Functional & Integrative Gastroenterology
Advanced digestive health evaluation and personalized root-cause medicine — built on conventional gastroenterology and extended by an integrative lens.
The Method
The Whole Gut Health Method™
A comprehensive approach to digestive health, nervous system regulation, and root-cause healing.
Many patients come to Whole Gut Health after years of searching for answers. They may have been told their tests are “normal” despite ongoing symptoms, or they have tried diets, medications, supplements, and treatment plans without achieving meaningful or lasting improvement.
At Whole Gut Health, we recognize that chronic digestive symptoms rarely have a single cause. The gut is deeply connected to the nervous system, immune system, microbiome, metabolism, sleep, stress, emotional well-being, and the body’s overall capacity to heal.
The Whole Gut Health Method™ was developed from this understanding. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all protocol, we take a personalized approach designed to uncover the unique factors contributing to each individual’s symptoms and health challenges. This may include digestive function, the gut microbiome, nutrition, lifestyle, stress physiology, nervous system regulation, inflammation, and other key influences on health.
Our goal extends beyond symptom management. We aim to restore balance, resilience, and regulation while supporting your body’s innate ability to heal. By addressing the whole person—not just the diagnosis—we help create the foundation for meaningful, lasting health.
Why Patients Often Feel Stuck
Symptoms alone rarely tell the whole story.
Many approaches to digestive health focus primarily on symptom suppression, isolated diagnoses, rigid protocols, or extensive testing without fully addressing the interconnected nature of the body. While testing, medications, nutrition, and supplementation play an important role, many patients continue struggling because deeper physiologic patterns remain unaddressed.
Chronic stress physiology, nervous-system dysregulation, microbiome imbalances, inflammation, emotional burden, poor sleep, burnout, subconscious stress patterns, and prolonged survival-state physiology can profoundly affect digestion, immune balance, metabolism, pain signaling, emotional health, and healing capacity.
Many individuals continue functioning at a high level externally while internally remaining in a chronic physiologic stress response. Over time, this may contribute to:
- IBS
- SIBO
- Bloating
- Reflux
- Abdominal pain
- Altered motility
- Fatigue
- Sleep disturbance
- Autoimmune activity
- Anxiety
- Chronic inflammation
- Difficulty healing despite extensive treatment
Lasting healing often requires addressing both the physical and nervous-system components of illness rather than focusing on symptoms alone.
The Gut–Brain Connection
Continuous, bidirectional, and physiologic.
The brain communicates with the digestive system through the nervous system, hormones, immune signaling, inflammatory pathways, and the microbiome. At the same time, the gut microbiome communicates back to the brain and significantly influences mood, stress resilience, emotional regulation, cognition, anxiety, depression, and mental clarity. Many neurotransmitters essential for emotional and cognitive function are produced within the gastrointestinal tract by the microbiome itself.
Stress is not simply emotional — it is physiologic. Current stress, childhood experiences, unresolved trauma, chronic pressure, perfectionism, hypervigilance, burnout, and subconscious patterns all influence the nervous system and digestive system over time.
Through neuroplasticity, the brain develops learned neural pathways and physiologic stress responses based on repeated life experiences. These patterns may become deeply ingrained within the nervous system and body — influencing inflammation, digestion, immunity, emotional health, and recovery.
What Makes The Method Different
Six pillars of comprehensive, individualized care.
The Whole Gut Health Method™ integrates modern gastroenterology with a broader understanding of the gut–brain axis, microbiome health, nervous-system regulation, nutrition, lifestyle medicine, mind–body healing, and root-cause medicine.
Gut Health & Microbiome Support
Addressing microbiome balance, inflammation, digestive dysfunction, motility, and nutritional health through personalized plans.
Gut & Nervous System Regulation
Supporting the body's ability to shift out of chronic stress physiology and into a more restorative and regulated healing state.
Mind–Body Healing
Addressing the relationship between emotional health, stress physiology, neuroplasticity, subconscious patterns, and physical symptoms.
Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine
Personalized support for nutrition, sleep, movement, recovery, stress reduction, and daily habits that influence healing and resilience.
Personalized Care
Every plan is individualized based on the patient's symptoms, physiology, medical history, lifestyle, emotional health, nervous-system patterns, and personal goals.
A More Comprehensive Approach to Healing
The body as one interconnected system.
Healing is most effective when the body is approached as an interconnected system rather than isolated symptoms alone. At Whole Gut Health, the focus is not simply on managing symptoms temporarily, but on restoring balance within the digestive system, microbiome, nervous system, immune system, and body as a whole.
That work is what supports long-term healing, resilience, vitality, and overall well-being — a path many patients have been looking for and unable to find elsewhere.
Begin healing
Personalized care for the whole of you.
A deeper, more comprehensive approach to digestive health, microbiome balance, nervous system regulation, inflammation, and long-term wellness.
Reviews
The body remembers when it's finally heard.
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Dr. Shustina is an incredibly knowledgeable doctor who truly takes time to find root cause.
RG
Rochel Gordon
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Dr. Shustina goes to the root level of the issue, not only superficial, so there's healing.
LG
Leah Glickman
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She has significantly improved my health. I was suffering from Ulcerative Colitis and now live normally.
ML
Monica LaBadia
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Dr. Shustina has helped me change my lifestyle and heal my gut in a way I thought impossible.
DL
Dalit Lonstein
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She listens to patients and treats conditions, not symptoms.
GS
Gabriela Salazar
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Dr. Shustina is the best doctor I have ever been to. She assesses the root of the problem.
MS
M. S.
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She is an outstanding doctor who understands the body's ability to heal itself and holistic remedies.
SS
Sibel Sebi Sharabi
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Dr. Shustina has a wealth of knowledge and is helping me heal years of gastrointestinal issues.
DC
Daniela Chaparro
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Dr. Shustina is an amazing doctor. She diagnosed my cancer early and saved my life.
MW
Mordechai Weinstein
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After one session with Dr. Shustina, my digestive pain went away.
TP
Taryn Parascand
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Doctor Shustina is the absolute best. She has helped me resolve numerous issues other doctors dismissed.
RS
Rachel S.
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Dr. Shustina is a fantastic doctor who truly cares. Her holistic approach attacks the root cause.
CS
Clay Simonsen
Begin
Your first consultation begins with a conversation.
Ninety minutes. Your full history, a review of your medical records, and the plan forward. New patients are being accepted in person and via telehealth.
Schedule your consultation