Functional Medicine Services

Functional Medicine takes a more holistic and patient-centered approach, considering the interconnectedness of all body systems and prioritizing lifestyle interventions. Mark Hyman, family medicine MD and a leader in functional medicine, describes conventional medicine as the “medicine of what” because it focuses on labelling a disease, diagnosis, or symptom, matching it to a medication; whereas functional medicine is the “medicine of why” because it focuses on the underlying reasons for a disease, diagnosis, or symptom.

Here at Capital Integrative Health, we seamlessly blend conventional medicine with functional medicine. For example, if you came to the office with a migraine headache, conventionally, in order to provide quick relief, we may precribe you a medication to eliminate the migraine – there is nothing wrong with this. At the same time, through investigation and testing, we may discover that your migraine is caused by magnesium deficiency, hormone imbalance, blood sugar dysregulation, food sensitivities, or mycotoxin illness, just to name a few. We then systematically address any imbalances that come up, leading to greater function for you and an optimized physiology so that you can live your best life. This approach gives you the best of both worlds: quick relief when needed, as well as lasting solutions.

Yes, the functional medicine approach has been found to be safe and effective for patients with chronic health conditions, using validated Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) questionnaires.

Functional Medicine can address a wide range of chronic conditions, including fatigue; autoimmune diseases; digestive disorders; hormonal concerns including thyroid imbalances and the menopausal transition; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease; weight gain, pre-diabetes and diabetes; brain health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or cognitive decline; Lyme disease and other chronic infecitons; long-Covid; mold and mycotoxin illness; supportive treatment for cancer; and other complex conditions.

Due to the personalized and progressive nature of Functional Medicine, our services are out-of-network with insurances, including Medicare. This allows us to spend extra time with you diving into your health, getting to know you better as a whole person, and ultimately addressing both the root causes of health and disease, as they pertain to your individual situation. We have found that insurance companies typically have algorithms and guidelines which do not align with Functional Medicine’s tailor-made approach, emphasis on innovative medicine, and openness to natural healing methods. We ultimately want you to have the freedom to decide the best healthcare path for you, and working with you directly on your healthcare journey allows you the capacity to become the CEO of your own health.  

Functional medicine heavily emphasizes lifestyle medicine, such as healthy nutrition, excellent sleep, effective stress management, and functional fitness. Functional medicine costs typically involve seeing functional medicine and nutrition clinicians, and often involves ordering lab tests or other advanced medical evaluations to take a deep dive into your health. (link to price list) In addition, supplements or prescriptions may be recommended after follow-up consultations, depending on your health goals, conditions, and test results. Our team will discuss the frequency of consultations or treatments will be discussed with you, early in your treatment plan, so that we can co-create your overall healthcare “game plan” together. Although there may be more apparent upfront cost in time, effort, and finances when taking a functional medicine approach, great health is priceless, and putting the work in to invest in your health is your best long-term investment. We are here with you every step of the way, and we are looking forward to parnering with you in uplevelling your health and wellness. (

Functional medicine is an innovative perspective on medicine, synthesizing, physiology, nutrition, lifestyle, biochemistry, and genetics. It seeks to ask the questions, “Why is there loss of function, symptoms, and disease?” and “What can we do to restore optimal function and wellness to a person’s biological systems?” Some of the innovations in functional medicine are not considered standard of care because conventional medicine typically views the body in slices of perspective, siloed into isolated organ systems. It is estimated that new scientific discoveries lag from the research bench to the clinical bedside by 17 years. Our aim is to take the medicine of tomorrow, using advanced physiology, and apply it for your benefit today.

We love to collaborate with outside clinicians and specialists. Approaching your health from multiple angles and seeing the whole picture of your health will yield you the best results. We can act as a primary care clinician, but will also overlay that general perspective with the lens of a functional medicine specialist as well. We can also serve as a “second opinion consult” to you, where you have a primary care clinician at another practice – we are happy to serve in that capacity.