Inspirational Woman: Dr Nirusa Kumaran | Founder & Medical Director, Elemental Health Clinic

In this piece, we caught up with Dr Nirusa Kumaran, Founder and Medical Director of Elemental Health Clinic.

Nirusa talked to us about her passion for healthcare, how her daughter’s allergies became the driver for her setting up her business and what she hopes to achieve in the future.

Tell us a bit about yourself, background and your current role  

Hello, I’m Dr Nirusa Kumaran, Founder and Medical Director of Elemental Health Clinic, practising NHS and Private GP, Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician and Functional Medicine Specialist. I have over 10 years of clinical experience working as a medical doctor in the UK​

I am passionate about holistic, integrative, and patient centred care. Gut health, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and Bioenergetics are my areas of special interest.

After facing my own health challenges and my youngest daughter’s health problems with severe eczema and multiple food allergies at the tender age of 5 weeks, I was driven to explore root causes and look for potential ways to reverse and restore optimal health and vitality. This led me to the practice of functional medicine. As such, I have since completed further qualifications as a functional medicine practitioner, and founded Elemental Health Clinic – one of few CQC regulated clinics offering precision and personalised medicine.

​​Utilising the tools of coaching, lifestyle and functional medicine, I myself have been able to overcome burnout/ fatigue, improved an autoimmune condition and digestive issues. 

​I have many passions outside of my medical career. I am a mum of 2 young girls. I love practising yoga, meditation, dancing and mantra singing.

Did you ever sit down and plan your career? 

I would say that my career has evolved in line with the training and education I have undertaken post medical school, opposed to a defined strategic career plan. I always knew I wanted to be a GP as soon as I graduated from medical school as I am passionate about holistic, generalised medicine. However soon after becoming a GP I felt frustrated by the system. I could see that many of the chronic diseases I was seeing were lifestyle related and given my personal family history of several lifestyle related medical problems, I decided to pursue training in Lifestyle Medicine.

It was only when I had my second daughter did my whole perception of how I wanted to practice medicine change. She had severe eczema soon after birth, requiring hospital attendance and multiple steroid creams weeks on end. It was soon discovered she had 13 food allergies. To help her improve her health holistically, I discovered functional medicine.

Studying functional medicine was remarkably insightful, truly eye opening.  I decided this was the way I had to practice medicine going forward in the interests of my patients. Functional medicine as a speciality is relatively new, and more so in the UK. To practice it, I had to set up my own clinic and that is what I decided to do. After a year of planning, becoming registered with the CQC, organising my team etc I launched Elemental Health Clinic in February 2022. I still work as a GP no doubt whilst Elemental Health Clinic is in its infancy.

Have you faced any challenges along the way? 

Several, particularly around marketing and raising awareness of what the Clinic can offer for patients. I stay positive and hopeful, being grateful for all that I have achieved thus far.

What has been your biggest achievement to date? 

Helping my daughter heal her eczema and reverse 7 out of her 13 food allergies through functional medicine – this was the main driver for me to set up Elemental Health Clinic.

What one thing do you believe has been a major factor in you achieving success?  

I have a strong work ethic. I believe that endurance has been instrumental to any success I have achieved thus far.  

How do you feel about mentoring? Have you mentored anyone or are you someone’s mentee?  

I feel very positively about mentoring.  I have benefited from being a mentee at several points in my education and career.

If you could change one thing to accelerate the pace of change for Gender Parity, what would it be?

Maternity and Paternity pay and leave.  

If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be? 

To be self-compassionate.  

What is your next challenge and what are you hoping to achieve in the future?  

To serve as many people as possible with Elemental Health Clinic. The functional medicine approach has the power put symptoms in remission and in many cases reverse disease altogether.  Rather than simply suppressing symptoms, or treating symptoms or signs in isolation, we can help one get to the root causes of their problems and give them effective solutions to truly transform their health and regain their vitality.