Hi, I’m Kristen
PharmD, MS, BCGP
I have a passion for helping my clients heal their gut by getting to the root of the problem rather than adding medications to cover up the problem.
Why focus on the gut? Throughout my career as a pharmacist, as well as my own personal health journey, I have found the gut is the centerpiece of our health. If we don’t have a healthy gut, we don’t have a healthy body. Simple as that. The gut is the starting point for improving our health and wellness.
After working in healthcare for the last ten years, I’ve found the majority of Americans are overmedicated. They take pills to cover up their symptoms and never actually heal their body. As they get older, more and more medications are added each year. Many of these medications are added to deal with side effects of their other medications. Over 20% of older adults take ten or more prescription drugs.
Medication use today is triple the rate it was 20 years ago without improving quality of life. Our current healthcare system isn’t healing disease and helping people live healthier, happier, longer lives. It’s helping sick people stay sick and maybe extending their life by a few disease filled years.
My approach to wellness is different. I help my clients uncover their healthiest selves in a way that works for them. I combine extensive medical knowledge with my Five Pillars of Health: Sleep, Diet, Supplements, Stress Management, and Exercise. I look at clients’ medical records and medication lists and identify problems, areas of focus, and a plan for their wellness journey. My goal is not to eliminate all medications. Many have their place. My goal is to find a balance between healing the body and using medications only where necessary.
I’ve helped my patients get back to living healthy, symptom free lives. Many of my clients feel better than they did in their 20’s and have even been able to cut down on their medications. If you’re tired of covering up problems with medications work with me to live your happiest, healthiest life.
About Me
I’m Kristen, a mom, a wife, a pharmacist, and lover of the outdoors. I have my doctorate in pharmacology from USC (fight on), a masters in Health Care Decision Analysis from USC, and a bachelors in Food Science Technology from Oregon State (Go Beavs). I also have a board specialty certification in geriatric pharmacy which means I have in depth insight on how the body changes as we get older and how we can ease these changes with some personal TLC. My job as a clinical pharmacist is to understand the ins and outs of human physiology, how substances (such as drugs, food, or chemicals) affect the body, how the body affects these substances, and how multiple substances within the body affect each other. This knowledge helps me understand the body as a whole and how the smallest changes can damage our body. My education in food science combined with my understanding of physiology give me a unique perspective on how the modern day diet and food processing is interacting with the human body and, well, killing us. In my career as a pharmacist I've discovered that the gut is the centerpiece of our health. A damaged gut can lead to pain, discomfort, and disease and a healed gut can improve all aspects of health. After meeting with me and following my guidance many of my patients have lessened their medications, become symptom free and even stated they feel better than they ever have!
I had my own struggles with health after the death of my only sibling, four knee surgeries, and a diagnosis of chronic fatigue (a diagnosis you’re given when doctors can’t find anything wrong with you). I went from a division I athlete at peak physical shape to sleeping 14 hours at night and needing to take naps throughout the day. I also had serious fecal urgency. If I didn’t make it to the bathroom in less than five minutes, I wasn’t making it. I saw multiple doctors. I was tested for everything from cancer to celiac disease. I had CT scans, colonoscopies, blood work, urine tests, you name it. Every doctor told me there’s nothing wrong with me. They would write me prescriptions to cover up my symptoms and send me on my way.
I eventually got tired of this pattern and took things into my own hands. I started researching stomach issues and fatigue and looking for solutions. This started me down the path of over 8 different elimination diets that took me years to complete, experimenting with different supplements, and examining every aspect of health I could. Books that would preach they would heal me would only address one or two factors of gut health and I'd be left feeling the same. Other books that cut out certain foods, left in high carb processed foods that had me feeling sluggish and exhausted. After more than 10 years of learning and experimentation I finally came up with my own recipe for success and reached a point in my life where I’m not running to the bathroom or having debilitating stomach pain, I have clear skin, and I have more energy than I had in my 20’s and even my teens. I have also helped patients just like you reach a point of relief in as little as 12 weeks, some even find relief after 14 days. Many of my patients start to feel relief after just two weeks.
