Brooke Leason, ND

Brooke Leason is a Naturopathic Doctor and the Founder and Director of Centro Naturopático in Santurce, Puerto Rico.

Brooke’s personal journey of self-healing and discovery led her to study and practice Naturopathic Medicine, which she considers a lifestyle based on the exploration and implementation of methods that address the wellbeing of the mind, body and spirit. She believes it is important to connect deeply with her patients in order to address the root causes of their ailments and guide them towards health in the most integral and holistic way possible. Although her work is always up to date as far as the most current scientific advances, she also includes traditional healing wisdom in everything she does. She feels passionate about sharing her knowledge through a mutual respectful relationship with her patients in hopes of having a positive impact on their lives and in her community.

Dr. Brooke’s special interests include:

Family Systems Medicine

Women’s Health

Naturopathic Endocrinology

Naturopathic Gastroenterology

Environmental Medicine

Nature

Travel

Cross-Cultural Diversity and Healing Traditions

Education

At Centro Naturopático, we believe that the more you learn about yourself and the healing tools you have within your reach, the easier, fuller, and happier your life will be.

Like when you’re listening to the safety instructions on an airplane and they instruct you to put on your oxygen mask before you put it on your kids, we also believe that health has to begin on an individual level before it can spread like concentric circles to everything around us. That’s why we work on a deeply personal level to be able to acquire the fullest understanding of your particular rhythms and enhance your health and well-being at every step.

• Proactive Medicine: 

  Every day we are up against many obstacles to our optimal physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Some we are able to identify: stress, pollution, unhealthy foods, etc. Others are sneakier and affect us even when we’re trying to do everything right. 

• Many of our treatments are created to treat your body and mind by taking care of what we believe to be the Foundational Pillars of health and  well-being:

• Nutrition

• Sleep and Daily Rhythms

• Movement

• Stress Resiliency

• Connection/ Purpose/ Self

• Environment

Inspiration

One of the greatest things about medicine- both modern and traditional- is that it is work that expects to be built upon. Healing knowledge is not concerned with ownership but rather with the opportunity to inspire others to grow that knowledge exponentially. 

Dr. Brooke’s own unique investigations and experiences as a healer and as a human being are constantly informing and being reflected in her work. She is inspired by many of her peers in the global community who are deepening their own explorations into the themes that are most pertinent to her daily practice. 

Healing Modalities

Every body is different. And we love that about life. That’s why we’ve integrated as many schools of healing and knowledge as possible into our practice in order to better tend to every person’s particular set of needs. 

Natural Therapies:

Therapeutic Nutrition: Hippocrates said, “let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.” Food is one of the most powerful tools we have to maintain health and prevent and treat disease. There are vast applications for food and pharmaceutical-grade nutrients, and this is a first line therapy at Centro Naturopático.

We believe that every person is individually unique. There is no “one size fits all” diet or nutritional plan. Although we always encourage eating as close to the Earth as possible with a Whole Foods Diet, we also provide clinical guidance for the application of a variety of dietary guides which we cater to your individual needs and constitution. 

Botanical Medicine: Botanical medicine, plant medicine, or herbal medicine, consists of using whole plants and plant extracts in order to gain access to their healing effects. The use of these plants comes from traditional knowledge passed down by many generations of indigenous people and in modern times is supported by vast research and evidence from the scientific community.This ancient system of medicine is actually the basis of many modern pharmaceutical drugs. When using a whole plant or extract, there are usually less side-effects, as they generally metabolize in a way that is very different from that of an isolated constituent. Herbal medicine can be used for a variety of ailments ranging from the common cold to digestive complaints and endocrine dysfunction. We are educated about the proper application and safety of herbs and use them when necessary.

Exercise Therapy: Movement is life. Once movement stops, life ceases. In today's society, we tend to eat more and move less. Appropriately applied exercise can aid in weight loss, balancing hormones, pain reduction, improved mobility, mood and cognition.

Environmental Medicine/Detoxification: We live in a world that is full of pollutants, toxins, heavy metals, synthetic hormones and a wide variety of other chemicals. Sometimes, our detoxification systems can be overwhelmed and we become sick: our thinking gets fuzzy, we have fatigue, pain, or we react strongly to odors, lights or noise. Detoxification is a normal bodily process that should happen continuously throughout our lives. It is the removal of these chemicals, hormones, metabolic waste products, and indigestible food products from the body. The liver is our primary organ for detoxification. It processes all the foods, chemicals, and drugs that enter our bodies. Other organs involved in detoxification are the kidneys, colon, skin, and lungs. Environmental medicine aids the body in metabolizing and excreting compounds from the environment that have made you ill. 

Homeopathy: Homeopathy is a system of medicine designed over 200 years ago based on the principle that “like cures like.” It is a natural, non-toxic therapeutic system of healing that assists in the inherent ability of the body to heal itself. Homeopathic medicines, or "remedies," use minute amounts of plant, mineral or animal substances to stimulate a person's innate healing ability and to strengthen the entire system. Homeopathy is a safe and profound medicine that works on all levels.

Lifestyle Coaching : Your lifestyle refers to your eating, drinking, sleeping, working and thinking habits- where you work and live, how you deal with stress, how you deal with relationships, etc. The way you live your life is a determining factor in your health. We are ready to meet you wherever you’re at, whether you need help creating better eating habits, establishing healthier rhythms, creating more time and space in your life or changing negative and destructive thought patterns.

Functional Medicine: Functional medicine is a science-based, client-centered field of medicine that focuses on each person’s biochemical individuality and works with the dynamic flowing balance of internal and external factors. It looks at health as a positive vitality that increases the quality and the length of your life, without reducing it to the mere absence of disease. Naturopathic Medicine is Functional Medicine at its core. 

Counseling: Mental attitudes and emotions are important elements in overall health and should be considered when treating illness and disease. As part of our holistic education, naturopathic physicians are trained in various counseling techniques. Counseling offers support for those dealing with depression, work-related stress, relationship issues, life transitions, and health problems, particularly chronic health problems.

Physical Therapies:

Hydrotherapy: Water is an incredible healing medium. Applying heat or cold to the body, or alternating between both, can diminish inflammation, stimulate the immune system, detoxify the body and much more. Constitutional hydrotherapy, for example, an older method of stimulating the body’s vital force, involves alternate applications of hot and cold water to promote circulation of the blood and the lymphatic system.

Soft Tissue Manipulation: Soft tissue manipulation consists of gentle stretching and muscular releases that can relieve many forms of musculoskeletal pain, especially in the back and neck. 

Cranio-Sacral Therapy (CST): CranioSacral Therapy (CST) is a form of bodywork that focuses on the CranioSacral and fascial systems. CST is powerful, non-invasive wellness work done with a light touch that operates on the body down to the cellular level. This therapy involves assessing and addressing the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which can be restricted by bodily traumas like falls, accidents, and general nervous tensions. Gently working with the spine, the skull, and its cranial sutures, diaphragms, and fascia, eases the restrictions of nerve passages. When the movement of CSF through the spinal cord is optimized, misaligned bones are said to be restored to their proper position.

Lymphatic drainage therapy: Lymphatic drainage activates your body’s fluid circulation (which some would consider your primary circulatory system) and gently nods your immune and parasympathetic nervous systems in the right direction through your lymphatic system. This can be used as a way to support detoxification, but it can also reduce lymphedema, help with hormonal balance and regenerate tissue. 

TCM / Acupuncuture: TCM stands for Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s trajectory is over 5,000 years and models itself on nature in order to provide restoration and maintenance for the body and mind. Perhaps its most commonly exported treatment is acupuncture. Acupuncture uses very fine needles to stimulate specific points along meridians that carry energy, chi, or lifeforce. Although it is most popularly used for pain relief, it is also effective in aiding with many other conditions from anxiety, fertility, and obesity, to bronchial asthma, just to name a few. 

IV Nutritional Therapy: Intravenous Nutritional Therapy introduces nutrients- vitamins, minerals, and amino acids- directly into your bloodstream. If your nutrient reserves are running low, this is the fastest way to pick them back up. Since they don’t have to go through your digestive system, they can go straight to the cell, without disrupting anything along the way. These treatments are good for boosting the immune system, detoxing, supporting the liver, and decreasing inflammation among many other things.

Hormone Replacement Therapy: Hormone Replacement Therapy is meant to help you replenish the hormone levels that are usually running low during menopause. As with all other treatments, we treat the whole person and always begin with the lowest level of intervention and work our way up. We believe lifestyle, nutrition and supplements can go a long way, as everyone has different needs. 

Conventional and Functional Lab Testing: Functional laboratory testing and evaluation is a critical component in gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how your body is functioning.  Having the ability to test for -instead of just guess- what biochemical, nutrient, microbial or hormonal imbalances are present is invaluable when it comes to creating the most targeted, individualized, effective therapeutic strategy.  Also, baseline testing allows us to monitor progress and change treatment parameters as needed. We utilize both conventional and “functional” laboratory testing to provide the most comprehensive assessment of your health. Even when we order conventional blood tests, we often interpret the results with a functional or holistic perspective. In addition to standard blood testing, functional laboratory testing may include blood, stool, urine, saliva or hair samples to provide information about a variety of systems including metabolic, nutritional, endocrine, gastrointestinal, hormonal, immune, genetic, and detoxification.