We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Arsallan Ahmad. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Arsallan below.

Arsallan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Over the course of your career, have you seen or experienced your field completely flip-flop or change course on something?

Noticed a very long time ago that patients who were going to hospitals unless for an emergent or urgent issue like serious accident or infection and a necessary critical surgery, people were just not getting much better while there and in fact often got worse or just leading up to inevitable death. People were only going for “treatments” and never a cure especially in hospitals or long-term care clinics versus ancient, old-school, or “preventive medicine”. As a person who really enjoys geography and history, I was fascinated by our ancestors and family who used to be called “Hakims” in Arabic basically meaning “Healers”. So I decided even after going through much of the rigors of allopathic medical school as well as learning a great deal about conventional medicine to just do an “about-face” and begin to delve into Natural Medicine or in North America another doctorate degree known as Naturopathic Medicine (N.D. or N.M.D.). Despite, realizing the costs for tuition and time needed in order to complete a second doctoral degree and delaying many other things in life like buying a house or getting married and similar situation, I decide to proceed anyways. I just felt more passionate and more inclined internally towards this field of medicine using non-addictive nor non-toxic modalities such as homepathy, minerals, nutrients, supplements, vitamins, etc. or even techniques similar acupuncture or cupping such as Hijaama (ancient Arabic mode of medicine using incisions combined with traditional Chinese cupping) or red and blue light therapy. Eventually, even shifted to pulsed electromagnetic waves, magnets, sonic sound waves, vibrations, percussive techniques, or similar medical devices technologies to help improve patients’ healths. In regular medical school, none of these techniques are taught at all or not much at all even diet and nutrietion for example. There is often just a mention of alternative or complementary medicine therapies available typically as an optional course and training which is never emphasized otherwise. I always knew about stem cells-based and derived therapies from undergraduate and graduate studies, however the potential was never fully realized as it was very limited and restricted in terms of access and availaibility until maybe 4-5 years ago which was a game-changer. Even until that time where finally placental/umbilical cord tissue usage became allowed as well as stem cells extraction techniques around the same time. In the meanwhile, during Naturopathic Medicine school and training, I learned and mastered platelet-rich-plasma, prolotherapy, or trigger points injections techniques using even Homeopathic injectables for example. Eventually was able to learn platelet-rich-fibrin, ozone therapy, high-power lasers, etc. and so much more even after finishing school or studies. Many of the more educated and publically-interested individuals with more research even if from the Internet or just by word-of-mouth became much more fascinated and intrigued by the more Natural Medicine techniques which I had become so accustomed and used to during the last 8 years. After having also witnessed almost a year overseas in terms of the open-minded international community for alternative and complementary medicine became more the norm especially with people from Germany, Russia, East Asia, Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Western Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and even the United Kingdom. It became apparent that not just in North America, this field of medicine was become more and more popular as well as justified by better research studies despite the lack of funding and sponsorship. This trend is bound to continue further and the interest level will only continue to burgeon in the future. Telling clients and patients now that my specialty is really Regenerative Medicine when asked directly, it has become much easier now to explain the actual meanings of such a statement. In summary, the changes in personal philosophy medically of allowing the body to heal itself with the proper guidance and stimulus eventually there can be a “cure for anything and everything”, except death itself!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As mentioned previously, there is a family history even ancestrally going back a few hundred years of “doctors and healers” in my personal genetic make-up and in fact my mother is a retired pediatrician meanwhile numerous aunts, uncles, cousins have gone into healthcare as well as my sister now working as a clinical pharmacist in a Veterans Affairs (V.A.) hospital system. The majority of children brought up in a central Asian and Indian subcontinent culture as myself, despite being born in central New Jersey are influenced and pressured into higher learning as well as going in the more scientific and technical professions such as engineers and physicians so of course yours truly fell in to the same category due to my interest in the biological and zoological sciences basically despite heavy interest in geograpy, history, and military aspects of life although was always informed by elders that such fields do not lend enough in terms of potential earnings although nowadays a person can generate enough income and renumeration in any field with the proper dedication and willpower. Nowadays reaching the fifth decade of existence on Earth, it has become quite apparent that the “Doctor” aspect of the background especially the dual-doctoral degrees allows myself to follow more the Latin principle of docere and “teaching” the younger generations or just people in general who just were never aware of all the options and possibilities available for each individual which many were just never aware of until somebody told them so in person or virtually more nowadays. Even myself, I never knew there existed Naturopathic Medical schools and training programs albeit limited around North America until nearly 2010 which is barely 1/3 of my known life so as a result, there is still so much more to explore and learn even for myself in this field which is always a huge draw to intellectuals such as myself who don’t want to just believe and listen to every medical doctor or Ph.D. who is explaining things to others. As we know science is constantly changing and evolving that things we know now are likely to change within the next decade or so let alone multiple times in one’s lifetime!

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Not counting the financial and peer pressure ramifications of the current situation which I find myself in, I would certainly still choose the same profession and definitely specialty. Albeit being costly and forever likely being in debt or paying of educational student loans long-term, it was well worth the investment being indoctrinated in the field of healthcare which I find myself in. It takes years of learning, studying, and gaining the valuable or worthwhile experiences to reach where I am not professionally. At the end of the day, every individual always wants to make more money of course but trying to kill oneself or get over-stressed and “burning out” eventually in order to make the kind of money others so greedily desire. I would rather feel better about myself and sleep well at night than to become a “slave for money” as many others in the profession go about doing their business. As long as a person is comfortable and well-recognized as well as appreciated and respected by others as doctors of any educational background are, it is enough for myself!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

The most helpful aspect of succeeding in this medical field is mentoring and picking up clinical pearls of knowledge and wisdom from others even if not necessarily elder to you is the critical to advance. Experience and learning or studying is very important, but taking examinations and tests the whole life of a person makes one only “book-smart” versus “street-smart” so practical training and personal life experiences also to help shape each doctor on a personal level. However at the end of they day, like clay which needs to be molded, each healthcare professional must be properly guided by mentos in the long-run and it then becomes a cycle where that same “mentoring” is passed down to the younger generations of newer doctors who don’t want to just believe and listen to a single dogma, but are open to many other perspectives of philosophy and thought in the various aspects of medicine which have become more and more popular again now versus in the last century!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.waretulsi.com
• Instagram: Arsi_Lion
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArsiLion
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arsallan-ahmad-13068916/

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