Dr. Les Cole

Hello, and welcome to my medical practice where you are treated as the individual you are, not as a particular disease. Too often, a one size fits all medication or surgical procedure is prescribed without taking into consideration individual metabolic, nutritional, biochemical and nurturative needs.

I’d like to tell you some about myself so you know who you are trusting with your health. Native to Pinellas, I was born in St. Petersburg. With my father being a Pediatrician I have literally been around the medical field all my life. I attended Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa and then graduated St. Petersburg High School.  Post secondary education at St. Petersburg Junior College preceded the University of Florida and an honors degree in Chemistry with a focus on Cell Biology and Biochemistry. A year of post-graduate research in Neuroscience was followed by the University Of Florida College Of Medicine where I graduated in the top third of my class. I completed a Flexible Internship at Riverside Hospital in Newport News, Virginia and then a Massachusetts’ Eye and Ear Infirmary Ocular Sciences curriculum at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. In my Ophthalmology Residency at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, I was fortunate to meet many interesting people from around the world who had a wide-ranging variety of eye problems. During this time I published several papers in the eye journals and presented one of them at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting.

I practiced Ophthalmology and Cataract Surgery in St. Petersburg for many years during which time I was blessed with the opportunity to care for many wonderful people. I was on staff at 6 bay-area hospitals. During that time, I was a member of the Board of Governors – Pinellas County Medical Society; chaired the committee, created the educational content and taught the AIDS Awareness curriculum in Pinellas County Schools and was Chairman of Ophthalmology and Director of Ocular Trauma – Bayfront Medical Center.

Unfortunately, I became ill with a condition for which there was no adequate pill or shot or surgical procedure and I could no longer practice Ophthalmology. I was disabled and, although my allopathic medical friends did their best to care for one of their own, I had to find alternative means to treat myself. This led me on a journey of wonder into the magnificence of both the human body and self-enlightenment. I realized I was a product of the dogma of my medical education and the pharmaceutical industry and what a narrow band-width of information this is. I came to understand that allopathic medicine is great, if not indispensible for many acute, urgent and emergent conditions and treatment of symptoms and end stages of chronic disease but is woefully insufficient for both the prevention and the treatment of the underlying causes of chronic disease: heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabesity, diabetes, chronic infection, chronic gut, cancer, dementia, depression, anxiety and so on. This journey brought me not only to successful treatment of my own condition, but also to my Fellowship in Anti-aging, Metabolic and Functional Medicine, and current pursuit of a Masters in Metabolism and Nutrition at the University of South Florida School of Medicine. I am Board Certified in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, which the Florida Board of Medicine does not recognize.

Our lives are a journey in search of balance: hormonal, biochemical, nutritional, physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual. I have come to realize that to value health (avoidance of chronic disease being only one but obviously a very important component) means to attend to these aspects of our lives. The potential for a long, active, enjoyable, chronic disease free, vital life is available. For those of you who already have a chronic disease, it may be arrested or even reversed, as in my case. If you come see me, you can be assured that I am committed to your health, longevity and well-being.

Specialty Areas:

• Weight Loss/Overweight/Obesity/Food Cravings/Metabolic Syndrome/Type 2 Diabeties
• Thyroid/ Adrenal Fatigue/Chronic Fatigue/Fibromyalgia/ Infection/ Autoimmune
• Male & Female/Bio-identical Hormone replacement & Health/ PMS/ PCOS
• Gut Health/Food Sensitivity/Irritable Bowel/Reflux/Candida/Celiac/ Gluten/ Microbiome
• Out-patient Cardiovascular Disease/High Blood Pressure/Atherosclerosis/Cholesterol/MI Risk Assesment/Heart Failure
• IV Nutrient Therapy for Nutritional Depletions & Support/Pre & Post-surgery for improved outcomes/Acute & Chronic Infections
• Toxins – Heavy Metals & Environmental Toxins – Pestacides/Herbacides/Plastics/Cosmetics/ Cleaners – Detoxification/Chelation
• Metabolomics
• Geneomics