Most people who visit a chiropractor with back pain aren’t thinking about their diet, but that is exactly what Dr. Katie Drake says they should be doing.

“Most people do not realize how important nutrition is to every part of the body and how powerful it is when it comes to healing the body rather than just covering up symptoms,” Drake, 25, said.

Drake, a doctor of chiropractic, graduated from Logan College of Chiropractic last December and has settled at Bemis Chiropractic in Godfrey as an internal health specialist.

“I was raised on the idea of a holistic approach to total health from a young age,” she said. “My father owned Nautilus Fitness Center, and he was big on doing everything as natural as possible.”

Employing the Loomis system, a focus on incorporating enzymes and nutrition into overall health, Drake teaches patients how what they eat can affect most of the aches and pains from which they are seeking relief.

“My goal is to remove stress from the body so the organ systems can work as they are intended to,” she said. “We use natural herbs and enzymes to heal the body from the inside out. Chronic aches and pains, acid reflux and indigestion, immune dysfunction, infertility, skin disorders, and arthritis are just a few of the things we attack with this approach.”

Years, sometimes decades, of an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to a multitude of health problems, including chiropractic issues, Drake says.

“The way people live really puts a stress on their digestive tract,” she said. “That makes it difficult for their bodies to deal with everyday functions and problems.

Drake works to combat the three types of stresses – mechanical, emotional and nutritional.

“The mechanical can be taken care of through (chiropractic) adjustments, the emotional has to be taken care of by the patient, and the nutritional is what I specialize in,” she said. “I am very passionate about educating my patients. I provide them with supplements and enzymes, but also the knowledge to create a healthy lifestyle.

“People eat a very processed diet, with a lot of foods that have had enzymes removed to be able to stay on the shelf longer. your body needs those enzymes that have been taken out of the food.”

The young nutritionist credits her background with helping her reach her goals.

“Dr. Frank (Bemis) has been my doctor since I was two years old, so I literally grew up in this office,” she said. “I am one of those lucky people who has found what they are meant to do in life. I cannot imagine doing anything else.”

Drake lives in the area and is engaged to Jacob Sherer of Springfield, Ill., himself an internal health specialist.

“We met while we were both attending Logan,” she said. “We only see each other on the weekends, so our down time is pretty important. We do love to be outdoors, and we like boating. I love the water, and he loves water sports, so we live for that in the summer.”

Drake is a personal trainer at Nautilus, and also will be conducting chiropractic consultations by appointment there on Mondays.

She also plans to have monthly lectures and discussions. Upcoming topics include heartburn, attention deficit disorder and nutrition, and infertility.

For more information, call (618) 463-1600.