Meet Dr. Sara Kela

Today we’d like to introduce you to  Dr. Sara Kela.

Dr. Sara, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a little girl, my father was always in and out hospitals and put on many medications. Being the curious little girl, I was, I thought I wanted to be a pharmacist to understand all the mechanisms of the different medications he was on. This led me to get my bachelor of science in Biology degree at University of California, Riverside (UCR). While I was studying at UCR, I worked as a pharmacist technician and saw that something was missing within the conventional healthcare field.

Patients were piling medications to take care of side effects of other medications. Something didn’t feel right, therefore, I began exploring alternative healthcare professions. And that is when I came across Naturopathic Medicine. Once I read the core principles, I knew this was what I was supposed to do. The core principle that I resonate the most with is “discover and treat the cause.” This is because no doctor tried to do that with my father. The doctors were treating his symptoms, rather than the cause. I also fell in love with the fact that Naturopathic medicine understands that there is an inherent self-healing ability in each patient, which is the core principle of the healing power of nature. I love the idea that you have the ability to heal yourself; the body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain and restore health. Naturopathic doctors try to eliminate obstacles that are prevent your body from healing itself.

At that point, I then shadowed a Naturopathic Doctor, which made solidify my decision in becoming a Naturopathic Doctor. I then attended Bastyr University in San Diego and completed my doctorate degree in Naturopathic Medicine. I now currently do house visits in LA and see patients in Pasadena.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have definitely been some obstacles to hurdle over. First off, in medical school, you take over 10-15 or even more classes in the quarter. I juggled between studying for classes, starting to see patients in the clinic, trying to have a social life and live a healthy lifestyle. That was not easy. I missed so many family events because my head was in the books. It was hard to cook a healthy meal after the long hours. There was a point in my second year, where I was about to give up. I became overly stressed and sick. I knew I needed to start taking care of myself, which Is when I decided to start taking my yoga class seriously. Once I started focusing on breathing and meditating, everything started to fall into place. I felt better and I was able to release my stress.

After your second year of naturopathic medical school, you take your first set of licensing board exams. This took a whole summer of dedication to studying, which paid off because I passed! Cheers to entering into my third year of medical school, which in all honesty is such a blur to me because it consisted of non-stop hitting the books. I continued with my yoga practice, which helped me to stay in balance.

Onto my last year of medical school, where I primarily focused on my specialties. I really began immersing into the medicine and finding my place in Naturopathic Medicine. I also began studying for my second set of licensing board exam, which is a 3-day exam… You read that right three days! So, there goes another summer dedicated to studying for this exam, which was very hard to focus on after graduating naturopathic medical school. But hey, guess what? I passed that exam as well! After all those hurdles, now I am here getting to the root cause of my patients’ problems. Every day I get to work with my patients to heal themselves and of course, we may not get to that result right away, but I am happy to be there for them through their health journey.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am currently consulting patients at Optimal Health and Wellness in Pasadena, where we can also do nutrient intravenous (IV) Therapy and many other modalities. I can also go to your home for an IV or consultation. During the consultation, I complete a full assessment of the patient’s overall well-being by conducting a thorough evaluation of your medical history, diving into lifestyle factors and performing a physical exam. These visits involve a comprehensive and collaborative approach to establish health goals, address challenges and discover the root cause of the patients’ concerns. I utilize therapeutic nutrition, nutritional and herbal supplements, lifestyle modifications in the patient’s individualized treatment plan.

I have completed advanced training in IV nutrient therapy, Platelet-Rich-Plasma (PRP) facials with micro-needling and injections.

My specialty is in gastrointestinal conditions, women’s health, such as fertility and menopause, dermatology, regenerative therapies and general integrative medicine.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Patients often come to me in their lowest health conditions. Once we get to the root causes of their concerns and start slowly achieving their health goals, it makes both the patient and I very proud in the work we are doing together. I am proud to be a Naturopathic Doctor. I am proud to see how lifestyle changes can dramatically shift a person’s life.

Pricing:

• Home IV (Downey/Pasadena) – $350 *Price may change if outside these areas*
• Home consult (Downey/Pasadena)- $350 *Price may change if outside these areas*
• Home IV and consult (Downey/Pasadena)- $550 *Price may change if outside these areas*
• Optimal Health and Wellness Pasadena 45 min consult- $225
• Optimal Health and Wellness Pasadena 1 hr consult- $300

Contact Info:

• Address: 202 S Lake Ave Suite 298, Pasadena, CA 91101
• Website: www.drsarakela.com
• Phone: Home IV/Consult: (562)334-2555 Optimal Health and Wellness Pasadena: (626) 788-0023
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.sarakela/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drsarakela/?ref=br_rs
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/drsarakela

Image Credit:
Ashley Campuzano
Christopher Ochoa

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