About Dr. Ayo Bankole

Dr. Ayo Bankole is the founder  of the Total Wellness Institute  Dr. Bankole received his Naturopathic Doctorate from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine & Health Sciences, in Tempe AZ, and completed his clinical training at the Southwest Naturopathic Medical Clinic.  His medical training began at Howard University College of Medicine, Washington DC, where he completed the physician assistant program.

Dr. Bankole has over a decade of medical experience and six years of emergency medicine practice at Moreno Valley Community Hospital in CA, Hu Hu Kam Memorial Hospital in AZ, and Prince George’s Hospital Center in MD.  He is a recipient of the Outstanding Patient Service Award for 2000 for Kaiser Permanente Hospital Department of Family Medicine, Riverside, CA. 

Having a strong appreciation for the role of healthy life-style choices and preventive  medicine, Dr. Bankole pursued training in Naturopathic Medicine as a means to help individuals achieve optimum health while utilizing a wider and safer variety of therapeutic options. 

Dr. Bankole devotes a large part of his practice to the treatment and prevention of common chronic disorders such as obesity, nicotine addiction, arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, musculoskeletal pain, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and hormonal imbalances.   His treatment protocols include a combination of patient education and coaching, vitamin and mineral therapy and botanical medicine.  He has undergone advanced training in women’s health and the utilization of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.  In addition, he has advanced training in regenerative joint injection, otherwise known as prolotherapy, for the treatment of musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis and joint injuries.

Dr. Bankole is a member of the California Naturopathic Doctors Association, The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the Naturopathic Academy of Therapeutic Injections, The American Academy of Physician Assistants and The California Association of Physician Assistants.

Philosophical Approach
Dr. Bankole views illness as an interaction of several factors such as suboptimal lifestyle choices, environmental body burden (chemical toxicity), nutrient deficiencies, emotional stress, as well as hereditary and genetic factors. These factors converge in varying ways resulting in an array of risk factors and disease susceptibilities unique to each individual and all too often culminate in disease. Fortunately much can be done to address these risk factors, thereby significantly decreasing an individual’s chances of acquiring a disease. 

Dr. Bankole promotes prevention by addressing risk factors and imbalances holistically. In addition, this same holistic approach is applied in treating established disease, working to identify and correct underlying influences using naturopathic and alternative approaches. Dr. Bankole’s experience in conventional medicine and the use of drugs allows him to safely taper or discontinue medications as appropriate and to work cohesively with conventional physicians where appropriate.  In addition, his naturopathic training allows him to recognize and correct nutritional deficiencies brought on by medications. Overall, Dr. Bankole shifts the focus from over reliance on drugs to manage disease to identifying and treating the cause and emphasizing changes in lifestyle, the proper use of nutrients, medicinal supplements, bio-identical hormones and detoxification to restore health.