Wake Wellness, a health shop in Asbury that sells CBD oils and creams and recently added a juice and smoothie bar called Pulp, which includes the oils in its drinks, on Bangs Avenue in Asbury Park, NJ. Asbury Park Press

Looking back at her life with a clear lens, Dr. Neda Gioia, owner of Integrative Vision in Shrewsbury, remembers spending her early years on the move.

Born in Iran, my family moved to the U.S. when I was about 5, said Gioia, 40, who grew up in Wayne and now lives in Little Silver.

Though she loved to draw and thought about being a cartoonist, my parents nudged me into the medical world and I volunteered at Wayne General Hospital as a teen and then worked at a dentistry office and an optometry office through high school and college, she said.

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The latter experience resonated with her and, following her graduation from Rutgers with a degree in biology and psychology, she attended theState University of New York College of Optometry in Manhattan. As her husband Kevin finished medical school and began his career, she moved with him to Chicago, Long Island and Seattle, working in optometry practices all along the way, and then returned to New Jersey with him and their two daughters in 2017.

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Integrative Vision owner/founder Dr. Neda Gioia is reflected in one of the frame displays at year-old eye care, nutrition and vision therapy practice in Shrewsbury Tuesday, September 8, 2020. . I(Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

Based on my connections in the field, I found a job easily, she said of joining an optometry practice in the Garden State, but the lifelong entrepreneur was beginning to set her sights on a larger goal based on her life experiences.

In her early 30s, learning that she had a rare neurological disorder that had been misdiagnosed, I lost some of my hope in conventional medicine and went back to school for certification in functional and integrative medicine and a fellowship in ocular nutrition with the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society, she said.

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Id been planning to open my own practice all while we were moving around the country and knew that there was an openness to health and wellness in the Shore area, she said.

After assessing different locations and meeting a supportive landlord, Gioia landed a 2,300-square-foot space in Shrewsbury and opened Integrative Vision in 2019.

Integrative Vision owner/founder Dr. Neda Gioia has a fun photo at year-old eye care, nutrition and vision therapy practice in Shrewsbury Tuesday, September 8, 2020. . I(Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

For Gioia, Integrative Vision bridges two worlds in the field of vision offering core eye care with the latest technology while also promoting the importance of whole-body health and the power of the body to heal itself with proper nutrition and lifestyle, she said.

We give recommendations to help prevent vision-related issues such as glaucoma and macular degeneration and invest in the latest technology to enable accurate diagnostics, she said.

Among that technology is a carotenoid scanner, which assesses ones level of antioxidants and is an important marker for eye disease, as well as high-tech ocular coherence tomography (OCT), which enables clear views of the retina.

We also do functional diagnostic testing and ocular nutritional consulting to address ocular symptoms such as dry eye and inflammation, and are always looking for the root causes of different conditions, she said.

As a full-service optometry office, we also carry a broad range of eyewear frames, including unique, independent brands like Salt and Moscot, Gioia said.

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Integrative Vision owner/founder Dr. Neda Gioia takes a client call at year-old eye care, nutrition and vision therapy practice in Shrewsbury Tuesday, September 8, 2020. . I(Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

In an effort to help "fill the gaps"in the vision arena, a colleague in my office provides vision therapy for individuals with traumatic brain injuries, or physical therapy for the eyes, and were also a contact lens recycling center for Monmouth County, she said.

Within a field of both local and national vision outlets, we take our time with patients and arent competing with larger, national chains, Gioia said of Integrative Visions unique approach. We offer a very personalized experience and patients appreciate our concierge service.

As the pandemic bore down this spring, Gioia said that she didnt panic.

Integrative Vision owner/founder Dr. Neda Gioia is shown in one of the exam rooms at year-old eye care, nutrition and vision therapy practice in Shrewsbury Tuesday, September 8, 2020. . I(Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

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We shut down for basic care but remained open for emergencies and worked on our plans relative to PPE protocols, electronic paperwork and no-touch operation; we even made a precautionary COVID video and helped secure protective eyewear for other medical practitioners, she said.

Today, our business is back to pre-pandemic levels and our patients feel very safe based on our adherence to cleaning protocols, mask-wearing and social distancing, Gioia said.

With both children and adults now spending more time on electronic devices and video conferencing tools than ever before as a function of the pandemic, Gioia has been promoting awareness of computer vision syndrome, or "digital eye strain."

Its caused by staring at screens that are only a short working distance away, she explained. This near work stress is being pushed to the limit and causes everything from blurry vision and headaches to double vision, loss of focus and dry and irritated eyes as a result of less blinking.

Some of the frames sold at Integrative Vision, the year-old eye care, nutrition and vision therapy practice in Shrewsbury Tuesday, September 8, 2020. (Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

She noted that the growing absorption of harmful blue light emitted from computers and electronic devices is also concerning, as it can interfere with circadian rhythms and cause disease.

Childrens pupil sizes are a bit larger than adults, which lets both more good and bad light in, she noted, adding that she recently participated in a webinar on this subject. To help combat the fallout of this trend, people should use the 20-20-20 rule 20 minutes of near work stress, then 20 seconds of visual break looking at something 20 feet away to unlock the focusing and crossing of the eyes that results from doing near work.

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She also recommends that people increase their blink rate while focusing to avoid dry eyes and ensure that their room lighting complements their computer screen to reduce glare.

Its also important to position the computer screen slightly below your eye level to reduce the amount of corneal exposure, she said. Gioias full range of tips and suggestions for lessening digital eye strain in the current era of remote learning are shared in her video, "Back to Zoom.

Since starting her dream venture, Gioia hopes that her practice will positively influence fellow health care practitioners across the range of medical subspecialties.

Launching Integrative Vision wasnt necessarily about having a successful local practice, but about creating a model which promotes the best of the holistic world in combination with conventional medicine and which can be replicated by other practitioners, she said.

Patients are so grateful when we help them explore the power of nutrition and other options and I love giving hope to people and empowering them to understand what they can do to help support healthy vision and healthy living, Gioia concluded.Our community is already very health-conscious and Im excited to be a bridge who provides the holistic vision care that residents want and deserve but which wasnt previously available.

Some of the eye nutrition products sold at Integrative Vision, the year-old eye care, nutrition and vision therapy practice in Shrewsbury Tuesday, September 8, 2020. (Photo: Thomas P. Costello)

Location: 180 Avenue at the Common #6, Shrewsbury

Phone: 732-389-2792

Owner: Dr. Neda Gioia

Launched: 2019

Website: http://www.integrativevision.com

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Integrative Vision: Shrewsbury doctor's practice is more than meets the eye - Asbury Park Press