Keli fell ill to dengue fever while living in the tropics at the age of 20. Although she took dengue treatment, she never quite recovered. Specific dengue-like symptoms (extreme sensitivity to light, achy bones, cotton mouth and high fever) returned to her every month during her period without fail.

Keli sought medical help but tested negative for the virus and was reassured that dengue does not re-occur. A gynecologist told her that fever, although rare, can be a PMS symptom and told her not to worry about it. She was referred to an eye doctor to check out her sensitivity to light. The eye doctor told her to wear sunglasses. And so she continued for seven years--not getting any help.

In 2008 Keli found herself at a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture clinic. The acupuncturist checked her pulse and tongue and then asked her if she ever had a really bad fever. “Yes!” she replied. And told them her history with dengue.

The acupuncturists then explained to her what no other doctor was able to:

Although the dengue treatment had killed the virus, her organs hadn’t ever fully recovered. For this reason, when her immunity dropped low, her body showed signs of being affected by the virus and it felt like she had it all over again. Since women’s immunity is low during their period, the dengue-symptom re-occurrences were happening to her every month at that time. Her period was showing her something that needed to be corrected.

Finally! Doctors that made sense. Keli figured if their diagnosis made sense then their treatment would make sense as well. She was right. They treated Keli with acupuncture and herbs and she immediately stopped having dengue symptoms and was able to fully recover.

After Keli’s miraculous improvement, she started to use food therapy at her home. When her friends and family inquired about it she referred them to acupuncture to go receive a diagnosis so that they knew the right way they should be eating. Many of them tried acupuncture but did not find the food therapy that they were seeking.

Overall, as much as Keli loved acupuncture, she was dissatisfied with a couple things:

1) She had no way of understanding TCM terms and diagnosis. It was a completely different paradigm of health.

2) Acupuncture always seemed to be the predominant focus. She wanted more information about other aspects of TCM like food therapy and herbal medicine so she could contribute to her own healing process.

3) She had no idea what was in her herbs. They were, literally, written in Chinese.

Six years later, Keli formed Chick Food Inc as an answer to the above problems. Chick Food makes it easy for someone who is used to standard western medicine to benefit from the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

At the age of 13, Kristin was rushed to the emergency room due to an acute illness.  She was initially diagnosed with appendicitis and was quickly admitted for surgery.  Post-surgery, the doctors informed her that she actually had Crohn’s Disease.  She spent the next 8 years suffering from her condition. 

Even with the illness, she overwhelmed herself with school and work that only worsened her health.  It wasn’t until the untimely death of her older brother that she started to take her health seriously. 

Shortly after, she decided to move to Hawaii where she received her very first acupuncture treatment.  During that treatment, she started to recall memories from her early childhood in South Korea where her grandma would use hand acupressure and soups to ease her stomach pains.  She experienced so much relief after her first treatment that she wanted to learn more about the medicine.  She began self-study in areas of Oriental medicine and herbology.  With the use of diet, acupuncture treatments and herbs, she’s learned to manage her condition.   Several years later, she decided to enroll in acupuncture school to further her education.    

Because of her life experiences thus far, her areas of interests during her early years at school involved sub-specialties such as Digestive Disorders, Pain Management and Autoimmune Diseases.  Her focus shifted during her first pregnancy, and then her second pregnancy not too long after.  She grew a deep passion for women’s health and reproductive medicine as she was experiencing those life events during the last years of her schooling.  She actually sat through her board examinations 9 months pregnant!  She hopes to share her knowledge of Traditional Medicine and how to apply it to all phases of a woman’s life and health.  She lives in San Diego with her husband and two energetic boys.