Eliminating Biochemical Imbalances - The Nutritional Reflex Technique
Most illness is really the end result of a series of biochemical imbalances in the body, which can overwhelm its ability to compensate. Nutritional Reflex Technique (NRT) is a method of analysis Dr. Pickens uses to determine these imbalances which cause poor health.
Within the body, energy flows along specific pathways to “feed” the organs, tissues and various physiologic processes. NRT allows Dr. Pickens to find imbalances in your body by testing energy points along these pathways. This process also helps to identify the nutritional substances that can help restore normal function to each affected area of your body. By selecting the best mix of vitamins, minerals, herbs and homeopathic remedies, Dr. Pickens and NRT can help you achieve true health.
How Nutritional Reflex Technique Works
NRT is an alternative health care method for discovering biochemical imbalances within the body and restoring balance through nutritional supplementation.
When everything in your body is functioning in harmony, you have true health. But, if there are physical or mental imbalances – for whatever reason – you will not be well, whether you have visible symptoms or not. Over time, one imbalance leads to another in a domino effect, overwhelming the body’s ability to compensate.
Using NRT, Dr. Pickens evaluates the flow of energy within your body by testing specific points along the energy pathways. The actual procedure involves a muscle strength test to identify biochemical imbalances, which can then be treated using nutritional substances.
Through an individually determined, specific nutritional supplement program, the body is cleansed and nourished down to the cellular level, so it can do what’s natural: restore balance and return to health. The method Dr. Pickens uses was devised by Dr. Gary Lasneski, a Massachusetts chiropractor, who advanced the technique using his knowledge of clinical nutrition, Chinese medicine, and quantum physics.
NRT Testing & Treatment
To do NRT muscle testing, Dr. Pickens usually uses the shoulder muscle. While you hold your arm out to the side, he presses down on it while simultaneously touching various energy points on your body. If there is an imbalance in the organ, tissue or physiologic process associated with that point, the energy field there will be weak and your arm will drop.
Once Dr. Pickens has identified the imbalances, he will ask you to hold samples of multiple nutritional formulas. These supplements have energy fields, like all matter. If the formula will help to correct the problem associated with the weakness of that energy point, then its energy will immediately increase the strength of the muscle being tested and the arm will “lock-in.” If the formula will not be helpful or will make the condition worse, the muscle will stay as weak as before or weaken further.
Dr. Pickens will select a mix of vitamins, minerals, herbs, glandular extracts and homeopathic remedies to achieve the best results. During testing, there are often several formulas that will make a point quite strong. As a result, the doctor will test various combinations and quantities of ingredients to find the ideal blend. When the optimal program is found, there is a shift in energy at the point being tested, which can also be detected by a change in muscle strength.
By the time most people see Dr. Pickens for an evaluation, they have tried many treatments that have failed to resolve their health problem. At that point, they are impatient for results, but finding the right answer and making a lasting correction will take some time. Dr. Pickens wants to be sure the nutritional supplement program he develops for you truly works to improve your health.
Experience has shown that the NRT approach is safe, less expensive in the long run, and more effective than most other forms of analysis and treatment. However, considering all the variables, a cure cannot be guaranteed with NRT or any medical technique.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of people who follow through with the program experience relief of most, if not all, of their symptoms. Remember, health problems can take years to develop, that is why Dr. Pickens asks his patients to give the NRT treatment program a minimum of three months to achieve significant results.
The Doctor Behind Innovative NRT
In the late 1980’s, a well-respected Massachusetts chiropractor started to develop an innovative alternative healthcare method. Building on the work of others, Dr. Gary Lasneski developed a method for detecting biochemical imbalances in the body and using nutritional supplements to restore balance. He called it the Nutritional Reflex Technique.
One of the most unconventional aspects of Dr. Lasneski’s approach was his technique for detecting the imbalances in the functions of the body: a muscle testing process that incorporated touching acupuncture energy points. By touching these specific points on the body while testing a patient’s shoulder muscle strength, Dr. Lasneski could determine where and what type of imbalances were occurring in the body.
Then, using his extensive knowledge of biochemical interactions and advanced studies in clinical nutrition, Dr. Lasneski identified supplements to restore balance and remedy the situation. To confirm the appropriate nutrients and dosages, he conducted repeated tests as a patient held successive strengths of the supplements.
One of the benefits of NRT is that it allows the practitioner to detect the root cause of some maladies that tend to masquerade. For instance, in one patient Dr. Lasneski treated, symptoms which suggested arthritis actually turned out to be caused by metal poisoning. After the doctor recommended supplements designed to extract metals from the body, the patient’s arthritis-like condition cleared up in three months.
However, Dr. Lasneski always made sure patients understood he was not actually treating diseases. His nutritional technique was specifically designed to identify supplements that can help restore balance when biochemical imbalances are found.
What is surprising is the number and the nature of physical problems that respond to nutritional balancing. Which is why healthcare professionals like Dr. Pickens have become certified in Dr. Lasneski’s technique – an extremely valuable tool to help people find relief and restore their health.

This section was adapted from an article in the Amherst Bulletin, March 1995, entitled “A Delicate Balance”