What is a “Functional” nutritionist? What is Functional lab testing?
Functional medicine and by extension functional nutrition is a framework of health care that wants to understand the root cause of your symptoms.
If you are looking at a small pool of water and notice there are ripples in the water do you try to stop the ripples or do you search for the drip? You look for that drip in order to solve the problem that is causing a disturbance in the pool, and that will then stop the ripples.
In that same way, if your body is the pond then your unwanted symptoms are the ripples. Trying to stop the ripples often leads to more ripples meanwhile the drip or the issue that started your ripples in the first place has not been addressed and may be getting worse over time. Functional nutrition looks for the drip. It can be important to address the ripples to get you through day-to-day life, but ultimately, we want to find the drip and see if there is a way to fix it.
The Institute for Functional Medicine describes functional medicine as follows:
“The functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness. It requires a detailed understanding of each patient’s genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors and leverages that data to direct personalized treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes.” https://www.ifm.org/functional-medicine/
How does it work?
At IFN we start off by doing a thorough 90-minute assessment to initiate care. At this appointment, we go in-depth on your health history, family health history, relationship to food, physical signs and symptoms, mental symptoms, and current or past stress. This gets us a good start on your plan.
Next, we use the lab data from your doctor to assess for functional levels. Your doctor wants to make sure your labs are within normal limits. Anything outside that warrants further investigation and can be a flag for a developing or developed disease or illness. When we look at your lab work at IFN we are seeking to understand if your labs are in a functional range.
The functional range is a narrower lab range and is where we feel our best. In the yellow and red space, we need to support our body through nutrition and habits to get back into a functional range when possible. This is, in essence, preventative healthcare.
Functional Lab Testing
After the thorough initial assessment is complete and your lab work from your physician has been looked at for nutritional implications you have the option to have functional lab testing done. This is a service that is offered only to established IFN clients.
Functional labs assess how the body is functioning. For example, we may decide based on your assessment, symptoms, and conventional labs that the next step is to run a stool panel to assess gut health. Functional labs help us get specific with your care much quicker.
What is the cost of Functional Lab Testing?
Each lab panel has a different cost attached to it. I only perform functional labs on established clients because sometimes they are not needed. If the labs are needed, we want to run the specific ones that will be most helpful in our work together. If we have determined a lab is necessary I will explain to you during your appointment what the lab is, what the cost associated is, and why it is relevant to your care. Functional labs are always optional.
I do not mark up the lab work within my clinic. You will pay the lab directly. When we get the lab results back IFN charges a $50 interpretation fee.
Can I use labs from another provider?
Maybe. There are many tests available with varying degrees of information they seek to uncover. If your tests are 3 or more months old they are no longer relevant to your current health and situation. I am happy to take a look at the results you have to let you know if they will be useful for us. For functional labs done outside of IFN, we charge an $80 lab interpretation fee to incorporate them into your nutrition assessment.
https://www.gdx.net
https://dutchtest.com
https://www.diagnosticsolutionslab.com
https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com
https://www.doctorsdata.com
Warmly,
Melanee
she/her/hers
