Meet Dr. Noosha Shambayati | Naturopathic & Integrative Functional Medicine Doctor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dr. Noosha Shambayati and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dr. Noosha, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
As a naturopathic doctor, and more simply – at the core – a human being who struggled the majority of her early adult life with unexplainable symptoms, many mis-diagnoses & misguided treatments that lead to unnecessary physical, mental & emotional suffering, Dr. Noosha’s mission and goal is to help her clients tune into themselves and heal from the roots. She helps teach clients about their individual bodies including their biochemistry and essentially teaches them to be their own best doctor and advocate for their own health through creating a strong therapeutic relationship. She includes the 7 principles of naturopathic medicine in mind when sitting with individuals, + brings in her heavy academic background in integrative & functional medicine to bring balance and hope to both left & right brained individuals.

In a world where many are suffering from mysterious chronic illnesses and have lost trust not only in the western medical system, but also themselves & their bodies, she hopes to help restore faith. She wants to share the magic that can be found when we look back, own our stories and really start to nourish ourselves from a mind/body/soul standpoint. She wishes to share the message that our bodies have a miraculous healing power, especially when certain obstacles are removed (whether a physical infection or an outdated belief) & we are given the correct & individualized circumstances to heal.

Dr. Noosha has been on numerous health journeys, initially healing & managing herself from a long list of western diagnoses including IBS, anxiety, ADHD which quickly turned to CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) and potentially FMS (fibromyalgia). Her disbelief in western medicine’s care lead her to find naturopathic medicine. Deciding to move across the country to pursue a graduate degree in Naturopathic Medicine and to find the root cause of her symptoms was really the start of her journey. With further digging and research and turning towards a more natural & functional approach, she learned that the multiple specialists she had seen thus far had missed multiple infections in her gut that had gone systemic due to not being caught in time. Back then, there was no label or diagnosis for what she had (numerous bacteria, viruses, parasites, molds & fungi overgrowth). No body on the east coast even suggested she get checked for Lyme disease. Now, she knows that the myriad of debilitating symptoms she was experiencing was due to tick borne illnesses and the newest diagnoses called MSIDS (multiple systemic infectious disease syndrome).

Dr. Noosha went through most of her journey alone (especially in the beginning) and had lost trust in most humans during those few years for searching for answers with no luck and being told that she was fine. This unfortunately led her to lack trust with her newfound practitioners because of the way she had been treated in the western medical system. It was through years of self study, working with numerous functional mentors & when her body started to actually heal that she was able to trust practitioners again and more powerfully, trust herself. She wants to eliminate this problem for people who are currently in the midst of the unknown with their health concerns. “I’ve been there and I know how scary and tough it can be”.

She wants to teach people to let go of their diagnosis, and keep digging for the root cause of their ailments. Getting a diagnosis should not be the end of the road, it should really be the beginning but for many seems to be the end. She always wants to instill hope that our bodies are truly made to heal, and that you won’t have to take supplements or be on a restrictive diet for the rest of your life. Once you’ve identified your root cause(s) and worked to heal your gut, most symptoms resolve after a few months – years of putting in the work. “For every 1 year of dis-eased living, I ask clients to give me 1-2 months of hard work on their end”.

The world we live in nowadays is extremely stressful and harsh on our sensitive nervous systems. Something Dr. Noosha wants her to clients to understand. She hopes to bring compassion, vulnerability and highest quality of advanced functional lab testing & protocols to clients and to make sure they understand nothing is or has been in their heads. Symptoms are a way that our bodies talk to us.

In the end, Dr. Noosha hopes to bring true root cause and cellular healing to her clients and those individuals ready to dive into their shadows. Healing has a mental, emotional, physical & spiritual component and sometimes we need to change our outlook on the world to resolve our issues at the root. She believes the hard times we go through in life should be shared and not shamed, to better help reframe circumstances that may have been out of our control. Dr. Noosha has committed to a full life of service to figuring out the true ROOTS of illness within each and every individual she comes across and hopes to help individuals get re-energized and re-engaged to stimulate their bodies own innate healing mechanisms.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have a mostly online telehealth oriented naturopathic medical practice. I offer 15 minute discovery calls. Our first initial intake is the longest (usually 2 hours) where we go through a very thorough history (15 page intake) and I ask you to share your story. With some people, the root cause(s) are much more obvious and for others not so much. I start to ask more specific questions to help me prioritize what things we need to focus on. I create a long term plan (usually 1 year) in terms of what advanced labs we’d like to see in order to get a complete picture of what is going on.

I specialize in all diagnoses related to gut health (IBS, IBDs, SIBO/SIFO), autoimmune conditions, Lyme, coinfections & complications (MSIDS, CIRS, biotoxin illness, POTS, autonomic dysfunction), balancing hormones (sex, adrenal & thyroid). All my clients get a comprehensive lifestyle wellness plan that includes recommendations specific for them (diet/nutrition/blood sugar balancing, hydration, sleep & stress management, exercise vs. movement goals etc) as well as deeper and more involved plans depending on their individual needs. This past month, I’ve created 4 gut healing protocols (duration spanning 2 – 6 months based off functional stool analysis). Some people have low grade infections they need to get rid of before we can really heal the gut at the root.

What sets me apart from others is my personal experience and self study to become the expert I am today. Although, there are many practitioners out there like me (naturopathic doctors & integrative functional doctors) who are amazing and have all the training – I believe, being in someone’s shoes especially in terms of health is something that really helps me connect with my clients and jump starts the healing process.

Business wise, every day is a new day. There is so much to get done when you are solo entrpreneur and having a healthy & realistic mindset is key. I’ve learned to go with the flow of my energy, so instead of trying to push & force myself to get work done… I listen to what my body needs. Some days I feel like a boss, getting everything I need done & more. Other days i have a busy day scheduled, but I’m mentally not there whether it’s because of a personal relationship concern or physically I”m not feeling well… I listen.

Surprisingly, my business has taken off since getting pregnant. I’m currently 7 months and have more to do now than I did 7 months ago. Really tuning into taking care of myself, my baby & my clients/practice as I see it all an extension of my mental, physical & emotional health

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Definitely would take them hiking. I just moved to the Sterling area, so I”m not familiar with the trails here but there are SO MANY! Also, billy goat trail right outside DC in Maryland is one of my favorite spots.

We’d spend 1-2 days in nature, hiking.

Lunch spots:
– sweetleaf (one of my favorite healthy spots).
– bartaco
– true food
– 5ense thai (they have the besttttt healthy cocktails as well)

We’d hit up Tysons for a more busy feel and hit up Earls for dinner (they have wild salmon to dieeee for).

We’d go into the city (DC) if they feel like wanting a more crowded vibe. The city isn’t my favorite, but I like to go once in a while.

We’d travel 30 minutes to a local farm by me – open daily – to buy some fresh fruit to snack on during the week and get some fresh local veggies to cook dinner a few nights.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve had manyyyy mentors through my journey. I even want to thank those western doctors who left me asking more questions. If it werent’ for them, I wouldn’t be the type of doctor I am today. A curious one who listens to their clients.

I have to thank my beautiful cohort and colleagues that I went through naturopathic medical school with (at Bastyr University, California campus). They got me through the end of my program when I just wanted to give up.

My main mentor who I still turn to in times of confusion or to help consult on client cases (Dr. Debbie Novick, DC – functional medicine – Novick Integrated).

One of my best friends that I made through school (Dr. Delilah Simon) – she emphasized to me that we are all complete regardless of our health status and that love is the strongest healer. This came in handy when I was mentally at my strongest – knowing and understanding where I was at and how much work I had left to do – but physically weakest.

I also have to give a shoutout to the IFM program (integrative functional medicine) program who has started to train many medical doctors to find the true root cause of illnesses because everyone deserves to experience true health & vitality during their lives.

Website: www.drnoosha.com

Instagram: therootcausedoctor

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/drnoosha

Other: heal.me/drnoosha

Image Credits
https://www.istockphoto.com