Jeremie Pederson D.C., C.C.E.P., C.S.C.S.
1931 Richmond Ave
Houston, TX 77098
713-557-5736
What is Functional Nutrition?
Functional nutrition is the process of utilizing detailed physical examinations, advanced laboratory diagnostic testing, and nutritional supplementation that may help resolve a multitude of health conditions. The process starts by completing questionnaires that are designed to identify problems with specific organ systems throughout the body. From there, I analyze previous labs or blood work to identify trends of dysfunction, disease, or pre-disease states.
.
Real Patient Case 1
A 32-year-old female patient presented to my office with a complaint of abdominal pain near her lower ribs on the right side of her body along with low back pain. The patient had previously seen her general physician, gastroenterologist, and gynecologist in the past month for the same condition. She was told that her pain was being caused by an abdominal muscle strain, excessive weight, and her poly cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The treatments recommended were to lose weight and to have an abdominal ultrasound performed to rule out the possibility of any liver or gallbladder problems that could cause the pain in the upper right ribs.
During the first visit, I examined the patient and found her low back pain to be aggravated by her weight, but we also found that the abdominal tenderness was not from a pulled muscle. The pain was being referred from somewhere in her pelvic or abdominal organs. I decided to perform a functional nutrition exam and basic blood tests. The results were all within the normal ranges given by the labs, but outside the old reference ranges that were used back when our population was much healthier. I concluded that the patient had some sort of tissue bursting or breaking apart in her pelvic cavity. We sent the patient to have a pelvic/ abdominal ultrasound and found metastatic clear cell adenocarcinoma (cancer) spread from her ovaries to the abdominal cavity which was causing most of her symptoms. The patient was referred to an oncologist for chemotherapy and I supported her with antioxidant supplementation along with drastically changing her diet in order to control her abnormal blood sugar and hormone levels. If I did not perform a functional nutrition exam the patient may have gone undiagnosed until it was too late.
Real Patient Case 2
A 63-year-old female complained of constant exhaustion, anxiety, and an inability to sleep through the night. The patient recently changed her schedule to take care of her toddler grandchild during the day. The patient had a long history of low thyroid function for which she was taking medication to treat the condition. She had also been taking anti-anxiety medication for years.
Upon review of the patient’s previous lab work and exam findings, it was determined that the patient was suffering from high levels of the stress hormone called cortisol. This hormone caused the patient to wake up through the night, which resulted in her being tired. The cortisol also caused her body to be more sensitive to the fight or flight neurotransmitters that increased her anxiety. Finally, the same hormone was shown to cause her thyroid gland to convert less of the inactive portion of thyroid hormone to the active form. This stress hormone was causing all of the symptoms she has been medicated for in the past. I was able to give her some herbs, vitamins, and minerals to decrease her cortisol levels. As a result, she has more energy, less anxiety, and is sleeping through the night. I was able to give her a product to regulate her fluctuating blood sugar levels, which in turn helped her to discontinue eating sweet snacks. Over a 3 month period of time she lost 15 pounds without increasing her exercise regimen. The patient has been able to give up drinking coffee in the morning due to having more energy. The patient will ultimately try to trail off her anti anxiety prescription medications as her body starts making more happy neurotransmitters.
At this point, I decide if further laboratory tests are needed to determine what is causing the patient’s health problems. Once the cause is identified I provide nutritional supplementation, food plans, lifestyle modifications, and referrals to medical doctors for prescription drugs if needed.
What kinds of conditions may be improved using functional nutrition? Parasitic, bacterial and fungal infections, chronic allergies, skin rashes, fatigue, depression, diabetes, hypertension, infertility, multiple types of anemia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, weight loss, multiple types or arthritis, menopause symptoms, migraine headaches, acid reflux, and more.
