LION HEART MEDICAL CENTER
BIG BEAR LAKE
and
LOS ANGELES
Our Mission
To improve the health and wellness of patients by identifying underlying causes of illness, using the least invasive treatments, and honoring the healing power of nature.
Dr. Tamara Smith, ND
Dr. Tamara Smith is a board certified licensed naturopathic doctor committed to restoring the wellness of her patients by using natural traditional therapies. She has a deep faith that once blockages of dysfunction are removed, the inherent healing process within us all can be revived to prevent further illness and maintain optimal health.
Dr. Smith views the body as a complex machine with all systems interacting, communicating, supporting, and potentially hurting each other. One system cannot be treated without addressing the others. Her goal is to use the least invasive and most gentle therapies. The first line of treatment is to always remove obstacles to cure, and she often sees her patients achieve complete recovery simply by eliminating these blockages. Examples include detoxification, treating chronic infections, balancing the microbiome, eliminating food intolerances from the diet, removing harmful inflammation, and making lifestyle changes which are adversely affecting health. Therapies she uses include botanical medicine, targeted nutrients, homeopathic medicine, hormone replacement, therapeutic diets, general nutrition, and lifestyle modifications. Dr. Smith is not against conventional medicine if it is required. She does not believe there is a dichotomy between traditional and conventional medicine, instead she sees where each individual and unique patient is at and what they need at the time. She tries to always use the least invasive treatments, but if conventional therapies are needed, she supports the body handling these therapies by treating organ burden and correcting nutrient deficiencies that might be created. Her goal for all her patients is to eliminate the need for higher level therapies, support general wellness, use only natural therapies for illness prevention, and to solely rely on the body’s inherent ability to heal itself.
Dr. Tamara Smith grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. She attended the University of California in Santa Barbara for her undergraduate studies, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Biopsychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies in 1999. She attended medical school at Bastyr University in Seattle receiving a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine in 2005. She got her naturopathic medical license in California in 2006 and started her practice in Los Angeles.
Dr. Smith currently lives and practices locally in Big Bear Lake, California. She also can, and does, see patients anywhere in the U.S. via TeleHealth. She works with adults and children. She loves the outdoors, camping, hiking, swimming, skiing, running, and is a voracious reader, often getting lost in a good novel.
CONDITIONS
- Adults and pediatrics
- Complex Chronic Illness
- Autoimmune Disease
- Weak Immune System
- GI Disorders
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Autism
- Attention Deficit Disorders
- Neurological Dysfunction
- Cerebral Palsy
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Hormone Imbalance
- Thyroid Disease
- Mold Illness
- Environmental Toxicity
DIAGNOSTICS
- General and specified bloodwork
- Organic acids test
- GI microbiome stool test
- Hormone panel
- Food allergies IgG antibodies (chronic delayed type)
- Food allergies IgE antibodies (acute immediate type)
- Environmental inhalant allergies IgE antibodies
- Heavy metals
- Environmental toxins
- Mycotoxins (mold toxins)
- Home mold testing
- Nutritional status
- Adrenal cortisol rhythm
- Thyroid panel including autoantibodies
Dr. Smith uses various labs from across the country that are best known for the tests they run using well-researched methods with sensitive and reliable results. Due to this, she knows with a high level of confidence that investigated causes of her patient’s illness are truly found. She makes sure the patient sample source for testing (blood, urine, saliva, stool) is the best for the most accurate results (example hormone testing is done using saliva or urine).
Labs used include Mosaic Diagnostics, Diagnostic Solutions, DiagnosTechs, IGeneX, ImmunoLytics, LabCorp and Quest.
TREATMENTS
- Detoxification
- Botanical medicine (tinctures, capsules, teas)
- Targeted nutrients (specific nutrients for individual patient’s needs)
- Hormone support (herbal tonics, plant-based hormones, bioidentical replacement)
- Food allergy elimination diets (both IgG and IgE antibody mediated)
- Therapeutic diets (food as medicine, diets specific to patient illness)
- General nutrition
- Homeopathic remedies
- Lifestyle changes (how to avoid environmental toxins, proper home surroundings for specific health needs, hydrotherapy techniques)
QUALITY PRODUCTS
Dr. Smith only uses the highest quality of professional products. She is very selective about sources and how the products are made and formulated. She chooses only companies that have the highest integrity and ethics putting the health of patients first, not their financial bottom line. The supplement industry has become out of control causing a lot of confusion about what to buy and where.
Common problems with the modern supplement industry can include:
There are many forms of nutrients. It may say on the label it is the correct nutrient, but it is in the wrong form. One example is vitamin B6. Pyridoxine is commonly seen, but it is not the active form of B6. It has to go through a couple enzymatic conversions to make it the metabolically active form pyridoxyl-5-phophate (P5P). If there is a problem with these enzymes, you do not actually get vitamin B6 and its benefit. Another example is magnesium, which has many forms, including citrate, glycinate and others, all of which have different functions. Glycinate supports the brain and liver. Citrate supports cell metabolism.
Supplements often include forms of nutrients that are less absorbable. Gut absorption into the bloodstream is essential, or else the nutrients are eliminated without offering any benefit. A common example is iron, often seen as ferrous sulfate in most supplements, as well as doctor prescriptions. However, this form is the least absorbable form with the most gastric irritation, such as constipation. The form of iron best absorbed is ferrous bis-glycinate, which has minimal if any gastric side effects and better supports red blood cells to correct anemia.
The primary ingredient needed might be correct, but the “inactive” ingredients are not good. Often they can actually be toxic, such as when certain preservatives or colors are added. Or they can cause adverse interactions with the primary ingredient, such as blocking absorption.
The herbal medicine industry is the worst. Dr. Smith is extremely selective about herbal companies she uses. She needs to know where and how the herbs are grown, always trying to choose organic. Herbs also need to be extracted properly based on what part of the herb contains the active constituents, such as the root, leaves, or flowers. Herbal medicine is an art creating formulations which contain active, driving, and grounding herbs, and often it is the interactions between these herbs which carry the benefit.
With Dr. Smith you can fully trust with absolute certainty that you are only getting the best quality products and treatments!
APPOINTMENTS
FREE
15-minute consult. Questions about the practice, if the center can treat your concerns. No discussion about treatments, no specific plans made.
$65
30-minute general wellness consult. Introduction discussion about general wellness. What everyone should be doing and taking to support basic health. No discussion of individual health concerns. Treatments can be ordered. No labs.
$110
60-minute extended wellness consult for non-patients. Discussion about general wellness and your primary health concerns. Brief intake of history. Treatments can be ordered. No labs. This consult cannot be repeated. If desired to continue and become an established patient of the practice, a 2-hour comprehensive appointment will have to be scheduled.
$280
2-hour comprehensive appointment. Establishing as a new patient to practice. Complete detailed in-depth intake, full history of illness and concerns, patient-specific treatment plan created, and treatments ordered. Exam performed if in-office appointment. Labs ordered. Follow-up appointment will be scheduled.
$195
90-minute extended follow-up appointment for established patients when lab results need to be reviewed and plans modified based on results. This will be the initial follow-up appointment, if labs were ordered, or when labs are repeated later to evaluate progress.
$155
60-minute general follow-up appointment for established patients. Evaluating treatment progress and any new concerns. Possible modifications to plan created. Possibly new labs ordered. Frequency of follow-up appointments vary with patients and illness. Usually every 1-2 months in the beginning with intervals increasing as improvement is seen.
$75
30-minute acute appointment for established patients. Discussion and treatment of acute illness, or if further discussion is needed of current treatment plan. Per doctor discretion, this appointment will be scheduled if emails and phone calls become overly frequent. Not to replace the general follow-up appointment.
House calls are available in Big Bear only. Charges vary with location.
Zoom appointments are the same charge as in-person visits.
**** The center does not bill insurance. If requested, after payment is made, a superbill can be provided containing diagnostic and procedure codes for the patient to bill insurance themselves. Besides bloodwork, all treatment and lab fees are paid to the center. Treatments are purchased by the center, which can be picked up at the office or drop shipped directly to you. Lab kits are ordered and sent to the patient after payment is made. Samples are collected at home and shipped back to the lab. Once the lab receives the samples, fees are then paid by the center.
EDDIE SMITH
"Brave Little Lion"
September 23, 2011 - July 22, 2023
Dr. Smith's son Eddie suffered a traumatic brain injury as a toddler and passed away at the age of 11. He had too short of a life, but all the doctors told him he would not survive a few days, then a few weeks, months, definitely not one year. He made it to almost 12. Eddie bravely fought and overcame so many obstacles when he easily could have let go. He constantly surprised doctors with his miraculous recoveries. It took courage for him to want to heal and to choose the difficult journey. Healing is not always easy. You have to climb mountains and cross valleys. But when you choose to have the heart of a lion and take that journey you will overcome obstacles just like Eddie did. And I will hold you up and take care of you the entire way just like I did for my boy.