Like so many of us, our most impactful contributions to the world are usually founded in the very personal, very emotional experiences that happen to us throughout our lives. That is the origin story of Intelligent Health™ and why I am so impassioned to share this story with you today. Throughout my life, I have experienced some very personal losses. At just three years old, I lost my 25-year-old mother to complications from open-heart surgery to repair a leaky mitral valve, which was very much experimental at the time (1960). Perhaps the saddest part of her passing at such a young age and with two young children is that her death might have been prevented had she been adequately informed of the potential and extreme risks of the surgery versus the relatively modest impact on the quality of her life had she chosen not to proceed. Fast-forward 40 years, my wife and I experienced the most heartbreaking loss of our child at birth due to, at least in part, medical mistakes and mismanagement. Since that time, I also witnessed many dear relatives and family members leaving this world way too early (or impaired) from unnecessary surgeries and over-medication. What is most tragic about these premature deaths and poor outcomes is that they possibly may have been avoided, as they occurred largely due to inadequate care and medical errors primarily as a result of antiquated thinking and a flawed healthcare system. In addition, our current healthcare model often underestimates—or is unaware of—the efficacy of complementary treatment approaches, which capitalize on the power of the body’s innate intelligence and its ability to direct healing and restore vitality. All these losses have fueled and inspired my dedication to help others avoid similar fates, which ultimately led me to the field of integrative medicine i —a synthesis of complementary, functional, and conventional medicine i —and to conduct endless research on that which is likely to help people thrive. To understand what safely and more predictably creates health, as well as what sabotages it, I have spent more than 40 years intently listening to and caring for thousands of clients, distilling the most meaningful insights from their health stories and test results. I’ve reviewed volumes of scientific research, amassed well over 2,000 hours of post-graduate study in integrative medicine and whole-person health i, and collaborated with some of the brightest minds in the healthcare and scientific fields. I say all of this not to “toot my own horn,” but to express that I am more than just interested in this kind of healthcare—I am committed beyond measure. Intelligent Health™ was born out of this passionate investigation and provides you, as well as your family, friends, and the world at large with a much-needed, go-to, trustworthy online wellness resource and shop. Intelligent Health™ acts as your home base for simple yet empowering insights, wholesome scientifically sound advice, and practical and safe solutions for regaining, preserving, and protecting your well-being as you navigate your health journey. And because most people need affordable programs that support them in their quest for whole-person health, Intelligent SelfCare™ was created as a suite of self-implemented, doctor-designed supplement health programs that support foundational i, restorative i, and condition-specific i healthcare needs. In this same spirit, I wrote the Intelligent SelfCare guidebooks to give self-care education and resources to safely and effectively support everyone in optimizing their health and well-being and in reducing their disease risks. These risks include heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, which are still some of the most common causes of death in adults in the US, (excluding accidents and chronic lung disease mostly resulting from smoking). Daily self-care choices have the potential to bolster your vitality and change the trajectory of your well-being. These choices include everything from your mindset, diet, movement, sleep, supplementation, and more! My decades of study and observation revealed that the path forward to getting and staying well all begins with cultivating more joy, inner peace, and balance in your day-to-day living, and establishing diet and lifestyle habits that are more consistent with the body’s natural, intelligent design. Investigating safer, alternative strategies to surgery, procedures, and medication usage—all of which potentially carry lifelong risks—also helps to protect one’s quality of life and health span (i.e., the number of years you get to enjoy good health). To this end, it is my personal mission to empower all to be their own health advocate to significantly lower disease risk and bolster vitality and resilience. More than anything, I want every person to have the opportunity to make more informed decisions so they and their loved ones may experience their full health potential and live their best lives. In the spirit of feeling and functioning your very best,
Dr. Richard Powers ❤️
