Subhashini Katumuluwa

As healthcare providers, why were we not able to help our patients get better and stay better? Why did their chronic diseases keep progressing, despite them being on a long list of medications that were supposed to treat their diseases?

Seeking the answers to these questions is what eventually brought me to the practice of Functional Medicine. What I came to understand was that our patients were not getting better because we were only ever treating their symptoms and doing nothing to investigate and treat the root cause of their symptoms. So, the underlying disease processes kept progressing, and based on our conventional training, all we could do was add on more and more medications. This is a very disempowering position for both patients and providers.

What I love most about Functional Medicine is that it puts the power back in the patient’s hands. As a provider, I’m able to work together with my patients to help them use a combination of lifestyle and behavior changes, supplements, and when needed, medications, to address the root of their symptoms. I also enjoy working with patients on incorporating practices like meditation and practical healthy living skills like cooking, into their daily life. My goal is to enable my patients to focus on living the life they want, instead of a life limited by their diagnoses.

I received my bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University and attended medical school at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. I am board certified in Preventive Medicine and am certified in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine.

After my residency, I spent a year teaching at a medical school in Sri Lanka and conducting research on mindfulness in medicine. I also recently completed training in culinary medicine through The Institute of Lifestyle Medicine.