Jessica Shintani
(MD, CCFP, Functional Medicine Practitioner, Clinical Assistant Professor - UBC)

Dr. Shintani brings a wealth of medical and life experience to her medical practice at Healix Health Medical. She believes that it is imperative to identify and address the root causes of disease in order to restore health. As a physician, this can be challenging, if not impossible, in the present health care model in BC. She received her BSc in Biochemistry at UBC in 1980, with a focus on plant biochemistry and ethnobotany (the medicinal and spiritual use of plants.) She was granted her MD in 1984 from UBC, and completed a 2 year Residency in Family Medicine at Queen's University. Returning to Vancouver where she was born, Dr. Shintani practiced family medicine for the next 20 years. During this time, she became convinced of the pivotal preventive role of the Mind-Body connection and Lifestyle factors in health, rather than predominantly relying on medications and surgery once disease had occurred. In 2006, Dr. Shintani joined the Westcoast Women's Clinic for Hormone Health, where she developed expertise in Bio-identical Hormones, Mind-Body Medicine, and Gut Health. The successes of this approach inspired her to engage in further training through the Institute of Functional Medicine, and she moved to Healix Health in 2016, to practice Functional Medicine. Here she is able to explore the roots of illness, and incorporate a compassionate and personalized, pro-active approach to disease prevention and health optimization. Outside of her medical practice, Dr. Shintani enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and finding balance in her life. She is a cyclist, cross-country skiier, rock climber, gardener, singer, and professional harpist. She has been an avid mountaineer, climbing throughout the West Coast and South America, a board member of Outward Bound Western Canada, and the first woman Chair of the Vancouver Section of the Alpine Club of Canada. As well, she is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UBC, where she has been dedicated to teaching the next generation of physicians for more than two decades.