The quantifiable self is not a new idea. Thanks to gadgets like the Fitbit and Apple Watch, we are a society obsessed with how many steps we've walked, calories we've consumed, and percentages of whathaveyou lost. Health has gotten specific. We've also seen this in the rise of the boutique workout institution, like SoulCycle and other specific exercise destinations. We want wellness programs to work for our individual bodies rather than a gym-size majority. This extends right down into the nutrients we take in; one size does not fit all.
Dr. Erika Schwartz, the author of Don’t Let Your Doctor Kill You and founder of Evolved Science, believes personal health care is just that: unique to each individual that walks through her door. At Evolved Science, Dr. Schwartz and her team have created a concierge-style destination for health and preventative care treatments. They offer an array of intravenous procedures, though they also offer other services, like having your body mass index (among other things) monitored by their team, all of which, they say, can lead patients to live their fullest life.
IVs, though, are a necessary step in the journey of personal wellness, according to Evolved Science. They're the perfect introduction to the world of preventative self-care. Together, Dr. Schwartz and her team work with visitors to figure out what sort of IV procedure they need. Evolved Science currently offers eight intravenous cocktails, all using natural vitamins and supplements, that can be modified to a client's specific needs. "Together we come up with a team effort approach," Dr. Schwartz says. "It's about creating a partnership and listening to you and your needs." When I visited, I was given a generic cocktail of leucovorin for alertness, glutathione to fight off illness, taurine for sustained energy, and a mix of glycine and vitamin C to detox and boost my immune system. I was told this would be great to help fight hangovers. (Alas, I hadn't raged the night before and had no hangover to cure.) The effects, I was told, would be truly felt the next day, which turned out to be true. I woke up feeling more ready to take on the hours ahead than I had in a long while—a nice feeling, one that I wouldn't mind having all the time.
But what about using preventative treatments like this as an excuse to go out hard and abuse your body? Is that truly being preventative or simply using the available tools as a crutch? "We're not going to let you abuse this treatment," Dr. Schwartz says. "That's why it's medically supervised." Dr. Schwartz and her team are lifesavers and life givers, sure, but they are merely guardian angels for a client's preventative care. What a client does outside of the office is up to them. "The decision to partake in intravenous preventative care is a decision that we make together based on your particular circumstance."
Ultimately, it is again about a client's unique circumstance. "Preventative care should always be your decision," Dr. Schwartz adds. "The way we work with people is to help them understand what the best way for them to conduct their life is, to use this as a tool." It's about knowing what your body lacks and the pressures your day-to-day puts on it that dictate the steps necessary to live a healthy, high-quality life. "Now that we're all aware that prevention is the way to go, we don't have to wait until we get sick [to use intravenous provedures]," Dr. Schwartz says. "IVs have to move out of the emergency room when you're actually in dire straits and into the mainstream where they can actually protect you from future, potential health issues." Prevent now so you can thrive later. Live smarter: That's really what all those numbers we study via our health apps are telling us to do anyway.
