Sept. 27, 2007 — Dr. Kirana Kefalos spoke about internal medicine with a holistic approach to 25 Rotarians at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Croix at Gertrude's Wednesday.
"I treat the whole person, mind, body and spirit," said Kefalos.
At the Virgin Islands Wellness Clinic run by Kefalos, she offers traditional Chinese medicine and practices that unify the mind, body and spirit such as Qi-Gong, yoga and meditation. For more about the clinic located at Five Corners in La Grande Princess go to Kefalos' website at virginislandwellness.com.
She promotes healthy living focusing on stress reduction and lifestyle issues. Seventy to 90 percent of doctor visits are stress-induced, she said.
"Stress," Kefalos said, "trumps everything." People in the U.S. eat a lot of fast food, live a fast-paced life and work more than those in other Western industrialized nations, often creating their own stress.
An acid/alkaline balance also is important as people get older, according to Kefalos. She said acids build up in joints, heart, kidneys and gall bladder with aging. Balance can be maintained by eating right.
Supplement use may be confusing to a lot of people. Kefalos told the club not all supplements equal the vitamins in whole foods. She said that when buying and taking supplements one should look for whole food-based organic vitamins, avoiding chemically made ones.
Kefalos spends close to two hours per patient per visit. Her goal is to find out any underlying problems. She doesn't just treat the symptoms.
"The first medicine practiced in the U.S. was homeopathic, but that was driven out by pharmaceutical companies," said Kefalos.
Kefalos received her doctorate in medicine from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. She practiced internal medicine for 20 years in New Haven, Conn., where she was an assistant clinical professor of medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. In addition to seeing patients, she taught medical students, interns and residents. She also taught meditation classes, "conscious living" classes and "practicing presence" sessions.
Kefalos was named one of the 100 Best Doctors in Connecticut in a 2002 survey done by Connecticut Magazine and as one of the Best Doctors in America in 2003-2004 and again in 2005-2006.
She said she has focused on preventative care from the start of her medical career. Kefalos said her approach to prevention and healthful lifestyles deepened after clinical training at the Harvard Mind/Body Medical Institute near Boston.
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