Naturopathic Care

Using natural medicine there are many ways to prevent and treat health conditions you may be struggling with. Whether your condition is acute or chronic it can be treated and managed successfully using herbs, homeopathy, vitamins, minerals, hydrotherapy and dietary modification. These therapies will not only treat your symptoms but will move you towards health and healing. They will always provide some benefit or relief, moving you closer to your Ideal Healthy Self!

Prevention

Prevention is the best place to start in any endeavor. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and preventing illness from occurring in the first place is a wonderful thing. One of my main goals when working with patients is to give them prevention strategies.

I can help you:

  • Prevent that chronic sinus infection
  • Calm that tummy with that unexpected exposure to gluten or casein
  • Prevent that cold or flu

Acute Conditions

When an acute condition arises it comes on suddenly, needs immediate attention and lasts a short amount of time.

I can help you resolve:

  • Sinus Infections
  • Urinary Tract Infections
  • Yeast Infections
  • Digestive Distress
  • Colds and Flu

Chronic Conditions

Most (if not all) chronic health conditions have an underlying cause. An underlying cause can be food sensitivities or food allergies, hormonal imbalance, leaky gut or dysbiosis, heavy metal toxicity, chronic viral, bacterial, fungal or parasitic infection. My goal in treating patients with chronic health conditions is to address these underlying causes.

I can provide treatment strategies to improve your health with:

  • Autoimmune Diseases: Hashimoto’s and Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Digestive Disorders: IBS, Crohn’s, Celiac, Ulcerative Colitis, SIBO, Gas and Bloating, Constipation
  • Hormonal Imbalance: PMS, PCOS, Menopause, Adrenal and Thyroid Disorders
  • Respiratory Illness: Asthma, Chronic Bronchitis
  • Metabolic Disorders: Diabetes, Obesity
  • Chronic Infections: Recurrent Sinus, Strep, Urinary, Vaginal

Women’s Health

I love working with women of all ages to address the many changes that we all go through from puberty to menopause. Hormonal imbalance can play a huge role in the myriad of symptoms we struggle with. Getting relief from PMS, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia and painful periods can be life changing.

I can help you:

  • Identify hormone imbalance through comprehensive hormone testing
  • Understand the “big picture” and importance of your hormone systems (hypothalamus- pituitary- adrenal- thyroid-ovary)
  • Create an individualized hormone balance protocol using herbal medicine, vitamins/minerals, homeopathy, dietary modification, stress management and/or bioidentical hormones.

Whether you are looking for prevention strategies or have a current health condition you are struggling with, I’d love to help guide you on your journey to health using natural medicine.

Use green button at right to set up your initial visit. See you soon!

Food Sensitivity Testing

I think we can all agree that when it comes to improving our health, eating well is hands down the single most important step we can take. Helping people identify their food sensitivities and make some dietary adjustments can truly be life changing.

Screening for food sensitivities has proven invaluable to help identify foods that are causing significant illness and symptoms in patients. Eating foods that you are sensitive or intolerant to can cause a variety of symptoms or disease states that are often addressed through medications. Migraine headaches, PMS, diarrhea, constipation, gas and bloating, sinusitis, acne, fatigue, asthma, depression and anxiety (to name a few) can all be caused or exacerbated by eating foods that you are intolerant to.

To screen for food sensitivities, I use an electro-dermal testing device called The Vega Bio-Expert. This testing was developed by Dr. Reinhard Voll, a German physician and acupuncturist. It is also known as EAV or Electro Acupuncture according to Voll. Using this investigative approach is a great way to gain information about the health of a patient.

How Does the Test Work?

Just as EKGs are used to determine the electrical conduction and health of the heart, electro-dermal screening is used to measure skin resistance to various substances. The patients’ internal “electrical current” is measured while the patient holds a large hand electrode, and the physician touches an acupuncture point with a blunt tip electrode. Individual food substances are then placed in “circuit” and a slight potential difference (voltage) is measured (via a galvanometer) resulting in a positive or negative result.

What foods are tested?

I screen for over 200 food substances. (See list of foods here – download Food List PDF) Additional food substances placed in small containers or wrapped in foil can also be brought in for evaluation.

Who is this test good for?

This testing is good for anyone looking to gain additional insight into the possible cause of their illness or symptoms. I have used it with patients of all ages from 6 weeks old to 86 years old! Young patients, ages 6 months – 3 years old, can be most challenging to test as they move around a great deal and are sometimes difficult to reason with (wink). Nursing, reading books or watching a movie during the test has proven to be very helpful during the screening.

Can substances other than foods be tested?

Many items can be screened using the Vega Bio-Expert. I often screen various supplements (vitamins, minerals, botanicals, homeopathic remedies) or prescription medications (hormones, anti-depressants) for patients to see if they are compatible.

What I find helpful (and informative) is screening a supplement in conjunction with a particular food that may have come up as a sensitivity. For example, on one occasion while screening a patient, nearly every protein food was reading positive for food sensitivity (which I found very unusual and odd). Upon inquiring if she was on any medications, she shared she was taking an acid blocking medication for her heartburn. We concluded that because the medication lowered her stomach acid, it was most likely decreasing her ability to digest proteins such as meat and fish. I then placed an enzyme containing betaine HCL in circuit with the protein foods and it was no longer showing up as a food sensitivity. Her body was deficient in hydrochloric acid (HCL) and she needed the enzyme to digest the proteins.  Voila!  Mystery solved!

Given the above example, the information gleaned by testing various substances together can be extremely helpful in guiding treatment and resolving symptoms.

Will my food sensitivities last forever?

The amount of foods you are sensitive to and the symptoms you experience are often a sign of a burdened digestive system which is why a person may react to different and/or more foods over a period of time. The extent of this burden is dependent on many factors. Food quality (organic, processed, GMO, raw, cooked), insufficient enzymes, damage to the intestines (leaky gut), medications, environmental toxins and stress are just a few things that can exacerbate and or contribute to food sensitivities.

The healthier your entire digestive tract is, the more foods you will be able to tolerate. Healing your gut takes time. Identifying your food sensitivities, creating a plan of elimination and reintroduction, while supplementing key nutrients over a set period of time can have a significant impact on this process. Healing your digestive tract may also allow you to indulge in some of those food sensitivities from time to time without major repercussions.

Success Stories

“Dr. McCool, I just wanted to thank you again for all your help over the past three years. It’s amazing how much better I feel, but more importantly how much differently I view life and the world. You opened my eyes to so many things. Thank you again, so much!”    Trevor H.

“Dr. Brenda McCool! I love her style of care. She’s knowledgeable, professional and she listens to me and comes up with a solid plan to help me work toward feeling healthy. If you’re ever interested in Naturopathic care, start here.”    Angie H.

“I am beyond grateful to Dr. McCool. She not only helped heal my life, but my child’s as well. After dealing with years of GI issues, her food sensitivity testing helped reveal the root cause of the majority of my symptoms helping me reach a level of health and vitality that I hadn’t dreamed possible. Luckily, because of the work I did with Dr. McCool, when my daughter was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, I understood the power of food as a direct factor in her illness. Dr. McCool is more than just a doctor. She embodies what she teaches and genuinely cares for her clients. I have complete faith and trust in her and could not recommend her more highly.”    Kristen W.