Dachel Q&A with Dr. Mitchell Fleisher on Integrative Medicine
"Offit is a perfect example of the unconscionable arrogance, avarice, hypocrisy, ignorance, and deceit of the stereotypical, "insider" cronies of the multinational, pharmaceutical corporate complex."
By Anne Dachel
Things are changing. There really are doctors out there who care about keeping us healthy, not just treating the chronically ill and disabled with no hope of getting well. I love talking with these people because it gives me so much hope.
I recently got know Dr. Mitchell Fleisher of Nellysford, VA Dr. Fleisher is a double board-certified family physician specializing in classical homeopathy, nutritional and botanical medicine, chelation, bio-oxidative, and bio-identical hormone therapy with over thirty years experience practicing the gentler art and science of integrative medicine. Dr. Fleisher has served on the faculty of the New England School of Homeopathy and as a Clinical Preceptor for the esteemed Hahnemann College of Homeopathy, and is a graduate of both of these homeopathic institutions. He attended Stanford University School of Medicine, during which time he began his homeopathic studies in 1975, and he is a former Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia and former Associate Medical Director of the MCV/Blackstone Family Practice Residency Training Program, of which he is a graduate.
I asked Dr. Fleisher a number of questions about his practice and his personal beliefs.
Describe your experience as a physician. How did you become interested in homeopathy and alternative medicine?
Why do you practice complementary and alternative medicine?
How long can we continue on this path with more and more chronically ill people, especially children?
What are the main defects of conventional medicine today?
How do you address the need of children with autism?
What has been your experience with vaccine injury?
These are more detailed questions I asked him about:
Q: I read that you've practiced medicine for over 30 years. During this same time period, autism went from being a rare disorder to one now so common that everyone knows someone with an affected child. What has been your personal experience with the disorder? Is all the autism merely better diagnosing and greater awareness of a disorder that's always been around?
Dr. Fleisher: "I've observed the incidence and prevalence of autistic spectrum disorders steadily increase over the past two decades. The etiology is multifactorial, i.e., environmental toxicity, poor nutrition, multiple vaccinations in immature immune systems, fluoridated public water, etc. This is concomitant with increasing awareness of this burgeoning, pandemic, public health crisis. More and more patients present to my medical practice with variants of autistic spectrum disorder, PDD, ADD, ADHD, Asperger's syndrome, in both children and adults."
Q: Doctors seem to treat autism as simply a behavioral problem. What's wrong with this approach?
Dr. Fleisher: "Treating it merely as a 'behavioral problem' ignores the undeniable and significant contribution of pathophysiological factors, e.g., environmental toxicity, poor nutrition, multiple vaccinations in immature immune systems, fluoridated public water, etc. This then results in inadequate diagnosis and treatment of the underlying, core issues."
Q: Your approach to medicine differs from that most conventional doctors who promote prescription medications and standard vaccination. Why do you practice alternative medicine? What are the benefits?
Dr. Fleisher: "In over 30 years of clinical practice, I've found that the Integrative CAM (complementary alternative medicine) approaches, esp. constitutional homeopathic medicine and nutritional therapy, are the most comprehensive, holistic, humanistic, honest, empowering, ecological, and cost-effective, ultimately yielding the most consistent, long term, health benefits for my patients."
Q: Do you feel the mainstream medical community is sufficiently concerned about what's happening to our children's health? Why aren't doctors sounding an alarm about all the children being diagnosed with autism, learning problems, sleep disorders, bowel disease, obesity, diabetes, arthritis, severe allergies, asthma and more?
Dr. Fleisher: "Quite simply, no, they are not 'sufficiently concerned about what's happening to our children's health.' If they were, they'd make honest inquiries into the scientific work of Dr. Andrew Wakefield and other excellent medical researchers who have discovered valid, causal links between autism and environmental toxicity, poor nutrition, multiple vaccinations in immature immune systems, fluoridated public water, etc. The bottom-line reasons for their reluctance to engage in honest inquiry always seems to reduce to issues of power and money, i.e., the deleterious influence of corporate greed on public policy, and the historically-proven stagnancy of myopic, medical establishment ideology and 'scientistic' prejudice."
Q: Why are doctors so willing to accept the mantra that "vaccines are safe, vaccines save lives," despite the erosion of public support for the recommended schedule? Do you find patients with serious concerns about vaccine safety?
Dr. Fleisher: "That sad mantra is maintained by the self-imposed ignorance and fear engendered by the historically-proven stagnancy of myopic, medical establishment ideology and prejudice. Many doctors are afraid to admit to their patients, and accept the reality that what they think they know may, in fact, be wrong. It is too 'ego dissonant' for many. It requires a certain modicum of emotional and spiritual maturity and integrity to confront your own limitations of knowledge and understanding, face truths as they arise, and expand one's consciousness."
I am frequently contacted by and communicate with patients who have serious and legitimate concerns about vaccine safety.
I often refer them to www.nvic.org for truthful information.
Q: What needs to change in the approach of conventional medicine to our health care, especially that of our children?
Dr. Fleisher: "Essentially, there needs to be open, honest, ongoing, transparent, collaborative, well-funded, basic scientific and clinical research, independent from corporate influence, that thoroughly investigates the causal relationship between autism and environmental toxicity, poor nutrition, multiple vaccinations in immature immune systems, fluoridated public water, etc.
"Moreover, professional health care providers need to be adequately educated in the Integrative CAM (complementary alternative medicine) approaches, esp. constitutional homeopathic medicine and nutritional therapy, which are the most comprehensive, holistic, humanistic, honest, empowering, ecological, and cost-effective, resulting in the most consistent, long term, health benefits for patients of all ages. This would transform and enhance the public health and welfare for the greatest common good."
Q: Why are more and more patients looking into alternative and natural treatments and medicine?
"Quite simply, because they are dissatisfied with, distressed and sickened by, and have lost faith in the conventional, allopathic, orthodox, medical-corporate establishment, and its ineffective, unsafe, toxic, and often unproven, expensive, aggressive interventions that, in retrospective scrutiny, have clearly undermined the public health and welfare."
Q: What is your reaction to the recent publication of Dr. Paul Offit's two books attacking alternative medicine?
"Offit is a perfect example of the unconscionable arrogance, avarice, hypocrisy, ignorance, and deceit of the stereotypical, "insider" cronies of the multinational, pharmaceutical corporate complex. He is a highly paid consultant for big pharma, personally profits from the sale of the vaccines that he pushes on the public, and has grossly inadequate, basic scientific knowledge, and no direct, clinical experience of the Integrative CAM (complementary alternative medicine) methodologies that he maliciously criticizes. He is a parody of himself."
For more info on Dr. Fleisher visit the following sites:
Anne Dachel is Media Editor for Age of Autism.
Well, I don't normally respond to these sort of things and my comment has nothing to do with autism? However, Dr. Fleisher did bring me back from a point that modern medicine couldn't handle apparently? As a matter of fact, my regular doctor suggested that I seek this man out. (after I showed him his credentials) we weren't making any progress using modern medicine with my medical doctor, but Dr. Fleisher was able to help me and over a period of time, I recovered from my situation. If his office were closer, I would visit him now, for a complete different reason? I was pleased with my results with Dr. Fleisher.
Posted by: Ben Sharps | May 24, 2015 at 12:37 PM
Quite honestly, I'm surprised there haven't been too many comments under this one. This physician's comments during this interview are so profound; this is exactly the type of medical professional we should see in every single facet of American (and global) healthcare.
Absolutely superb interview; may more of our U.S. physicians learn from this wonderful (and humble)...man.
Posted by: Bayareamom | December 03, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Loved this interview...thank you, Anne! Have already shared it with many, in hopes that it will inspire others to seek out medical practitioners like Dr. Fleisher. Hopefully, his courage (which is what it takes in this day and age where those who are not in line with helping big business to profit, no matter the consequences, are not only maligned, but in some cases, stripped of their medical licenses and run out of their home countries) in practicing prevention and healing, which is what real medicine is, will encourage other allopathic doctors to jump the Big pHARMa ship and join him on the CAM ship!
Posted by: Laura Hayes | December 02, 2013 at 01:29 PM
FANTASTIC interview! I'm saving this for future reference in one of my personal file folders.
I loved the following statement: "It requires a certain modicum of emotional and spiritual maturity and integrity to confront your own limitations of knowledge and understanding, face truths as they arise, and expand one's consciousness."
That one statement can be said on so many other levels of our reality in this world and how we grow as individuals.
I've never heard of this physician before. Now that I have, I hope more physicians in the allopathic mode of medicine will follow his example.
Posted by: Bayareamom | December 02, 2013 at 12:01 PM
Anne:
What a great interview with Dr. Fleisher.
Louis
Posted by: Louis Conte | December 02, 2013 at 11:12 AM
"Offit is a perfect example of the unconscionable arrogance, avarice, hypocrisy, ignorance, and deceit of the stereotypical, "insider" cronies of the multinational, pharmaceutical corporate complex."
I would suggest that Offit is classic example of a Narcissist. The word derives from the Greek myth "Narcissus" .. a youth who falls in love with his own reflection in a pool and changes into the narcissus.
Webster's defines narcissism thus:
"self-love, (specif) excessive interest in one's own appearance, comfort, etc."
Couple Offit's "self-love" with an excessive interest in his own "comfort" .. and .. we are left with an "expert" who values his own "self-interest" over all others.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | December 02, 2013 at 06:59 AM