MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY • NUTRITION RESEARCH AND EDUCATION

About us

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

LANGUAGES

Native English Speaker. Bilingual in Spanish. Basic comprehension in Portuguese.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

An applied anthropologist, Dr. Brown has consulted widely on socioeconomic, cultural, educational, and health issues; authored numerous academic and popular articles; and taught in major North and South American universities. Since 1980 Dr. Brown has specialized in medical anthropology, conducting extensive research on cross-cultural nutritional and medical practices. Over the past 20 years, she has studied the clinical application of nutrition and, in 1991, was certified as a clinical nutritionist by the Clinical Nutritionist Certification Board, Dallas, Texas. In 1995, she was further certified as a Certified Nutrition Specialist by the Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists, New York, NY. In January 1996, Dr. Brown was among the first nutritionists to become certified by the State of New York. Additionally, Dr. Brown has served on the Scientific Council of the Clinical Nutrition Certification Board since its inception nearly a decade ago. Presently, she combines medical anthropology with nutrition research, education, consulting and clinical practice.

Currently Dr. Brown directs both the Nutrition Education and Consulting Service (NECS) and the Osteoporosis Education Project in Syracuse, New York. NECSprovides nutrition consulting, education, and research services for the Central New York area. The Osteoporosis Education Project is a nonprofit, public-interest research and education organization with the mission of exploring the human potential for bone-health regeneration. Within the Osteoporosis Education Project, Dr. Brown lectures widely on the topic and collaborates with various organizations to further research and education on osteoporosis. For example, in 1994 she served on the Osteoporosis Advisory Board for the Older Women’s League of Washington, DC. In 1996, she completed a comprehensive rethinking of the nature, causes, and best prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, the findings of which were summarized in her book, Better Bones, Better Body (Keats, 2000).

In 1999 she conducted primary and secondary research on ipriflavone as a bone-building agent in conjunction with Technical Sourcing International. In 2001 she was the principal investigator for a LaneLabs-sponsored study comparing the impact on bone resorption and iPTH of AAACa as compared to calcium citrate. In the fall of 2002, she began a yearlong clinical trial assessing the impact on bone resorption and bone-mineral density of a novel Brazilian sea algae, calcium, and shark-oil vitamin D formula (OsteoOrganiCAL). In early 2003 she began two new pilot clinical studies. The first assessed the impact of a traditional Chinese formula for improvement of aging, including bone-mineral loss, pain, mobility and nocturnal polyuria in women. The second study concerned the assessment of the impact on bone resorption of the new dietary supplement known as Cal-Vantage.

Complementing her work on bone health, Dr. Brown also coauthored a second trade book on natural approaches to menopausal well-being. This second book, The Mend Clinic Guide to Natural Medicine for Menopause and Beyond, was written with Dr. Paula Maas and Nancy Bruning (Dell, 1996). Her third book, The Acid–Alkaline Food Guide, was published by Square One Publisher in 2006.

In addition to her research, writing, and consulting activities, Dr. Brown is a well-recognized health motivational speaker. She provides lectures, seminars, and workshops for a wide range of corporate, professional, nonprofit, and public institutions.

Among Dr. Brown’s recent contract lectures and workshops are the following:

Primary bone health research conducted

• Principal investigator for primary research analyzing the impact of a traditional Chinese herbal formula on bone resorption and selected symptoms of aging (Sagittarius Life Science Corporation, 2003–2004)
• Principal investigator for primary research assessing the bone-building potential of CalVantage, a unique vitamin-mineral-herbal formula. The end-points for study were bone resorption at 6 and 12 weeks, blood pressure, and weight. (PR–Osteo, LLC, 2003)
• Principal investigator for primary research assessing the impact on bone resorption and bone mineral density of a novel Brazilian sea algae, calcium, and shark-oil vitamin D formula (Natural Options Corporation, 2002–2003)
• Co-investigator for laboratory research correlating first-morning urine pH with urine acid excretion. Co-authored with Susan J. Whiting and Janet Bell, College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 2002
• Principal investigator for primary research on the impact on bone resorption and iPTH levels of AAACa as compared to calcium citrate (LaneLabs, Allendale, NJ, 2001)
• Principal investigator for primary and secondary research into ipriflavone as a bone-building flavonoid (Technical Sourcing International, Missoula, MT, 1990-2000)
• Principal investigator for primary research on bone resorption and multi-nutrient supplementation (Seraphim, Inc., Sterling, VA, 1999)

Continuing Medical Education (CME) lectures presented

• Maintaining Bone Health During Weight Reduction, American College of Nutrition 47th Annual Meeting, Reno, NV, Oct. 2006
• Osteoporosis: Better Bones, Better Body, Florida Academy of Family Physicians 2006 Summer Break Away, Orlando, FL, July 2006
• Advances in the Treatment and Reversal of Osteoporosis, Integrative Medicine for Anti-Aging Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2005
• Nonpharmacological Approaches to Osteoporosis, Cayuga Medical Center, Ithaca, NY, 2005
• Natural Options for Treating Osteoporosis, 1st Congress of the Brazilian National Osteoporosis Society, Rio de Janeiro, 2003
• Anthropological Insights into Strategies for Improving Women’s Health, Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, Primary Care Conference, 1998
• Power Nutrition for the Busy Women Physicians of the 90s, One Day CME Symposium on Women Physicians; Mastering the Challenges of the 1990s and Beyond, Medical Society of the State of New York, 1990
• Advances in Bone Health Promotion: A Workshop for Dental Professionals (Thompkins Dental Society), 1988
• Osteoporosis Understood and Prevented: The Chiropractor as Bone-Health Maintenance Expert (Osteoporosis Diagnostics, Inc., Buffalo, NY), 1989

Dr. Brown’s other consulting, research, and education projects

Nutrition/health education

• Case Study Analysis of a Novel Approach to Interstitial Cystitis. Evaluation of the Tamer alkalizing formula for IC pain relief. (Tamer Inc., 2003)
• Osteoporosis Advisory Board (The Older Women’s League, Washington, DC)
• Osteoporosis Prevention: A Self-Help Program (Holistic Health Associates, NECS)
• The Menopause–Nutrition Connection (Holistic Health Associates, NECS)
• Vibrant Health Workshop (In-Service Teacher Training, Remsen, NY)
• The Holistic Approach to Permanent Weight Loss (NECS)
• Compulsive Eating and Food Addictions (NECS)
• Blood Sugar Stabilization Using Herbs, Nutrition, and Stress Reduction (Holistic Health Associates)
• Nutrition and the Immune System (HEAL, Syracuse, NY)
• Workplace Environmental Hazards (Syracuse Developmental Center)

Socioeconomic impact assessment

• Recent attempts at Westernization and their impact on the socioeconomic and cultural organization of the Bari Indians of Colombia (Organization of American States)
• Economic impact analysis of Portland Development Commission’s Single-Family Households
• Major socioeconomic variables impacting community and household organization in rural Dominican Republic (University of Michigan)

Housing and domestic organization

• Low-income housing in Colombia: The social and economic significance of self-built irregular housing (Fulbright–Hays Award)
• Ethnographic study of low-income Hispanic domestic organization within a multiethnic subsidized housing project in Cambridge, MA (Center for Urban Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania)
• Family and household organization by economic sector, rural Dominican Republic (University of Michigan)
• Assist Portland’s Native American spiritual encampment (ANPO) in procuring city land use variance allowing for the permanent establishment of a spiritual and cultural center in urban Portland (ANPO, Portland, OR)

Education and human services

• Case study of the impact of court-ordered school desegregation on the Hispanic community and bilingual education in Stockton, CA (Aspira of America, New York, NY)
• Design of ethnographic component for citywide teen pregnancy project (Multnomah County Health Department, Portland, OR)

Cultural resource management/environmental impact assessment

• Developed a Native American Compliance Program for the M-X Project of the US Air Force (Human Environment Research Corp., Santa Barbara, CA)
• Developed county guidelines for assessing ethnic cultural resources and concerns in compliance with the California Quality Act (Department of Environmental Resources, Santa Barbara County, CA)
• EIR cultural resources overview, Santa Barbara–Carpinteria Wastewater Project (Cultural Resource Associates, Santa Barbara, CA)
• Air quality and public service components of the Old-World EIR, County of Santa Barbara CA (Human Environment Research)

Survey and market assessment

• Citywide survey of human service agencies in San Jose, Costa Rica (Fulbright–Hays Award)
• Designed, implemented and analyzed a 150-household sample of the Hispanic community in Cambridge, MA, aimed at establishing the basic socioeconomic parameters of the population (Center for Urban Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania)
• Designed, implemented and analyzed a 150-household sample of the Hispanic community in Cambridge, MA, aimed at establishing the basic socioeconomic parameters of the population (Center for Urban Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania)
• Employer survey and assessment of area market for trained Native American cultural resource technicians (Cultural Resource Associates, Santa Barbara, CA)

Professional training programs

• Preventing Burnout (Aetna Insurance Company, various school districts)
• Maximizing Energy and Emotional Well-Being (Several NYS Teacher Resource Centers)
• Nutrition Education for Emotional Counselors (Catholic Charities, Syracuse, NY)
• Managing and Minimizing the Mercury Burden of Dental Office Personnel (The Well Clinic of Santa Barbara, CA)
• A Ten-Week Cultural Resource Management Training Program for Native Americans and Hispanics (Santa Barbara City College, CA)
• Teacher Training Programs for Women’s Studies (Beaverton Public School District, Beaverton, OR)
• In-Service Training session on Hispanic socioeconomic and cultural characteristics (Linfield College, McMinnville, OR)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Nutrition and health education publications

Books

The Acid–Alkaline Food Guide. Square One Publishers, Garden City, NJ, 2006
Better Bones, Better Body: Beyond Estrogen and Calcium. Keats Publishing Inc., New Canaan, CT, 1996; 2nd edition, 2000.
The Mend Clinic Guide to Natural Medicine for Menopause and Beyond. Coauthored with Dr. Paula Maas and Nancy Bruning, Dell, 1996.

Chapter in medical textbook

“Bone Nutrition.” In Scientific Evidence for Musculoskeletal, Bariatric, and Sports Nutrition, ed. Ingrid Kohlstadt. Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL, 2006.

Magazine and journal articles

“Bone Health and Osteoporosis,” Food as Medicine Magazine, premiere issue, Fall 2005.
“Vitamin K and Bone Health,” Bone Health E-Newsletter, Sept–Oct. 2004.
“Is Acid Eating Your Bones?” Bone Health E-Newsletter, May 2005.
“The 19 Key Bone-Building Nutrients,” Bone Health E-Newsletter, June 2005.
“Protein and Bone Health,” Bone Health E-Newsletter, August 2005.
“Excessive Acidity May Aggravate Disorders – A Case Study – A Novel Therapy for Interstitial Cystitis.” Total Health, 25 (3), 2003: 22–23.
“Vitamin D: Startling New Research Findings on an Old Bone Builder.”Health Smart Today, May 2003: 90–94.
“A Pilot Study Comparing AAACa and Calcium Citrate Supplementation in Menopausal US Women.” Townsend Letter, Aug.–Sept. 2002: 110-14.
“First-Morning Urine Measured with pH Paper Strips Reflects Acid Excretion.” ASBMR Conference Abstract, San Antonio, 2002. Coauthored with Susan J. Whiting and Janet Bell.
“Preventing Osteoporosis: New Insights for the New Millennium.” Health Smart Today, Spring 2002: 55-57.
“Acid-Alkaline Balance and Its Effect on Bone Health.” International Journal of Integrative Medicine, Nov.–Dec. 2000: 7-15. Coauthored with Russell Jaffe, MD, PhD.
“Bone Builders: The Secrets of an Alkaline Diet.” Health Products Business, April 2000:18-20.
“Better Bones at Every Age.” Let’s Live, October 2000: 44-48.
“Love Unites Them and Hunger Separates Them: Poor Women in the Dominican Republic.” In Towards an Anthropology of Women, ed. Rayna Reiter. Monthly Review Press, New York, 1975
“Mercury: Playing With Poison.” Health Express, Dec. 1983:5-6
“Maybe It Was Something I Ate: The Headache-Nutrition Connection.”Holistic Health News, Fall 1985
“Nutrition Update.” A weekly question-and-answer column in the City Edition, Syracuse, NY, 1986 to 1990.
“Osteoporosis: Sorting Fact from Fallacy.” The Network News, The Publication of the National Women’s Health Network, July/August, 1988.
Better Bones, Better Body, Better Health: A Self-Help Workbook for Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis. Nutrition Education Consulting Service, Syracuse, NY.
The Nutrition Detective: Assessing and Maximizing Your Nutritional Fitness. Nutrition Education and Consulting Service, Syracuse, NY, 1994.

Socioeconomic impact assessment

“Forced Transition from Egalitarianism to Male Dominance: The Bari of Colombia.” Written with Elisa Buenaventura. In Women and Colonization, ed. Eleanor Leacock and Mona Etienne. Praeger, New York, 1980.
“Low Economic Sector Female Mating Patterns in the Dominican Republic: A Comparative Analysis.” In Women Cross-Culturally, Change and Challenge, ed. Ruby Leavitt, Mouton Publishers, The Hague, 1975.
“Coping with Poverty in the Dominican Republic: Women and Their Mates: A Field Report.”Current Anthropology, December 1973.

Education and human services

“The Impact of Court-Ordered Desegregation on Bilingual Education and the Hispanic Community.” Aspira of America, New York, 1979.
“Los Servicios Sociales de San Jose, Costa Rica.” Antropologia, Universidad de San Jose, 1967.

Housing and domestic organization

“Household Composition and Variation in a Rural Dominican Village.”Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 8 (2) 1978: 257-268. [Translated into Spanish in Eme Eme, 5 (3):28-44.]
“Women and Their Mates: Coping with Poverty in the Dominican Republic.”El Anuario de la Academia de Ciencias de la Republica Dominica, 2, 1978.
National Women’s Anthropology Caucus Newsletter, Editor, 1977–1978.
“Housing in Bogota: A Synthesis of Recent Research and Notes on Anthropological Contributions to the Study of Housing.” Urban Anthropology, Fall 1977.
“La Mujer Pobre en Santo Domingo.” Eme Eme, Santiago, Dominican Republic, 1(5):76-83, 1973.

Cultural resource management/environmental impact assessment

Old-World EIR. County of Santa Barbara, Human Environment Research Corporation. With Blum, Craig, and Sherwin, 1982.
“Protecting Native American Cultural Resources through the Environmental Review Process.”
The Red Earth Rumble, Santa Barbara Indian Center, February 1981.
M-X Cultural Resources Legal Requirements Analysis. Human Environment Research Corporation. With Craig, Doelle, Martin, and Mayro, 1981.
M-X Cultural Resources PMOA Management Plan. Human Environment Research Corporation. With Coombs, Craig, Doelle, Martin and Mayro, 1981.
Cultural Resources Overview for the Santa Barbara Regional Wastewater Reclamation Study. With Whitney, Grijalva, and Ringer. Cultural Resource Associates, 1980.
“The California Environmental Quality Act and the Role of the Ethnographer.” Invited paper for the Archaeology and Local Government Conference, Ventura, CA, 1980.
Requirement and Procedures for Assessing Ethnic Cultural Resources and Concerns in Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. Santa Barbara, California: Santa Barbara County, Department of Environmental Review, 1980.

Survey and market assessment

The Hispanic Population of Cambridge: A Research Report. Cambridge: Cambridge City Hall and Cambridge City Council, 1973.
“Los Hispanos de Cambridge: Datos del Censo Nacional de 1970.” El Faro Mundo, Cambridge, 10: 14, 1972.

COURSES TAUGHT

Nutrition/health education (public and contract classes not previously listed)

• Preventing Osteoporosis: Every Woman’s Health Challenge
• Symptom-Free Menopause
• Building Your Immune System with Nutrition
• Food Addictions: Sugar and Refined Carbohydrates
• The Nutrition-Periodontal Disease Link
• Food Additives and Food Processing: What You Need to Know
• Basic Nutrition: Eating for Better Health
• Controlling Hypoglycemia with Nutrition, Herbs, and Stress Reduction
• Dental Materials: What Every Consumer Should Know
• New Mind Body Medicine: Implementing the Teachings of Deepak Chopra

University courses

• Issues in Applied Social Science
• Vivienda Popular y Antropologia (La Universidad Javeriana, Bogota, Columbia)
• Modernization in Mexico
• Peoples of Latin America
• Matrilineal Society
• Women, Society and Culture
• Women’s Studies: An Anthropological Perspective
• Introductory Anthropology
• Anthropology for Secondary Teachers

Professional in-service training courses

• Osteoporosis Prevention for Health Practitioners
• Hazards of Working with Mercury for Dentists and Dental Office Personnel
• In-service Nutrition Training for Dental Office Personnel
• Cultural Resource Management for Native Americans
• Cross-Cultural Perspectives for Improving Hispanic/Anglo Community
• Recognizing and Minimizing Sex Bias in the Classroom
• Vibrant Health: A Workshop for Teachers

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Anthropological Association
American College of Nutrition
Council for Nutritional Anthropology
International and American Associations of Clinical Nutritionists
National Women’s Health Network
Sigma Xi
Society for Medical Anthropology
Society for Nutrition Education
American Society of Bone and Mineral Research

SELECTED AWARDS & GRANTS

1967–1968: Fulbright-Hays Graduate Student Award, Costa Rica
1974: Elected to Sigma-Xi
1975: Fulbright-Hays Professorship in Bogota, Colombia, S.A.
1976: Organization of American States (OAS) Research/Training Fellowship for Colombia
1975 & 1977: Boston University Graduate School Grant-in-aid of Faculty Research
1999: Grant for primary research on bone resorption and multinutrient supplementation (funded by Seraphim, Inc., Sterling, VA)
2000: Grant for the study of ipriflavone as a bone-building flavonoid (funded by Technical Sourcing International, Missoula, MT)
2001: Grant for the comparison of anti-resorptive effect of AAACa as compared with calcium citrate (funded by Lanelabs, Allendale, NJ)
2003: Unsung Heroine Special Award of Honor for Achievement as an Innovator in Women’s Health, awarded by National Organization for Women, Central New York Chapter
2004: American College of Nutrition Annual Convention, third-place award in the best scientific poster competition, Long Beach, CA
2004: Research grant from the Wallace Foundation in Aid of Development of Physician Education on Nutrition and Osteoporosis

References available on request.

At The Center for Better Bones we promote an all-natural approach to bone health using consultation and guided programs that include nutrition, diet, exercise, and lifestyle education.

If you have questions for Dr. Brown or want to schedule a consult, don’t hesitate to call The Center for Better Bones today toll-free at 1-877-207-0232. We’re here to listen and to help.