Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr Adrian Gutierrez.
Hi Dr Adrian, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always had an interest in food and fitness growing up. However, it was in college when I started to truly develop my love for food medicine. I was a collegiate cyclist for 3 years before switching to cheerleading at Indiana University. The overhead lifts were causing inflammation in my shoulders, and I had gone to the university doctor for help. His only solution after 3 visits was high strength ibuprofen, which worked short term. Naturally, I kept taking ibuprofen after my prescription ran out because it was the only relief I could find. After a short while, I began to experience gut issues (due to ibuprofen toxicity). I became lactose intolerant and developed a severe response to gluten, which I later found out was an autoimmune response. I had acquired Celiac disease, but I didn’t know it quite yet. Through trial and error, I began to understand which foods were hurting me, and which were healing me. I also learned to save my shoulders by correcting my movement mechanics. Both are things that have fueled my obsession with full-body functional health for more than a decade.
After graduating with degrees in kinesiology and psychology from Indiana, I went on to National University in Lombard Illinois to start my chiropractic journey. While at National, I learned a great deal about pain science, naturopathy, and functional movement. Later I transferred to Logan University, where I dove deeper into chiropractic principles and functional medicine. I also earned a master’s degree in nutrition in nutrition with a focus on gut health. It was here that I also met my wife.
Since school I have worked as an associate and later a franchise owner, but I left both in search for a better solution. Ultimately, Heartstone Functional Health was born. Together with my wife, we have been able to create a family practice that treats the whole person. We weigh the balance between physical, chemical, and emotional health for any person to determine the most effective and serving treatment. We make it a priority to give everyone a custom experience, and we don’t compromise care because of business.
This is where we are today. We are sharing genuine moments with our community, and offering a unique approach to overlooked problems. It is our goal to make lifelong impacts. So much so, that this year we will be launching Heartstone Academy- a holistic school for the kindergarten age. We couldn’t feel more blessed about where this journey has taken us, or where to we will be led.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Admittedly, this journey has tried both myself and my wife. But, I believe everything worth having is worth fighting for. Since the pandemic, everything became more difficult.
I’ve had to leave a job because of poor pay, but it helped me realize money isn’t everything.
My wife and I moved to an area with no friends or family, but it brought our families closer, and helped us create beautiful friendships.
We moved into the first house we could get during a wild market. Because of that, I’ve learned how to fix nearly everything. (seriously, I think I could build a house now)
I had to fight my way out of an abusive work contract. And this one really hurt. But this was a true blessing. Not only did I earn my freedom, but I learned how to be more patient, more loving, and more grateful because of it.
Then, when I started Heartstone Functional Health, I had to renovate an entire office myself while building my practice from the ground up. This was only possible because of my old needy house, of course. Actually, many of my patients loved seeing the progression over time.
The obstacles seemed to outweigh the solutions a few times over the last few years, but my family and my love for God helped me overcome them all. I don’t think I would be as focused on building my dream if it weren’t for these wonderful challenges.
As you know, we’re big fans of Heartstone Functional Health. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
People come to HFH for one of two reasons. Either they have tried everything else and been to doctors for years with no change, or they are looking for a natural approach to wellness that is different than the typical medical approach. For either type of person, the approach is the same. We do a thorough investigative first visit, where we dive deep into a wide range of potential dysfunctions. We look for physical, chemical, and emotional/mental dysfunctional patterns and their root causes. We utilize functional bloodwork and specialized testing to gather missing information. We apply herbal therapy, manual therapy, and practical lifestyle intervention to improve the conditions specific to the person. We are 100% customized care. We are known for our work in GI disorders, hormone imbalances, immune dysfunctions, and chronic disease. My wife specializes in pediatric and pregnancy care, and adds a whole slew of treatment options for these populations as well.
We do not cater to supplement brands. Instead, we select the most effective and cost efficient options, to pass these benefits to our patients. We have even created our own supplements when the options did not exist. Specifically this is in reference to our herbal mushroom powders (coffee alternative/additive), and teas.
Our services are: chiropractic care, manual therapy, functional movement training, dry needling, cupping, functional medicine consulting, functional lab testing, nutritional consulting, prenatal and postpartum care, pediatric care, lifestyle coaching, and emotion code.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I come from the Chicago area, so naturally I found some differences in STL.
The biggest difference I saw between these two great cities is also the thing I like the most about it, and that’s the people. Call it a culture shock, but when I first came to the area, one of my first thoughts was “Why is everyone so nice?”
This might seem silly, but it’s true. I was used to people minding their own business and keeping to themselves. If you brushed shoulders on the street, it didn’t mean anything, and you kept on moving. Here.. it’s different. I feel like people are still engaged. People wave hello on the street. It’s easy to strike up conversation anywhere you go. And, if you brush shoulders with someone on the street, they’re probably going to apologize and ask if you’re okay (I had to get used to this one).
The thing I like least would have to be the quality of the public school system in my area. I’m not sure what happened here. But this is one of the motivating factors for why we decided to start our own microschool. Heartstone Academy will focus on great education, but also great nutrition and holistic upbringing, basically all the things I want my own kids to have. Maybe the educational system is changing, but as a father, I couldn’t afford the time to wait for it.
Pricing:
- $150 Initial consult
- $60 Chiropractic adjustment
- $250 Functional medicine visit
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.heartstonemissouri.com
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/heartstonemissouri
Image Credit: www.natashamcguire.com
