Aven Clinic
Aven Clinic specializes in a full spectrum of health conditions, including sexual health, aging, weight gain, hormone imbalance, chronic viral illness, immune system regeneration, autoimmune conditions, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and more. Owner and Medical Director, Karolina Baker, MD is a board-certified Family Medicine Physician and Functional Medicine provider. She was born in Poland, the daughter of a family doctor whose private office was on the main floor of their house. “I grew up witnessing my dad’s excellent work ethic and dedication to medicine. He inspired me to pursue a career in medicine,” she says. She has many professional interests including integrative psychiatry and bio-identical hormones and holds several licenses and certifications. The clinic is named for a resilient flower that grows in the mountains and it is also a combination of her children's names, Ava and Aiden.
“At Aven Clinic, we practice both integrative and functional medicine. Integrative medicine means that we implement an alternative approach to Western medicine. Functional medicine focuses on ‘why’ the disease happened and the root cause of the problem,” Dr. Baker explains. “What makes us different is that we approach our patients and their bodies as a whole. While treating the patient, we perform comprehensive diagnostics; we test and don't guess. Alongside the diagnostic tests, we implement diet and lifestyle changes, address physical, emotional, and dietary stressors, and use nutraceuticals. We are also very open to collaboration with our patient’s primary care physician or other specialists.”
Dr. Baker recalls seeing a patient who came to her with severe arthritis, back pain and depression. “She was on multiple medications for pain, depression, anxiety and insomnia. After six months with us, her pain level was reduced by 80%. When we met, she was limited to one hour of activity per day, and after following my protocol, is now able to bike ride and is not depressed anymore. Since her brain health improved and her pain subsided, she did not need so many pharmaceuticals anymore.”
The clinic often gets inquiries from people who have never experienced functional medicine and are curious about the treatment costs and their involvement in the process. “I emphasize education before they see us at the clinic. I will partner with and educate you, but you must actively participate in your healing journey. Your health starts in your own kitchen. I am not here to provide a quick fix that is neither lasting nor addresses the root of the issue. I am here to guide you, and you need to be involved in the whole process, including lifestyle, diet and stress management,” she says. “The other important aspect is the cost. Since insurance companies do not cover the costs of functional medicine, we are a cash-based practice. This allows me to choose your treatment plan based on what you need and not what your insurance pays for. If you want to live a happy and healthy life, I encourage you to be your own health advocate and take action.”
Mind Body Medicine of Florida
Mind Body Medicine of Florida is led by Mark Sylvester, MD. The practice offers a variety of alternative medicine approaches. They utilize a unified approach that combines integrative and functional medicine, natural healthcare and energy medicine to support patients in achieving and maintaining their health goals. With a background in engineering, Dr. Sylvester’s approach to medicine has always been rooted in uncovering the ‘why’ behind disease, illness and optimal health. His allopathic training exposed him to the limitations of conventional medicine, but it was his personal battle with metal toxicity that truly opened his eyes and made him realize that many of his colleagues were not trained to think beyond their narrow specialties, often failing to ask the critical question: What is the root cause?
“A few years ago, while watching Field of Dreams with my family, I had a vision—our community needed a truly comprehensive wellness center. A place that didn’t just treat symptoms but sought to uncover the root cause of illness, integrating wisdom from all fields of healing to address the mind, body and spirit,” shares Dr. Sylvester. That vision became Mind Body Medicine of Florida.
Dr. Sylvester explains that integrative medicine blends the best of both Eastern (osteopathic, holistic) and Western (allopathic) approaches, expanding the toolbox for healing; however, conventional medicine often takes a, “one-size-fits-all” approach, leaving many patients feeling unheard, misdiagnosed or trapped in a cycle of symptoms without real solutions. This gap has created a generation of “medical refugees”—individuals who are left navigating their health alone, unsure of whom to trust. Integrative medicine seeks to change that by treating the whole person, not just the diagnosis. “One of the most rewarding aspects of my journey in treating complex illnesses is seeing how many chronic conditions can be effectively managed—and, in some cases, completely reversed when the root cause is properly addressed. I’ve had numerous cases where neurologic diseases were significantly improved or even eliminated by identifying and removing toxicities and bio-toxin accumulation,” he adds. “A personal example: I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a condition considered lifelong and progressive. After identifying and eliminating a severe mercury toxicity (erethism), my symptoms completely resolved. This experience not only changed my health—it changed my approach to medicine.”
For those interested in learning more about integrative medicine, Dr. Sylvester advises having an open mind and being willing to think outside the box. “Be your own health advocate—do the research, ask the questions, and seek out the best options for you. Many people feel confined to only using in-network doctors and pharmacies, not realizing that maintaining your health outside the limits of insurance is often far more affordable than the cost of illness. True wellness is about prevention—investing in your health now can save you from the physical, emotional and financial toll of chronic disease later. Find an integrative medicine provider and establish them as your primary care provider. This approach allows for optimizing health, preventing illness, and intervening early with tools that conventional medicine has yet to fully understand. When necessary, integrative medicine can also guide referrals to higher levels of care—where traditional medicine often begins.”
Reveal Vitality and Longevity Center
Christopher Davis, MD, F.A.C.C., Founder and CEO of Reveal Vitality and Longevity Center has always been passionate about providing top-notch care and compassion to his clients. After 10 years practicing traditional cardiology he converted his practice to an integrative/functional medicine one in 2017. Dr. Davis shares that many patients find Reveal as a result of ongoing chronic illnesses that have been unsuccessfully treated. “Unfortunately, our current medical system is not designed to address the root cause of many of the chronic illnesses but rather to simply diagnose a condition and prescribe the appropriate medication or procedure,” he says. “At Reveal we strive to provide comprehensive assessments and individualized care plans based on a combination of advanced laboratories, imaging modalities and individual genetic makeup. We also have another group of clientele who simply seek out our practice to ensure optimal health and well-being whether that be through hormone replacement therapy, peptide therapy, stem cell therapy, IV nutrient therapy, ozone therapy or any of the other novel therapeutics that we offer.” Reveal has recently expanded into a health optimization and longevity practice while at the same time dealing with complex chronic illnesses and they’ve opened Reveal Vitality and Longevity Institute which incorporates advanced technologies such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cryotherapy, photobiomodulation, molecular hydrogen and sauna therapy. In addition, the practice has multiple AI-driven technologies that promote fitness optimization. With so many options within the integrative medicine space, Dr. Davis stresses the importance of working with a team that is experienced to provide guidance. He recalls treating a 50-year-old patient who was unable to work due to chronic fatigue, headaches and severe musculoskeletal pain. Her evaluation revealed significant environmental toxin exposure and in particular she had very high levels of thorium which is a byproduct of phosphate mining. After doing further research based on her address it turned out that she lived two driveways down from a phosphate mining plant and was drinking unfiltered well water at home. “After this revelation, she stopped consuming the well water and we designed a detoxification program that essentially allowed her to get life back. She is now back to work without any of her prior symptoms. Most of our patients welcome these integrative approaches with open arms as they realize our current medical system is designed to provide more of a Band-Aid approach to our health issues,” says Dr. Davis. “The most important aspect of patient compliance is providing them the education they need to make an informed decision about their own health. Unfortunately, this part of medicine is often overlooked because in the current system, most physicians don't have time to provide that education. My hope is that integrative medical practices like Reveal can serve as a role model for how medicine should be practiced to achieve optimal patient outcomes.”
Karma Osteopathic
Karma Osteopathic is a holistic pain management clinic in Sarasota owned by Frederick O. Barnum IV, D.O. and his wife, Gabriela L. Barnum. Named after their dog, Karma the CEO (Canine Executive Officer), the practice—which opened in March 2024–operates with a mission to treat the root cause of the problem and not just the symptom. Dr. Barnum is board-certified in osteopathic neuromuscular skeletal medicine and family medicine and has spent time in every specialty but says he is most passionate about treating patients with his hands, using osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT). “I use my hands to help diagnose and prevent illness, injury and bodily dysfunction so in addition to just treating the spine area, I also treat the muscles, bones, tissues and the fascia, which is kind of like the connective wrap of the body,” he explains. Treating individuals as young as one day old and as old as 100 years old, Dr. Barnum always performs a full initial comprehensive evaluation—regardless of symptoms—on every patient. “When you see an osteopathic physician, you're getting a physician who's gone through medical school, residency and is board certified. When you see me, you're also getting evaluated,” he says. “I have all the rights to prescribe, I can send for diagnostic imaging and I can refer to other physicians if needed. So in addition to the bodywork, you're also getting all of the expertise of a physician.”
After a free 40-minute consultation call and extensive medical history review, Dr. Barnum usually spends anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours with new patients. Follow-up information is sent through email and phone calls are available at no extra charge. “We believe that patients should have access to their physician. We're more of a small intimate clinic seeing an average of about three to six patients a day versus other practices that might see closer to 15 to 20 patients a day for 15 to 20-minute appointments,” adds Dr. Barnum. “We focus on getting to know the whole person, getting to know their entire story, everything about what they've been through from birth to the present day.”
Patients often come to Karma after exhausting all other medical options. “We strive to solve the medical mysteries—the ones where the patient was told ‘you just have to get used to living like this’–challenge accepted!’ says Dr. Barnum. “While most people come to us for chronic pain, we see everything. It could be headaches, dizziness, vertigo, stomach issues or even if someone is just interested in prevention and wellness with lymphatic work to boost the immune system—that’s all in our wheelhouse. A lot of our patients are snowbirds, so sometimes they'll even come for just one or two visits a season and we still make a good dent in it.”
