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Bill Rawls, M.D.

About This Provider

Dr. Rawls graduated from medical school at Bowman Gray School of Medicine (Wake Forest University) in 1985 and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is also certified by the American Board of Holistic Medicine and affiliated with the Institute of Functional Medicine.

The Story Leading Up to Creation of The Vital Plan

Ever since going on house calls with my grandfather long years ago, I can always remember wanting to be a doctor. The first year of medical school, however, painted a much different picture of medicine than I had once envisioned. I began to realize that modern medicine had more to do with treating symptoms than preventing them in the first place.

The first ten years in private practice were some of the most exciting in my life. I had chosen a specialty in obstetrics, and at a young age, could easily balance long nights on call with the full spectrum of medical care. By my mid-forties, however, the onset of insomnia and fatigue gradually eroded my ability to function. I initially blamed my condition on the stress of night call, but years later, positive testing for a tick-borne illness shed light on another possibility. At the beginning of my struggle I turned to conventional medicine for help, but quickly discovered that all drugs I tried came with significant side effects and actually caused worsening of my condition. For several years I existed in a compromised state, using medications just to survive. Finally, I made the difficult decision to stop obstetrics and I began searching for ways to regain my own health.

In 2005 I left a large Ob/Gyn group practice and started a private practice based on concepts of natural healing and prudent use of conventional medicine. Throughout my career I considered health and wellness to be of paramount importance, but as I shifted toward primary care, these concepts became the central focus of my practice and my entire life. It was like going back to medical school again—but learning completely different approaches to treat the same problems. I bought new textbooks and studied everything that I could about nutrition. I read everything available in the lay press about herbal remedies, and then searched the academic literature to determine what was real and what was not. I attended conferences on holistic and alternative medicine, but retained my ability to apply objective scientific scrutiny.

All the while, I was working to regain my own health. Everything I learned, I applied to myself. Exercise and meditation became daily routines, and my approach to eating changed drastically. I became a self-taught expert in nutrition and found supplements that actually helped my sleep problem without risk of side effects and dependence. My health and my energy level gradually rebounded. This new way of life, paired with a carefully chosen regimen of natural supplements, gradually restored my sleep, energy, and immune function. As much as pharmaceuticals had been a detriment, quality nutraceuticals became my lifeline.

I began to see that nutraceuticals had the potential to help so many others by providing guidance on quality nutraceutical supplements and natural therapies. Seeing that most patients needed more guidance than could be provided during periodic office visits, I began to write and distribute a series of essays on preventing and overcoming disease. These writings became very popular within my office and, over time, developed into a comprehensive series of “Health Briefs” that reflect years of dedicated research and patient feedback. With these resources, I was able to give many patients a newly-found freedom of having control of their own health.

It is with great pleasure that I am able to extend the concepts of my medical practice to a wider audience. Though the website is not meant to be a replacement for private consultation in an office setting, it does provide information and products that will allow you to better understand your own health and reduce your dependence on drugs. I do not pretend to offer miracle cures, but motivated individuals who want to protect or regain their health with non-drug alternatives will find many of the resources within this website to be life-enhancing.