Kim Masci, a naturopathic doctor, opened her Creston practice in January at Golden Herb Health Foods on North 11th Street.
After completing her medical training, Dr. Kim Masci was set to continue on her path to becoming a physician, but when she went to Victoria University to apply, she encountered something new.
“The funny thing is, at that point I hadn’t even heard of naturopathic medicine,” she said.
But that simple introduction was enough to change her plans, and with two weeks until the deadline, she decided to become a naturopath. However, she was “very scared” because it wasn’t mainstream.
“It was a no-brainer,” said Maschi, a naturopathic doctor who started practicing in Creston in January at Golden Herb Health Foods on 11th Street North.
Discovering natural remedies was “a mixture of excitement and relief,” she said. She had health problems in her youth, and visits to doctors were of little help.
She had wanted to be a doctor since she was a child, and these health issues motivated her into medicine, but she also wanted to do something to change that. When she discovered naturopathic medicine, she realized “there were actually people out there already doing this.”
Naturopathic doctors (NDs), like MDs, spend their first two years in college learning about diagnosis and treatment, and how the body works on a biochemical level. However, the practice diverges from there.
“The difference is how you treat your body and how you view your body,” Masucci said. “We look at every symptom the body has ever experienced.”
Naturopathy is a holistic practice and consists of many treatments utilized in the context of conventional medicine, such as nutritional medicine, herbal medicine, counseling, and homeopathy.
There are many different treatment styles for NDs, but Masucci, who is primarily a general practitioner with a passion for pediatrics, pregnancy and infertility treatment, said she falls somewhere in between.
“I like to use lab tests and blood tests to figure out what to work on,” she said.
Unlike some naturopathic doctors, she is qualified to prescribe pharmaceuticals. In some cases, such as with antibiotics, a patient may need the drug immediately without waiting for another treatment.
For patients who do not require emergency medical care, the initial visit takes about an hour, followed by about 15 minutes to fill out a form at home. Dr. Maschuk asks each patient questions about their developmental health, stress levels, lifestyle, sleep patterns, and more. As with any physician, openness is key to developing an appropriate treatment strategy.
“If we don’t know everything, we can’t create a proper treatment plan,” she said. “It hinders our ability to move forward.”
Usually, she first examines the patient’s diet. From digestive complications to skin disorders to headaches, dietary changes are often necessary. A good start, she says, is to reduce simple sugars in your diet. It’s not as big an issue here in the Creston Valley as it is in the Lower Mainland. While many people in the city rely on refined and processed foods, there are many more home-cooked meals here.
And Mashuch would know: Her grandparents and other relatives lived in the valley, and her family visited Creston every summer when she was growing up.
She attended the second part of her ND training from Victoria to a school in New Westminster, and then trained in White Rock and Langley. But it made no sense for her to stay there.
“In White Rock, there were more NDs than Starbucks, there was a Starbucks on every corner,” she said. “I was too focused.”
In Creston, she is the only naturopathic doctor resident here. Many patients who see a naturopathic doctor travel to Nelson, with some traveling as far away as Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, and even Calgary. She hopes that will allow her to work with local doctors to treat patients.
“All I have in mind is the best care and best interests of my patients,” she said. “What I really enjoy is how excited people get when they realize they can feel better. Often they don’t know they can do it.”
