What is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Patients, especially women, can walk away from healthcare experiences feeling powerless. I wish to eliminate this experience. By first developing a strong patient – provider relationship, my goal is to identify unhealthy patterns, find what is causing your body to heal correctly, get to the root cause of your problem, and propose appropriate, personalized treatments and lifestyle modifications.
A patient who is following a functional medicine provider will find their care is based on treating the entire body verses just focusing on the symptoms you’re having. For example, if you’re suffering with symptoms that mimic depression and anxiety, I wouldn’t focus solely on brain health, but also on gut health since we’ve learned that the gastrointestinal system has 400 times more serotonin (neurotransmitter responsible for mood) than the brain.
A list of what functional medicine can do for you:
- Improve metabolism/lose weight
- Improve stress response and energy production
- Balance hormones
- Improve liver detoxification
- Improve digestion and bowel elimination
- Improve absorption and utilization of nutrients
- Improve allergies by improving gut health
- Eliminate heavy metals (cause for many chronic illnesses)
- Eliminate yeast/fungus overgrowth
- Reduce/eliminate blood sugar abnormalities
An example:
Patient symptoms: Irregular bowel movements, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, indigestion.
Conventional approach: treat with laxative or antidiarrheal medications, antacids, or antibiotics which may help with symptoms but not fix the underlying problem.
In reality, most of these symptoms are often caused by an imbalance in the healthy bacteria that are required for digestion and absorption of nutrients. In addition to potential food sensitivities or allergies, this imbalance causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract which is often the source of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, thyroid issues, lupus, asthma, allergies, psoriasis, eczema, diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, etc.
Functional medicine approach: I would use comprehensive stool testing and/or breath testing to identify the types of pathogens and imbalances that are specific to each case.
I would then tailor a treatment plan for you which may involve removing harmful pathogens, replacing digestive properties, repairing with helpful nutrients and antioxidants, re-inoculating with pre and probiotics, and rebalancing with better lifestyle choices and activities.
Please schedule an appointment if you’d like to learn more about how I can help you. I’m excited to partner with you and help improve your health and quality of life.
Feeling like you have low thyroid, but told your labs are normal?
There’s many reason your thyroid labs can look normal but you’re still having low thyroid symptoms.
Often, it’s that your body is not converting T4 to T3 and here’s many reasons why.
- Stress (cortisol, the main stress hormone, reduces T3 conversion)
- Nutrient deficiencies (certain vitamins are needed as co-factors for T3 production)
- Imbalances in your gut microbes (your gut bacteria either help or hinder the process)
- Estrogen dominance (imbalances in your estrogen and progesterone levels)
- Inflammation
If this is your problem, your thyroid gland is fine and you don’t necessarily need thyroid replacement – we need to correct the underlying factors so you can USE your thyroid hormone properly!
Functional Medicine & Thyroid
We do a comprehensive thyroid panel, including TSH, Free T4, Free T3, reverse T3, TPO antibodies and antiTG antibodies. We also look for underlying factors that may be interfering with how you are using your thyroid hormones, including stress, inflammation, and digestive problems in addition to determining if your body is fighting against itself, creating autoimmunity called Hashimotos.
Functional reasons for low thyroid
Nutritional Deficiencies:
- Iodine Deficiency: Iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production.
- Selenium Deficiency: Selenium is necessary for converting inactive thyroid hormone (T4) into its active form (T3).
- Zinc Deficiency: Zinc also plays a role in the conversion of T4 to T3 and in maintaining a healthy immune system.
- Iron Deficiency: iron is important for thyroid hormone synthesis
Poor Gut Health
- Leaky Gut/Intestinal Permeability: An unhealthy gut can lead to systemic inflammation, which affects thyroid function. Additionally, poor gut health can lead to impaired nutrient absorption, further compromising thyroid health.
- Dysbiosis: Imbalance in gut bacteria can trigger immune system responses that contribute to thyroid dysfunction.
Cortisol Dysregulation:
Elevated cortisol inhibits the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and can reduce the conversion of T4 to T3, causing low thyroid function.
