Start living your best life!

Get Dr La Puma's Healthy Bites & Weekly Wows in your inbox to help you feel your best inside and out. Insights, healthy recipes and recommended household, culinary, literary, botanical and natural products to make your life easier, healthier and more fun.


Get Your 2 Free Downloadable Mini-Books When You Sign Up!

Green Rx & Real Age Excerpt

TOOLS & RESOURCES

Free Healthy Recipes

Chef MD

Quizzes

REFUEL

Healthy Bytes

Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only
Filter by Custom Post Type

Medical Office

Personalized Programs for Optimal Health

Personalized Programs for Difficult Personal Medical Problems (Anxiety, Obesity, Stress etc).

Dr. La Puma’s consultation can offer you a food, fitness and nature-based personalized program for your difficult personal medical problem (below), when other methods appear to have failed.

After a record review and medical history, you can expect an evidence-based eating, fitness and lifestyle plan designed to help you become well.

People with the following conditions who are accepted as patients can look forward to Dr. La Puma’s personal consultation to help them look and feel better with what they eat and how they live.

  • Anxiety
  • ADHD
  • Depression
  • Diabetes
  • Digestive Disorders (IBD, IBS, GERD/Reflux, Stomach Aches)
  • Heart Disease
  • Low Testosterone (Men)
  • Myopia
  • Obesity and Overweight
  • Stress, Chronic

Dr. La Puma is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine, formerly a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, and an international leader in his fields of nutrition and weight control.

Read about successful patients. To learn more, call Thomas or Barbara Hanover at 805-284-2238. Or e-mail us.

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have reported Dr. La Puma’s work in food as medicine and lifestyle change (for cholesterol control and weight management). The New York Times Op Ed page has featured his work in helping men get healthy naturally without testosterone, and followed his Op-Ed with an endorsing, next-day editorial.

Dr. La Puma has been named the only physician on Santa Barbara Magazine’s Best List. His clinical work and programs have also been locally featured by The Santa Barbara Independent, the Santa Barbara NewsPress, 805Living and the UCSB Magazine Coastlines.  His clinical work has been nationally featured by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Dr. Oz, NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, and major online news portals.

Santa Barbara Nutrition Doctor – Healthy Eating Plans and Programs

To learn more, contact Barbara or Thomas in Dr. La Puma’s office.

FAQs: Seeing Dr. La Puma

Weight Loss- Nutrition Doctor, Santa Barbara

Do you think you can help me?

When you come for your first appointment, Dr. La Puma will try to understand your personal medical goals, and help you achieve them. He can also refer you to another specialist, if appropriate.

Do I have to see Dr. La Puma in person for my medical consultation?

Dr. La Puma needs to see you in person; his medical licenses require it, and there is no substitute for an initial doctor-patient connection. Follow-up appointments can be arranged by phone or in the office.

Where are you located?

We are located in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. The Santa Barbara Airport is 20 minutes away and Los Angeles International Airport is 95 minutes away.

I cannot travel to Santa Barbara for regular appointments. Can you still see me?

Yes. You need to come to an extensive initial in-person appointment. Other appointments can be by telephone.

What should I expect at the first visit?

The initial appointment with Dr. La Puma is scheduled for up to 1.5-2 hours.  Dr. La Puma will personally review your medical history and your current medications and supplements, the forms you’ve completed and medical records and laboratory tests you’ve provided.

There are no mandatory laboratory or diagnostic tests, or dietary supplements or meals to purchase, nor are there devices to buy.  We know care is expensive, and do not want you to spend money unnecessarily.

Does Dr. La Puma prescribe medication?

He does when necessary. The focus of his approach, however, is to help you change your habits with nutritional and lifestyle measures, and with coaching, accountability and practical strategies.

Can Dr. La Puma be my primary care physician?

No. Although he is a board-certified internist and trained as a general internal medicine physician, Dr. La Puma works with you to help you address your nutritional medical problems, including weight gain, diabetes, back pain, high cholesterol and more. He can and does confer with your primary care physician and other specialists as needed.

Do you take insurance?

We do not take insurance or Medicare, or file insurance paperwork.  You can use flex spending accounts and medical or health savings accounts to pay for your consultation and program. Payment in full by check, cash or credit card is due at the time services are provided. There is no payment plan or sliding scale.

What credit cards do you accept?

We accept MasterCard, American Express and Visa.

Where can I learn more?

Contact Mr. Thomas or Ms. Barbara Hanover, at 805-284-2238 or by e-mail.