Meet Dr. Krista
Dr. Krista is a licensed naturopathic physician in Oregon with 20 years of experience as a clinician helping patients enhance their health and well-being. In addition to her private practice, she is a lecturer, teacher, researcher, and writer for Doctor’s Data, a leading international functional medicine laboratory that provides continuing education for healthcare professionals. Through her work with Doctor’s Data, Dr. Krista deepened her expertise in women’s health, hormones, sleep, melatonin, adrenal health, adolescent wellness, and neurotransmitters, reviewing thousands of test results and assisting healthcare providers in interpreting data and crafting personalized treatment plans.
In her practice, Dr. Krista specializes in supporting women at all stages of life—puberty, menstruation, fertility, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, and beyond—by focusing on hormone, adrenal, and sleep health.
Krista lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband, a revolving door of three adult(ish) children, and her dog, Olive. She loves skiing, camping, sailing, paddling, hiking, live music, thrifting, cheeky humor, cooking, reading, and travel. She is passionate about learning and teaching, and cherishing time with family and friends.
Why Patients Work with Me
I specialize in helping women improve their hormone and sleep health across the life spectrum: from puberty, cycling, fertility and postpartum, to perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. My focus is a simple one: we’re mammals living in a modern world with a primitive nervous system. We need to learn to live in a way that honors the magic of human physiology (optimizing sleep, rest, nutrition, and hormones) while still functioning in a demanding modern world.
Living in harmony with the nature of your body can be challenging, especially since it goes against the expediency of modernity. My goals are to help you feel sovereign in your health, teach you how to interpret the signs and signals your body gives you, and provide the tools you need to bring yourself back into balance. This intersection of mind-body-spirit medicine looks and feels differently for each person, which is why I customize each individual treatment plan.
“Everything is connected” is a principle I use in my work as a coach, and feel in my body as a patient of Dr. Krista’s. She pays exquisite attention to fine details related to my hormones, sleep, stress, and lifestyle.”
~ Shannon C.
My Origin Story
I’m often asked how I became a naturopathic doctor. It started with being raised by unconventional parents who were ahead of their time. I’m a child of the 70’s, an era when people ate packaged food, the TV was on all day, and children were free range until dinner. My parents set the example for healthy living long before it became mainstream: they exercised before there were workout gyms, “jogged” before it had a name, grew food from our garden before it was trendy, and provided us with raincoats and boots so we could get outside for fresh air every day – no excuses, rain or shine. We ate simple, whole food meals that didn’t come from a box.
I wish I could say I appreciated the dry, brown, seedy bread, or the zucchini and tomato goulash leftovers that showed up in my lunchbox. I coveted the packaged foods and sweets of my classmates’ lunches. But looking back, I can appreciate that living simply primed my brain for what was to come. I made the connection that the chronic illnesses and allergies I developed during my college-cafeteria-food years improved when I returned to foods that came from the earth, moved my body regularly, and spent as much time in nature as possible.
Later as a Montessori teacher of 3-6 year olds, the toll that additives and inflammatory foods have on health was on full display. I could predict by the countenance of each child as they walked into the classroom whether they had sugary cereal or a whole foods breakfast, and saw how their lunch impacted their afternoon behavior. They were whiny, needy, timid, sleepy, frequently sick and acted out when they ate sugary and packaged foods. They were alert, robust, curious, confident and content when they ate whole foods.
I eventually transitioned away from teaching to pursue family therapy, but I sensed something was missing. It became clear to me that the physical aspects of health—nutrition, movement, nature, laughter, community—play an essential role in mental, spiritual, and overall health and well-being. Living in Oregon, where naturopathic medicine is licensed, I had the life-changing opportunity to enroll in the National University of Natural Medicine. In 2002, I earned my doctorate in naturopathic medicine and became a licensed physician. I am deeply grateful to continue this work, which meaningfully transforms health and lives.
I can’t wait to help you reignite YOUR spark and live your best life.