Bobbie Barbrey, RPh, CCN

 

Pharmacy has always been a part of my life. My favorite uncle was a pharmacist.  I remember riding around with him making prescription deliveries before I was old enough to drive.  In high school I did summer internships at his store and when I went to college there was never any question that I, too, would become a pharmacist. I was admitted into pharmacy school on day one and my journey began.

I started my career at Kerr Drugs, a family owned chain drug, excited to help people improve their health.  When my father developed heart disease I just knew that the medications he was prescribed would help him.  When the first one didn’t do the job they would add another, and then another. Ultimately they were not enough to save him.

His story made me reflect on what could have been done differently.  If I couldn’t help save my own father was I really helping others?  I knew in my heart that I was, but I also knew there was a missing piece to the story.  My father ate an inflammatory diet, had a stressful job, smoked, and did not exercise.  Those are big hurdles to expect any pill to negate. But was there more?

I started learning more about nutrition and what we can do to supplement the missing pieces from our nutrient deplete diets.  I learned of the importance of exercise, drinking clean water, and taking time to smell the roses.  The more I learned the more I wanted to know.  It just made sense.  Medications help many people, but they seldom address the root of the problem and help the body rebuild and rebalance.  It’s not their job.  They do great at what they are designed to do, but we need more.

2001 was a pivotal year in my life.  I made the decision to study nutrition intensely and got my CCN (Certified Clinical Nutrition) certification.  I opened my own independent pharmacy so I would have control over the products I carried.  I made a commitment to carry only quality products at the best price possible, and to always keep my patient’s health as my focus.

My CCN study was just the beginning.  My wife, Lauren, and I go to countless professional conferences throughout the country each year so we stay on the cutting edge of new information coming out.  It’s an exciting field to be a part of.  Supplements are getting stronger, more targeted, and more effective while at the same time the population is getting sicker and sicker.  Too many people eat foods because they like the taste without regard to what they are doing in their bodies.  Processed foods take a toll.  At the same time we are exposed to more and more toxins.  Our bodies were designed beautifully and can detoxify by themselves – if you live and eat in the Garden of Eden.  They were not designed to handle the level of toxins that they are exposed to in our current environments. 

The good news is, there is a lot we can to do assist our bodies to remove toxins, and add nutrients that are missing from our diets.  In this day and age I would not want to trust my health to just the foods I eat, no matter how healthy that diet is.  I’ve reviewed some of my favorite products. Let me know yours.