You made a smart decision. Getting comprehensive lab testing through Function Health puts you ahead of the curve—most people wait until they're sick to look under the hood. You invested in prevention, in data, in understanding your body at a deeper level than a standard annual physical ever could.
But now you're staring at 160+ biomarkers, some flagged red, others yellow, and you're wondering: What do I actually do with all this information?
If you're feeling a mix of empowerment and overwhelm right now, you're not alone. It's one of the most common experiences I hear from patients who come to me after getting their Function Health results.
The Interpretation Gap
Function Health does something valuable: it democratizes access to comprehensive testing. For $365 a year, you get biomarkers that would cost thousands through traditional channels. You get ApoB, Lp(a), advanced thyroid panels, inflammatory markers, and dozens more tests that most doctors never order.
But here's what many Function Health users discover after those results arrive:
The 28-day anxiety window. Your raw results appear within days, but clinician notes take nearly a month. During that time, you see markers flagged as "high" or "low" with no context. Is that slightly elevated liver enzyme a crisis or a normal fluctuation? The platform can't tell you—and Google isn't helping.
Generic recommendations that miss your context. The AI-generated suggestions are broad by design. "Consider eating more omega-3 fatty acids" is reasonable advice, but it doesn't account for the fact that you're already taking fish oil, have a specific genetic variant affecting fatty acid metabolism, or that your omega-3 issue might actually be an absorption problem stemming from your gut.
No answer to the most important question: WHY? Function Health tells you what your markers show. It doesn't tell you why they're that way. And without the why, you can't create an effective plan.
This isn't a criticism of Function Health—it's a limitation they openly acknowledge. Their own website states that their service "does not offer medical advice" and is "not a substitute for medical care." They explicitly recommend you "discuss with your doctor."
The question is: which doctor?
What a Functional Medicine Doctor Actually Adds
The gap between having comprehensive data and actually improving your health is where functional medicine lives. Here's what changes when you work with a physician trained to interpret these markers:
Root Cause Investigation
When I see a patient with elevated inflammatory markers, I don't just recommend "reduce inflammation." I investigate why inflammation is elevated. Is it coming from the gut? An undiagnosed autoimmune process? Chronic infection? Metabolic dysfunction? Poor sleep? The treatment is entirely different depending on the answer.
Function Health shows you the smoke. A functional medicine doctor helps you find the fire.
Pattern Recognition Across Systems
Your body isn't a collection of independent markers—it's an interconnected system. That slightly low thyroid function might be related to your cortisol pattern, which connects to your sleep issues, which affects your blood sugar regulation, which shows up in your metabolic markers.
When I review a comprehensive panel, I'm looking for these connections. A single out-of-range value matters less than the pattern across dozens of markers. This pattern recognition comes from years of clinical training and thousands of patient panels—not from an algorithm.
Prioritization
You might have 15 markers flagged as suboptimal. Which ones actually matter for your health goals? Which should you address first? Which will naturally improve once you fix an upstream problem?
Without guidance, most people either try to fix everything at once (overwhelming and unsustainable) or pick something at random (often not the highest-impact intervention). A skilled clinician helps you sequence your interventions strategically.
Personalized Protocols
"Eat more fiber" is generic advice. A personalized protocol considers your current gut status, your metabolic type, your schedule, your food preferences, your genetic variants, and your other health goals. It gives you specific recommendations with dosing, timing, and monitoring plans.
Ongoing Partnership
Health optimization isn't a one-time event. It's iterative. You implement changes, retest, adjust, and refine. Function Health gives you data twice a year. A functional medicine relationship gives you a partner who knows your history, tracks your progress, and adjusts your protocol as your body responds.
Two Areas Function Health Users Often Need Help With
Based on the patients I see who come in with Function Health panels, two areas consistently require deeper interpretation: cardiovascular markers and hormone markers.
Cardiovascular Markers: ApoB, Lp(a), and Advanced Lipids
Function Health includes some of the most important cardiovascular markers available—ApoB, Lp(a), and others that most standard physicals never test. This is genuinely valuable. These markers predict cardiovascular risk far better than basic cholesterol numbers.
But interpretation matters enormously.
ApoB measures the actual number of atherogenic particles in your blood, not just the cholesterol content. A study of over 200,000 people showed that standard cholesterol tests may underestimate heart disease risk in about 1 in 12 patients. ApoB catches what traditional testing misses.
But what's your target ApoB? It depends on your overall risk profile, family history, other markers, and health goals. The general "optimal" range on a lab report isn't necessarily your optimal range.
Lp(a) is largely genetically determined and affects about 20% of the population. If yours is elevated, it represents a significant independent cardiovascular risk factor—one that doesn't respond to the usual interventions like statins. This marker requires specialized knowledge to address effectively.
I hold board certification in Clinical Lipidology (DABCL)—one of fewer than 800 physicians nationwide with this credential. This specialized training means I can interpret these advanced cardiovascular markers beyond standard guidelines and create targeted intervention strategies.
If your Function Health results show concerning cardiovascular markers, I'd encourage you to read my comprehensive guide on understanding and lowering ApoB, or learn about advanced cholesterol testing beyond the standard panel.
Hormone Markers: Thyroid, Cortisol, and Sex Hormones
Function Health provides a solid hormone snapshot: thyroid panel, cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, and more. But a snapshot is just that—a single moment in time.
The limitation of single-point testing: Cortisol naturally fluctuates throughout the day. Sex hormones cycle monthly in women. A single blood draw catches one moment, which may or may not represent your typical pattern.
This is why I often recommend DUTCH testing (Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones) for patients who need deeper hormone insights. DUTCH captures hormone metabolites over time, showing not just your levels but how your body processes hormones. This reveals problems that single-point blood testing misses entirely.
"Normal" isn't optimal. Your thyroid markers might fall within the reference range, but that range is derived from the general population—including people who don't feel well. Functional ranges are tighter and more aligned with optimal function. A TSH of 3.5 is technically "normal" but often associated with suboptimal thyroid function.
If you're experiencing symptoms despite "normal" labs, or if you're in perimenopause and trying to understand what's happening to your body, comprehensive hormone evaluation goes far beyond what any single panel can show. You might find my articles on the gut-hormone connection or perimenopause symptoms guide helpful as starting points.
Signs It's Time to Work With a Doctor
Not everyone who gets Function Health results needs a consultation. If your markers are solidly optimal and you're feeling great, you might just need to maintain what you're doing.
But consider seeking professional interpretation if:
- Multiple markers are flagged and you're unsure which to prioritize
- You're experiencing symptoms that your "normal" labs don't explain
- Cardiovascular markers are concerning (elevated ApoB, Lp(a), inflammatory markers)
- Hormone markers suggest imbalance but you're not sure what to do about it
- You've tried the generic recommendations and markers haven't improved
- You want a personalized protocol, not generic suggestions
- You're ready to optimize, not just avoid disease
I work with patients throughout California via telehealth, making it accessible regardless of where you're located in the state.
Turning Data Into Transformation
Function Health gave you something valuable: visibility into your body's current state. That visibility is the first step—but it's only the first step.
The transformation happens when you take that data and work with someone who can interpret it through the lens of clinical experience, connect the dots across systems, and create a protocol designed specifically for you.
Data tells you where you are. A partnership shows you how to get where you want to go.
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