JULY 2005 

We are in lovely, exciting Mexico City.

The small tree-lined street is inviting. The buildings which face it are modern, varied, and in human scale. The feeling is serene. Centro Engel is low key. Outside stands an alert young man, pleasantly greeting us, and ready to be of service. (We saw Maria call him in once to help her get rid of a persistent salesperson.)

Inside, the atmosphere is intimate and open, with the women who work there passing back and forth as they communicate with one another. Centro Engel, a clinic established especially for women, is staffed completely by women. There is Maria Engel, clinic founder, doctors, lab technicians, and support staff. They work as a team, informally, and everyone uses first names. Everyone is very much into service mode, and connecting with the patients and with each other. The cold, machine medical model is left far behind.

It is a woman’s dream clinic.

But this is just the beginning. Maria Engel is an extremely knowledgeable, compassionate, and courageous woman. She began her professional career as a chemist, added to it a nutritional degree from Cornell, and combined the two to work with women’s health. Helping women empower themselves through better health is her passion, and she has a rare understanding of how the body functions.

The visit begins with a complete battery of lab tests, using blood, urine, and saliva, which are analyzed immediately. That is followed by gentle cervical and breast exams, and a pap smear. Armed with this information, Maria (or a doctor) is ready for the interview.

The interview begins dramatically, with a fresh drop of my blood magnified on a large screen. Maria talks about the various cells as they float by on the screen, and what they indicate about my physical condition. It’s fascinating.

The interview is lengthy, and during the process, Maria is prescribing supplements which she feels will be beneficial. She prescribes a gradual supplement program, getting frequent feedback so that it can be corrected during the process of establishment. All of the supplements are natural, and she formulates some of them herself. Mine are primarily digestive and hormonal, although I haven’t yet worked up to the hormonal.

Maria also prescribes diet and exercise. She uses the blood type diet, which I also use because my body responds exceedingly well to it. So that part is not difficult. In regard to the exercise, I haven’t had enough energy to exercise, except for my chi gong routine.

But I hope to soon! Crystal tells me that her energy was lifted enormously by the help she received at Centro Engel. I’ll keep you posted.

~maya