Meet Dr. Christine Najjar, a medical doctor in Connecticut whose approach is deliciously refreshing. She specializes in Metabolic Medicine—the science of making it easy for your body to create and use energy in a healthy way.
Rather than suppressing chronic symptoms with medications, which seldom address underlying causes, this unique doctor educates and coaches her patients to embrace Hippocrates’ good advice, “let food be thy medicine,” – especially fats.
One of Dr. Christine’s key messages, especially for patients who want to lose weight — as well as many other physical and mental/emotional symptoms – is that fat is not your enemy. In fact, contrary to popular belief, she says it can and should become your friend if you truly want to create good health. She’s referring to fats in food as well as those on your body.
According to Dr. Christine, “Body fat is an organ that’s just as important as your brain, heart, and lungs. It has a very important purpose. You are not ‘fat’ – you have fat on your body, and some of it is supposed to be there!” She also helps people lose excess fat while eating more healthy fats.
Her motivation for thinking outside the box? That proverbial yo-yo of body fat had plagued her since childhood. The Mediterranean diet she enjoyed during summer vacations in Lebanon always left her feeling lean and happy, whereas her school years in the Hudson Valley, NY—and eating the Standard American Diet—always left her feeling anxious, ashamed, and self-conscious about the weight she’d gained.
This passionate doctor was not at all satisfied with the minimal exposure to nutrition science provided in medical school. “If I couldn’t heal myself, how could I help others to heal?” She supplemented med school with a master’s program in nutrition on weekends. She recalls, “it didn’t take long to realize that the ‘low-fat food revolution’ was based on flawed studies, cherry-picked and promoted by the processed food industry.”
Food First MD
Now Dr. Christine, the founder of Food First MD, taps into years of personal and professional experience and training—as well as her passion for food—to help patients gain control over their own bodies and minds. This helps them heal all kinds of maladies, many considered “incurable” by most doctors.
Many patients who are not concerned with their weight but suffer chronic symptoms also respond to this delicious approach to vibrant health. Dr. Christine says, “The body can quickly heal itself when given what it needs…an abundance of nutritious, satisfying food.”
Is it covered by insurance? Yes and no. To provide the time-intensive, confidential care required, Dr. Christine cannot accept insurance, per se. However, many insurance plans will reimburse a good portion. Patients are informed of how much they will be reimbursed for their visits, and office staff will submit the bill on their behalf.
“I love to give patients the benefit of my education, customized to their needs, as well as my caring, coaching, and cooking skills. We begin with testing, followed by therapeutic foods to balance hormones and other biochemical factors,” she says. “Then we develop a palate of yummy foods that support your unique body type, needs, and lifestyle…long-term.”
To connect with Dr. Christine, visit her medical practice @foodfirst.MD or foodfirstMD.com.
To see what food the doctor is dishing up, head to @doctorsdish. Accepting new patients in Windsor or TeleHealth. Email: [email protected] or call 203.441.1075.