In this episode, Dr. Morgan LeBlanc shares her journey from psychology to naturopathic medicine, while discussing the importance of building research in our field of naturopathic medicine. She shares how her personal health influenced her first research project in undergrad, and her vision for using research as portal for greater connection and collaboration within the profession.

About Dr. Maurgan LeBlanc

Dr. Maurgan LeBlanc, ND, is a licensed naturopathic doctor in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to attending the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, she attained a BA(Hons) in Psychology from the University of New Brunswick, and a Diploma in Holistic Nutrition (CNP) from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition. Maurgan's areas of clinical focus include mental health, digestive health, immune support, and more. They have a special passion for working with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, particularly with trans and nonbinary patients. When not in clinic, Maurgan can usually be found walking her corgi, Jolene, identifying plants in the woods somewhere, or reading a good book.

Connect with Dr. Maurgan

[email protected]

IG: dr.maurgan.nd

https://drmaurganleblanc.ca/

By The Roots exclusively serves the Naturopathic Medicine Professional community, and it supported by listeners like you on our Patreon platform.

Special thanks to the Producer of this episode:

Raylene Jordan

Join our Patreon community and become a supporter today:https://www.patreon.com/c/bytheroots/membership

In this rare departure from the structure of our show, Dr. Christie Wylde speaks with M. McCubbins, Intuitive Business Coach, on the unique value NDs bring to the healthcare field and how they can leverage that wisdom to create a life and business that nourishes everyone involved. This potent conversation is for you, regardless of your employment status, and may just be the medicine you need. And the medicine our profession needs to move forward through these challenging times.

About M. McCubbins

Intuitive Business Coach (think entrepreneur meets witch meets systems scientist meets spiritual teacher!) + Founder of two businesses — Consult with M (consultation and counseling practice for professional healers) + Therapeutic Support with M. (Private therapy practice).

To me business is the art of aligning with abundance in every aspect of our work in a way that brings healing to our lives and to the world. I see our professional paths as a conduit for personal and collective healing and evolutionary growth.

I believe when we each have a unique business path to walk that aligns perfectly with our nature, our gifts, our talents, our desires, our life experiences and even our training. And when we have the courage and support to walk that path, we experience peace, prosperity, and purpose — a feeling of meaning and satisfaction in our lives and our work. We also emerge as the bold, visionary, innovative leaders our fields and industries need.

My story: I worked inside agencies, clinics, and non profits doing healing work for years, and transitioned out when I reached an extreme breaking point for my body and soul. I started my practice to help others who are on this brink of exhaustion, in need of an alternate, more holistic way to build their professional lives as healers. I’ve been actively supporting individuals, orgs, and businesses as a counselor, coach, and consultant for 10 years.

**Referral Bonus! Reach out to M. at [email protected] and let them know you're a friend of the pod to gain access to their steeply discounted "Friends and Family Only" Rates -- including exclusive shorter term package options that aren't available to the general public. For practitioners at any stage.**

Contact M. McCubbins

[email protected]

ConsultWithM.com

By The Roots exclusively serves the Naturopathic Medicine Professional community, and is supported by listeners.

Special thanks to the Producer of this episode:

Raylene Jordan

Join our Patreon community and become a supporter: https://www.patreon.com/c/bytheroots/membership

In this episode, Dr. Anna Sitkoff shares her deep dive into the world of medicinal mushrooms, blending personal stories with scientific insights and practical advice. Discover how mushrooms can be a vital ally in patient care and personal connection.

Main Topics

• Dr. Anna Sitkoff's personal journey into the world of medicinal mushrooms, including early influences and pivotal moments.
• The significance of the fruiting body versus mycelium in mushroom supplements and how to identify quality products.
• The science behind mushroom extraction methods, bioavailability, and the importance of heat in unlocking medicinal compounds.
• How to evaluate mushroom supplement labels for authenticity, extraction process, and strain-specific benefits.
• The impact of purity, species selection, and patient considerations in clinical mushroom use.
• The cultural and spiritual connection to mushrooms, including mushroom hunting as a practice of reverence and awareness.
• Challenges and opportunities in creating high-quality mushroom supplement brands within industry regulations.

Meet Dr. Anna Sitkoff

Anna Sitkoff is a licensed naturopathic doctor and medicinal mushroom expert with over a decade of experience, blending clinical practice with laboratory research and hands-on knowledge.

As Co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Lucidum Medicinals, she formulates evidence-based mushroom supplements designed to support immune, lung, and nervous system health, using only bioavailable fruiting body extracts for maximum efficacy.

Anna’s extensive clinical experience, combined with her commitment to educating practitioners and patients on the therapeutic benefits of mushrooms, has earned her recognition as a leading expert in the field. She is the author of the Medicinal Mushrooms chapter in The Textbook of Natural Medicine, has published research in the Journal of Immunology and is a member of The North American Mycological Associations Medicinal Mushroom Committee. She frequently speaks on topics related to functional medicine, women’s health, and evidence-based herbalism and mycology. Anna's experience as a wildcrafter, formulator and primary care physician gives a rare holistic perspective on the use of medicinal mushrooms.

Connect w/ Dr. Sitkoff, Lucidum Medicinals

[email protected]

Instagram - @drannasitkoff

drannasitkoff.com

lucidummedicinals.com

By The Roots exclusively serves the Naturopathic Medicine Professional community, and is supported by listeners.

Special thanks to the Producer of this episode:

Raylene Jordan

Join our Patreon community and become a supporter: https://www.patreon.com/c/bytheroots/membership

In this episode, Dr. Mai Heath shares her journey from theater directing to naturopathic medicine, her work in community-based doula programs, and her efforts to decolonize healthcare and support Black maternal health. Discover insights on healing arts, advocacy, and building community-led initiatives.

About Dr. Mai Heath:

Dr. Mai Heath, ND is an artist, wife, mother to three daughters, and medical advocate. Mai is a proud recipient of the National Council of Negro Women's 2024 Women Making History Award and the 2013 Go Natural Inspiration Award. Her undergraduate studies earned her a BA (Hons) from Columbia College Chicago in 2005. She obtained her first doula training certification in 2012. In 2013, Mai received her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, first-professional degree from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, Ontario.

After years of attending births privately, Mai served as a community based doula, case manager, and home visitor. In 2019, Mai was among the first group of birthworkers to attend birthing people through the Cook County Jail Pilot Program. Recently, she has served as group facilitator, program and design directors for various reproductive health groups in Chicago, IL. Mai’s special interest in trauma-informed support & violence prevention leads her to focus on mentorship, volunteering, and family.

She is Founding Director of health equity & social justice nonprofit NDoula Community Alliance and Artistic Director for its Elemental Reproductive Healing Arts program. Her understanding of the mind-body-spirit connection shapes how she communicates in this world. Mai bridges art and science to eagerly share in others’ journeys as they accesspower and inspire their communities.

Mai is proud to serve Chicago, the traditional homelands ofthe Council of Three Fires, Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi.

About NDoula:

NDoula Community Alliance is a movement building organization addressing quality of life gaps within Chicago communities by influencing perceptions and policy toincrease access to patient-centered, equitable, integrative healthcare & healing justice. We serve those hardest hit by the Black Maternal Health Crisis, including community care workers.

We approach health literacy with a specifically inclusive, trauma informed, and violence prevention lens. NDoula works to build a Chicago where all patients and birthing people benefit from informed decision making among a culturally reflective care team.

NDoula was founded in 2022 by Black women committed to addressing the urgent disparities facing BIPOC birthing people and patients in Cook County. We are dedicated to transforming healthcare by amplifying community knowledge, fostering research and evaluation led by people of color, and ensuring that the insights of those most affected by the Black Maternal Health Crisis inform policymakers, academics, and medical professionals. 

NDoula was born out of a desire to share what we’ve learned as integrative and community service workers, and ourlived experiences as vulnerable people and patients navigating intracultural struggles and the medical industrial complex. This perspective catalyzes our innovative and sustainable approach to systems change.

To learn more about NDoula:

http://www.ndoula.org⁠

Connect w/ Dr. Mai:

[email protected]
IG: @ndoulacommunityalliance

By The Roots exclusively serves the Naturopathic Medicine Professional community, and is supported by listeners.

Special thanks to the Producer of this episode:

Raylene Jordan

Join our Patreon community and become a supporter: https://www.patreon.com/c/bytheroots/membership

In this inaugural episode for Season Two of By The Roots, show creator and host, Dr. Christie Wylde, gives us a preview into the season and what to expect. She also announces a SURPRISE new addition to the show and how you can get personally involved.

Join our community on Patreon!

Become a subscriber today: https://www.patreon.com/c/ByTheRoots/membership

Get exclusive updates!

Join our newsletter: https://christiewylde.myflodesk.com/bytheroots

You may have seen him speaking at a state conference, leading an oncology training, serving on a board, accepting new patients in your home state. Dr. Dave James is making waves in the profession and we at By The Roots have the exclusive interview on who he is and why he’s on a mission to spread the good word of Naturopathic Medicine.

In this conversation, Dave James discusses thesignificance of pursuing a career in naturopathic medicine, emphasizing the importance of credible information in the field and the need for more compassionate practitioners to enhance patient care. As a second year resident, he has an important perspective on residency and ways it is both meeting a need for the profession AND has a long way to go.

Meet Dr. Dave James, ND
Dave James (he/him), ND, is a born and raised New Yorker, and licensed naturopathic physician in Connecticut, Washington, and Arizona, with more states on the way. He is a licensed naturopathic doctor in New Hampshire. Dr. James is a proud alumnus and former Board of Trustees member of SonoranUniversity of Health Sciences. Dr. James focuses on chronic pain and supportive care for persons with a diagnosis of cancer along their journey through survivorship. He now delivers CME and research presentations alongside patient care. Deeply committed to public health and equity, Dr. James is a passionateadvocate for expanding licensure for naturopathic physicians nationwide so that all patients—regardless of socioeconomic status—can access high-quality, evidence-informed integrative care. He believes the doctor–patient relationship is sacred and central to healing.

Contact Dr. James:

[email protected]
https://www.totalcarenaturopathicmedicine.com/

#naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #residency #oncologycare #adjuctcare #bytheroots

In this conversation, Dr. Lauren Ruta discusses the evolving landscape of pain management, emphasizing the importanceof regenerative medicine and injection therapies. She highlights the limitations of conventional pain management approaches and advocates for a more holistic understanding of pain that includes both physical and emotional aspects. The discussion also touches on the accessibility of these treatments, the intersection of mental health and pain, and the need for better education in the field of naturopathic medicine.

About Dr. Rueda:
Lauren Rueda, ND (she/her) is a licensed naturopathic physician in Scottsdale, Arizona who graduated Sonoran University in December 2023. She blends naturopathic primary care with regenerative medicine, BHRT, IV therapies, aesthetics, and mind-body medicine to help her patients look and feel theirbest. She is dedicated to providing patient-centered care that combines evidence-based therapies with holistic approaches, addressing the root causes of pain, hormonal imbalances, and a variety of health conditions.

Her great love of physiology and interest in stem cells lead her to explore the realm of regenerative medicine while in school, which sparked the love of a lifetime: comprehensively treatingpain (of all kinds).

Known for her compassionate and thorough approach, she empowers practitioners to integrate basic injection therapies for pain into their existing or future practices. Dr. Rueda is devoted to advancing the field of regenerative medicine and shifting the paradigm from pain "management" to regenerative healing.

Contact Dr. Rueda:
[email protected]
IG: @dr_lauren_rueda
@mulliganmedical
@naturopathicmastery
@westcoastinjectiontraining
Mulliganmedical.com/lauren-rueda-nmd
Work w/ Dr. Rueda through training courses:
Naturopathic Mastery: https://naturopathicmastery.com/
West Coast Injection Training: https://www.westcoastinjectiontraining.com/

#painmanagement #regenerativemedicine #injectiontherapy#naturopathicmedicine #somatictherapy #mentalhealth #communitymedicine #sportsmedicine#nervoussystemdysregulation #therapeuticorder #naturopathicdoctor #naturalpainmanagement#rootcausemedicine

In this episode of By the Roots, Dr. Christie Wylde and Dr. Jordan Robertson discuss the importance of establishing standards of care in naturopathic medicine, the role of the Confident Clinicianin fostering collaboration and evidence-based practice, and the challenges faced by practitioners in a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. They explore the transition from clinical practice to leadership roles, the significance of community support, and the future vision for naturopathic medicine. Dr. Robertson emphasizes the need for open dialogue and accountability within the profession to enhance patient care and professional development.

About Dr. Jordan RobertsonJordan Robertson is on a mission to elevate integrative and naturopathic medicine to the standards of care that conventional medicine practices while simultaneously solving the unpaid research-labour crisis of Naturopathic Doctors.

With a 15-year career in facilitation, research inquiry and critical appraisal at McMaster University, Jordan has taught thousands of students how to be better communicators, work in teams andresearch nutrition, integrative care, medicine and “space medicine” (that last one while co-facilitating a course with NASA).

Jordan is the founder of The Confident Clinician, a database, clinical decision-making tool and home for over 700full-time members, 60 fellows in her leadership program and over 5000 clinician subscribers to her free integrative magazine, The Stacks.

She’s known for helping clinicians see their own potential, inspiring curiosity, vulnerability and “mind-changing” andfor giving clinicians the push they need to become the best at what they do.

As a retired ND, she’s paving the way for clinicians to love their work, career and (EVEN) critical appraisal of research.

Contact Dr. Robertson
[email protected]
IG: @drjordannd, @theconfidentclinicianclub

Explore The Confident Clinician: https://confidentclinicianclub.com/
Listen to The ND Gap podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts

#naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor#standardsofcare #confidentclinician #evidencebasedmedicine #patientcare #professionaldevelopment #healthcare

In this conversation, guest Dr. Amy Rothenberg joins host Dr. Christie Wylde to discuss the nature of burnout, emphasizing that recovery is possible and that acknowledging one's state is a crucial first step. She highlights the importance of self-care and seeking support to navigate through burnout effectively. With nearly 40 years of practice and a host of professional accomplishments, Dr. Rothenberg shares sage wisdom on how to build a practice, and life!, that is fulfilling, whole and healthy.

About Dr. Rothenberg: Dr. Amy Rothenberg (she/her), NUNM ‘86, is a former AANP Board member and 2017 AANP Physician of the Year. She spearheaded the successful licensure effort in MA. She served on the Board of Health in Amherst and as Vice President of the Board of the Amherst Survival Center, which provides food and free medical care. You Finished Treatment, Now What? A Field Guide for Cancer Survivors is an Amazon Bestseller. As a 3x cancer survivor and stem cell transplant thriver, she credits the collaborative effort of conventional and naturopathic doctors for her vibrant health. With Dr. Paul Herscu, she teaches through the New England School of Homeopathy. They are the proud parents of three grown kids and a wonderful grandchild. When not busy with work and family, Dr. Rothenberg can be found on the ballroom dance floor, in the garden, playing the guitar, or puttering in the garden or kitchen with friends.

Contact Dr. Rothenberg:

www.dramyrothenberg.com

https://dramyrothenberg.substack.com

https://www.instagram.com/dramybethrothenberg/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063555910870

https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-rothenberg-nd-26317213/

You Finished Treatment, Now What? A Field Guide forCancer Survivors is a roadmap for lifestyle and integrative medicine approaches to address health challenges that persist after cancer care, and to reduce the risk of recurrence. You Finished Treatment, highlights the evidence for an integrative approach to healing that she has used in her 40 years practicing as a licensed naturopathic doctor. Dr. Rothenberg is a cancer survivor/thriver herself and wrote to make sense of an overwhelming topic, in a user-friendly, accessible way, providing actionable information and inspiration. The book is a love song to the naturopathic profession and a compelling read. Dr. Rothenberg also read the book for Audible if you prefer to listen.

Find praise for the book https://dramyrothenberg.com/reviews-you-finished-treatment/

Dr Rothenberg's author site https://dramyrothenberg.com

You can order on Amazon or ask your local independent bookstore to buy for you. If you'd like an autographed copy, please reach out to [email protected]. The book retails for $20. Autographed copies mailed in the US cost $25 withpostage. If you'd like a case (28 books) for your office, please contact [email protected], and Dr. Rothenberg's staff will be in touch. For cases, books are printed on demand; there is a 2 week wait after orders.

#burnout #recovery #mentalhealth #self-care#shame, #negativeself-talk #physicianburnout #medicalsystem #healthcare #homeopathy#physicianparent #cancersurvivor #ovariancancerwarrior #breastcancersurvivor#naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #bytheroots #rootcausemedicine#preventativemedicine

Summary
In this episode of By the Roots, Dr. Christie Wylde speaks with Dr. Maame-Mensima Horne, exploring her journey into naturopathic medicine, her holistic healing practices, and the importance of addressing mental health through a spiritual lens. They discuss the significance of community support, social justice in healthcare, and the innovative approaches Dr. Horne employs in her practice, including homeopathy and hypnotherapy. The conversation also touches on Dr. Horne's experiences volunteering in the fire community and herrecent move to Seoul, Korea, where she continues her work while embracing a new cultural environment. The episode concludes with reflections on personal growth, recovery, and the future of healthcare.

*Note: Dr. Horne mentioned 4 precepts;there are actually 5, with “do not kill” being the additional one.

About Dr. Maame-Mensima Horne, ND, ACHt
Dr. Maame-Mensima Horne is a naturopathic doctor, advanced clinical hypnotherapist, certified yoga teacher, speaker, and founder of Heart Body Glow Naturopathic. She earned her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois, where she completed additional training in homeopathy. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science from University of Florida with a special focus in Economics and African Studies and completed herpre-medical studies at the University of North Florida.

Dr. Horne began her healing practice teaching yoga and mindfulness to children in New York City after school programs. Through her yoga practice she began workingwith clients at the beginning of their diagnosis of cancer which sparked her interest in studying medicine. As a nautropathic doctor, she integrates mind body medicine, clinical hypnotherapy and naturopathic medicine to treat complexconditions and to provide holistic, trauma-informed health care to her patients.

Treating the mind, body, and spirit is the fulcrum of Dr. Horne’s practice which allows her to individualize treatments specific to the person, not just their diagnosis. Her special interests include mental health, oncology, and reproductive health. As shared by a previous patient, she helps people align mind, body, and spirit with there treatments and provides a space for them toaddress possible mental, emotional, and spiritual contributors to disease, not just the physical symptoms.

Dr. Horne currently resides in Seoul, South Korea.

Contact Dr. Horne
IG: @dr.maamemensimahorne, @heartbodyglow
Email: [email protected]
#naturopathicmedicine #holistichealth #mentalhealth #socialjustice #spirituality #recovery #personalgrowth #communitysupport #naturopathicdoctor #rootcausemedicine #bytheroots