A Team-Based Approach to Long-Term Health

Dr. Heidi Queen, MD | Energize Health & Hormones

At Energize Health and Hormones, Dr. Heidi Queen has built her concierge primary care practice around a simple but powerful idea: many health concerns make more sense when we look beneath the surface. Rather than focusing only on symptoms, her approach blends conventional medicine with deeper exploration of lifestyle, hormones, and nutrition.

Nutrition, in particular, plays a foundational role in this process. That’s why Dr. Queen’s practice integrates the expertise of two nutrition specialists—Cherie Paige, a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and Ashley Swanson, a Functional Blood Chemistry Analyst—who help patients explore how food, nutrient status, gut health, and environmental exposures may be influencing their overall well-being. Together, this collaborative team uses the principles of functional nutrition to better understand what the body needs to heal and thrive.

How Functional Nutrition Helps

Most people already understand that nutrition matters. After all, our bodies rely on food for energy and survival. But functional nutrition takes that idea much further. Instead of simply counting calories or following general dietary guidelines, functional nutrition looks at the body as a connected system. It asks deeper questions:

• Are you absorbing the nutrients you eat?
• Is your gut microbiome balanced?
• Are toxins or food sensitivities interfering with your health?
• Are nutrient deficiencies affecting energy, mood, or metabolism?

These questions reflect a growing understanding that health is shaped not just by what we eat, but by how the body processes and responds to those foods. For example, two people may eat the same diet but experience very different outcomes. One may feel energized and balanced, while the other struggles with fatigue, digestive discomfort, or inflammation. Functional nutrition aims to uncover why those differences occur.

The Gut: An Ecosystem Within the Body

One of the most important areas functional nutrition examines is the gut microbiome.

The digestive system is home to trillions of microorganisms that play essential roles in digestion, immune function, metabolism, and even mental health. This complex ecosystem develops from early life and continues to change based on diet, medications, stress levels, and environmental exposures.

When the microbiome is balanced, these microbes help break down food, produce vitamins, and maintain a healthy gut lining. But when the balance shifts—a condition known as dysbiosis—people may begin to notice symptoms such as:

• Bloating or digestive discomfort
• Food sensitivities
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Increased inflammation

Functional nutrition often begins with restoring this ecosystem. Diet changes, targeted nutrients, and supportive foods such as fermented vegetables or prebiotic fibers may help encourage beneficial bacteria to flourish again. This kind of detailed gut support is often part of the guidance patients receive when working with Cherie Paige, who helps translate nutritional science into practical strategies patients can follow in everyday life.

Micronutrients: Small Compounds with Big Impact

Another cornerstone of functional nutrition is micronutrient status. While most people focus on macronutrients—proteins, fats, and carbohydrates—vitamins and minerals quietly support hundreds of biochemical processes throughout the body. These micronutrients help regulate:

• Energy production
• Immune function
• Hormone balance
• Brain chemistry
• Cellular repair

Even subtle deficiencies can influence how a person feels day to day. For example, low magnesium levels may contribute to muscle tension or difficulty sleeping, while B-vitamin deficiencies can affect mood, focus, and energy. Iron, zinc, vitamin D, and many other nutrients also play important roles in metabolic health. Certain groups may be more vulnerable to deficiencies, including athletes, people under chronic stress, those with digestive issues, or individuals following restrictive diets. Through lab analysis and nutritional evaluation, practitioners like Ashley Swanson can often identify patterns that may not appear obvious at first glance.

Environmental Toxins and Hidden Stressors

Another layer of functional nutrition looks at environmental influences that may affect health over time. Modern life exposes people to a variety of chemicals—from pesticides in food to environmental pollutants that can act as endocrine disruptors. These substances may interfere with hormone signaling or place additional strain on the body’s detoxification systems.

Nutrition plays an important role in supporting the body’s natural detoxification processes. Certain foods contain compounds that help the liver process toxins more efficiently. For example:

• Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower contain sulfur compounds that assist detoxification pathways.
• Fiber supports healthy digestion and helps eliminate processed toxins from the body.
• Antioxidant-rich foods help neutralize oxidative stress.

At the same time, lifestyle factors—especially stress—can significantly influence how the body manages these exposures. Chronic stress raises cortisol levels and may alter the gut microbiome, disrupt sleep, and increase nutrient demands. Supporting stress resilience often involves a combination of lifestyle adjustments, nutrition, and targeted supplementation when appropriate.

Personalized Nutrition: One Size Rarely Fits All

Perhaps the most defining feature of functional nutrition is personalization. Each person’s health story is shaped by genetics, environment, lifestyle habits, and past medical experiences. Functional medicine increasingly recognizes that effective nutrition plans must reflect those individual differences. In some cases, advanced testing can reveal patterns related to food sensitivities, nutrient absorption, microbiome balance, or even genetic variations that influence how nutrients are metabolized.

This is where the collaboration between nutritionists and physicians becomes especially valuable. By combining nutritional insight with medical oversight, patients receive guidance that considers the whole picture of their health. Ashley Swanson’s expertise in functional blood chemistry analysis helps uncover subtle imbalances within lab results—information that can guide more targeted nutrition and lifestyle strategies.

A Team-Based Approach to Long-Term Health

Cherie Paige and Ashley Swanson

The integration of functional nutrition into concierge primary care reflects a broader shift in healthcare. More practitioners are recognizing that lasting health improvements often come from addressing root causes rather than managing symptoms alone. At Energize Health and Hormones, this philosophy shapes how care is delivered. Patients not only work closely with Dr. Heidi Queen to address medical concerns and preventive care, but they also have access to the nutritional expertise of Cherie Paige and Ashley Swanson.

For new patients, the practice even includes a complimentary one-hour consultation with one of the nutritionists, giving individuals the opportunity to explore how nutrition might be influencing their health goals. For many people, that conversation becomes the starting point for meaningful changes—improving energy, digestion, hormone balance, and overall resilience. In the end, functional nutrition is less about rigid diets and more about understanding how the body works. When nutrition, lifestyle, and medical insight come together, patients gain something even more valuable than a treatment plan: a clearer roadmap toward lasting health.

To learn more about primary care with Dr. Queen, to explore the practice or schedule a complimentary discovery call at (415) 548-7901 or use our online appointment form. Isn’t it time you for you to experience a more connected way to care for your health?