Don Matesz is a philosopher, herbalist and nutrition counselor. He has over two decades of experience in the fields of nutrition, fitness, and natural health care, and is the author of over two dozen articles on nutrition published in popular health-oriented journals.
Don has a master's degree in philosophy (with a concentration in Asian philosophy), and received his certification in comprehensive nutrition counseling from the American Academy of Nutrition. He is also certified in Chinese herbology, having received his training from the Institute of Chinese Herbology.
Don is currently a student at Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture in Phoenix, Arizona. Before enrolling at the institute, he and his wife Rachel studied and taught macrobiotics. Together, they self-published The Nourishment for Life Cookbook. In 2004, they released a new book entitled The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet and Cookbook.
Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) affects more than 15% of the U.S. population but evades most practitioners’ radar. Just five years ago, it wasn’t even on my radar, despite already having 20 years of experience as a clinician at that time. The more I dug (similar to leaky gut and post-COVID syndrome), the more I found my patients were suffering from this disorder.
Research supports the effectiveness of selecting the distal acupuncture points for the treatment of microtrauma and for relieving pain, particularly in cases of chronic shoulder pain. But to make the treatment results long-lasting, clinical experience and research suggest that instead of treating the most painful structure first, we identify the inhibited driver, restore reliable recruitment, confirm it with immediate re-testing, and only then address the painful area as a branch of a deeper pattern.
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The motivation behind our practice of medicine is important, impacting not just our experience but also the experiences of those we treat. It is perhaps for this reason that the aspiration to help not just some, but all beings heal, has historically been an important part of the medical tradition. To explain this, we need to consider how medicine is interwoven with other social domains.