Functional Nutrition
What is functional nutrition?
Functional nutrition considers food as medicine in healing the body from the inside out. Our approach uses food, nutritional supplements, diet, + lifestyle changes to address imbalances in any of your biochemical systems. This customized approach will find the root cause of symptoms + address any underlying causes of health issues.
Functional nutrition is a dynamic process, which involves refinement of diet + lifestyle to restore optimal health. It is a conversation that we have with our bodies, where change is made, and then we listen to the body to see what it says back. If we like what we hear, we keep on doing that. If we don’t, then we make adjustments.
Reasons to choose functional nutrition services:
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Fatigue
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Irregular cycles
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Infertility
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Stagnant weight loss
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Mood swings
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Difficulty sleeping
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Hair loss
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Anxiety
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Brain Fog
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Constipation
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Diarrhea
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Bloating
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Abdominal cramping
Our Process
Step 1:
Schedule a complimentary 15 minute consultation with our functional nutrition practitioner. Once scheduled, you will receive a comprehensive intake form to fill out that will give an overview of your health history and concerns. During your initial consultation, you will briefly discuss your main symptoms, primary concerns, and what functional tests are the best fit for you. From there, our functional nutrition practitioner will order the agreed upon labs and tests for you.
Step 2:
Complete all testing. Tests vary from urine, saliva, stool, and blood. Many of the recommended tests can be completed in the comfort of your own home. If blood work is needed you’ll be directed to a local lab to complete.
Step 3:
Once our doctor has received all test results, you have the option to schedule a follow up 45 minute functional medicine session. During this appointment, our functional nutrition practitioner will discuss your test results and give recommendations for supplementation, diet, and lifestyle changes.
Step 4:
Additional sessions can be scheduled as needed to check in with our functional nutrition practitioner. These sessions can be used to review progress, decide on more testing, tweak supplement + diet recommendations, and support you in any way you are needing. Length and focus of these sessions are based on patient need and doctor recommendation!
DUTCH Test
DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones. This test is highly utilized in our functional nutrition process!
When it comes to evaluating our patients' hormones and figuring out the root cause of their problems, we prefer to use this method compared to the gold standard serum (blood) testing. We recommend the DUTCH Test because it uses multiple urine samples at different times of the day and at different times in your menstrual cycle for a more precise value. This gives us a better idea of how your hormones fluctuate during your cycle as a whole, while the serum test is only able to catch the hormone sample at one point in time.
This test measures the urine metabolites (what's being excreted in your urine) to assess:
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Cortisol Levels
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Melatonin
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Hormones (DHEA-S, Progesterone, Estrone, Testosterone, Estriol, Estradiol, Etiocholanolone, Androsterone)
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Organic Acids
GI Effects Comprehensive Profile Test
The GI Effects Comprehensive Profile Test can provide clarity into the root cause of gastrointestinal symptoms such as gas, diarrhea, bloating, indigestion, abdominal pain, and constipation. It is an advanced stool test that assesses digestive function, intestinal inflammation, and the intestinal microbiome to provide a comprehensive overview of gastrointestinal health.
Extensive scientific research associates an imbalance of the normal gut microbiota or dysbiosis not only to gastrointestinal conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but also wider systemic issues such as cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, malnutrition, skin conditions, autoimmune disorders, immune system imbalances, and hormonal imbalances.
This test will assess 5 key areas of gut function:
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Maldigestion
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Inflammation
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Dysbiosis
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Infection
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Metabolite Function
Full Thyroid Panel
Thyroid hormones control energy metabolism, regulate body temperature, and influence the growth and development of body tissues. They also play a role in regulating mood, digestion, and menstrual cycles. A full thyroid panel is a blood test used to evaluate levels of various thyroid hormones and related substances in the body. This test is used to assess overall thyroid function and diagnose thyroid disorders.
A full thyroid panel looks at the following markers:
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Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
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Free thyroxine (T4)
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Free triiodothyronine (T3)
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Reverse T3 (rT3)
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Thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb)
A full thyroid panel is often recommended for patients who have symptoms of thyroid dysfunction, such as fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, and cold intolerance, as well as for those who have a family history of thyroid disease or who have been diagnosed with other autoimmune disorders.
NutraEval FMV
The NutrEval FMV is a blood and urine test used for identifying nutritional deficiencies and insufficiencies. It is a comprehensive test that analyzes over 125 biomarkers and evaluates over 40 antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and other selected nutrients.
Some of the nutrition biomarkers in this test include:
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Organic acids
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Oxidative stress markers
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Essential and non-essential amino acids
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Dietary peptide-related markers
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Essential and metabolic fatty acids markers
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Micronutrients
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Toxic elements
Nutrients play a vital role in every physiological process in the body, from metabolism and immunity to hormone regulation and digestion. Thus, proper nutrition is key to preventing and managing many diseases. This test is recommended for patients suffering symptoms related to nutritional imbalances and deficiencies such as mood disorders, fatigue, weight issues, malnutrition, maldigestion, malabsorption and increased nutrient demand due to physical trauma or healing. Even if you are symptom-free, this test can assess your overall nutritional status and help prevent future health issues from occurring.
Michelle Mejia, DC, MS
Doctor of Chiropractic, Master's of Functional Nutrition
Dr. Michelle completed her education at Parker University in Dallas, Texas where she received both her Doctorate in Chiropractic and Master’s of Science in Functional Nutrition. She continues to receive education and training as a member of the Institute for Functional Medicine. She is a firm believer that health comes from the inside out, so she is passionate about supporting her clients with diet, supplement, and overall wellness guidance. She takes a holistic approach as our functional nutritionist with a focus on restoring hormonal balance by considering the many factors and aspects that make up your well-being. She goes over specific laboratory testing to uncover the root cause of your symptoms and then develops an action plan with individualized lifestyle changes and recommendations.
You can schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. M below. During the consultation, you will discuss your symptoms and which DUTCH test is appropriate for you. She will also provide supplement suggestions using Fullscript- An online dispensary that ships high quality supplements to your door!
