Dr. Maura

Board Certified Naturopathic Doctors

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  • The Practice
    • Dr. Maura
    • Dr. Galina
    • Work With Us
    • FAQs
  • Services
    • Digestive Wellness
    • Women’s Health & Hormones
    • Fertility & Preconception Care
    • All Conditions Treated
    • Labs & Testing
    • Craniosacral Therapy
  • Testimonials
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Working With Us: The Process

Initial Visit:

At your first consultation, you will have a conversation with Dr. Maura or Dr. Galina about your health concerns. Your doctor will discuss all facets of your health as related to your current issues: physical symptoms, past medical history, diet, lifestyle and mental/emotional factors such as stress. At this visit, your doctor will review any lab work you’ve already had done and determine if any further testing is necessary. She will explain the self-healing process of naturopathic medicine and her role as your teacher and guide to returning your body to balance. This visit is one hour.

At the end of the visit, your doctor will compile a list of initial recommendations based on your goals and health priorities.

These recommendations might include:

  • Lab work: The goal of naturopathic medicine is always to identify the cause of your health issue. Lab work is essential to uncovering where exactly that imbalance lies. For a complete list of the cutting edge, functional lab testing the Dr. Maura Practice uses, click here.
  • Nutritional modifications: There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all diet. The doctors tailor their dietary recommendations specifically to your biochemical makeup. If there is a specific approach you would benefit from—whether related to gut, autoimmune, hormone or the like—your doctor will thoroughly explain what changes need to be made.
  • Supplement recommendations: The Dr. Maura Practice uses a variety of supplements including herbal medicine, nutrients, enzymes, amino acids, probiotics and homeopathy. Your doctor will make recommendations based both on your symptoms and your lab results; some natural therapies will be implemented at the first visit and others might be started after your doctor has been able to see lab results.
  • Lifestyle changes: Because healing involves the entire body, your doctor might make movement and exercise suggestions, as well as mind/body approaches to reduce stress and enhance the body’s ability to heal.
  • Referrals: If your doctor feels you would benefit from the evaluation of a specialist, she will make a recommendation during the course of treatment. She has a wide network of acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors and other healers whose modality might provide adjunctive healing.

First Followup:

The first followup can be considered the second half of the initial visit. Your doctor will go through your initial set of lab work, explaining thoroughly what each result means and its impact on your health. This visit is 45 minutes.

Subsequent Visits:

Dr. Maura and Dr. Galina typically see their patients every 4-6 weeks until symptoms are resolved, modifying your treatment plan according to symptoms and possible lab work. Your doctor will determine which interval is appropriate for you, always with an eye toward fine-tuning your health journey for optimal results. These visits are either 15 or 30 minutes.

Ongoing Care:

After your immediate concerns have resolved, we suggest periodic check-in visits to maintain the success you’ve achieved and address any new concerns. Your doctor might periodically recommend re-checking certain lab parameters.

Craniosacral Sessions: In these sessions, the doctor will focus only on Craniosacral Therapy to address your health needs. For an explanation of what craniosacral therapy is and how you might benefit from it, click here.

Remote Consultations: Dr. Maura and Dr. Galina works with patients all over the United States and around the world. These visits will be conducted similarly to an in-person consultation, over the phone or by video. Currently all visits are done remotely due to COVID-19.

Home Visits: For those wishing to receive naturopathic care in the comfort of their home, Dr. Maura is available to consult this way. Please call the office to arrange.

Practice Policies

Scheduling, Payment and Cancellations

We reserve scheduled appointments specifically for you. Because appointments with Dr. Maura last much longer than standard doctor visits, cancellations/no-shows cause significant scheduling interruption. We appreciate a minimum of 48 hours’ notice for the cancellation of New Patient Visits and Established Patient Visits.

Please be aware that there appointments canceled less than 24 hours in advance will be charged at the full appointment fee. We will always attempt to contact you first prior to collecting fees to discuss any extenuating circumstances leading to the cancellation/no-show.

Payment is expected at the time of service in the form of cash, check or credit card.

We do require a credit card on file to book an appointment and will charge the card accordingly in the event of a late cancellation/no-show.

In addition, Intake Forms must also be received prior to your visit via our Charm Health patient portal.

Insurance

Insurance does not cover naturopathic medicine in New York. We can provide a form for you to self submit to your insurer’s Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) upon request. We do not accept insurance as a form of payment.

Patient Communication

We encourage patients to call the office or message (via the Charm Health Patient Portal) with questions regarding their treatment plan. We want to ensure your success, which relies on open lines of communication. Phone calls are returned by the end of the business day on which your call is received. Messages are usually responded to within 24-48 hours. We do not provide after hours or urgent care.

Email Policy

Please be aware that electronic communication is only for brief clarification questions. New, detailed or urgent concerns that require discussion and case management will arise. If there is a need for longer discussion regarding new symptoms or new concerns, we will reply to a phone inquiry or message to recommend that you schedule a follow-up appointment, and fees will be applied accordingly at the appointment.

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Take me here

⁠ SIBO, mold, dysbiosis, mast cell disorders, es ⁠
SIBO, mold, dysbiosis, mast cell disorders, estrogen dominance...what do they all have in common? They can drive histamine intolerance, something I'm seeing more and more these days.⁠
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What is histamine intolerance? It's really an inability to break down histamine when you have too much. Histamine is a chemical with many functions in the body and is found naturally in certain foods. The main enzyme in the body to break down histamine is called diamine oxidase (DAO). ⁠
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This is where the gut-histamine connection comes into play.  Your intestines are where most of the DAO enzymes are produced, but when the gut is inflamed or damaged, it may produce less DAO which leads to a build-up of histamine. Eliminating foods that are high in histamine may help, along with natural treatment.  This list is a good start:⁠
- Alcohol⁠
- Fermented foods⁠
- Aged Cheeses⁠
- Avocados⁠
- Dried fruit⁠
- Spinach⁠
- Eggplant⁠
- Smoked meats⁠
- Tomatoes⁠
- Shellfish⁠
- Leftover food over a day old⁠
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In my practice, we look at the whole picture to get a handle on this: histamine levels, hormones, gut evaluation, even adrenals. Getting the full picture is key!
There's so much I love about this book, which my b There's so much I love about this book, which my brother gave me last year. Reading it has literally blown my mind, especially as I've looked at my own relationship with busy-ness and how I can do less and be more present in my life in real-time. (The work of @katenorthrup has been inspiring me -- check her out!)⁠
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But this book. There is so much here, so please pick it up if you're feeling like you want some inspiration around how to scale back and...do nothing. I often recommend doing less to my patients—less work, less scrolling, even less exercise—as a form of self-care. And then find something that totally engages your senses in a different way: watching a sunset, dancing, walking without a destination, and not looking at your phone the whole time. It's not easy but it's necessary both for our bodies and our minds.⁠
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As the author @jennitaur writes: "In such times as these, having recourse to periods of and spaces for “doing nothing” is of utmost importance, because without them we have no way to think, reflect, heal, and sustain ourselves—individually or collectively."💮
Pregnancy fatigue: it's real. ⁠⁠ During the fi Pregnancy fatigue: it's real. ⁠⁠
During the first trimester, I'm totally exhausted. Second trimester arrives and, to the day, my energy zips back. But once the third trimester arrives, I'm zonked again. ⁠⁠
This is a common pattern and there are a lot of reasons for it. Obviously, and foremost, you're building a human and this takes huge resources from the body. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Right now, heading into the third tri, I'm using adaptogens, which help regulate the effect of stress and exhaustion on the body. I rotate between eleuthero solid extract and a Rhodiola tincture (pictured). I also love:⁠⁠
-Holy Basil⁠⁠
-Reishi and cordyceps⁠⁠
-Passionflower⁠⁠
-Lemon Balm⁠⁠
-Skullcap⁠⁠
⁠⁠
When a pregnant patient of mine is talking about fatigue beyond the ordinary, I'll also check for:⁠⁠
-Anemia⁠⁠
-Low thyroid function⁠⁠
-Nutrient depletion, especially B12 and ferritin⁠⁠
-Imbalanced diet: too many simple carbs, too little protein, and plant food⁠⁠
-Dehydration⁠⁠
⁠⁠
As always, this doesn't constitute medical advice! Check with your naturopath before taking anything, especially during pregnancy. ⁠⁠
When we lived next to Central Park, I loved to tak When we lived next to Central Park, I loved to take Maya there to show her different plants she could touch and smell. Now that we live outside the city, I take her outside to play in the dirt (usually not in a pretty white dress😆), pick plants and flowers, smell whatever she wants to smell, and pet dogs we meet. ⁠
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Giving my kid an appreciation for the natural world is an antidote to all the screen time and pandemic over-sanitizing. But it also is incredibly important for her health.⁠
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I love this quote from "Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Our Children from an Oversanitized World" by B. Brett Finlay, Ph.D.:⁠
⁠
“The word antimicrobial is a sales feature in soaps, skin lotions, cleaning supplies, food perspectives, plastics, and even fabrics. However, only about one hundred species of microbes are known to actually cause diseases in humans; the vast majority of the thousands of species that inhabit us do not cause any problems, and, in fact, seem to come with serious benefits.” ⁠
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Love your bugs! Most of them help us, in the vast network of our microbiome. Get outside, play with your animals, let your kids get dirty. Our health depends on it. ❤️
Yes, it is possible to heal from hormonal acne. Li Yes, it is possible to heal from hormonal acne. Like most of my acne patients, this smart and dedicated woman came to me disillusioned with the options presented by conventional dermatology, which primarily consisted of birth control—she didn't like how it made her feel and felt it was worsening her skin.⁠
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So we did a deep dive to look at her hormone function and clearance ( @dutchtest ) and found that she was in estrogen dominance, had high androgens, high-stress hormones, and had poor methylation (hormone detoxification). ⁠
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I love my patients and this one definitely inspired me: she did the WORK. She overhauled her diet, dedicated herself to mindfulness practices and appropriate exercise, stayed on course with naturopathic treatment...and she got results.🙌 ⁠
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While true healing isn't linear, she is well on her way to balancing her whole body. Her skin reflects that.
Gut health can tell us many things about our bodie Gut health can tell us many things about our bodies, but now it may be able to predict how well we age.⁠
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A recent study shows that, by analyzing the complex community of microbes found in our gut, we may be able to better understand our life expectancy. This research found that the gut microbiome changes as we get older and, the more it changes, the healthier we stay. Another way to see it is that if our gut makeup does not change, our health does not evolve and we actually are less healthy. Change is a good thing.⁠
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People who had the most changes in their microbial environment also had higher vitamin D levels, healthier cholesterol levels, needed fewer medications, and were more mobile. These types had more "indoles" in their microbiome, which are metabolites of healthy gut bacteria that lower inflammation and protect the gut lining. ⁠
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Healthy people also had fewer Bacteroides, which chew through through the mucus layer of the gut, causing immune disruption, more inflammation, and age-related diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. ⁠
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What can we do as we age to promote diversity and change in the gut? For starters, says the head researcher of this study, eat more fiber. Sound advice. ⁠
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Reference article👇⁠
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/well/eat/microbiome-aging.html

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Locations

New York
1133 Broadway, Suite 1023
New York, NY 10010
T (646) 876-9986
F 212-731-0270

Connecticut
5 Sylvan Road South
Westport, CT 06880
T (888) 745-3372

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