A Functional Approach to Traditional Medicine.

Identify root cause. Determine specific treatments. Develop an individualized plan.

Good health care is more than just managing disease.

Healthy food background. Healthy food in paper bag, fruits and berries

What is Direct Primary Care Mebane’s approach to functional medicine?

At Direct Primary Care Mebane, we seek to get to the root of your chronic medical conditions.  Through use of specialized lab testing, not performed in traditional primary care settings, we can assess for nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, stress, hormones, gut disturbances, toxins and cellular dysfunction. These issues can impair metabolic function and manifest in numerous symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain, anxiety, depression, autoimmune disorders, migraines, and skin disorders. 

We prescribe medications for chronic diseases but with the goal of being able to decrease or discontinue medications as the root cause of the illness is treated.

Why are people sicker today?

The root cause of many illnesses today is caused by the foods we eat, environmental toxins, stress and poor sleep. Many people think they can’t be vitamin or mineral nutrient deficient.  To the contrary, living in our modern society makes us susceptible to these deficiencies.

Our over-processed, nutrient poor and calorie rich diets are low in the fruits and vegetables that provide our vitamins and minerals.  Even when we eat fruits and vegetables, we are not getting the nutrients we should be getting. Farmers today don’t rotate their crops and inadequately replenish their soil.  We eat Genetically Modified foods and suffer more food allergies, intolerances and autoimmune diseases than ever before.

This causes our digestive tract to become inflamed, then we can’t effectively absorb the sparce nutrients we do get. This is how we become overweight and undernourished at the same time!

We are exposed to chemical and toxins in our environment every day. Many of these toxins are found in our foods as additives and preservatives. Metals are found in seafood due to pollution of the water. Cleaning products and air pollution also contribute to environmental toxins.

Chronic stress causes the adrenal glands to produce more of our stress hormones called cortisol. Chronic activation of cortisol can impact nearly every organ in the body including the gut, brain, thyroid, male and female reproductive systems, leading to a multitude of symptoms including cognitive issues like anxiety, brain fog, muscles aches, chronic fatigue and weight gain. 

Sleep allows the body to reverse damage incurred during wakeful hours while repleting energy. If patients do not get quality sleep their bodies can’t function properly, and they feel anxious and depressed.

What treatments are suggested?

Treatment plans are personalized to patients based off of the results of specialized lab testing. Treatment plans involve supplements and diet changes to balance gut health and heal a leaky gut, correcting nutrient deficiencies that keep people’s bodies from functioning properly, treatment plans to help the body detox harmful chemicals, metals and toxins, and hormone replacement to correct hormonal imbalances. 

Many people spend hundreds of dollars on over the counter vitamins and supplements hoping to feel better without benefit. We only suggest highly bio-available, quality supplements to correct your nutritional insufficiencies. Don’t spend money guessing what supplements you may or may not need, let us help you find the right ones for your health. 

Specific issues we address with our Functional Medicine approach:

Thyroid

Fatigue, low libido, erectile dysfunction, decreased motivation, decreased mood, and weight gain.

Chronic Fatigue

Increases cholesterol, blood pressure and fat gain. Can lead to systemic inflammation, atherosclerosis, and premature aging

Leaky Gut

Fatigue, autoimmune disorders, gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea/constipation, weight gain, decrease mood, cravings (especially bread, sugar, salt) and food intolerances or allergies.

Testosterone

Reduced libido, anxiety, fatigue, depression, memory problems, weight gain, muscle wasting.

Auto-Immune Diseases

An overactive immune response leads to inflammation, which drives downstream symptoms.

Hormone imbalances

Weight gain, changes in mood, constant fatigue, poor sleep, loss of interest in intimacy, hair and skin conditions.

Depression

Gut microbiome is responsible for many of the hormones that keep people from being depressed.

Toxicities

Molds: Brain fog, anxiety, pain, vision changes, numbness/tingling, POTS, histamine intolerance, mast cell activation syndrome.
Metals: Numbness/tingling, muscle weakness, fatigue, confusion

Long Covid

Fatigue, brain fog, POTS, joint pain, insomnia.

Chronic Lyme

Joint and muscle pain, rashes, headaches, fatigue, memory problems.