression of symptoms rather than a cure, all while the disease process continues unabated. While there is a time and place for medications, they are now used as the primary treatment in the majority of these chronic medical conditions. History shows that this has only led to further disease progression. Improving people's lives through lifestyle modification - dietary changes, proper nutrition, effective exercise, stress management, targeted supplementation and optimized sleep - attention to the mind, body & spirit - you can achieve dramatic changes in your life. Our goal is to help individuals to thrive, not just survive, by providing this knowledge. We offer an educational experience focused on the prevention or management of chronic medical conditions. This knowledge enables one to take control of their own health and empowers the individual to improve themselves. This educational experience can be provided in our office, your home or a public venue. We offer individual, family or group lectures and discussions that are targeted to your area of interest, individualized for you and your target audience. The body is capable of healing itself.... We help you learn how. For more info, visit our website: www.optimalhealthwnc.com
Call us at (828) 536-0320 for more info or
Email us at Optimalhc1@gmail.com

We are happy to report: we now have a significant amount of patients who have been successfully incorporating BPC 157 to...
12/31/2025

We are happy to report: we now have a significant amount of patients who have been successfully incorporating BPC 157 to significantly reduce pain and accelerate healing… We offer Injections SubQ weekly. The feedback has been amazing!

This New Peptide Player is BPC-157! Here are some of its benefits.

🦴 Musculoskeletal & Injury Healing
• Accelerates tendon, ligament, and muscle repair
• Commonly used for:
• Rotator cuff injuries
• Tennis/golfer’s elbow
• Knee/ACL issues
• Plantar fasciitis
• Improves angiogenesis (new blood vessel formation)
• May reduce recovery time after injury or surgery

⸻

🔥 Anti-Inflammatory Effects
• Modulates inflammatory pathways
• Reduces local and systemic inflammation
• Often helpful in chronic pain conditions

⸻

🧠 Neuroprotective & Mood Support
• Animal data suggests:
• Support for dopamine signaling
• Reduced anxiety-like behaviors
• Some report improved focus, motivation, and mood stability

⸻

🧬 Gut & GI Healing
• Strong evidence in animal and early human data for:
• Healing leaky gut
• Gastritis, ulcers
• IBS-type symptoms
• Support in inflammatory bowel conditions
• Protects intestinal lining and improves mucosal integrity

Here are just some of the Superheroes hard at work supporting immunity & helping our clients feel their BEST!
12/30/2025

Here are just some of the Superheroes hard at work supporting immunity & helping our clients feel their BEST!

If only there was a way to prevent or address these conditions without the need for all the medication. 🤔 ...
12/26/2025

If only there was a way to prevent or address these conditions without the need for all the medication. 🤔

The United States is the most medicated country in the world and has some of the highest rates of heart disease, stroke,...
12/26/2025

The United States is the most medicated country in the world and has some of the highest rates of heart disease, stroke, dementia, obesity, diabetes, depression, anxiety, cancer, and osteoporosis in the world.

Do we really believe the issue is that we need more medications? More affordable medications? More of the same healthcare we have now?

I don’t think this is working.

Merry Christmas from our team at Optimal Health! We are so blessed and thankful for you.
12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from our team at Optimal Health! We are so blessed and thankful for you.

Here is something you would not expect to see between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Weight decreased. Muscle mass increase...
12/23/2025

Here is something you would not expect to see between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Weight decreased.
Muscle mass increased.
Body Fat decreased.
Visceral fat decreased.

These are some very positive changes in just over one month. With the adjustment of the diet, focusing on less processed foods, and incorporating walking, this is the outcome. We are very proud of this gentleman and his efforts.

The focus is not only on temporary improvements, but on disease prevention.

Last day in the office before the Christmas break. Several pre-holiday IVs and Peptides today.
12/23/2025

Last day in the office before the Christmas break. Several pre-holiday IVs and Peptides today.

Our team at Optimal Health & Wellness wishes you and yours a blessed, healthy, and happy Christmas. We are blessed to ha...
12/23/2025

Our team at Optimal Health & Wellness wishes you and yours a blessed, healthy, and happy Christmas. We are blessed to have all of you in our lives, and we are so thankful for this.
*
Our office will be closed from December 24 to December 28, but know that you will be in our hearts. If you are an established patient with our practice and have an urgent need, please do not hesitate to contact us.

This is an important statement. It is often forgotten by physicians and allied health professionals. We are not in charg...
12/23/2025

This is an important statement.

It is often forgotten by physicians and allied health professionals. We are not in charge. That is not our job. We are not the dictator of your health.

Our job should be to teach, educate, inform, and possibly even lead by example. If your physician or provider believes very deeply in their conviction and their recommendations, they should be willing to educate you on why it is important for you to follow that recommendation.
How will it benefit you.
What are the risks and benefits.
What are the alternatives to that treatment recommendation.
What are the implications of not following the treatment recommendations?

If they do not, or cannot provide you with this information, then it raises some questions about the recommendations themselves. It is not that they are inaccurate, and maybe would be beneficial, but the expert should understand and be able to communicate them effectively.

Granted, that can be challenging in that standard seven minute appointment, where you are only allowed to be seen for one reason or complaint, with limited time for addressing questions, and never really focusing on your diet or lifestyle factors that may be contributing to why you feel sick or have abnormal blood work.

There may be a better way.
There are alternatives.
They are available, possibly in your own backyard.
It can even be provided virtually, where you do not need to leave the comfort of your home or office.

Granted, these will not be covered by your insurance, but you have to weigh the options for your health and well-being. Is the system really benefiting you when the only thing it promotes is more medication’s, never addressing the problem, and possibly contributing to more side effects and future disease?

As a conventional medical specialist for almost 30 years, I certainly recognize the benefits of pharmaceutical treatment, with the ability to alleviate pain, improve symptoms quickly, and reduce the risk of a potentially catastrophic event.

As an integrative medical specialist for the last 12+ years, I have focused on addressing the root causes that contributed to the symptoms and conditions, and we have helped people get off of medications, or need less medication, or lower dosages of medication. All of this while feeling better, regardless of the medication.

The bottom line is, you always have a choice. You can choose to go the easy route, take prescriptions, and hope that will work to improve your health. You have the choice to incorporate changes that can truly support healing and potentially reverse conditions.

The majority of what we do in our consultations is education. It is reviewing lab results, communicating what they mean, the significance of those results, or the significance of the conditions the person already has, and how we can best move forward in addressing these. It is not, and never should be, a one size fits all approach.

No one is ever forced to come to our office for a consultation. People come by choice, looking for something different. No one is capitated to us because of the insurance company they carry. We are not in network with any insurance company. This allows us the freedom to make recommendations without prejudice or based on some arbitrary guidelines or insurance regulations.

All are invited to see us. Most seem to follow the recommendations we provide, based on the information and guidance they are given. Some do not, and that is OK. We do not judge.

Our success is based on the improvement of the patient, not on some metrics driven by the healthcare system, the federal government, or the insurance companies. If this sounds like something that interests you, or possibly a loved one that might be interested, please direct them our way. Share this post. Let people know this option exist exists.

Quote Credit:
Dr. Ovadia is a heart surgeon and medical colleague. Having now attended many of his metabolic lectures, I can say he qualifies as brilliant. I can also state that he is not your typical heart surgeon.

It’s not all about the food, but it is about the food. Do the best you can. There are no cheat meals, just choices. Enjo...
12/22/2025

It’s not all about the food, but it is about the food. Do the best you can. There are no cheat meals, just choices.

Enjoy the company.
Take moments to relax. Breathe. Laugh.
Go for a walk with your family.
Remember why you are celebrating.
Keep to your bedtime. Don’t stay up too late.

Merry Christmas!

If we were to look only at the labs in November, in isolation, there would still be significant cause for concern regard...
12/22/2025

If we were to look only at the labs in November, in isolation, there would still be significant cause for concern regarding Insulin Resistance and Inflammation. The levels of small LDL particles and the Insulin Resistance Score are markedly elevated and reflect increased risk of cardiometabolic disease.

When we look at the labs over a 3-month timeframe, this individual is at far lower risk of disease than he was in the summer.

This is a 31-year-old man who is not obese, feels relatively healthy, and did not expect to find anything significant in his lab testing. At the initial appointment, he reported feeling good but wanted to be proactive in his health because he has young children and wants to be around for them.

If we had performed routine laboratory testing, we would have found his Hemoglobin A1c, fasting glucose, CBC, liver enzymes, and thyroid function to be normal. Aside from high triglycerides and low HDL, the lab panel was otherwise unremarkable. This would either have been glossed over, or he would have been advised to eat a low-fat diet and exercise more.

Instead, we identified several very concerning values, reflecting significant metabolic dysfunction. He is now in the process of healing and reversal, and the probability of maintaining good health, with reduced disease risk, has improved greatly.

We always hear about prevention and how it is key to maintaining good health. That means we need to look at labs that actually reflect what is happening, and focus on how to address what we have found.

We did not place him on a low-fat diet; quite the contrary. We also did not implement an intense exercise regimen. He has not been 100% consistent with the dietary prescription (communicated at his appointment), with family gatherings and vacations. Yet, we can see the dramatic changes in 90 days.

This is how we practice medicine.
This is the benefit of my training in Metabolic Medicine( ).
This is how we address disease risk through an integrative medicine approach.

We will repeat the labs in 6 months, and I anticipate we will see further improvements. He is a shining example of how dietary and lifestyle modifications can impact your health and disease prevention. Everyone benefits from this, including his lovely wife and young children. We hope he will be around for a long time to raise that family and have the energy and abilities to enjoy that life.

12/22/2025

If you don’t make changes, improvements will not follow.

Address

113 Davis Street
Glen Alpine, NC
28628

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18285360320

Website

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Owner/Physician: Johnny Gomes, D.O. Wellness Nurse: Sue Gomes, R.N., B.S.N. Functional & Lifestyle Medicine Consultations - Empower Yourself and Take Control of Your Health Functional Medicine uses an integrative approach with an emphasis on identifying root causes that lead to an individual's illnesses and poor health. By addressing these, through modifications in lifestyle factors and other triggers of dysfunction, it is possible to improve, reverse, or even eliminate many of these conditions. It is an holistic approach with a focus on every aspect that makes us who we are. We are presently ill-served by the conventional model of utilizing a pharmaceutical treatment for every condition, "a pill for every ill", focused on suppression of symptoms rather than a cure, all while the disease process continues unabated. While there is a time and place for medications, they are now used as the primary treatment in the majority of these chronic medical conditions. History shows that this has only led to further disease progression. Improving people's lives through lifestyle modification - dietary changes, proper nutrition, effective exercise, stress management, targeted supplementation and optimized sleep - attention to the mind, body & spirit - you can achieve dramatic changes in your life. Our goal is to help individuals to thrive, not just survive, by providing this knowledge, searching for root causes of your symptoms and addressing them through a lifestyle approach while minimizing the need for pharmaceutical interventions. We offer functional medicine consultations focused on the prevention or management of chronic medical conditions. We provide you with the knowledge that will enable you to take control of your own health and empowers you to improve yourself, to heal. Our consultations can be provided in our office, your home or a public venue. We offer individual, family or group appointments. Contact us for pricing.

We also provide educational lectures and discussions that are targeted to your areas of interest, individualized for you and your target audience. These are provided at $250 per lecture / small group discussion. The body is capable of healing itself.... We help you learn how. We offer the testing to identify root causes and the recommendations on how to address them. Take back control of your own health journey and begin to feel “well” again. For more info, visit our website: www.optimalhealthwnc.com Call us at (828) 279-7998 for more info or to schedule an appointment Email us at Optimalhc1@gmail.com