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Most people who work in healthcare will tell you that they’ve wanted to work in medicine since they were little kids, but naturopath Dr. Shawna Darou originally set out to be an engineer. “I have an engineering background,” says Shawna. “I was not interested in health until I learned about naturopathy.” It turns out that both fields have a lot in common. “Engineering is about problem solving,” says Shawna. “Naturopaths look at the whole person and see how the body’s systems interconnect.”

Shawna’s own deep interest in women’s health and hormones influenced her decision to switch career paths. And she hasn’t looked back since. She opened her Toronto clinic in 2004, sharing space with other healthcare practitioners. In 2012, Dr. Shawna Darou and Associates opened on Richmond Street with a mission to use her analytical brain to help “evolve the medical model.” Instead of treating a symptom or a health issue, naturopathy strives to understand the root causes of illness and how to restore balance within the body.