Insider Secrets From a Top Integrative Medicine Doctor

Dr. Victoria Maizes reveals how a holistic approach to health care can heal your body and mind

As told to

Eric Spitznagel,

AARP

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Published October 14, 2025

By the time you pass 50, staying healthy can sometimes feel like a balancing act. The challenge isn’t just keeping your cholesterol in check or remembering your prescriptions. It’s about managing stress, sleeping well and finding the energy to enjoy life. That’s why so many older adults are turning to integrative medicine (IM), which blends the best of conventional care with evidence-based lifestyle practices.

This isn’t fringe or “alternative” medicine. It’s whole-person care, led by fully trained doctors with an M.D. or a D.O. who’ve earned additional board certification through the American Board of Integrative Medicine (ABOIM) of the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS), a credential that signals rigorous training, standards and oversight.

And the interest in integrative medicine is undeniable. In early 2022, the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that two-thirds of adults ages 50 to 80 use at least one integrative strategy — massage, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture or chiropractic care — to boost their mood or ease conditions like pain, insomnia and digestive problems. Ninety-two percent of respondents said those practices were “very” or “somewhat” beneficial, though fewer than 1 in 5 had discussed them with a doctor.

If you’ve been curious about integrative medicine but weren’t sure where (or how) to start, Dr. Victoria Maizes is here to help. She’s the founding executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, a professor of medicine, family medicine and public health at the University of Arizona, and author of Heal Faster: Unlock Your Body’s Rapid Recovery Reflex, written in collaboration with AARP Books and set to publish in January 2026. Maizes has spent her career showing patients how small, integrative shifts can make a lasting difference. Here are 21 tips, in her own words, on how you can make the same commitment to a healthier future.

How to find an integrative medicine doctor

illustration of woman meeting with doctor

An integrative medicine doctor thoroughly reviews your medical history, exploring aspects like nutrition, sleep, stress, environment, movement, and even spirituality.

Amber Day

Start by asking your regular doctor if they have integrative training or can recommend someone locally. Then verify credentials: You want an M.D. or a D.O. who’s also board-certified by the aforementioned ABOIM of the ABPS. Many clinicians describe themselves as “double board-certified,” for example, in family (or internal) medicine and integrative medicine. Integrative care should augment, not replace, your standard treatments.

A good IM physician will coordinate plans with your other clinicians (often in the same electronic chart) so that medications, supplements and lifestyle prescriptions don’t conflict. When you interview a candidate, ask whether they provide primary care, consultative care or both; how they share notes with your primary care physician and specialists; how they assess the evidence for supplements; and what visit length, follow-up cadence, costs and insurance options to expect. The Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine also maintains a searchable public directory of fellowship graduates by location and specialty, another solid way to find qualified options.

Insurance may cover your appointments

If you have traditional health insurance (not an HMO), your visits are generally covered if your doctor has integrative training. For HMO members, some plans now bring in integrative doctors as consultants, so check if yours offers that option before assuming you’ll have to pay out of pocket. A little homework up front saves a lot of frustration later and ensures you’re getting advice from someone with the right training, not just a slick website.

Real change starts with your values, not your doctor’s

Dr. Victoria Maizes, an integrative medicine physician, has spent her career showing patients how small, integrative shifts can make a lasting difference.

Amber Day

A big difference between an integrative medical doctor and a traditionally trained PCP is the way we communicate. We teach our physicians a style called motivational interviewing. It’s about understanding your values, because you’re more likely to make changes that align with what you care about.

If a patient smokes, instead of lecturing them about why they should quit, I try to dig deeper into the reasons they cling to the habit. I’ve heard excuses like “It’s the only time I get a break,” “It helps me relax” and “It makes me feel like a rebel.” That tells me the benefit they’re getting from the habit. Then I can ask, “Is there any way it doesn’t serve you?” And maybe they’ll say, “I feel like I’m being a bad role model for my kids.” When the words come from my patient’s own mouth, they carry far more weight than if I just told them what to do.

That’s the power of asking evocative questions. Change sticks when it comes from your own voice and values, not from someone else’s orders.

Expect deeper questions, not just lab work

If you make an appointment with a provider who specializes in integrative medicine, it’s going to feel different than the checkups you’re used to. We don’t just ask about your symptoms, order some tests and write a prescription. We go deeper into your history, asking about topics that may surprise you: your nutrition, your sleep, your stress, your environment, your movement, even your spiritual life. This is all to form a fuller picture of your health and uncover the roots of what may be going on.

Your own habits may hold the cure

When it comes to lifestyle change, the best strategies may be the ones you already know how to do. So one of the first questions I’ll ask is “What’s worked for you in the past?” One person might say, “I committed to my neighbor that I’d walk with her every morning. She’s waiting at 7 a.m., so I have to get up.” Knowing what has worked for you before makes it much easier to create changes you’ll actually stick with. I also like to ask about intuition. Many people have a sense of what they need to do to get well, even if they’ve ignored it for years. They’ll say things like “I need to quit my job” or “I need to spend less time with someone toxic,” or simply, “I need to stop eating dessert.” When the idea comes from you rather than me advising, you’re far more likely to follow through.

Start small to make it stick

When you ask someone to make a big lifestyle change, it can feel overwhelming. Tell a busy person to start exercising and they’ll say, “I have no time.” Or suggest a diet and they’ll say, “I’ve been on a million diets.” But when I say that even small amounts of movement improve people’s health and ask if there is a way that they could add some movement, most people say, “Yes, I can take a five-minute walk to get to my office and another at the end of the day.”

The right diet may help turn the tide on disease

More research keeps showing just how powerful food can be in changing the course of an illness. A 2024 study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that adults with mild type 2 diabetes who followed a low-carb diet had big improvements in how their pancreas’ beta cells worked — the cells that make and release insulin. In fact, their initial insulin response doubled, and their maximum response improved by 22 percent compared to people on a high-carb diet. That kind of improvement could mean managing the condition more effectively, and in some cases even stepping away from medication.

Listen when your body “talks back”

When your body keeps “talking back” after meals — think bloating, gas, cramping, reflux, loose stools or constipation, skin flares or brain fog — a simple way to investigate is to press pause on certain foods and see what changes. We recommend trying an elimination diet to test whether a particular food is triggering symptoms. Common triggering foods include lactose, corn, citrus, soy and eggs. By removing one of these food groups and watching what happens, people often find that their symptoms improve dramatically.

When to choose massage, when to go with acupuncture

For hands-on relief, I usually start with a massage for musculoskeletal pain. It helps loosen tight tissue, reduces soreness and often deepens body awareness — people notice how they’re moving and what aggravates symptoms. A nice bonus is that a good therapist can suggest specific stretches or yoga postures to prevent recurrences.

When the problem is nerve-related pain, acupuncture is my first line. I routinely include acupuncture in care plans for people undergoing cancer treatment. In my experience, it can ease chemotherapy side effects and lift overall well-being during a tough stretch. For hot flashes, it’s a strong option when someone has had breast cancer and can’t use hormones (or prefers to avoid supplements). Otherwise, it isn’t usually my first recommendation for vasomotor symptoms.

Blood pressure rising? Do a wall sit or hand-grip

Integrative medicine looks beyond prescriptions to find other ways to control blood pressure. A large 2023 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine analyzed 270 clinical trials involving more than 15,800 participants and compared different exercise types: aerobic, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), dynamic resistance, combinations of resistance and cardio, and isometric moves like hand-grip squeezes and wall sits. The winner? Isometric exercise, which produced the most significant reductions in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In some cases, the effect was on par with, or better than, common medications.

Ask for a full cardiac risk review, not just a cholesterol number

One thing that often happens is that people go to the doctor, who tells them, “Your cholesterol is high, therefore you should take this statin.” And yes, statins are very effective at lowering cholesterol. But elevated cholesterol is only one piece of the heart disease puzzle.

So you want to step back and look at the bigger picture. Do you have abdominal obesity? Are you stressed? Is your diet unhealthy? Are you physically active? Heart disease is about more than just a cholesterol value on a lab test.

I’ve seen patients who take a statin, watch their cholesterol go down and think the problem is solved. Yet they keep eating fast food, sitting all day and living under constant stress. That’s not real prevention. To protect your heart, you need to look at the whole picture, not just one biomarker on a printout.

Hum to nudge your vagus nerve, and your heart

illustration of man humming and meditating

Humming can stimulate the vagus nerve, sending a “stand down” signal to your autonomic nervous system and shifting you from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest. Try it while meditating for a total calming effect.

Amber Day

It sounds almost too simple, but you can stimulate the vagus nerve by humming. That gentle vibration sends a “stand down” signal to your autonomic nervous system, shifting you from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest. In a 2023 study of Bhramari Pranayama (the humming bee breath), people showed lower stress and heart rate and higher heart-rate variability (HRV), a marker of better resilience. If you’re worried about your heart, sometimes small changes make a big difference, and this is one you can do anywhere.

An anti-inflammatory diet may help fight inflammation at its source

To help keep inflammation at bay, eat more fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants and cut back on foods that spike your blood sugar.

Amber Day

Many of today’s most common illnesses are driven by chronic inflammation — conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, gastritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Beyond the “-itis” crowd, conditions like heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s also have strong inflammatory components.

What you eat can fan the flames or cool them down. So load up on fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants, which neutralize harmful free radicals that cause cell damage and inflammation, and compounds like anthocyanins that help reduce inflammation. Cut back on foods that spike your blood sugar, like baguettes, crackers and pretzels. And don’t forget your omega-3s. I recommend “SMASH fish” — salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines and herring — for their strong anti-inflammatory effects. The science backs it up. The results of a 2024 clinical trial published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy showed that people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s were able to improve memory and daily function by overhauling their eating habits and focusing on a minimally processed, plant-based diet, which can help reduce inflammation.

Turn your phone into a holistic health tool

I’m often asked by my patients for simple, low-cost ways to lower stress, and their smartphone can be a surprisingly useful tool. Apps like Insight Timer, Calm and Headspace provide an incredible range of resources right at your fingertips. Most are free, and even the paid versions are inexpensive. These contain great tools for mind-body work: helping you relax, manage stress, improve sleep and boost mental health without reaching for a pill.

Magnesium might be the mineral you’re missing

Not all supplements are just a pathway to “expensive pee.” Magnesium is a great example. About 60 percent of Americans don’t get enough, and low magnesium is linked to high blood pressure, diabetes, constipation, heart disease and even anxiety.

I usually recommend magnesium citrate. It’s fairly inexpensive, and for many people it has the side benefit of loosening up bowel movements, which is especially welcome for people who are constipated. If you have bigger issues with stress and insomnia, magnesium glycinate can be used instead.

It’s also hard to tell with a standard blood test if you’re low in magnesium. We usually add magnesium and watch how someone feels. If you do want it checked, the right test is an RBC magnesium level (which has to be written in specifically), not the usual serum magnesium level.

And the evidence is strong: A 2025 study in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association found that higher magnesium intake among older adults was linked to lower frailty risk. A 2024 clinical trial also showed that supplementing with 400 mg a day or more for at least 12 weeks produced significant drops in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Some supplements may cancel out your meds

There are drug-supplement interactions, and it’s absolutely a good idea to check before starting anything new. Your doctor can look it up, and your pharmacist can look into it, too. One of the most famous examples is St. John’s wort. It’s been studied extensively and shown to be as effective as Prozac for mild depression. But it also changes how your liver metabolizes drugs. There were even cases of organ transplants being rejected because St. John’s wort lowered the dose of the immune-suppressing medicine.

Turmeric’s “side effects” are actually side benefits if you use it wisely

You’ve probably heard warnings about turmeric. Some people report an upset stomach, while others worry about “blood thinning.” There can also be drug-supplement interactions. But here’s the context I give patients: When used appropriately, turmeric is one of the most reliable food-based anti-inflammatories we have, and its “side effects” often look like side benefits. Its anti-inflammatory effect can ease arthritis pain, reduce menstrual cramps, lower cholesterol and cut down on muscle soreness after exercise. There’s even evidence it can have a mild antidepressant effect. Compare that to ibuprofen, which can irritate your stomach or harm your kidneys.

When patients start adding turmeric supplements (or its active compound, curcumin) to their daily routine — I usually recommend 500 mg twice a day to start — they’re often surprised by the ripple effects. They’ll have less joint stiffness, better recovery after workouts and even mood improvement. But always talk to your clinician or pharmacist before adding a supplement, especially if you take blood thinners, diabetes meds or have upcoming surgery.

Improving your air quality may lower systolic blood pressure

Air pollution isn’t just a big-city problem — it can raise cardiovascular risk wherever you live. One easy way to take charge is by using an air-quality app to check your neighborhood’s AQI, or air quality index. A score above 100 means the air is “unhealthy,” so skip your outdoor walk and opt for an indoor workout instead.

The air in your home matters, too, especially in your kitchen. Gas stoves release nitrogen dioxide and fine particles, and ventilation fans often get skipped because they’re loud, not because they’re ineffective. For serious protection, an air purifier with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter can help. A 2025 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that people with high blood pressure who used a HEPA filter at home were able to lower their systolic blood pressure.

Cut out environmental irritants

Not every trigger is on your plate. Sometimes what makes you feel lousy is in the air you breathe or the products you use every day. Strong fragrances, harsh cleaning supplies, mold, pesticides or even the chemicals in your personal care products can spark headaches, fatigue, rashes or breathing problems. Just as you can eliminate suspect foods to see if your symptoms improve, you can also experiment with removing environmental exposures. Swap out heavily fragranced detergents for fragrance-free versions. Try nontoxic cleaners. Pay attention to how you feel in spaces that might have mold or heavy chemical smells. Many people find that reducing their daily “toxic load” makes a noticeable difference in their health and energy.

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