Functional medicine is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness. It requires a detailed understanding of each patient’s genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages that data to direct personalized treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes. By addressing root cause, rather than symptoms, practitioners become oriented to identifying the complexity of disease. They may find one condition has many different causes and, likewise, one cause may result in many different conditions. As a result, functional medicine treatment targets the specific manifestations of
disease in each individual.
Act Natural Health and Wellness
Act Natural Health & Wellness has moved! After 8 years in Torrington, we have relocated to 131 Main Street in downtown Thomaston with plenty of free parking!
Act Natural Health & Wellness carries a wide variety of professional grade vitamin, supplements, minerals, homeopathic remedies, herbal tinctures, loose herbs and teas. You will only find many of our brands on our shelves. All of our products are PPA (Pam Pinto Approved), so our customers can trust that if we won’t use it ourselves, we won’t sell it.
Looking for hemp and isolated terpenes? We carry third party certified, non heat extracted hemp gummies, tinctures, capsules, balms, salves, chocolate bars, protein bars, seltzers, and herbal teas. Need something with the added sweet? Try a hemp brownie or cookie! Don’t know where to begin? Let Pam Pinto, our Hemp Consultant, help you.
We also carry that hard to find herb, Kratom, in white, red and green vein capsules and powder.
Think you can’t afford organic? Think again! Act Natural offers a 30% Off Food Buy Club. With an annual membership of just $30 members save 30% off of retail prices on organic produce, grass-fed meat, local dairy, cheese and baked items. The list changes every week as we are part of the “Save The Food” movement educating the community on how to afford organic on a budget. Those “best buy dates” are not expiration dates and allow affordable organic food at “Crazy Deal” prices.
Act Natural Health and Wellness • 860.482.8477 • actnaturalhealth.com • info@actnaturalhealth.com
Swan Integrative Health & Wellness
Swan Integrative is a functional/integrative medicine practice whose mission is to guide and inspire individuals to discover the root cause of their symptoms so they can heal from the inside out.
We are a team of talented nurse practitioners and are proud to be a female-owned business.
Lisa Shettle, MS, RDN, CD-N
Swan Integrative’s registered dietitian, Lisa Shettle, MS, RDN, CD-N, is passionate about translating the ever-changing science of nutrition into simple, meaningful information so patients can achieve optimal health without feeling deprived.
Many people feel overwhelmed when they’re newly diagnosed with a condition or when they have been unsuccessful in trying to manage an existing condition or lose weight. While primary care providers can provide general nutrition guidance, registered dietitians are experts who provide ongoing individualized nutrition support to manage disease and promote health. Lisa collaborates with the care team in an integrative manner to address the underlying root cause. Two people can have the same diagnosis with very different past medical histories, lifestyles, and preferences and therefore require different nutrition interventions.
During appointments, Lisa discusses nutrition but also reviews the specifics of lifestyle, including daily schedule, sleep patterns, job, medications/supplements, medical history, and physical activity. Together, barriers are identified and Lisa provides practical solutions to support her patients’ goals, emphasizing goals that are realistic and achievable. Lisa is credentialed with most major insurance companies and provides customized meal plans. Call today to schedule an appointment with Lisa and start your journey to better health!
Maura Aaberg, MSN, CNM, WHNP-BC
With the addition of our newest clinician, we are accepting new patients again! Maura Aaberg is a seasoned nurse practitioner and midwife with over a decade of experience caring for women. Her focus is integrative/holistic women’s healthcare, including gentle gynecological care, thyroid health, hormone management (PMS, PCOS, fertility concerns, perimenopause/menopause), mind/mood concerns, gut health, and more.
While Maura is not accepting patients as a primary care provider, the care she provides can serve as a complement to the care provided by your PCP. At Swan Integrative, we spend extra time hearing your story, looking at you as a whole person, and putting together the pieces to help you feel complete. Maura is enrolled with most major insurance companies. Call 860.325.2679 or email info@swanintegrative.com to join us!
Swan Integrative Health and Wellness • Glastonbury, CT
860.325.2679 • www.swanintegrative.com
Christine Najjar, MD, MS, ABOM
I am an Internal and Obesity Medicine physician and founder of Food First MD, a Connecticut-based medical practice focused on empowering people to regain control of their health with the most underutilized medicine—food.
I was first drawn to the intricacies of the human body and nutrition from my own experience. I spent summers in my parents’ native land, Lebanon, where I grew to love Mediterranean cuisine. I recognized that every summer spent there, I was left feeling vibrant, clear, energized, and light, and my waistline always seemed to shrink. When I came back to the United States, everything quickly reversed.
Yearning to understand how food affects the body, I studied biochemistry at McGill and medicine at St. George’s University, during which I worked in various Brooklyn hospitals, where I was exposed to the Band-Aid of modern medicine and the overwhelming cases of chronic illness and disease. Wanting to deepen my nutrition-specific education, I earned a Master’s in Human Nutrition at Columbia concurrently with medical school clinical rotations.
Despite my education, I struggled to optimize my health and wondered, “How am I going to heal patients if I can’t heal myself?” Committed to finding solutions, I built upon my years of education, took a deep dive into literature, and expanded my views beyond the tools in front of me.
After completing my residency at UConn, I worked as a weight loss consultant and a primary care physician. In 2022, I launched Food First MD with a mission to bring health back to healthcare. I’m driven to help patients avoid years of frustration, ineffective treatments, and debilitating ailments, and I reach patients with knowledge and compassion. Using a food-first approach, I have helped patients reverse disease, reach optimal weight, and reduce or eliminate the need for traditional medications.
I am accepting new patients in my office and via Telemedicine. Combining my unique medical and nutritional background, I provide customized evaluations and food-first prescription plans. Patients have access to weekly Empowerment Group Zoom meetings I host live. I also love to experiment with new recipes and dishes. Leading by example, I encourage my patients to take control of their health with my favorite medicine…food!
To connect with me, visit @foodfirst.MD or foodfirstMD.com. To see what food the doctor is dishing up, head to @doctorsdish.
Food First MD • South Windsor, CT • 203.441.1075 • foodfirstMD.com
Mary Gilbertson Wellness
Mary Gilbertson, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, MSc, is a board-certified nurse practitioner, clinical nutritionist, and certified detoxification specialist.
Mary Gilbertson Wellness was created in 2013 out of a need to educate patients on their chronic illnesses so they could move from struggling to manage their health to reversing illness and creating a lifestyle that promotes optimal wellness.
At Mary Gilbertson Wellness, we’re creating a new paradigm of health care that encouragse the patient to act as an active participant in their care, decrease their dependence on medications, address mental health and well-being, and develop a care plan that integrates the whole person.
Services offered at our Functional Medicine & Lifestyle Clinic include:
- Gut disorders: IBS, IBD, SIBO, leaky gut, Candida, H. pylori, motility disorders, and more.
- Gluten intolerance, food allergies and sensitivities
- Preventive cardiology: Hypertension, high cholesterol/lipids, high-risk screening
- Blood sugar disorders: Insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, PCOS, fatty liver
- Thyroid conditions: Hypothyroid and Hoshimoto thyroiditis
- Adrenal fatigue, anxiety, stress disorders, immunosuppression
- Testing for food allergies and sensitivities, most gut disorders, stool testing, heavy metals, parasites, molds, and more.
- Detoxification protocols, including liver cleanse, gall bladder flushes, kidney cleanse.
- Detox from vaccine adjuvants, spike proteins, and more.
New for 2023 is the Metabolic Health & Weight Loss Center. Our new Weight Loss Center was developed to address the needs of children and adults who struggle with their weight, often impacting other health conditions. We have the In-Body Scale for in-depth metabolic testing and offer multiple ways to approach weight loss:
- Tier One uses nutritional interventions and lifestyle techniques including exercise, stress management, and motivational support.
- Tier Two adds supplements and fat burners when weight loss is more difficult.
- Tier Three corrects metabolic imbalances with the addition of drugs approved for weight loss and blood sugar imbalances.
Although we like to use a holistic approach, we recognize that weight loss is often difficult to achieve and maintain. Metabolic issues can cause multiple disruptions in a patient’s health. Therefore, we offer popular weight loss drugs Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and Mounjaro, with average weight loss 15–20% of a patient’s total body weight.
We also have a beautiful healing chamber where we facilitate:
- IM and IV therapies, including IV drips to promote health and healing.
- Red light therapies: Infrared sauna with red-light therapy and ozone.
- Photo-light therapy: Facial collagen rejuvenation, acne, scarring, migraines.
We also offer functional lab testing and customized Supplement Prescriptions utilizing Fullscript®.
Hours: Tuesday–Thursday, 10am – 5:30pm and Fridays 12pm – 5pm.
Mary Gilbertson Wellness • Trumbull, CT • 203.521.4733 • gilbertsonmary@yahoo.com • marygilbertsonwellness.com