Functional medicine

Functional medicine is the medical foundation of care at WIN: a way of practicing medicine that looks for the root cause of a symptom through a detailed history and specialized laboratory testing, then treats what the labs reveal. At our Houston and San Juan centers, Dr. Carmen Báez-Franceschi, a board-certified pediatrician, uses it to build the medical plan for infants, children, teens and adults before any therapy begins.

What is functional medicine?

Functional medicine asks a different first question. Instead of "what is this symptom called?", it asks "why is this body producing this symptom?" A child's inattention, speech delay or chronic stomach pain may have medical contributors underneath it: nutritional deficiencies, food allergies, exposure to environmental toxins, metabolic or hormonal imbalances, or genetic variants that change how the body processes nutrients. Functional medicine looks for them systematically and treats them so the body has what it needs to function.

It is not "alternative medicine" that rejects conventional care. At WIN, functional medicine is practiced by a board-certified pediatrician who prescribes conventional medication when it is medically needed and integrative protocols (dietary modification, individualized supplementation, homeopathy) when those fit better. It is also not a diagnostic label for autism or ADHD; it is a method for understanding and treating the medical picture behind a diagnosis.

Who functional medicine helps

Functional medicine is part of every WIN plan, because every patient begins with the same medical evaluation. It is especially central for children and adults with:

• Autism and ADD, ADHD and auditory processing, where medical contributors such as deficiencies, food sensitivities or gut imbalance are common findings
• Gastrointestinal disorders: constipation, reflux, bloating and selective eating
• Autoimmune disorders, including sudden changes in behavior after an illness
• Neurological disorders, where WIN works alongside the child's neurologist
• Adults seeking answers for brain fog, fatigue or chronic symptoms, including the anti-aging program

WIN treats infants, children, adolescents and adults. Functional medicine is not purchased as a stand-alone test menu: which labs are ordered, and what is done with the results, is decided by the physician after the initial evaluation, for each patient individually.

What a visit looks like at WIN

Functional medicine at WIN begins with the Phase I initial medical evaluation, in person at the Houston or San Juan center. The appointment is three-part and typically takes about 1 to 1.5 hours with the physician and about 3 hours in the office. Dr. Báez-Franceschi reviews the full medical history, prior treatments and current symptoms with the parents, examines the child and runs medical and neurodevelopmental tests. Families leave with an initial treatment plan and lab orders.

The specialized labs depend on the patient and may include genetic testing, a food allergy panel, environmental toxins, nutritional deficiencies, metabolic panels and hormone panels. Samples are collected the way each lab requires; the team explains what to expect so parents can prepare their child.

At the follow-up appointment, once labs are complete, the physician explains the results in plain language and builds the protocol. Parents are told what each finding means, what will be addressed first and how it will be rechecked. The physician screens for any condition, medication or allergy that would change a recommendation.

How it fits the Franceschi Method®

Functional medicine spans Phase I (evaluation and planning) and Phase II (evaluation results and protocols) of the Franceschi Method®. The labs ordered in Phase I feed the medical and nutritional protocols of Phase II: nutrition and individualized supplementation built on the findings, genetic testing that explains how an individual body handles nutrients and detoxification, and, for expecting parents, the prenatal consultation.

Treating the medical picture first is deliberate. A brain that is inflamed, underfed or coping with discomfort has a harder time responding to therapy, so the Phase III therapies are layered on a body that has been given what it needs. Progress is measured throughout with re-evaluation and repeat labs where indicated, and parents receive reports and training as part of the team.

What families can expect

After the initial in-person evaluation, many functional medicine follow-ups can be done by telemedicine for families in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico; international families travel to Houston or San Juan. Protocols are adjusted as results come in, so the first months involve a few visits and then a steadier rhythm. Early changes families often report, hedged because each child is different, are in sleep, digestion, energy and mood, with attention and language gains building on top as the therapies begin.

Not sure whether your child's symptoms have a medical cause no one has looked for? An orientation is the place to ask. Request an orientation with our Houston or San Juan team, in English or Spanish, and we will walk you through how the evaluation works and what it could reveal.