Vincent M. Pedre, M.D.

What is your wellness philosophy?

Total wellness starts and ends with the gut. Our gut is a vast, miraculous and absorptive surface through which all nutrients, and potentially toxins, enter the body. Therefore, I believe nutrition is the prime first step in creating wellness, while healing the gut is the way to optimize and balance the availability of these nutrients for every cell in your body.
At the same time our bodies are not just machines processing food elements in exactly the same way. We each have unique gut microbiomes. And beyond the nutrients we eat, we each need to go deeper by nurturing ourselves well in mind, body and spirit, because true wellness can only be achieved when they are aligned and whole.
We must not only create the greatest opportunity for optimum health through proper nutrition, we also need to clear our minds and emotions of negative, toxic thought patterns, and instead discover what it means to “feed them” positive nourishment through wellness habits, such as gratitude, laughter, happiness and connecting with nature. Ultimately, wellness is about self-actualization, which can only happen when we are honoring ourselves at all levels: mind, body, and spirit.

What brought you into wellness?

As a child, my father was obsessed with his health. He self-prescribed supplements. He did food allergy testing to figure out which foods he should avoid. He posted all the harmful foods we shouldn’t eat on the refrigerator with a paper headed by a skull and cross-bones. As much as his behavior seemed extreme at the time (and sometimes downright funny—the butt of many childhood jokes), his obsession and quest for well-being rubbed off on me. First, I was a science nerd, loving everything about it. Second, I love people. And third, I was artistic, having grown up passionately studying and playing the piano. Melding all three into my chosen profession as a medical doctor—a mix of science and art with the very important people factor—was the perfect fit. And as I grew and evolved in this profession, my own passion for wellness grew and transformed into a mission to help people live happier, healthier lives.

What does You. We. All. mean to you?

The message is clear. It’s about our Interconnectedness. Our individual actions affect not just our close circle of friends and family, but looking at them from afar, you realize we are all in this collective whole together. A spider web of relationships of all kinds. It is the Internet. Of Us. Our choices and our lifestyle behaviors can have a positive impact on more than just ourselves. Our actions affect the Many. And All together, We have the potential to create something really magical when it comes to healing, transforming, growing, and actualizing worldwide health and wellness. Let’s raise our collective consciousness and make the world healthy together!

What gets you up in the morning?

Perspective is everything. And behind that, the intention that drives your perspective is what sets the tone for your day. I start with Gratitude. I think of all the Possibilities a new day brings. And I set my Intention for each day. How do I do this? I usually lie in bed for about 5 minutes after I wake up and think about all the things I am grateful for. I not only think them, I tune into that feeling and absorb it, taking it into every cell in my being. I shower myself in this waterfall of positivity, knowing that no matter what happens throughout my day (both good and bad), I can always ground myself by remembering what is good in life. It is a daily reminder that there is a greater goal in life than the stress and minutia we each get caught up with.