District Center for Integrative Medicine

District Center for Integrative Medicine The District Center for Integrative Medicine (DCIM) heals patients through a deeply individualized an

02/10/2026

Brace yourself because this might be a little uncomfy to hear, but you don’t need more supplements—you need a strategy 📋

More people need to hear this…
More pills won’t fix blood sugar dysregulation.
Another powder won’t resolve chronic inflammation.
And guessing your way through hormones based on what you see on social media isn’t longevity care.
Women’s metabolic health is about patterns, not patches. 👩🏽‍⚕️

It’s about understanding why your body is responding the way it is—and building a personalized plan around your labs, lifestyle, and long-term goals.

As a functional MD focused on longevity and metabolic health, my goal with my patients at is to create strategies that support metabolism, hormones, and resilience over time. Why? Because, going super fast 👉🏼 super crash!

If you’re ready to stop collecting supplements and start making an individualized plan, come see us at DCIM where we put individualized care first. 🥇

02/05/2026

Dosing Guidelines provide a base to start from, but optimal menopausal hormone care is more nuanced.

Recent research now shows what you and I have experienced first hand — that dose alone does not always predict the level of hormone in your blood, and more importantly levels don’t always predict how you’ll feel. PMID: 41529140

Here’s a checklist for when you might want to be curious with your provider about nuance on your hormone dosing:

🎯Persistent Symptoms: You are on a “standard” dose of HRT but still experiencing hot flashes, night sweats, or mood disruptions.

🎯The “Poor Absorber” Check: You’ve increased your dose, but your symptoms haven’t improved—this might signal that your skin isn’t absorbing effectively.

🎯Bone Health Priority: You are using HRT specifically for osteoporosis prevention but have no symptoms to guide your dosing.

🎯Early Menopause: You reached menopause before age 45 (or 40). Younger women typically require higher levels to protect long-term brain, heart, and bone health.

🎯Symptom vs. Side Effect: You’re unsure if your headaches or bloating are a side effect of the medicine or a sign that your hormone levels are still too low.

If you check one or more of these, it’s a sign that standardized dosing — without curiosity or further testing has reached its limit, and individualized care needs to begin.

Please send this to a woman you know who is struggling to find her footing in menopause hormone therapy. Let her know she isn’t “difficult”—she’s just an individual who needs a tailored approach!!!

Meet the women behind your care 🤍Our all-female, board-certified physician team is deeply committed to real, relationsh...
01/26/2026

Meet the women behind your care 🤍

Our all-female, board-certified physician team is deeply committed to real, relationship-based medicine — the kind where your concerns are heard and your health goals actually matter.

This is doctor-patient care done differently. We study, we listen, and we care.

Book your appointment with one of our providers via the link in bio. 🩺👩🏼‍⚕️

01/22/2026

Despite being a LIfestyle oriented Integrative Medicine Physician, I am not against Medication.

If I’m being honest, earlier in my career, I was a bit of a purist. I foolishly believed that if you just worked hard enough—if you ate perfectly, exercised intensely, and meditated daily—you could outpace almost any biological process. My early fellowship training emboldened this: the idea that “lifestyle” was the only tool a truly healthy person should need.

But medicine, much like life, has a way of humbling you. 😌

Through years of sitting with patients and studying the mechanisms of aging, I’ve certainly changed my tune — and you see it applied here in my own Mommy!

I’ve seen women doing “everything right”—the organic diets, the 5 AM workouts, the stress management—and yet, their biology still struggles. Because aging isn’t a lack of willpower; it’s a physiological shift.

Today, as an Integrative and Functional Medicine physician, I want to say something you might not expect: I am not against medication. In fact, I view it as a strategic ally.

While lifestyle will always be the floor—the essential foundation—thoughtful use of medicine is often the ceiling. It’s the tool that helps support the mechanisms that go awry despite our best efforts. It can bridge the gap between “fine” and “optimal” especially as it relates to aging well.

If you’ve ever felt like a “failure” because you couldn’t lifestyle your way out of a health challenge, please hear me: You are not a failure. You are a human being with a complex biology that deserves support, not judgment. 💖🙏🏼💖

We use lifestyle to build the floor, and strategic medicine to raise the ceiling of your healthspan.

I want to hear from you: Have you ever felt “guilty” for needing a prescription? Let’s break the stigma in the comments. 👇

❤️

01/13/2026

Sometimes, the doctors and the scientists get it wrong.

That’s what happened in the 1990s — and it led to decades of bad advice for women. A whole generation of women were told to avoid hormone replacement therapy, missing out on benefits that could have supported quality of life, bone health, brain health, cardiovascular health, genitiuirinary health and long-term wellbeing during menopause.

The good news?
We know better now — and we’re fixing it one patient at a time.

More women are finally gaining access to HRT, and when appropriately prescribed and monitored, it can be incredibly supportive during menopause and beyond.
I sat down with Mike Haney from to decode women’s hormones and why this shift in women’s health matters so much.

🎧 Comment LEVELS for a link to the full podcast episode.

And follow along if you care about precision medicine care + forecasting in women. In other words, optimizing your health! 🎈

01/08/2026

Are the new Dietary Guidelines BAD or GOOD?

Hot take: they’re neither.
But they are directionally correct. As a physician who has spent her entire career focusing on nutrition as a foundational health pillar to support quality of life and longevity, I love that

✔ Real foods are finally the priority.
✔ Protein and vegetables are treated like the non-negotiables they are.
✔ “Limiting alcohol” while vague…is honestly appropriate (ideally, it’s zero).
✔ Refined grains are no longer the foundation of the plate—because they’re calorie-dense and nutrient-poor.
✔ Healthy fats are no longer demonized (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil—yes, please).

Here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud:

Public health nutrition will never make everyone happy—because humans are NOT Averages.

Guidelines are meant to guide populations, not necessarily *optimize* individuals.

My hope?
We move toward an EAT REAL FOOD culture at scale, while empowering people to deeply personalize nutrition based on their health history, genetics, and goals.

What do you think—step forward, or still missing the mark?

Drop your thoughts, and follow along for more about women’s health optimization and longevity!

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1915 I Street NW, 7th Floor
Washington D.C., DC
20006

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Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm

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+12022517541

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Medicine from the Patient’s Perspective

The District Center for Integrative Medicine (DCIM), founded and directed by Dr. Anjali Dsouza, heals patients through a deeply individualized and holistic approach to health. We treat individuals with chronic complaints and conditions that persist despite the conventional managed-care model, as well as those looking to achieve the highest level of wellness. By prioritizing the patient-physician relationship, we take the time and resources to understand every aspect of your medical history, as well as nutritional and environmental factors that affect your well-being. Our role is to acknowledge your body’s innate capacity to heal, and to cultivate it.