We are so excited to have Dr. Brit Watters on board as a part of the BodaHealth team! Brit is a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) and a graduate of the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine in New Westminster. Read more to learn about Dr. Watters and naturopathic medicine.
Dr. Jeda Boughton (JB) – Hi Brit, it’s so great to have you on board as our naturopathic doctor! We enjoyed working with you so much while you were studying naturopathic medicine and are excited about working with you again! Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with me. How do you describe what you do when people come to you seeking help with their Health & wellness?
Dr. Brit Watters (BW): I use a collaborative approach to health care which includes my personal experience, the latest clinical research and most importantly my patients’ thoughts and beliefs. I really enjoy working with women’s health and hormonal concerns.
JB: How did you get into Naturopathic Medicine; what got you interested?
BW: I was suffering with my own health concerns and stumbled upon naturopathic medicine. I really love how holistic it is and how ND’s (Naturopathic Doctors) take the time to listen to all of your symptoms. They get to the root cause of the problem and use a comprehensive treatment plan that includes several different modalities.
JB: What made you choose Boucher Institute for your studies?
BW: When looking for schools I looked to Boucher first as it was close to home for me. I ended up falling in love with that school based on its small class sizes, set curriculum, good reputation of successful naturopathic physicians and amazing NPLEX scores.
JB: What do you enjoy most about your naturopathic practice?
BW: Seeing the smiles and sighs of relief on my patient’s faces when they know they have finally found someone who cares about them and genuinely wants to help them heal.
JB: What other types of studies and education have you completed?
BW: I have additional training in fertility and women’s hormone health, SIBO, advanced life support, advanced IV techniques, acupuncture and pharmaceutical prescriptions.
JB: I know there is such a large variety of techniques and skills available to naturopaths, and you’ve done so much with your studies. Which tools are you currently using in your naturopathic practice? Are you doing labs tests, writing prescriptions, prescribing supplements and providing nutritional advice?
BW: I do a lot of basic blood work and comprehensive testing including stool, urine and saliva. These help me uncover imbalances in hormones, neurotransmitters, gut flora, and much more!
I also provide supplements and nutritional counseling and offer advice about lifestyle changes. When necessary, I’m also able to prescribe pharmaceuticals.
JB: What’s your intake and treatment process when you’re working with a client? How do you decide which of these naturopathic tools you’ll use?
BW: During the first appointment I do a full health history and run any necessary lab work. This appointment will usually include some lifestyle and nutritional counseling as well.
Before the second appointment, I review the lab reports and make a customized treatment plan specific for each patient.
Follow-up appointments are to track progress, celebrate the wins and help to navigate any of the roadblocks that might come up during the treatment plan. Often different treatments are added or changed based on how the patient’s symptoms have changed from one treatment to the next.
JB: Can you speak a bit about how you use hormone testing and other lab testing and how these tests can help people with their health and recovery goals? For example, do you use hormone testing when you’re working with fertility patients?
BW: I love hormone testing! It really allows me to understand what’s going on more at a biochemical level in the body. Some of the main hormones I like to test are thyroid hormones like TSH, T4, T3 and anti-TPO; adrenal hormones and cortisol. I also test female hormones including estrogen, progesterone, FSH, LH, prolactin and hCG. And I test androgens like testosterone and DHEAs.
Laboratory testing takes the guesswork out of medicine. When doing specific labs for each patient it allows me to know specifically what’s going on and then the treatment can be targeted. Whereas when testing isn’t done, it’s more of an educated guess approach based on the symptom picture. Depending on the patient, lab testing can be an important part of fertility treatment.
JB: Are there any specific illnesses, imbalances that you tend to treat, or that your style of treatment works really well for, such as or internal medicine such as digestion, skin, fertility, etc?
BW: Some conditions I really enjoy treating is hypothyroidism, PCOS, SIBO, IBS, menopause, PMS and infertility. The approach I tend to use is very successful, and patients always have a very positive outcome when it comes to symptom reduction. I always work on healing the root cause so the symptoms don’t return.
JB: Let’s chat more about your work with fertility patients. How does your work help people who are trying to conceive?
BW: I am very passionate about helping people grow their families! Some of the things I like to focus on when dealing with fertility include, improving egg and sperm quality, enhancing ovulation capacity, balancing hormones, optimizing endometrial thickness and of course reducing miscarriage risk for my patients who become pregnant.
These things can be addressed by doing specific lab testing, targeted supplementation and diet and lifestyle changes. The treatments I do as a naturopathic doctor enhance the treatments being done with the western fertility clinic. This allows for better outcomes, higher pregnancy rates, and live birth!
JB: I know that you also work with pregnant patients. What kind of postnatal work do you do?
BW: I love to work with pregnant mamas!! When it comes to post-natal work, I like to focus on making sure that mum and baby have everything they need. For them, I do more of a symptomatic-based approach to ensure mum is feeling well, which includes treatment for low energy, depression, anxiety. This approach can also help with lactation and breastfeeding once the baby is born.
JB: Working with moms and babies must be so rewarding! It sounds like you are having a lot of fun and success with your practice! What kinds of things do you do for yourself to stay fit and healthy?
BW: I like to go hiking with my dog Zeus. I’m also just bringing my road bike back on the road for the season. Indoors, I like to work out at the gym doing strength and core classes as well as barre and spin (when it is allowed)!
JB: You already have so many skill sets. I’m just wondering what’s next for you professionally? Are you planning on doing additional studies or courses or do you want to evolve in a particular area with your practice? How do you see the next few years rolling out?
BW: I’m always doing continuing education. Hormone therapy is such an evolving field, so I’ll continue to do additional training on bio-identical hormone therapy, fertility, autoimmunity and chronic disease. I also work with a lot of weight loss and metabolic health patients, so working to build knowledge in these areas is so important to me. Obesity issues are becoming such a crisis and is an area where people can really benefit with support from naturopathic medicine.
JB: On a closing note, is there anything else you’d like to tell people if they’re looking for a naturopath, are curious about naturopathic medicine or anything else we talked about?
BW: As a naturopath, it’s important to me to have a collaborative approach. I work together side-by-side with each patient every step of the way. I always have your best interest and money in mind when I’m choosing treatment plans, to ensure they’re effective and feasible for you. If this is also important to you, then I think we will be a great match! Book in for a meet and greet. I‘d love to tell you more about the many options and benefits of working with a naturopathic doctor.
JB: Thank you so much Brit!
About Dr. Brit Watters: Naturopathic Doctor Brit Watters is a graduate of the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine. She’s committed to working collaboratively with her patients using a variety of therapeutic methods. Brit treats a broad range of health conditions, including thyroid and adrenal conditions, women’s reproductive health, digestive issues, and immunity and autoimmune conditions.
To learn more about Dr. Brit, visit her full bio here and stay tuned for more Practitioner Spotlight interviews from the BodaHealth team.
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