Functional & Integrative Medicine
Root-Cause, Systems-Based Approach to Long-Term Healing
Functional and integrative medicine using advanced diagnostics, targeted nutrition, and personalized treatment plans.
When Your Symptoms Don’t Match Your Lab Results
When your body is sending signals—fatigue, pain, digestive issues, mood changes, inflammation—but conventional care only offers medications or tells you “your tests look normal,” the experience can feel invalidating and discouraging.
Here is the truth:
Most chronic symptoms are driven by physiological imbalances that standard medical evaluations do not measure. Without identifying what is driving dysfunction, real healing remains out of reach.
At Denver Sports & Holistic Medicine, we practice Functional & Integrative Medicine—a systems-based, investigative approach that uncovers why your symptoms are happening and supports restoration of healthy physiology so you can finally feel like yourself again.
This is the difference between managing symptoms and addressing the root cause.
Why Root-Cause Medicine Matters
Functional & Integrative Medicine goes beyond diagnosing disease. It identifies biological, environmental, hormonal, nutritional, neurological, and metabolic patterns that can contribute to symptoms long before disease appears.
This approach is often helpful for uncovering contributors to:
• Fatigue, burnout, brain fog
• Digestive symptoms, bloating, IBS
• Hormonal imbalance and cycle irregularities
• Chronic pain, inflammation, and headaches
• Metabolic dysfunction and blood sugar instability
• Anxiety, sleep disturbances, mood changes
• Skin issues (eczema, acne, hives)
• Weight-loss resistance
• Toxin sensitivity and chemical intolerance
• Autoimmune activation
• Mold and environmental exposures
• Poor detoxification capacity
• Mitochondrial dysfunction
If you’ve been told “everything looks normal” but you still feel unwell — root-cause medicine uncovers what that statement missed.
What We Address
• Chronic fatigue and low resilience
• Hormone imbalance (thyroid, adrenal, menstrual cycle, peri/post-menopause)
• Digestive disorders and microbiome disruption
• Metabolic instability and blood sugar resistance
• Chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation
• Food sensitivities and nutrient depletion
• Mold toxicity and environmental exposures
• Sleep disturbances, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms
• Chronic pain patterns related to systemic imbalance
Root-cause medicine treats the entire system — not isolated symptoms.
What We Uncover Through Functional Evaluation
Our evaluation process investigates the systems most responsible for long-term energy, stability, and resilience.
Hormonal Imbalance
Thyroid dysfunction, adrenal dysregulation, cycle abnormalities, PMS, perimenopause, menopause
→ Women’s Hormone & Reproductive Health
→ Hormone & Metabolic Optimization
Digestive Dysfunction & Gut Disorders
Dysbiosis, SIBO, parasites, Candida, leaky gut, chronic inflammation
→ Gut Health & Digestive Restoration
Metabolic & Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Blood sugar instability, insulin resistance, mitochondrial depletion, oxidative stress
→ Longevity & Mitochondrial Health
Environmental Toxins & Mold Exposure
Mycotoxins, pesticides, VOCs, heavy metals, plastics
→ Detoxification & Environmental Medicine
Inflammation & Immune Dysregulation
MCAS, allergies, autoimmunity, chronic inflammatory response
→ Immune Health & Autoimmune Support
Food Sensitivities & Nutrient Deficiencies
Digestive malabsorption, nutritional depletion, IgG/IgA food reactions
Chronic Infections & Immune Stress
EBV, viral reactivation, Lyme patterns, recurrent illness
Nervous System Dysregulation
Elevated cortisol, poor vagal tone, circadian disruption
→ Acupuncture & Nervous System Regulation
Functional evaluation explains why you feel the way you do — and what your body needs to return to balance.
How We Help You Heal
Your plan is personalized and may include:
• Acupuncture and nervous system regulation
• Nutrition and metabolic correction
• Herbal medicine and targeted nutraceuticals
• Detoxification and drainage support
• Mitochondrial repair support
• Hormone balance support
• Sports medicine and corrective exercise strategies
Every step is tailored to your physiology, healing capacity, and long-term goals — available in-office or through telemedicine.
Our Root-Cause Care Process
1. In-Depth Case Review
We evaluate symptoms, history, nutrition, stress load, digestion, hormones, sleep, metabolism, and prior labs. This reveals patterns conventional medicine often overlooks.
2. Precision Functional Testing (When Needed)
We recommend testing strategically — only when it meaningfully guides treatment.
This may include:
• DUTCH hormone testing
• GI-MAP microbiome analysis
• Mycotoxin and toxin panels
• Organic Acids Test (OAT)
• Micronutrient analysis
• Cardiometabolic markers
• Thyroid and adrenal testing
→ Advanced Functional Lab Testing
3. Personalized Root-Cause Treatment Strategy
Your plan may include acupuncture, herbal medicine, detoxification support, nutrition optimization, mitochondrial support, hormone support, gut repair strategies, and lifestyle regulation.
4. Tracking Progress & Refining Your Plan
We monitor symptom changes and relevant biomarkers to adjust your plan as physiology stabilizes.
5. Integrating Everything Into a Whole-Person Framework
Your plan becomes a long-term, sustainable roadmap—structured, prioritized, and root-cause focused.
Who Benefits Most From Functional & Integrative Medicine
This approach is especially helpful for individuals experiencing:
• Chronic fatigue, burnout, low resilience
• Brain fog or cognitive shifts
• Hormonal imbalance or cycle irregularities
• IBS patterns, SIBO patterns, bloating, abdominal discomfort
• Sleep issues, anxiety, irritability
• Chronic pain or migratory symptoms
• Mold illness or environmental toxicity
• Autoimmune tendencies and chronic inflammation
• Skin issues (eczema, rosacea, acne)
• Weight-loss resistance and metabolic instability
• Poor detoxification tolerance
• Post-viral and long recovery patterns
If you have searched for answers without clarity, this approach provides a more comprehensive map.
Common questions about care structure, treatment expectations, and logistics are answered in our FAQ page.
Ready to Begin Root-Cause Healing?
You don’t have to keep guessing why you feel unwell. Functional & Integrative Medicine provides clarity, direction, and a personalized plan that addresses the true drivers of your symptoms — so you can restore energy, resilience, and long-term health.
Frequently Asked Questions About Functional & Integrative Medicine
1. What is Functional & Integrative Medicine?
Functional & Integrative Medicine is a systems-based, evidence-informed approach that identifies the root causes of symptoms by evaluating the gut, hormones, immune function, metabolism, detoxification pathways, nervous system, and environmental exposures. Instead of suppressing discomfort, it restores healthy physiology using personalized, whole-person treatment plans.
2. How is this different from conventional medicine?
Conventional medicine focuses on diagnosing disease and managing symptoms. Functional & Integrative Medicine asks why symptoms are occurring and uses deeper diagnostics — including nutritional analysis, toxin and mold evaluation, microbiome mapping, hormonal assessment, and metabolic testing — to correct the underlying dysfunction.
3. Do you run advanced lab testing?
Yes. Testing is recommended when it meaningfully guides treatment decisions. Options include stool and microbiome analysis, DUTCH hormone mapping, mycotoxin testing, adrenal and thyroid evaluation, cardiometabolic markers, micronutrient analysis, mitochondrial testing, and Organic Acids (OAT) assessments.
4. What conditions can this approach help with?
Functional & Integrative Medicine is highly effective for digestive issues, hormonal imbalance, fatigue, metabolic dysfunction, chronic inflammation, toxin or mold exposure, sleep disturbances, autoimmune tendencies, and unexplained or persistent symptoms.
5. How long does it take to see results?
Many patients notice improvements within several weeks. More complex or long-standing conditions may require several months as inflammation decreases, mitochondrial capacity improves, and detoxification pathways strengthen. Plans are refined continuously based on your progress.
6. Can this work alongside my current medications?
Yes. Functional & Integrative Medicine integrates safely with conventional treatments. Recommendations are designed to complement your medication plan, and coordination with your other healthcare providers is available when appropriate.
7. Do you treat mold illness or environmental toxicity?
Yes. Treatment involves identifying exposures, supporting detoxification and drainage pathways, restoring mitochondrial function, modulating immune and inflammatory responses, and building long-term resilience. Care follows evidence-informed protocols and advanced training in environmental medicine.
8. Is Functional & Integrative Medicine appropriate if I’ve been sick for years?
Yes. This approach is particularly well suited for long-standing or complex conditions where symptoms have persisted despite prior care. By addressing root causes across multiple systems and sequencing treatment appropriately, it supports gradual, sustainable recovery even in chronic cases.
9. Can this approach help if I’ve seen many doctors already?
Yes. Many patients seek Functional & Integrative Medicine after extensive evaluations without clear answers. A systems-based assessment often reveals overlooked contributors and helps organize care into a clear, logical plan rather than adding more disconnected treatments.
10. Is Functional & Integrative Medicine evidence-based?
Yes. Care is grounded in current scientific research, functional physiology, and clinical evidence. Conventional diagnostics and research are integrated with advanced testing and individualized strategies to create a comprehensive, evidence-informed treatment plan.
11. Is this approach safe for sensitive or medically complex patients?
Yes. Treatment is carefully paced and individualized. Sensitive or medically complex patients benefit from a regulation-first, low-and-slow approach that prioritizes nervous system stability and physiological tolerance before introducing more intensive therapies.
12. Do you focus on prevention as well as treatment?
Yes. In addition to treating active symptoms, Functional & Integrative Medicine focuses on prevention by optimizing metabolic health, detoxification capacity, immune resilience, and nervous system regulation to reduce future disease risk.
13. What does a Functional & Integrative Medicine visit typically involve?
Visits involve an in-depth review of health history, symptoms, prior labs, lifestyle factors, and environmental exposures. When appropriate, advanced testing is recommended, and care is organized into a structured, stepwise plan focused on root-cause correction.
14. Can Functional & Integrative Medicine help with unexplained symptoms?
Yes. Symptoms that are difficult to explain or diagnose often stem from subtle dysfunction across interconnected systems. This approach is designed to identify and address those patterns even when imaging or standard labs appear normal.