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Winnetka physician says no to drugs, yes to better diet and herbal supplements
Dr. Sam Moltz at his Winnetka offices on Thursday, Aug. 24. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
Dr. Moltz’s at home recommendations for digestive symptoms:
1. An elimination diet: cut out all foods you eat frequently for a week or two. Then, one at a time, every 2-3 days, reintroduce the foods and notice which foods are affecting you.
2. Start using probiotics and/or digestive enzymes
3. Stop using antacids
Dr. Samuel Moltz
914 Green Bay Road
Hours: by appointment
Contact: (847) 682-9760
Article Extras
Updated: October 1, 2012 3:16PM
When Harold Schlegel was diagnosed with diabetes last February, he went to see a doctor who was recommended to him by a friend, and says the whole experience was very dissatisfying.
“You’re there for an hour and a half, and you see the doctor for 10 minutes,” said the 70-year-old Evanston resident, Everything else is handled by the nurses and office staff.
“I left there with a prescription and the phone number for a nutritionist.”
Schlegel says he decided to look for a physician who was more holistic, and at the recommendation of his neighbor made an appointment with Dr. Samuel Moltz, M.D.
“We immediately hit it off,” Schlegel said. “He was knowledgeable, and he treated me with respect.”
Moltz, 36, left his job at a physician’s group a year and a half ago to open up his own practice in downtown Winnetka. He said he decided to go solo so he could give patients more personalized care, and focus more on holistic healing and less on prescription writing.
“I’ve done the traditional practice, and I got a bit dismayed because of the way my work day was set up,” said the 2002 Loyola Medical grad. “I had limited amounts of time to spend with patients, 10-15 minutes tops, and I never felt like I was able to get to the bottom of what was going on with the patient. “
He started realizing that people with chronic health issues could not get better just by taking prescription drugs, and the numerous side effects he saw bothered him. So, Moltz spent the next two years going to conferences and speaking with other physicians. His goals: to get an education on other options besides prescription drugs, and to learn a natural approach to medicine.
“A lot of chronic health issues start with our gastrointestinal system not working properly,” he said. “So, when a new patient comes in, I spend well over an hour getting to know them and getting a history of their health, looking first at energy levels and digestion.”
Moltz says one of the first things he does is look into food sensitivities. He is a big proponent of elimination diets.
“Food sensitivities can be very subtle and cause fatigue, headaches, and other symptoms that patients don’t even realize are coming from their diet or something they are eating that’s not agreeing with them.”
Since seeing Moltz in May of last year, Schlegel has lost more than 30 pounds and his diabetes is more in control, which he said is largely due to his effort, though he also credits his doctor.
“I’m seeing people who have chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, who have seen multiple doctors and who have been on meds that haven’t achieved a satisfactory outcome,” Moltz said. “With a natural approach and dietary changes, I’ve seen patients reach a noticeable level of improvement.”
Moltz does believe in pharmaceutical drugs to an extent, but that melding the two worlds of prescription drugs and natural options really works.
“My passion is to promote awareness that there are other alternatives that are safe. It’s a shame that they aren’t propagated by the medical community.”
