First we do a comprehensive health history and detailed physical exam and a “basic” screening set of labs. We say “basic” in quotes because they are actually far more comprehensive than you are likely to get from a conventional doctor, but they do not include the specialized functional labs. Functional labs are more expensive so we try to only order the ones we need in order to get a complete picture of your health.

Once we understand the entire web of issues going on in your body, we develop a specific plan that includes diet changes, lifestyle modifications, and targeted, high-quality supplements to “pull on a thread” of the web and get your body functioning properly again.

Then we would do periodic follow-ups to make sure you are improving as expected and meeting your health goals.

Example: If you have diabetes, your conventional doctor will do blood work to check your sugar level of your blood then prescribe you medication to reduce your blood sugar. This is based on reducing the amount of damage done by your condition. The Functional Medicine approach would do a detailed history and comprehensive lab work to look for all of the potential underlying causes of diabetes, such as insulin resistance, pancreatic cell fatigue, autoimmunity, chronic inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, chemical exposures, etc. Then we would work with you to develop a personalized plan that uses diet changes, lifestyle modification, and targeted nutritional supplementation to address those underlying causes. Then the diabetes often improves on its own as the body is able to regulate itself again. We don’t actually treat the diabetes, we treat the underlying functional causes of the diabetes to improve your health.