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About Alex

Dr. Alex Keller, Naturopathic Doctor @ Vis Tree Health

My Practice

 

I am passionate about showing patients how to better take care of themselves. As a result, the basis of my practice is education about the foundations of health: nutrition, movement, stillness. Following the traditional therapeutic order, establishing these foundations should be fundamental to every medical treatment plan.  In working on your specific case, I use a functional approach to medicine, meaning I work with you to determine the underlying cause of your health concerns. Together, we collaborate as a team in achieving your best health. 

 

When working with you to develop a treatment plan, I use nutrition, herbs, acupuncture and counselling as my primary treatment tools. I also use conventional means of diagnostics including lab testing and in-depth physical exams to measure objective improvements in your health.

 

I maintain a general family practice with a special focus on mental health, men's health, gastrointestinal health, and overall resilience, including athletic and general performance.

My Education

 

I attended the University of Ottawa where I completed an Honours Bachelor in Health Sciences and Psychology, graduating with Cum Laude distinction. Thereafter, I completed a three-month medical internship at a rural hospital in Kenya where I worked with the hospital's only doctor who would see 50 or more patients a day. I learned how he would treat patients with severe diseases like tuberculosis and HIV using food grown in the hospital's vegetable garden. Due to medication shortages, he improvised by establishing the first hospital-based vegetable garden in the region. Although I had already applied to conventional medical schools, this experience dramatically shifted my career goals. By the time I returned to Canada, I aspired to work within a more holistic system of medicine, which led me to naturopathic medicine. 

 

During the four years at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, I completed two internships in Haiti with Naturopaths Without Borders, where we treated patients with dietary education, acupuncture, local plants and donated supplements. I also served as the president of the CCNM Chapter of the Naturopathic Medical Students Association and worked for the Alumni Association helping students connect with practicing doctors. 

 

Since then, I've completed additional training in Functional Gastroenterology,  Applied Kinesiology and Neuro-Meridian Acupuncture. I've also had the priviledge of spending six months working with naturopathic doctor and herbalist Chris Pickrell at the Roncesvalles Community Acupuncture Clinic in Toronto, where I worked in community acupuncture setting

I am licensed by the College of Naturopaths of Ontario (CONO) and am a member in good standing with the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors (CAND) and the Ontario Association of Naturopathic Doctors (OAND). 

 

Who Am I

 

I love to be outdoors: meditating, running, working. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, so long as I'm outside. I spent much of my youth playing competitive sports, including provincial level rugby. I've since transitioned into long-distance trail running and now focus on competing in high-level athletics  based on a primarily plant-based diet. 

 

Since my youth when I worked on family farms in my native Switzerland, I've developed a deep passion for sustainable agriculture and how to make high quality, local food more accessible to the public. Together with my wife Jenn, I now cultivate and have gradually converted a former horse farm outside Ottawa using a sustainable method of agriculture called permaculture. We also maintain organic standards and have been an organic-certified operation since 2016. 

 

All in all - my education and experiences have shaped me into a practitioner and farmer who strives to educate on the foundations of a good diet and balanced lifestyle, while providing the most exceptional medical care possible. 

 

I look forward to working with you!

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