FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FAQs

The best way to describe the functional healthcare we practice in our office is comprehensive and all-inclusive.

That does not mean every patient needs every tool in the functional medicine toolbox. In fact, most don’t. But nearly every patient benefits from several foundational components of this approach.

Let me explain.

Functional medicine is built on a simple but powerful principle:

Disease does not happen randomly — it develops for a reason.

While there are rare exceptions, the vast majority of chronic illnesses develop over time due to identifiable drivers. People don’t “catch” type 2 diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune conditions, or most cancers the way they catch a cold. These conditions develop as the result of metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, toxin exposure, hormonal imbalance, stress overload, gut dysfunction, lifestyle patterns, and genetic predispositions interacting over time.

Symptoms are not the problem.
They are signals.

Conventional medicine often focuses on suppressing symptoms. Functional medicine asks a deeper question:

Why did this happen in the first place?

Our goal is to identify and address the root causes — not just manage downstream effects.

When you remove or correct the underlying drivers of dysfunction, the body often has an incredible ability to repair, regulate, and restore balance.

Unfortunately, most “natural” doctors don’t practice this way and often use methods that are questionable at best.

Functional medicine is especially effective for:

• Chronic conditions that haven’t fully responded to conventional care

• Autoimmune disorders

• Thyroid and hormone imbalances

• Digestive disorders

• Metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance

• Chronic fatigue and brain fog

• Inflammatory conditions

• Patients seeking health optimization and longevity

It is also ideal for individuals who want to prevent disease rather than wait to treat it.

However, not every concern requires a full deep-dive functional workup. Some patients come in with more straightforward or acute needs. In those cases, a targeted integrative or natural approach may be more appropriate.

That’s why we also incorporate aspects of:

• Integrative medicine

• Holistic care

• Natural therapeutics

• Nutritional medicine

• Lifestyle-based interventions

The key difference is how we apply them.

Our Foundation: Evidence-Based Functional Medicine

What separates our practice from many alternative or natural approaches is our commitment to evidence-based care.

Evidence-based medicine means:

• Treatments are supported by credible scientific research

• Interventions are shown to be safe

• Recommendations are appropriate for the individual patient

• Risks are carefully evaluated

• We do no harm

Every protocol, supplement recommendation, dietary intervention, or diagnostic test we use is grounded in scientific literature and clinical reasoning.

Functional medicine is not guesswork.
It is not trend-based.
It is not experimental.

It is structured, data-driven, and personalized.

In functional medicine, “root cause” refers to the underlying biological imbalances that drive symptoms and disease — not just the diagnosis itself. A diagnosis like diabetes, hypothyroidism, IBS, or hypertension is simply a label describing a pattern of symptoms or lab findings. It does not explain why the condition developed. Root cause care asks a deeper question: Why did this happen in this person, at this time?

Most chronic diseases don’t appear overnight, and they don’t occur randomly. They develop over time due to layers of dysfunction — such as inflammation, insulin resistance, hormonal imbalance, gut disruption, nutrient deficiencies, chronic stress, poor sleep, environmental exposures, or genetic predisposition. The symptom is often the final expression of these upstream imbalances. Rather than only managing the symptom, we work to identify and correct the underlying drivers.

By addressing these foundational imbalances, we help restore resilience and proper function within the body. This approach doesn’t ignore conventional medicine — it enhances it. When root causes are properly identified and corrected, patients often experience deeper, more sustainable improvements in their health rather than temporary symptom relief.

Alternative Medicine - Any of a range of medical therapies that are not regarded as orthodox by the medical profession, such as herbalism, homeopathy, and acupuncture. This term is a fairly all inclusive definition and can include anything from crystals, reiki, voodoo, etc. Basically as long as its not medications, surgery, or something taught in traditional medical school, its alternative. As a general rule is doesn’t mean much and many laypersons can also use this term. Be careful!

Integrative Medicine - Healing-oriented medicine that takes account of the whole person, including all aspects of lifestyle. With integrative medicine generally we are still talking about alternative medicine practices. The main difference is that now we are beginning the look at how all aspects of the body work together and how one system can affect another system. In my experience, this type of practice is generally on in which a few different types of doctors work together in the same office to provide care to one patient. An example may be an office with a doctor of chiropractic, acupuncturist, herbalist, physical therapist, osteopathic doctor or any combination of those.

Chinese medicine - A healing system developed in China more than 2,000 years ago, incorporating therapies that are in some cases millennia older. One of its guiding principles is to "dispel evil and support the good. Generally performed by a practitioner that has learned from older teachers and passed down from generation to generation. It may include herbs, roots and many times the practitioners are also acupuncturists. This form of medicine is generally rooted in traditions.

Ayurvedic medicine - One of the world's oldest holistic (whole-body) healing systems. It was developed thousands of years ago in India. It is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. In my experience this is similar to chances medicine. Like the chinese medicine some of the practices may or may not be efficacious and/or harmful.

naturopathic “natural” medicine - Naturopathic medicine refers to an approach to treating people, and tends to favor natural and low-force interventions. Treatment guidelines generally follow what they call they therapeutic order. Naturopathic doctors are currently licensed in only 16 states and many times it is easy for anyone to call themselves a naturopath.

Functional Healthcare - Functional healthcare was explained in the previous faq, and it is explained many times over throughout the website. I would like to reiterate that the form we practice I like to refer to as Integrative functional medicine. I would explain it as being all of the previous forms of “alternative” healthcare rolled into one, mixed with a bunch of research, evidence based care, and scientific evidence. In todays day and age with all the research and technology available to us, we can pretty much see or measure anything we want to in the body. If its not evidence based healthcare, its not healthcare.

Training in functional medicine can vary widely. Some providers pursue extensive, formal education and rigorous certification programs, while others may attend brief seminars or short courses and begin offering services without deep clinical immersion. Because “functional medicine” is a philosophy and clinical framework rather than a single licensed specialty, the depth of training depends heavily on the individual practitioner.

Dr. Craig Mortensen is formally certified through the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) — the leading educational body in the field — earning the IFMCP designation. After practicing alternative and integrative medicine for 12 years, he was drawn toward the systems-based, root-cause model of functional medicine and committed fully to mastering it. He immersed himself in advanced clinical training, learning from many of the early pioneers in the field — clinicians who were practicing functional medicine before it became widely recognized. In addition to IFM certification, Dr. Mortensen has completed advanced training seminars with Functional Medicine University and Dr. Datis Kharrazian, further expanding his expertise in complex chronic illness, neuroinflammation, and autoimmune conditions.

With more than 12 years of exclusive functional medicine practice and over 5,000 clients served worldwide, our office combines structured education with deep clinical experience. Dr. Mortensen also holds multiple additional professional certifications, including QME, NRCME, CHt, EMT, and others earned throughout his career. In functional medicine, education never stops — and our commitment is to practice it responsibly, rigorously, and grounded in both science and real-world results.

You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email. We aim to respond quickly—usually within one business day.

Every patient is unique and deserves individualized care. Until we take the time to truly listen to your story and evaluate your health history, we can’t responsibly determine how we may be able to help you.

Many healthcare models focus on treating illness within a single system of the body — addressing thyroid issues in isolation, managing blood sugar alone, or suppressing digestive symptoms without looking deeper. But the body does not function as separate compartments. It is an interconnected network of systems constantly communicating with one another. A change in one area can have ripple effects elsewhere, either beneficial or detrimental. To create meaningful and lasting improvement, we must understand how these systems interact rather than viewing them in isolation.

The human body is remarkably adaptable. It can compensate for stress, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, and dysfunction for years — sometimes decades. But compensation is not the same as healing. Eventually, the body reaches a threshold where it can no longer adapt. When that happens, symptoms appear, energy declines, and disease may develop.

The encouraging truth is this: when balance is restored, the body has an extraordinary ability to heal itself. Often, the goal is not to “force” healing — but to remove the obstacles that are preventing it. Sometimes, we simply have to identify the interference, restore balance, and allow the body to do what it was designed to do.