I'm Paul Roberts, a registered pharmacist and nutritionist.

I grew up in the water & winter wonderland of Minnesota. Graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1987, I was licensed as a pharmacist there and also in California, where I relocated.

Going the traditional route, I worked in a retail pharmacy for several years, both as a staff pharmacist and as the manager. One day it occurred to me how much time I spent out front, helping customers choose the correct vitamins . . . and how much I enjoyed helping them.

Well, I went on to study herbal medicine. I did this on my own, as there were no courses for pharmacists in the U.S. at that time. I had tried to take a course when I was in college, but it was only open to graduate students! I did some work with herbal medicine for several years. I am a contributing author to the Natural Medicines Database®, the most comprehensive database of herbal medicine in the English language.

It quickly became apparent that knowledge of herbs wasn't enough . . . people had so many questions about vitamins and nutritional supplements. I needed to know more, and neither my fellow pharmacists nor the doctors I worked with could answer the questions that I had.

So I went on to obtain my Masters Degree in Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. They've had this program since 1979. I really enjoyed the camaraderie and learned a lot. Needless to say, I got all my questions answered and more!

But in addition to being a student, I also have experience as a teacher. In my 9+ years with a large HMO, I have enjoyed teaching many classes, as well as working with patients one-on-one in the clinic. Some of the classes include diabetes, tobacco cessation, congestive heart failure, asthma care, and others I'm forgetting.

I continue to volunteer as a guest speaker at support groups for people with various medical conditions (like diabetes) around the region.

With all this I still place a high priority on friends and family. I like to relax with movies, bike riding, yoga, watching Minnesota Vikings football and, of course, reading.

With my years of experience at Kaiser Permanente, and now in private practice in Santa Rosa, California, I stay on the cutting edge with nutritional and pharmaceutical care for my patients.

  Ask the Pharmacist | tel (707) 478.2076 | email paul at askthepharmacist.us