We are committed to excellent patient care and patient outcomes – the kind that help restore your quality of life and graduate you from chronic illness.
Welcome To Roots and Branches
An integrative clinic of providers and staff dedicated To identifying and treating the underlying causes of chronic and mystery illness.
Meet Our Team
Dedicated to Patient Outcomes
Dr. Dorninger is a Register Naturopathic Doctor and Licensed Acupuncturist. He works predominantly with chronic disease. He specializes in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s, Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
Genevieve is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, qualifying her to diagnose and treat individuals in all stages of life. She offers primary care services including, but not limited to, annual exams (male and female exams), acute care (sore throats, UTI’s, sinus infection, asthma), bioidentical hormones and mood disorders.
Dr. Bjerke is a registered naturopathic doctor and licensed acupuncturist in Colorado. Her focus in practice is to support optimal health by identifying root causes of disease, removing obstacles to cure, and creating sustainable changes. She practices whole-person care, with special interests in the connections between the neurologic, immune, endocrine, and digestive systems and how environment impacts health.
As an integrated clinical nutrition therapist, health educator, and intuitive chef, Erin empowers people to cultivate a mindful relationship with their body, their creativity, with nature and nourishment.
Treatments and Services
Finding The Underlying Cause
Here are some chronic and mystery Illnesses we discover as the underlying cause of symptoms:
Mold / Bitoxin Illness
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Mold / Bitoxin Illness
Biotoxins are low molecular weight toxins made in nature that can create an illness known as Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome or CIRS (pronounced “sirs”).
Water damaged building microbes (mold, actinomycetes, bacterial endotoxin), recluse spider venom, algae blooms, seafood toxins, and lyme tick toxins are all sources of biotoxin exposure and subsequent illness in peer reviewed, published literature.
Biotoxin illness, or CIRS, is a multi-system illness that comes with symptoms of brain fog, fatigue, hypometabolism (the result of ribotoxins damaging the mitochondria’s ability to effectively produce ATP or Energy), neurological symptoms, (headache, tingling, numbness), gastrointestinal symptoms, genitourinary symptoms and a myriad of other inflammatory symptoms (skin, lungs, cardiac, behavioral, joint, sinus, sleep issues, exercise intolerance, to name a few).
By far, the most universal symptoms of biotoxin illness are fatigue and brain fog.
Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker MD discovered the biotoxin pathway in 1997. In 2008, the GAO (Government Accountability Offices) adopted Dr. Shoemaker’s peer reviewed, published research on the biotoxin pathway and “the Shoemaker Protocol”.
Unfortunately, since Dr. Shoemaker’s early discoveries, many false, fad, and negligent approaches to mold illness have penetrated holistic, conventional and integrative practices.
Dr. Dorninger and team have heard many of these far out concepts like the idea of “putting a mold candle” in a water damaged basement to take care of the microbial growth.
When evaluating CIRS as an underlying cause for chronic illness, the providers at Roots And Branches strictly follow the data-driven and peer-reviewed, published methods for diagnosis and treatment of biotoxin illness set out by Dr. Shoemaker and colleagues.
An honest, integral, data-driven diagnostic flow is most important for the CIRS/biotoxin patient population.
For more information on biotoxin illness go to survivingmold.com.
Hashimoto's
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Hashimoto's
Hypothyroidism is a common condition that comes with many symptoms.
The endgame of hypothyroid is inadequate T3 thyroid hormone. T3 thyroid hormone is the active form of thyroid hormone and responsible for setting the pace of energy creation in every single cell in your body.
Second only to adequate oxygen and adequate fuel, T3 thyroid hormone is the 3rd ingredient that dictates the pace of cell function. Every single cell in your body has a receptor for T3 thyroid hormone and requires this “Goldilocks hormone” to stimulate cellular function just right.
How quickly you remember a thought, heal a cut, move toxins in the liver, create a bowel movement, hold blood pressure, make red blood cells etc. is all dependent on T3 thyroid hormone.
When patients are low on T3, they enter a “lizard like” state of body. Your skin is cold and dry, your hair is brittle, your mood is dull, your energy low, and your body gets toxic simply from constipation alone.
The majority of low thyroid function is due to an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. In Hashimoto’s, your own immune system accidentally mistakes your thyroid gland as viral or infectious and makes an antibody to the thyroid peroxidase enzyme (the enzyme that produces T4 and T3 thyroid hormone) or thyroglobulin (the “meat” or protein of your thyroid gland). Hence, most thyroid disease is ultimately an immune disorder with a thyroid fallout.
Many providers will simply monitor TSH and occasionally T4 and T3 levels but struggle to get thyroid function back into balance as they are forgetting to evaluate the underlying causes of the autoimmunity. T regulatory cells are the cells of the immune system that regulate when to attack and when to leave alone. If you want to get the immune system right you must go upstream and diagnose the underlying causes of immune dysfunction.
Hypothyroidism requires very individualized treatment plans based on your unique presentation of immune system dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction and best ways for supporting the thyroid. Hypothyroidism often requires micromanaging of laboratory data and symptom experience until everything is tuned just right.
Dr. Dorninger teaches other doctors a 30 hour course called Mastering The Thyroid written by Dr. Datis Kharrazian (https://drknews.com). Dr. D has added additional mechanisms of thyroid dysfunction to Dr. Kharrazian’s revolutionary “22 patterns of hypothyroidism” laid out in his book “Why do I still have thyroid symptoms when my lab tests are normal”… Why? Because many doctors are unfortunately still simply tracking TSH (a pituitary hormone) in isolation.
For more of Roots and Branches approach to Thyroid function and Hashimotos, listen to Dr. Dorninger’s Hashimoto’s podcast!
Autoimmunity
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Autoimmunity
Regardless of which body part your own immune system is attacking, the concepts of autoimmunity are the same.
At Roots and Branches, our approach is as straightforward as it is complex. All interviewing, family history, laboratory analysis and imaging is focused on identifying all the underlying causes of inflammation and immune confusion and removing them… AND identify all things missing and necessary for proper immune function.
In the peer reviewed literature, things like fat soluble vitamins, glutathione, EPA/DHA fish oil, sex steroids, probiotics and short chain fatty acids have all shown their merit for helping balance T-regulatory cell function (the cells that tell the immune system when to make an antibody to something or not) and balancing the immune system.
Although we find these therapies powerful and supportive, identifying and removing the underlying causes is also essential to see major gains.
Dermatology Disorders
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Dermatology Disorders
Although people can have the occasional “contact dermatitis” from things like detergent, dye, or nickel in jewelry, most skin diseases are actually immune system issues “landing” on the skin.
Whether it’s eczema, acne, psoriasis, hives or rashes, the problem almost always lies with immune dysfunction.
Secondary to immune system dysfunction, liver dysfunction (for a myriad of reasons) can also drive skin disorders in the naturopathic model. As the old school nature doc’s would teach: “What the liver can’t handle, will land on the skin”.
In typical Roots and Branches fashion, the goal is to go “inflammation hunting” and identify the underlying causes of inflammation, remove those underlying causes, and support basic needs (fat soluble vitamins, specific minerals like zinc and manganese, EPA/DHA fish oil, etc.) of the skin.
Gastrointestinal Disorders
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Gastrointestinal Disorders
One of the most complicated systems in the body is the gastrointestinal System. When evaluating GI disorders (whether gas or bloating, IBS, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, gastritis, ulcers, constipation, chronic diarrhea, leaky gut, dysbiosis or SIBO), we must take a multi factorial approach to diagnosis.
It’s not the “straw that breaks the camel’s back”, but ALL the straws that break the camel’s “gastrointestinal” back.
Thyroid Function, brain function (including acetylcholine and serotonin levels), hydration, nutrition, fiber, NSAID use, antibiotics, concussion history, sex hormones, apnea, blood pressure levels, and more ALL have major implications on GI function.
Regardless of the GI symptoms, a sincere, thorough, 3-dimensional approach to the interplay of the neurologic, endocrine, and immune systems needs to be evaluated, understood, and addressed.
It’s time to focus on GI disorders as a multi-system issue with the need for multi-system laboratory evaluation and multifactorial interventions.
Neurological Disorder / Parkinson's
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Neurological Disorder / Parkinson's
“Brain on Fire” is a lay term for neurological inflammation. Every single mood disorder and brain disease (MS, migraines, Parkinson’s, ALS, TBI, dementia, etc.) has elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines (the immune cells that trigger inflammatory storms).
These elevated cytokines in turn set off inflammatory cascades driven by the microglial cells (the immune system cells of the brain) that perpetuate constant brain inflammation.
Like most chronic health issues, the Roots and Branches approach to “brain on fire” is in-depth data-driven analysis of the underlying causes of neuroinflammation.
When chronic inflammation continues, anti-inflammatory neurotransmitters like serotonin (for enthusiasm), dopamine (for ambition and drive, feelings of self-worth, the ability to finish tasks and hopefulness), GABA (for feeling cool calm and collected), PEA (for attention and focus) and acetylcholine (for memory and mental acuity) diminish and cognitive issues (decline in memory, mood, focus and attention, joy and enthusiasm) set in.
Integrative Cardiology
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Integrative Cardiology
The number one killer of American men and women is premature heart attack and stroke (this continues to be true despite the covid pandemic). Surprisingly, more women die in the US from premature stroke and heart attack than men, it just affects them later in life. More women die from heart attack and stroke in the US than all cancers combined (breast, ovarian, brain, lung, skin, etc.). Men start their journey to heart attack and stroke even earlier.
Unfortunately, the wrong markers have been used for attempting to identify who is at risk for heart disease and/or who has it. Lipid panels (cholesterol) are one good test for evaluating liver function, but absolutely worthless for evaluating who is likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
In fact, it is inflammation (of any source), not cholesterol, that will drive heart disease. Certain forms of inflammation (caused by dental infection and sleep apnea) aggressively drive the creation of heart disease, whereas other sources (caused by poor diet and sedentary lifestyle) are less aggressive. Listen to our SLEEP APNEA podcast!
At Roots and Branches we use the EBCT (Electron Beam Commuted Tomography) heart scan to identify who has heart disease. This $195 low radiation, high resolution image is THE safe, cost effective way to tell us who has heart disease and a follow-up EBCT is our report card to prove our methods are working. We recommend all men get their first EBCT at age 40, women at age 50 as women start their heart attack and stroke journey on average 10 years later than men.
If you want to work on a data driven effective way to identify, treat and prevent heart disease, welcome home.
Chronic Fatiguing Illnesses
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Chronic Fatiguing Illnesses
When working up a patient with chronic fatigue, we must first understand all the needs a cell has to make energy.
First and foremost the cell requires oxygen. Low blood pressure, anemia, gastrointestinal bleed, sleep apnea (check out Dr. Dorninger’s Sleep Apnea podcast), pulmonary function issues, capillary hypo-perfusion from biotoxin illness are all underlying causes of inadequate intracellular oxygen. In the presence of oxygen cells make 4 + times the ATP of burning glucose without oxygen in the cell.
Second, a cell needs fuel. Dysglycemia, hypoglycemia, and insulin insensitivity are all rampant examples of cells not getting the fuel they need.
Thirdly, the cell requires adequate thyroid hormone (see Hypothyroid section). T3 thyroid hormone sets the pace of how quickly your mitochondria burns glucose for energy.
Many doctors prescribe medications or supplements with minimal energy improvements because they are missing the underlying causes of inflammation and the essential ingredients (oxygen, fuel and T3) a cell needs to manufacture energy.
The process of identifying everything that affects what a cell needs to make energy is arduous, but always worth the journey.
Anxiety / Depression
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Anxiety / Depression
It is rare that we see anxiety or depression based exclusively on life circumstances. More often, we see anxiety and/or depression is based in neuroinflammation or “brain on fire”. That is, every single mood disorder on record (anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar, ADD, OCD, rumination) have elevated IL-6 (Interleukin 6 is the “infamous” inflammatory cytokine).
Our goal when working with anxiety and depression is to focus on finding the underlying causes of brain inflammation and remove them, then give the brain what it needs to feel happy, cool, calm and collected, focused and productive.
As I used to tell my psychology students at Naropa University, “biochemistry first”… if we can remove the underlying causes of inflammation on the brain and give the brain what it needs, anything is possible.
We are big supporters of psychotherapy, acupuncture, EMDR, DNRS, etc., but these modalities are limited if the brain does not have its needs met.
For example, sleep apnea IS an underlying cause of depression (check out Dr. Dorninger’s Sleep Apnea podcast). If the brain is hypoxic and not getting oxygen all night in a steady manner, you will crash your endorphins and wake with a grumpy, depressed apnea hangover. If you have celiac and unaware of your guts inability to absorb nutrients, you will not build endorphins adequately.
When you remove the underlying causes of brain inflammation and give the brain what it needs, most will be able to navigate life with stamina, resilience and capability.
Check out our podcast on “the Story of your Brain Chemistry” and “Your Brain on Grain” to hear some less common perspectives on brain chemistry.
Memory Issues
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Memory Issues
Possibly one of the scariest concerns our patients face is loss of memory. Regardless of the cause, dementia, aging of the brain, brain atrophy (shrinkage)… all are based on inflammation.
Unfortunately, most doctors and patients want to just take a pill or supplements for aiding with brain function. To really improve and correct brain function, time and energy must be spent on deep diving into the underlying causes of aging brain (biotoxin illness, apnea, dental issues, diet and lifestyle, targeted nutrients, normalizing sex hormones, etc.).
We utilize many of the concepts of Dr. Perlmutter (Grain Brain), Dr. Kharazian (Why Isn’t My Brain Working), Dr. Bredesen (The End of Alzheimer’s) and the profound work of Dr. Shoemaker (whose groundbreaking paper Intranasal VIP safely restores volume to multiple grey matter nuclei in patients with CIRS. Is the first peer-reviewed published study to show regrowth of brain tissue)
We are proud to share that we now have our own success stories of mimicking Dr. Shoemaker’s work in regrowing atrophied brain nuclei. The brain can regrow, but tending the fertile soil to do so is a project.
We pride ourselves on being good coaches in helping restore brain function, but need good team players to do the work with us, and in severe cases need a patient advocate to accomplish our goals.
Women's Health
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Women's Health
At Roots and Branches, we offer comprehensive women’s health. Aside from Obstetrics, Roots and Branches providers get to the root cause of a host of female issues including PCOS, Endometriosis, PMS, Infertility, annual exams, stubborn vaginal issues, Perimenopause/ Menopause, Osteopenia/Osteoporosis, low libido, weight loss resistance, menstrual migraines and many others.
Unfortunately, Women’s health is another specialty where the “diagnosis” is simply a renaming of a constellation of symptoms. PCOS (PolyCystic Ovarian Syndrome) for example, is truly a syndrome or spectrum of symptomatic and laboratory variables.
Aside from Blood sugar dysregulation (at the epicenter of most PCOS), estrogen clearance and metabolism issues within liver/gallbladder function create an estrogen dominant, progesterone deficient profile that “overbuilds’ ‘ tissues like the ovaries.
As providers, it is very satisfying to identify the underlying causes of female physiological issues rather than just naming them and give the body what it needs to cycle with grace and regularity. When the obstacles are removed the body can come back into balance.
Men's Health
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Men's Health
Although Men’s health has fewer variables than women’s health, both doctors and men can neglect symptoms of depression, libido issues, cognitive function, memory, stamina and cardiovascular disease.
Men often downplay their issues or wait too long to seek help. At Roots and Branches, we provide a safe and private setting to get to the root cause of male physiological issues.
Did you know that sleep apnea is a major source of crashing testosterone and ED? Apnea can also cause depression and drive heart disease and dementia…Why? Every single cell in the body needs oxygen, first and foremost, to function.
Dysglycemia (rollercoastering blood sugar) from too much booze, processed carbs, and THC can turn on aromatase (the enzyme that turns Testosterone into Estrogen) and syphon a man’s testosterone to estrogen.
Did you know a moldy building in someone with immune system genetics that can’t clear biotoxin can result in weight loss resistance, a crash in testosterone and a fall out of your ambition and drive hormones?
Maybe Men’s health is not so simple… but it can be methodical, data driven and fun. If you’re not feeling yourself, or maybe never have felt well, we’re here to serve you.
Podcast and Media
Check out our podcast and the Vitality Hour for a deeper dive into specific topics:
Join Dr. Dorninger and his team as they discuss naturopathic medicine, from podcasts to recipes and more.
