Trumbull Naturopath Helps Community Get Healthier

Trumbull is filled with its share of doctors’ offices. From Corporate Drive to White Plains Road, neurologists, gynecologists, and pediatricians dapple online maps of town. However Dr. Christine Kontomerkos’ Naturopathic and Acupuncture practice on Main Street looks at medicine and the human body in a rather unique way.

Kontomerkos grew up in Trumbull and attended the Trumbull Public School System. A graduate of , Kontomerkos headed up to Massachusetts after graduation where she planned on embarking on her journey to become a medical doctor. While attending Boston University, Kontomerkos first majored in biology and then philosophy.

These two majors may sound like polar opposites, but the budding physician knew exactly what she was doing.

“I love philosophy, as I consider it a thorough approach to the conceptualization of the human condition in an objective and creative way,” said Kontomerkos. “It is very logical and also limitless in the consideration of why people feel and act the way that they do.”  She chose to follow this path because she believes that the mind/body relationship is directly related to the health and well being of people and that both the human mind and human perception are directly related to human biological and physical health.

A pinnacle time in  Kontomerkos’ education which determined the course of her career as a physician happened while attending BU. She was accepted into a program in which she travelled to the Amazonian Rainforest in Ecuador and learned about the roots of synthetic drugs.

“I was shown the world of botanical medicine in its truest form,” she said. “This is the place where over a third of the world’s pharmaceuticals were discovered and made into synthetic drugs.”  

While there, Kontomerkos learned about the healing energy in nature from shamans in addition to the healing properties in molds, leaves and vines.

Upon her return to the US, she attended University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine where she received her Doctorate and then went on to receive a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport Nutrition Institute. She decided to base her Naturopathic practice in Trumbull because she wanted her knowledge to serve the community where she grew up.

Although naturopathic medicine has become increasingly popular over the years, Kontomerkos admits that often patients contact her as a last resort for an illness which resisted traditional medical treatment. Surprisingly however, there are many similarities in a naturopath and traditional medical physician’s training and approach to treatments.

“We both use science-based methodologies to identify illness, we both do physical exams using the same equipment such as stethoscopes and otoscopes and we both order laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging.”

Naturopaths, just like traditional medical school students, study anatomy and physiology, biochemistry, genetics, and orthopedics, to name just a few.  “We are required to take board exams to ensure proficiency in our field in order to be licensed, just like an MD or DO. “

Office visits differ greatly with Kontomerkos than with a traditional physician because rather than looking at just the symptom, there is an emphasis of individualized causes and therefore treatments.

Kontomerkos believes that symptoms are the bodies’ response to an imbalance and treatment is given accordingly. “Our intent it not to mask symptoms but to heal illness on a deeper level.”

Treatments such as herbs, vitamins, hydrotherapy, and acupuncture have proved successful for Kontomerkos’ patients with a variety of conditions. She works happily in conjunction with MDs and DOs and her services are covered by many insurance plans.