What is Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®?

Utilizing detailed clinical assessments, functional lab testing, and the trademarked D.R.E.S.S. For Health Success® protocol, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® seeks to uncover hidden stressors and build robust health from the ground up.

Metabolic Chaos® is the term we use for your unique constellation of symptoms that are caused by chronic stress. Every person is as individual as a snowflake, and stress shows up differently in each of us. Chronic stress can be caused by lifestyle factors, environmental factors, trauma, and/or pathogens. We use detailed assessments and functional lab tests to look at how your body is handling the chronic (often hidden) stress in your life, and this information shows us where you have opportunities to heal. Your symptoms are NOT your problem. They are the result of your problem. They are showing up as little alarm bells, that something in your life is not working well for you.

Have you ever had a headache and thought “Geez, I have this pain in my head and I need to go to work/do chores/take a class/fill in the blank. I’m going to take some pain relievers and get on with my day”? (I’ll raise my hand here.) A chemical Band-aid had been put over the headache so you can effectively ignore it, but the cause of the headache has not been addressed. Furthermore, the medication that you’ve taken may cause some stress on your liver. Perhaps it was stress on your liver that caused the headache in the first place (we will likely never know). This cycle of Band-aiding symptoms quickly spirals and cascades into other areas of your body. Maybe you develop a rash, or just feel tired all the time. Maybe you have monthly PMS or your joints ache every morning. Before you know it, you feel a wreck and you don’t really know where it started. This is Metabolic Chaos®. It’s not the symptom(s) that’s the problem, it’s the dysfunction in your body that is causing the symptom(s) that we are concerned with.

Chasing symptoms is an easy trap to fall into. In fact, it is a standard model in our modern “health care” system. You have a symptom [eg: your blood sugar is high and you’re thirsty all the time]. You see your doctor and they run a diagnostic test on you [eg: fasting blood sugar and hemoglobin A1C]. They diagnose you with a condition and assign you an ICD-10 code so they can bill your insurance [eg: “You have diabetes.”] and they prescribe you a medication to take, possibly for the rest of your life [eg: here’s your metformin, be sure to eat less sugar and have regular check-ups.] And now, you’ve got a “disease”. It’s been officially diagnosed by a physician, you have your prescription to prove it, and a whole lifetime to “manage” it. Do you see the pattern? Symptom > Band-aid > No real healing > New symptoms, or side effects > Repeat. 

Here’s where the functional approach is different. We start by looking at your symptoms AND your lifestyle, environment, and history. We realize that there are multiple possible causes for your symptoms, and we don’t spend much time trying to tease them out individually (that would be like playing “Whack-a-Mole” with your health - it’s exhausting and expensive.) What we do is take a zoomed-out look at how your body is functioning as a whole, (using functional lab tests and detailed assessments) and create an individualized healing protocol based on our findings to restore function where function has been lost. This means we are not using Band-aids to cover up your symptoms. We are not diagnosing or treating disease. We are creating a foundation for health to flourish.

Trust that when your body is not spending all of its energy on surviving, it can use its resources for thriving.

A big part of fostering health is getting rid of what isn’t serving us and making wellness a priority. We’ve got to take an honest look at our lives and assess for ourselves: what is contributing to my growth, health, and happiness, and what is contributing to my sickness, stagnancy, and despair. When we assess our habits, our relationships, our lifestyle choices, and environmental impacts, we can start to let go of the things that aren’t contributing to wellness, making room for our body to do what it’s made to do: heal. 

If we don’t prioritize wellness, we allow space for illness.

The trademarked FDN healing protocol, D.R.E.S.S. for Health Success® encompasses five major categories: Diet, Rest, Exercise, Stress Reduction, and Supplements. We start with eating the correct foods for your metabolic type and avoiding any foods you are sensitive to. Rest is very important for healing, so we work to optimize the rest you are getting in both duration and quality. Movement is medicine, but it’s important to meet your body where it’s at and customize your exercise to optimize your results. Stress reduction is a huge part of the puzzle. Chronic stress (of some sort) got you into this pickle, so together we work to take as much burden off your body (and life) as possible. Supplements are the final piece and are always optional. It’s another way we can support function in your body where you may be struggling and give you a little push in the direction of healing. We do not rely on supplements to do the healing (or mask your symptoms) - your healing is YOUR work to do (and abundant health is worth everything you have). Supplements (or medication) alone are not going to get you out of a situation that diet, lifestyle, environment, or trauma created. 

Our bodies know how to heal, we just need to step out of the way and clear the path.

I can show you how.