Meet Dr. Katumuluwa (Dr. K)

Hello! I’m Dr. Subhashini Katumuluwa…or Dr. K, as my patients call me. I think one of the keys to finding the right healthcare provider for you is knowing a bit about their background story…how they came to practice medicine the way they do and what motivates them.

My path to practicing Lifestyle and Functional Medicine has been a winding road, with lots of unexpected twists and turns along the journey. Each experience helped shape me into the clinician I am today and has helped me understand how I define a life of true health and wellness.

So, take a seat and let’s get to know each other to see if we’re the right fit!

With gratitude,
Dr. K

Training

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS:

  • Preventive Medicine (American Board of Preventive Medicine)

  • Lifestyle Medicine (American Board of Lifestyle Medicine) – ABLM Diplomate

EDUCATION: 

Undergraduate Training:
Carnegie Mellon University – Bachelor of
Science

Graduate Training:
-The George Washington School of Medicine
and Health Sciences – Doctor of Medicine
-Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia
University – Master of Public Health

Internship:
Cohen Children’s Medical Center, North Shore
Long Island Jewish Health System (now
Northwell Health) – Pediatric Intern

Residency:
Stony Brook University School of Medicine –
Preventive Medicine Residency

ADDITIONAL TRAINING/ CERTIFICATIONS: 

  • Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) – IFMCP (Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner)

  • The Center for Mind-Body Medicine – Professional Training Program in Mind-Body Medicine

  • Harvard Medical School – CHEF Coaching Program (culinary medicine training program)

  • The BaleDoneen Method ® Preceptorship – Intensive cardiovascular disease prevention training

My View of Health and Medicine/ My Practice Philosophy
(in a nutshell):

1. True health and wellness to me means several things (and this forms the foundation for both how I live my life and how I approach my patient care). It means:

a. Not just being symptom-free or disease-free, but rather feeling that my physical, mental and emotional health are in a state that allow me to do, experience and enjoy all the things I want to in my life.

b. Taking small actions today to help prevent future illness and disease, to ensure I can keep doing the things that matter to me for many decades to come.

c. Living in a way that is in line with my values, is kind and respectful to all living creatures and protects our environment for future generations (of humans and animals alike!).

 
2. With each patient encounter, my goal is to relay to patients that symptoms are simply messages from our body telling us that something is out of balance. Getting a good patient history and doing appropriate lab testing can help us determine what factor(s) may be contributing to this imbalance and show us what root causes we need to address to restore balance in the body. The lab testing that I do in my practice is much more comprehensive than what most people have done at their annual primary care visits, allowing us to stay ahead of the curve instead of chasing after symptom management.

  

3. Our bodies have a profound ability to heal, IF we provide them with the environment they need to do so. I believe strongly and have seen first-hand that creating an environment that fosters and enables healing in the body and mind includes the right nutrition, physical movement, restorative sleep, daily stress management practices, avoiding risky substances and social connection. My health plans for patients always include addressing these pillars of Lifestyle Medicine.


4. A diagnosis does NOT have to be a life sentence, as I’ve found so many people feel it is. A diagnosis is simply the name we give to a set of symptoms. It does not need to define what your life can or will look like. Even for diseases where there is no known cure, there is SO much that we can do through lifestyle change to help a person live a full and rewarding life.


5. The field of medicine and our understanding of the human body and how it functions is continuously expanding and evolving, and as a provider, my aim is to learn and grow with this evolving science and evidence base, so that I may support my patients better today than I did the day before.

 

Areas of Experience

  • Adrenal dysfunction

  • Anxiety

  • Autoimmune disorders

  • Brain fog

  • Cardiovascular disease

  • Chronic stress

  • Depression

  • Diabetes

  • Digestive issues (i.e. constipation/diarrhea, IBS, chronic bloating/gas, abdominal pain, heartburn/GERD, SIBO)

  • Fatigue

  • Food sensitivities/intolerances

  • Headaches/Migraines

  • Health optimization

  • Hormone health (i.e. lifestyle approach to PCOS, infertility, PMS, PMDD, perimenopause, menopause)

  • Insomnia

  • Nutrient deficiencies

  • Plant-based nutrition/Culinary medicine

  • Pre-diabetes

  • Skin conditions (i.e. psoriasis, eczema)

  • Thyroid disorders

  • Weight optimization

For those who may want to know a little more about my professional journey…

Finding my way to Preventive Medicine…

When I entered medical school, I was already 100% certain that I would go into the field of pediatrics. If someone had told the medical school me that I would eventually be working exclusively with adult patients…I would have laughed and said “there is NO way”! It wasn’t caring for children in the hospital that led to my change in career trajectory…but rather, it was a gradual realization of what the practice of medicine is truly like in our current healthcare system in the United States. On rotation after rotation, adult and pediatric alike, I started to notice a theme. Many patients were revolving through the medical system over and over again. We would diligently address their current symptoms and send them off, only to have them return a few weeks or months later with the same or similar symptoms. I couldn’t understand at the time why this was happening, but I did know that this was NOT how I had pictured my career as a physician. It seemed like we were simply providing patients with some temporary relief but not actually addressing the underlying cause(s) of their symptoms and thus were unable to change their health trajectory. And THAT, was what I wanted to be a part of. That to me, was true healing.

It wouldn’t be for another few years that I finally understood the reason for what I witnessed in medical school. Primarily, that in the U.S., we are using an acute care treatment model to address chronic lifestyle-driven diseases. For acute issues like a heart attack, stroke or a broken bone, our acute care model is second to none. But for chronic conditions and diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, IBS, autoimmune diseases and hormone imbalances, treating only the current symptoms does nothing to stop or change the underlying disease process. And so…people stay sick. And that was what kept people revolving through our doors. Luckily for me, a mentor of mine had heard of the field of Preventive Medicine and suggested I look into completing a residency in this field. It is no exaggeration to say that this pivot in my training changed my entire career trajectory and I have profound gratitude to this mentor and all mentors who take the time to help others find their way. (Thank you, Dr. Greenberg!)

 …and finally, to Lifestyle and Functional Medicine.

When I got to my Preventive Medicine residency, I realized I had found my people! We were an eclectic group of physicians who had through various paths eventually come to the same conclusion – that we wanted to be involved in prevention of disease, rather than simply treating it. While my training in residency was excellent, I was surprised that there was no nutrition education built into the curriculum at that time. So, I pursued further training in Lifestyle Medicine and Functional Medicine over the coming years to round out my skillset. Thanks to the incredible individuals and organizations I have had the privilege of learning from and working with, I am able to now practice medicine in the way I always dreamed of many years ago when I was in medical school! It is my deepest pleasure to use my training to serve others through my educational content and/or as their healthcare provider.  

 And when I’m not practicing medicine…

 …you’ll find me trying out new plant-based recipes, going on a walk or hike in my beautiful new home city of San Diego, trying to grow some food in my community garden plot or traveling to explore a new culture.

 Learning to grow some of my own food combined with my love for cooking nourishing, delicious plant-based meals and learning more about the power of food to heal are what first inspired me to start running live cook-along classes several years ago. If you’re interested in learning more about this opportunity, click HERE.