A lot of Americans only see a general physician, (hopefully) a dentist, and maybe a specialist if they have a health scare or known, specific health issue. Unfortunately, that’s like only eating a single type of food every single day for lunch.

Even if it’s good for you, like kale, it’s not going to give you all the nutrition you need for a holistically healthy body and life. You’re going to need to branch out if you want to achieve that.

Considering adding naturopathic care to your health plan along with your traditional western medicine. See a dermatologist for an annual mole check and not just when you have a bad case of adult acne.

Pepper in massage therapy, acupuncture, or try a new GP just to get a second opinion (it’s called “practice” for a reason). Here are a few potential perks you can enjoy if you grow your health team:

Specialized care

Your GP has limited time to focus on each patient unfortunately, so you’ll never get the specialized care you deserve. For example, only a chiropractor is going to be focusing on how your spinal alignment might be impacting other parts of your health.

According to numerous reports such as a recent article in NewsMax, doctors are overworked and the more “general” your provider is, the less chance you’ll get the care you deserve.

Two is better than one

Would you marry the first person you go out with just because they seem to be a nice enough person? Even if they are, you need to meet more people, experiment more and figure out exactly what kind of person is the best match for you (maybe it was the first one after all!).

The same is true with healthcare providers. It’s always good to have more options, more opinions and more experiences so you’re informed and can compare.

You might be overlooking a great solution

Not every form of care works for every patient. For example, WCVB in Boston recently covered how yoga health is aiding wounded warriors but not everyone enjoys or gets the most benefits from downward dogs. The only way you’ll find your best healthcare solutions is by trial and error.

You can design your own regimen

Who says an acupuncturist, internal medicine physician and massage therapist can’t work together? They’re not in competition. Your healthcare team should know about one another (just like in an open relationship) and work together for your best health.