Our bodies have incredible innate wisdom and is constantly trying to communicate that to us. Often, we don’t listen until our bodies are screaming at us. We notice things seem to be off all the time: brain fog, fatigue, bloating, pain, but we don’t have a clear understanding of what our bodies are trying to say.
If you’ve been stuck in the loop of guessing, Googling, or being told “your labs look fine” while still feeling off, it might be time to dig deeper.
Functional Nutrition is a root-cause, systems-based approach to health. It looks at how your body functions as a whole—and why symptoms are showing up in the first place. Instead of chasing symptoms, Functional Nutrition helps you uncover the “why” behind them and create a personalized plan for real healing.
So how do you know when it’s time to bring in that kind of support? Here are 7 signs it’s time to work with a Functional Nutritionist and Integrative Functional Nutrition.
1. You’re Struggling with Ongoing Digestive Issues
Gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, reflux—so many of us are living with daily digestive discomfort that we’ve started to think it’s “just normal.”
It’s not.
And more importantly, you don’t have to live with it.
Functional Nutrition views the digestive system as a central pillar of health. You’ve probably heard people say that health starts in the gut, and I have found that to be true in my clinic.
I see clients who have dealt with heartburn, bloating, and pain for years. They’ve sought help but often come away with a clean bill of health while still feeling miserable. The good news, you don’t have to take antacids for the rest of your life, and the best part is that it’s about making some changes that support you.
Taking a closer look at your symptoms, microbiome, and lifestyle can guide us in our work to find out what is really causing problems. And as we work on those things often other problems start to improve as well: hormones, brain function, energy levels, etc.
What the Research Says About Functional Nutrition & Digestive Issues
A 2021 study in Nutrients found that addressing problems (or dysbiosis) in the gut microbiome can significantly improve outcomes for people dealing with chronic digestive disorders like IBS and SIBO. This can be done with personalized nutrition, appropriate supplementation (under the direction of a trained practitioner), and looking into other factors like stress. (Nutrients Journal, 2021)
Action Steps to Address Gut Issues at IFxN
I like to have my clients foster a lot of curiosity. For my clients who experience digestive issues, I tend to ask questions like:
- Do my symptoms happen at the same time of day?
- Am I eating something that seems to be irritating things?
- Am I always under stress or on the go when I eat?
This will give you some insight into where these symptoms may be coming from. And we are going to look closer at what you are experiencing and what contributes to how you are feeling.
Real-Life Example: Resolving Gut Symptoms
*Throughout this post, I am going to share stories from my clients. Names and details have been changed to protect privacy.*
Bridget was a busy woman, living in Utah, who kept up with many different responsibilities, and she did it all while struggling with persistent gut symptoms that were never explained despite visiting with her primary care physician.
After a thorough workup that included stool testing, we went to work on her gut dysbiosis. During one of our sessions, a few weeks in, Bridget said she didn’t think it was making a difference.
We started going through her symptoms: bloating and pain…gone, fatigue…reduced, mental clarity…improved, mood…happy.
After going through all her symptoms, she realized that she had been slowly improving all along, but there hadn’t been a dramatic shift so she hadn’t noticed. She was thrilled to feel better and to have the capacity to meet all her obligations and have energy to add fun back in as well.
2. You’re Constantly Exhausted—Even After Rest
If you’re waking up tired, crashing mid-afternoon, and feeling like caffeine is the only thing getting you through the day… that’s a sign something deeper is going on.
Chronic fatigue isn’t about being “lazy” or “not trying hard enough.” It often stems from a combo of things such as blood sugar imbalance, nutrient depletion, mitochondrial dysfunction, gut issues, and hormonal dysregulation. The key to sorting this out is to look closer and deep at whats actually happening with your body and get clear on what you specifically need.
What the Research Says About Exhaustion & Nutrition
The Institute for Functional Medicine reports that nutrition-first interventions (especially those focused on correcting micronutrient deficiencies, regulating cortisol, and supporting circadian rhythms) can significantly improve energy, sleep quality, and daytime alertness. (IFM, 2022)
Action Steps to Address Energy at IFxN
Ensure your meals include all your macronutrients carbs, protein, and fats to stabilize blood sugar. Not only should you eat all your macros, but you need to eat regularly throughout the day. Going long periods without food stresses your body, increasing cortisol and leads to blood sugar dysregulation.
Next, work with a practitioner to check on your micronutrient levels. Checking on things like your vitamin B12, vitamin D levels, iron, and thyroid function may give you clues as to what is causing the fatigue.
Real-Life Example: Getting Your Energy Back
Jenny had stopped eating meat in her teens. Now at age 27, she was exhausted all the time. Even after a good night’s sleep she would struggle to get up in the morning and often struggled with migraine headaches.
After checking blood work that had been done by her doctor, we started to identify several things that were off: low vitamin B12, low iron, and hypothyroidism.
In addition, Jenny would often go until 4:00 pm or later in the day on coffee alone. Together, we improved her diet in ways that were sustainable for her lifestyle, added some supplements, and added foods that would give her the right nutrients she was lacking.
Nutrition isn’t a quick fix, but after making gradual shifts over the course of a few months, Jenny had more energy than she did in her teens.
3. Your Hormones Are All Over the Place
Unexplained irritability, irregular cycles, intense PMS, acne, low libido, or insomnia? These aren’t just “part of being a woman” or “getting older.” They are signs your hormones are out of balance—and nutrition plays an important role.
In Functional Nutrition, we support hormone health by addressing liver detoxification, blood sugar balance, gut function, inflammation, and key nutrients like B6, magnesium, and omega-3s.
This is done using labwork, a thorough health history, and assessing current symptoms.
What the Research Says About Hormones
A 2022 review in Journal of Women’s Health confirmed that dietary patterns rich in anti-inflammatory foods (like omega-3s and cruciferous veggies) can significantly reduce symptoms of PMS, PCOS, and perimenopausal symptoms. (JWH, 2022)
Action Steps to Balance Hormones
Try adding flax, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts as these foods contain fats that help hormones do their thing. To support your liver as it processes your hormones start including cruciferous veggies like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, because these can support estrogen metabolism.
And don’t forget to balance blood sugar! If you are eating erratically or not enough it’s hard to have happy hormones. Hormones are luxuries…if there isn’t enough in the bank you don’t get luxuries. So eat!
Real-Life Example: Rebalancing Hormones
Ashley had been told all her life that she needed to diet and lose weight. After years of restriction, she felt she had failed. On top of that, she was having extreme pain and mood swings around her period which was becoming more and more irregular.
During our first few appointments, it became clear that Ashley wasn’t eating enough food. She felt extreme guilt whenever she ate anything from all the messages she had received as a kid about her body being “wrong.”
Learning she could eat more throughout the day was a relief. As she started eating more she noticed that her cravings began to lessen and she loved feeling more alert and energized throughout her day.
We ran some labs to see what we could do about her hormones and found that through using specific nutrients, we could get her period more regular and decrease period symptoms.
Ashley had to do a lot of work to heal her relationship with food, but as she did the deeper work and paid attention to how much better she felt, and she was able to see huge improvements with her hormones.
4. You’re Experiencing Mood Swings, Anxiety, or Brain Fog
Your brain and your gut are in constant communication. If your nutrition is off, your mood and mental clarity will be, too. Learn more about the brain/gut connection here ***can we link to the recent blog on mental health***
Functional Nutrition explores how inflammation, gut health, nutrient deficiencies, stress, sleep, lifestyle, and blood sugar swings can all impact brain function.
What the Research Says About Brain Fog & Mood Swings
The Journal of Psychiatric Research found that individuals with depression and anxiety often show deficiencies in folate, B12, and omega-3s—and that targeted nutritional support can lead to significant symptom improvement. (JPR, 2021)
Action Steps to Have More Clarity & Focus
Look for ways to incorporate foods like fish, greens, and berries. Varying your diet by eating the rainbow will bring in new nutrients that support healthy brain function. These foods also support a healthy gut.
Real-Life Example: Nutrition Supports Your Brain & Your Mood
Jacob had recently been diagnosed with ADHD when we started working together. He had suspected it for a while, but having an answer from his doctor was helpful.
The medication his doctor put him on was helping, especially at first, but as time went on he felt he was forgetting more and more things. He would miss appointments or lose items.
These symptoms were extreme, even for him. Looking at his labs it started to look like there could be some nutrients lacking in Jacob’s diet. We found creative ways for him to easily vary his diet in a way that didn’t cause more stress.
Using food and lifestyle interventions Jacob began to see improvement. After adding specific supplements for a short time and with the help of a therapist to help with executive functioning Jacob felt like his brain was finally functioning better and he understood his ADHD and could work with his brain and function better than before.
5. You Get Sick Often or Take a Long Time to Recover
If every cold takes you down for a week—or you feel like you’re catching everything—your immune system might be desperate for some support.
Functional Nutrition strengthens immunity at the cellular level by supporting the gut, reducing systemic inflammation, optimizing nutrient status, and minimizing toxic load.
What the Research Says About Getting Sick
A 2020 review in Frontiers in Immunology found that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in modulating how the immune system performs, and that dietary interventions (especially those rich in polyphenols and prebiotics aka fruits and veggies) enhance resilience to infections. (Frontiers in Immunology, 2020)
Action Steps to Have a Better Immune System
Eat the rainbow. I know you’ve heard it before, but those polyphenols we mentioned are found in foods with vibrant colors. It can be a lot of fun to pick up a new food and to experiment with different ways to prepare it. Enjoy discovering new foods.
Real-Life Example: Nutrition Supports Your Body to Recover & Stay Well
Tina was always sick. She felt like she could never get her sinuses clear. It was just one thing after another.
Tina had a high stress life with very little time to prepare meals. She also had young children which made it easier for her to be exposed to various bugs going around.
Working together we explored lab work and found that Tina was low on a lot of nutrients. As we worked together we also started to realize that her relationship to food was more problematic than it first seemed. Tina’s therapist eventually diagnosed her with an eating disorder.
While Tina understood that she needed to vary her diet more, the reality of the eating disorder combined with high stress and very little time made it a challenge.
We worked on the eating disorder and started supplementation safely to improve immune function. As her body started to heal, Tina found it easier to listen to her body and eat when hungry. She found ways to eat fruits and vegetables that required very little prep.
Today, Tina doesn’t get sick nearly as often, finds realistic ways to feed herself, and continues to heal from her eating disorder. Her body is loving having the nutrients she was lacking all those years and is responding with improved immune function.
6. You’re Concerned About Blood Sugar, Insulin Resistance, or Metabolic Health
You don’t need to have a diabetes diagnosis to start supporting your metabolic health. Symptoms like sugar cravings, energy crashes, brain fog, and irregular appetite can all be early signs of blood sugar dysregulation or insulin resistance.
Functional Nutrition takes a proactive approach—using food as a tool to reverse metabolic dysfunction before it becomes disease.
What the Research Says About Blood Sugar & Metabolic Health
The CDC estimates over 96 million American adults have the early signs of metabolic dysfunction—and most don’t even know it. Nutrition interventions focused on fiber, protein, and healthy fats are instrumental to improve insulin resistance and support glucose metabolism. (CDC, 2023)
Action Steps to Support Sustained Energy & Metabolic Health
I say it all the time, but eat all your macros for meals. Your body finds satisfaction in that combination of protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Eating this way helps your body absorb your sugars at a nice even pace. This gives you more sustained energy and keeps insulin resistance at bay.
Real-Life Example: Balancing Blood Sugar & Enjoying Your Meals
Sam had been told by her doctor that she was prediabetic and had poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and needed to stop eating carbs. Yet, she struggled to follow that advice. Type 2 diabetes was strong in her genetic line and she wanted to help her body avoid that disease as long as possible, but couldn’t stop eating carbs altogether.
As we worked together, we found that Sam was dealing with gut dysbiosis, a history of disordered eating, and insomnia. Through lab work, we were able to get started on a protocol to improve her health.
We started with sleep hygiene and gut healing. As we worked through improving her gut health, Sam learned how to eat in a way that both balanced her blood sugar and was satisfying.
After a few months, Sam’s doctor let her know that her blood sugar numbers were back in the normal range. Sam felt empowered to eat in a way that helped her feel both mentally and physically her best.
7. You Want to Improve Mental Health and Reconnect with Your Body
Feeling disconnected to our bodies is an all too common experience. As we grow up we learn to distrust our bodies and ignore their promptings, but the body doesn’t simply stop communicating and often emotions that should have been dealt with come out sideways.
My clients want to reconnect their body and mind so they can live a more embodied and harmonious life. We work to improve that connection and also to support the body so that communication is more clear.
Functional Nutrition supports mental well-being by restoring balance to your internal systems—hormones, neurotransmitters, gut health, and more.
But beyond the science, it gives you agency. It’s not about restriction or shame. It’s about honoring your body’s wisdom.
What the Research Says About Mental Health & Nutrition
A 2023 study in Nutritional Neuroscience found that comprehensive nutrition therapy significantly improved anxiety and depression scores in participants within 12 weeks—particularly when paired with gut support. (Nutritional Neuroscience, 2023)
Action Steps to Support Mental Health
Foster curiosity rather than judgment. When your body communicates can you feel it? Where do you feel it? What is it trying to say?
As you get better at identifying your body cues, build up trust with your body by responding to those cues. If you are hungry, eat. If you are lonely, find connection. The more we practice responding the more we learn to trust our bodies again.
Real-Life Example: Listening & Trusting Your Body & Yourself
Emma honestly could not tell if she was hungry. Ever. She didn’t feel her hunger cues. She actually didn’t feel much of anything when it came to body communication.
It took some very deep work on her part to finally feel she could trust her body enough to start feeling body cues. She did this work with her therapist and worked on her diet with me.
Together, we helped her body feel safe by eating in a way that supported her day-to-day function and her mental health. She started to notice subtle signs that her body was giving her.
Working to improve her nutrition allowed her brain to have everything it needed to do the deep processing work she needed to do with her therapist. Nutrition helped her body feel safer as it had what it needed to function, which in turn allowed Emma to start feeling again.
Now It’s Your Turn — Functional Nutrition
If any of this resonates with your experience, know that you are not alone. Many people are struggling to find answers, but you don’t have to continue struggling. You can find clarity and ways to feel better, and to take care of your body, mind, and heart.
Working with us at Integrative Functional Nutrition can give you the clarity, support, and a plan to finally move forward.
Book your FREE 20-minute consultation today and take the first step in your personalized wellness journey. Together, we’ll uncover what your body has been trying to tell you—and how to help it heal.
Click here to schedule your call now!
Works Cited
- Nutrients Journal. (2021). Gut Microbiota and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Focus on Probiotics and Prebiotics. Nutrients, 13(6), 1950. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/6/1950
- The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). (2022). Addressing Fatigue Through Functional Nutrition: A Systems-Based Approach. https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/addressing-fatigue-through-functional-nutrition/
- Journal of Women’s Health. (2022). Dietary Patterns and Hormonal Health in Women: Implications for PMS, PCOS, and Menopause. https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jwh.2022.0017
- Journal of Psychiatric Research. (2021). Micronutrient Deficiencies in Depression and Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022395621002529
- Frontiers in Immunology. (2020). The Microbiota and Immune System Interactions: Nutritional Implications for Resilience Against Infection. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00964/full
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023). The Facts, Stats, and Impacts of Diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes.html
- Nutritional Neuroscience. (2023). Impact of Comprehensive Nutrition Therapy on Anxiety and Depression Symptoms: A Randomized Clinical Trial. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1028415X.2023.2180885
