Jessica Montalvo, M.D. - 2021 Women in Wellness
Photo by Karen Kring (Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL)
Raised
on the East Coast, Dr. Jessica Montalvo, M.D., came to Chicago for her internal
medicine training at Northwestern and now proudly calls our area her home.
After practicing hospital-based medicine for a decade, she desired to have a
greater impact on her patients and searched for a more meaningful way to help
others as a physician. She then pursued training through the Institute for FunctionalMedicine (IFM) and the Kresser Institute ADAPT Practitioner Training Program,
specializing in functional medicine’s unique approach to the prevention and
reversal of cognitive decline, and received certification in functional
medicine from IFM.
On
her journey she discovered the book The End of Alzheimer’s, by Dr. DaleE. Bredesen, which became a foundation of her practice. Impressed with the
results she was seeing in clients, Dr. Jessica opened her own clinic, Mindwise
Healthcare, in February 2020, in Northfield.
“Using
Dr. Bredesen’s protocol as a guide we help clients optimize brain health so
that they are living the life that they want for as long as possible. Health
coaching is an integral part of the practice because lifestyle changes require
specialized support,” she says.
Dr.
Jessica is committed to helping motivated individuals avoid the slow loss of
life that occurs with dementia, an illness that wrecks families and finances.
Too many people, Dr. Jessica states, believe that there is nothing that can be
done to help those experiencing symptoms of memory loss and cognitive decline
and she intends to change that narrative.
“Alzheimer’s
dementia is preventable, and women are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia much
more often than men. There are many possible causes of dementia that are not
looked for in conventional medical practices as well,” Dr. Jessica explains.
Taking
a functional medicine approach to care, addressing root causes, and involving
nutrition and lifestyle interventions in addition to targeted supplements and
pharmaceuticals, have given her a renewed passion as a medical professional.
Dr. Jessica is thankful for the opportunity to share her modalities with
Chicagoland families, hoping to bring advocacy around the true causes and
symptoms of cognitive decline.
When
not taking care of patients, she enjoys Chicago’s food scene, as well as
cooking something wonderful in the kitchen. In her free time she is also the
co-ambassador for the Chicago branch of the Bourbon Women Association.
