Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Miranda Naylor.
Hi Dr. Naylor, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m an Osteopathic doctor, board-certified in Family Medicine and Functional Medicine. I specialize in women’s health, particularly menstrual health, fertility, postpartum, and the transition to menopause.
I became a doctor because I wanted to help people experience real wellness. During my medical training though, I realized that western medicine is great for treating disease, but isn’t well equipped to support patients looking to improve their health before things go wrong. I found the tools in conventional medicine to be especially limited for women’s health concerns. Women with menstrual cycle abnormalities like irregular, painful or heavy periods, or those experiencing fertility issues are offered birth control pills or fertility meds but no actual solutions to the underlying causes.
I knew there was a better way to serve my patients. I became certified in Functional Medicine, a system designed to address the root causes of illness and promote optimal health. Now, as a Functional Medicine doctor, I help people enhance their health by addressing the basic pillars of wellness including nutrition, movement, rest, and connection. I’m able to give people answers as to what’s going on in their bodies and use nutrients and botanicals to support them naturally. My favorite part of what I do is helping women tune into their bodies and support their hormonal and reproductive health so they can have easy periods, healthy pregnancies, and supported transition through each life stage. It’s so satisfying to be able to support women holistically and empower them as the guide on their health journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Medical training was not easy. During residency I was under huge amounts of stress, working night shifts, and not fueling my body appropriately. My efforts to be healthier, like exercise and avoid “bad” foods, actually backfired to put my body under even more stress. I thought I was killing it, but I later realized I was just killing myself. When I stopped hormonal birth control to start a family, I found out I had Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, a condition where the brain “turns off” reproduction as a response to things like high stress, undereating, and overexercising.
Once I graduated from residency, I was able to take time to establish healthier routines and learn what my body actually needed. I applied what I learned in functional medicine training to my own health and experienced incredible benefits. It took almost three years, but I was able to restore my menstrual cycle and conceive naturally. I’m now grateful for the fertility struggles I experienced because it allowed me to fully understand what my patients go through and inspired me to specialize in women’s health.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m very different from most doctors. I spend a lot of time with my patients (75 mins during our initial visit as opposed to the typical 15-30 mins) to understand them as unique individuals and to uncover the factors leading to imbalances in their health. We address the core areas that impact their life like nutrition, movement, stress, sleep, environmental exposures, purpose, relationships, and connection with community.
I am proud to offer patients a place where they can be heard and finally get the answers they’ve been looking for. Using functional testing, we uncover nutrient deficiencies, inflammation, hidden infections, and more, all of which are often missed in traditional testing.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memories include swimming in my backyard with my older sister. During the summer we’d be in the pool practically all day, every day. I also loved sailing with my dad in the San Francisco Bay. To this day, water is so restorative to my soul. That’s just one of the reasons I’m so grateful to live near the ocean in Encinitas.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@solcere.com
- Website: drmirandanaylor.com, solcere.com
- Instagram: drmirandanaylor
- Facebook: drmirandanaylor
Image Credits
Alyssa Lavine
