Article in North Holland newspaper
February 2, 2019
Fun in your work
Frank Jonkers (52) is director and founder of BodySwitch, a practice for integrative and orthomolecular medicine. He guides people to live healthier lives. ”Your health is your most precious commodity.”
How did you get into this profession?
,, Obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic illnesses can almost always be traced to our environment and an unhealthy lifestyle. In our society we mainly treat symptoms, but we do not look at the cause of the complaints. My own experience was the reason for setting up BodySwitch. I was an ICT worker and I had my own business. I was living unhealthy and at one point I weighed 135 pounds. I developed heart problems. The doctor prescribed medication and a dietician gave me meal replacements to lose weight. But I didn’t want to take pills or eat meal replacements. I wanted to learn how to live a healthy life. I started looking for information on my own and I came across orthomolecular medicine. From 2003 I took several courses in addition to my work and in 2011 I founded BodySwitch.”
Why does this profession suit you?
”I challenge people to make healthier choices. People come to us who are living unhealthy lives, as well as people who have chronic illnesses. By changing their lifestyle and diet, they can pick up their lives again and even reduce or phase out their medication. That gives a lot of satisfaction.”
What are the pros and cons of the work?
,,In regular health care there is a view that orthomolecular and integrative medicine cannot be scientifically substantiated. I study scientific literature and everything we do needs to be substantiated. Still, sometimes there is difficult contact with the regular health care system. Mainstream health care focuses on acute care and that is of course important, but doctors mainly focus on disease control. I notice that there is a bit more attention to lifestyle and nutrition of patients, but it remains a slow development. The nice thing about my work is that we really do make people healthier, increasing their quality of life and giving them more energy. With BodySwitch, we are creating a system that stands alongside mainstream health care. Ideally, we do work together in the interest of the patient.”
Do you deserve pay for work?
,,In 2011 I started and within a year I already had a waiting list. As a result, in late 2014 the plan arose to set up several locations around the country. This has since succeeded and new locations are being added. I decided to focus on our practice in Heemskerk where it started. We now have a management team that takes care of further expansion. I do what I enjoy and my passion is and will continue to be helping people. I do earn less than when I was still working in ICT, but I can also make a good living from this.”
What would be an alternative profession for you?
,,I started BodySwitch because I saw from a distance that we need to think differently in healthcare. Right now, there would be no other profession for me. The way I look at it now, I’ll be doing this for a long time.”
Learn more about BodySwitch: www.bodyswitch.nl
