meet your guide
Herbalist & Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Hi, I'm Nikki
Dr. Nikki DiNezza, DC, NTP
I always felt that I was a healthy person. I was thought of as the team “health nut” in college due to my vegetarian diet, and my passion for rowing kept me in good physical shape. However, despite my otherwise good health I started experiencing chronic low back pain my sophomore year of college. Over the course of five years, I tried everything I could think of. Different forms of chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, yoga, and physical therapy didn’t touch my pain. My x-rays were clean- perfect even- and doctors and classmates implied that it wasn’t really that bad or it was all in my head.
In grad school, I spent many a weekend in seminars and conferences. I discovered functional medicine, and started spending all my free time learning about cleanses, detoxes, supplements, and therapeutic diets. Eventually, I started playing with elimination diets and eventually did a food sensitivity test. It was then that I learned that the cause of my back pain wasn’t my back at all... When I cut out gluten, my pain went away completely! It was this experience that initially fueled my passion for functional medicine.
Later on in grad school, I found myself dealing with a great deal of digestive upset. It seemed like everything I ate caused bloating, diarrhea, or both (so, I had IBS-D but didn’t realize it until years later). I was constantly tinkering with my diet and was on the hunt for THE food that was making me sick. I lived off of leaky gut healer-upper supplements for months at a time, only to be disappointed when my symptoms came back again. This cycle continued for several years before I found relief...
While I had my GI symptoms, I strongly believed that I just hadn't found "it" yet. THE diagnosis, THE correct food(s) to cut out, THE right diet to follow, THE best supplement, THE perfect protocol. But, that was not the path to healing for me. Rather, I think it was releasing that expectation a bit and choosing to live my life that allowed the healing to happen. As time went on, I started to stumble on surprising things that helped - leaving a stressful living situation with a passive-aggressive roommate, finally moving back in with my long distance boyfriend (now husband), and correcting nutritional deficiencies leftover from my 11-year vegetarian diet, to name a few.
Since I began practicing in 2013, I've noticed that many people are in the same boat I was in. Perhaps you can relate? I bet you've had all the test (GI Map, anyone?), acquired your fair share of fancy diagnoses (SIBO, candida, leaky gut, histamine intolerance - the list goes on), hunted - at times desperately - for THE foods that are causing your symptoms, spent a small fortune on supplements, seen some relief, and, unfortunately, seen some setbacks...
If any of this spoke to you or felt familiar, I'd love to invite you into my corner of the internet. I'm not going to tell you to waste your money on more "functional" tests. I'm not going to tell you to do a diet that you hate. I'm not going to tell you that a microbe is to blame for all your troubles. Let's ditch the bullsh*t and start assessing the real root causes of what's keeping you stuck!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story and learn a little more about me. I look forward to meeting you and helping you soon!
- dr. dinezza
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“I feel so fortunate to have found Dr. DiNezza. After years of inexplicable symptoms, referrals to multiple specialists and prescriptions that seemed to do more harm than good, she was the first practitioner to do thorough lab testing and get to the root causes of my issues. These were standard lab tests covered by my insurance that no one thought to test for! She is very skilled at listening and asking the right questions, interpreting and explaining the data, and devising a treatment plan. My health has improved dramatically under her care.“
- Shiela M
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“Dr Dinezza is absolutely the best. I had been having GI issues and recurring chest pain / inflammation for several years and had seen countless doctors, specialists and alternative medicine professionals to no avail until I saw Dr. Dinezza. As a result, I was very skeptical (but hopeful) based on all my prior bad experiences with healthcare professionals and the frustration of never knowing the underlying causes. She treated me for leaky gut, SIBO, gut dysbiosis, dismotility and IBS. Long story short, she fixed me up in a period of mere weeks.“
- Matt
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“Dr. DiNezza is the first practitioner I’ve worked with that makes me feel truly heard and runs the right tests to uncover root causes and coexisting conditions. I appreciate so greatly that she feels more like a partner in health and solving health mysteries rather than just giving a medication and walking away. I know that I can always text or reach out to her any time for answers to my questions even between appointments, and having that access has made me feel so much less alone in this journey.“
- Steph D
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“Unlike most MDs, she took her time with me, making sure I understood what the tests showed, which I greatly appreciated. Also unlike medical doctors, who only ever recommended harsh drugs that would do who knows what damage to the body while treating the symptoms, she also was able to make some further suggestions for my diet, and also recommend some good supplements, that would actually address the causes of the conditions I have.”
- Shelley S
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“Dr. DiNezza has been an invaluable resource to me. When I started seeing her, I was suffering from fatigue, body aches, headaches, digestive issues, anxiety, and depression, among other ailments. Over time, Dr. DiNezza helped me to figure out what was going on with my body and to find solutions that brought my health back. I am so much better now…”
- Kara S
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“Working with Dr. DiNezza has been incredible. She is easy to talk to, listened deeply to my questions and problems, and prescribed supplements that have made my daily life a whole lot better. Not only that: she takes the time to explain test results and treatments and encourages me to take ownership of my own health… I feel so lucky to have found her. 10/10, would recommend!”
- Mary B
Frequently Asked Questions
Areas of Clinical Focus
Degrees and Certifications
Noteworthy Courses I've Taken or Attended
my interests
When I'm not at work...
I spend most of my free time foraging, gardening, painting, watching/listening to K-pop*, watching TV*, playing Slime Rancher, or sleeping in. When I make the time, I also enjoy yoga, rowing, kayaking, hiking, and riding my bike.
*My favorite K-pop groups are Mamamoo, I-dle, Twice, Viviz, and Kiss of Life. I also like Purple Kiss, Formis_9, BTS, Ateez, Red Velvet, Stray Kids, and Itzy. My favorite soloists are Ten, Yuqi, Wendy, Sunmi, Chung Ha, and Black Pink's Rosé. (I liked Black Pink's first album, but didn't care for their latest releases.)
*My favorite TV shows are The Good Place, The Office (US), and Parks & Rec. My favorite "any time movies" are anything from Studio Ghibli (particularly Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke!) and Mean Girls (2004). My favorite Christmas movies are Elf, Home Alone 1 & 2, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
