When Dr. Jerry Kitchens’ father was diagnosed with Dementia almost seven years ago (he passed away from the disease in August 2024), Kitchens quickly became frustrated with the expensive and seemingly ineffective treatments available for the disease.
On the recommendation of a friend, Kitchens began reading Dr. Dale Bredesen’s New York Times bestseller The End to Alzheimer’s—a groundbreaking book that includes a plan to prevent and even reverse Alzheimer’s Disease and cognitive decline by identifying and focusing on 36 metabolic factors (micronutrients, hormone levels, sleep) that can trigger “downsizing” in the brain.
The book and his subsequent research sent Kitchens on a path to discovering the benefits of functional medicine. “Reading this book really changed my whole way of thinking,” he says.
Kitchens began his medical career as a surgeon, practicing for 23 years until arthritis in his hands caused him to lay down his scalpel and assume an administrative role at St. Vincent’s (now UAB St. Vincent’s). “But I would much rather be patient-facing,” Kitchens says. “I want to be helping people instead of being in meetings all day.”
Not one to sit still, Kitchens also has his commercial real estate license and created Ron & Jerry’s White Trash Boil (a crawfish boil seasoning) that is sold in local stores with his friend and business partner Ron Williams.
Kitchens along with his colleague Dr. Anthony Saway began talking to other medical professionals who were involved in functional medicine practices. They visited a functional medicine clinic in Cullman, and Kitchens began a friendship/mentorship with Dr. Jim McMinn, a former ER doctor who practiced functional medicine in Homewood until his retirement.
“The ideas behind functional medicine are truly innovative compared to our current dependence on pharmaceuticals,” Kitchens says. “But really, it’s a throwback to our lifestyles before we became so sedentary: eating fresh, local foods to drive detoxification; sleeping well at night; being active.”
Inspired by everything he was learning, Kitchens went back to school to learn more about the practice of functional medicine. Completing online modules through a program on the West Coast, “It felt like going back through the first two years of med school again learning all the basic sciences,” Kitchens says. “It was amazing to be in this virtual classroom and learn these things all over again. I’m still re-educating myself.”
Today with an eye toward the future, Kitchens plans to continue his functional medicine education and wants to open his own clinic. “My dream is to have an office withing walking distance from my house,” Kitchens says. “I want to open a one-stop functional medicine clinic and help put patients on the path to health and wellness.”
