Advanced Functional Medicine

Advanced Functional Medicine Integrative and Functional Medicine clinic located in Perth and servicing patients Australia wide.

19/06/2026

You feel toxic so you do a cleanse. The cleanse makes you feel worse.

Here's what's actually happening.

Detoxification happens in two phases.

Phase 1 takes toxins and makes them more reactive, often more dangerous in the short term. Phase 2 then binds these activated compounds and excretes them through urine, bile, and stool.

"Cleanses" often accelerate Phase 1 without supporting Phase 2. The toxins get activated but can't get out. They circulate, cause symptoms (headaches, brain fog, rashes, fatigue), and often get reabsorbed in the gut.

Phase 2 requires: Sulphur (cruciferous vegetables, onions, garlic, eggs) Glycine (bone broth, collagen, glycine supplementation) Glutathione (precursors: NAC, alpha-lipoic acid, glycine, glutamine) B vitamins, especially B6, B9, B12 Magnesium

Phase 2 also requires open elimination routes: Daily bowel motions (otherwise toxins get reabsorbed) Kidney function (water, electrolytes) Sweat (movement, sauna) Breath (deep breathing, exercise)

Most "cleanses" don't address any of this. They juice, they fast, they take herbs that hit Phase 1.

Real detoxification:

Support Phase 2 first
Open elimination routes
Then gradually mobilise
Slow is fast. Fast is usually backwards.

This is the kind of sequencing I write about in The Healing Hierarchy.

Grab a copy: amazon.com.au/dp/176457110X

Your anxiety isn't a chemical imbalance in the brain. It's often a chemical signal from the gut.90% of serotonin is made...
18/06/2026

Your anxiety isn't a chemical imbalance in the brain. It's often a chemical signal from the gut.

90% of serotonin is made in the gut, not the brain.

The vagus nerve is the direct highway between them, sending more signals up to the brain than down to the gut. Inflammation, dysbiosis, low gut diversity, parasites or candida overgrowth all disrupt the signals travelling north.

Studies consistently show altered gut microbiomes in anxiety, depression, OCD, autism and ADHD. Treating the gut improves mental health outcomes, sometimes more than SSRIs alone.

This isn't woo. It's well-established neuroscience now.

If you have anxiety, low mood, brain fog or panic, and have never had your gut properly investigated, you're treating the smoke and ignoring the fire.

What to test: Comprehensive stool analysis (PCR-based, not culture) Calprotectin (inflammation) Zonulin (gut barrier) Secretory IgA (gut immune function) Organic acids test (for neurotransmitter metabolites and dysbiosis byproducts)

Mental health and gut health are not separate. They are the same conversation.

advancedfunctionalmedicine.com.au/how-we-work

16/06/2026

You're 42. Symptoms are wild. Anxiety, weight gain around the middle, insomnia, hot flushes, brain fog, irregular cycles. Your GP wants to start HRT.

Run these labs first.

Perimenopause symptoms overlap heavily with thyroid dysfunction, iron deficiency, blood sugar dysregulation, and HPA axis dysfunction. Address those first and many symptoms resolve without HRT, or with much less of it.

Full thyroid panel: TSH, free T3, free T4, reverse T3, TPO and thyroglobulin antibodies. Most perimenopausal women have subclinical thyroid issues that mimic perimenopause perfectly.

Full iron panel: ferritin, transferrin saturation, iron, TIBC. Heavy perimenopausal cycles drain iron fast. Low iron causes fatigue, hair loss, anxiety and air hunger, all blamed on hormones.

Metabolic panel: fasting insulin, HbA1c, HOMA-IR, lipids with ApoB. Oestrogen drops in perimenopause and insulin sensitivity drops with it. Many women become insulin resistant in this window.

DUTCH test: shows oestrogen metabolism, progesterone, cortisol curve and adrenal pathway. Blood hormones in perimenopause are useless because they fluctuate hourly. DUTCH captures the whole picture.

Now you have a picture worth treating from. HRT may still be the answer. It should be an informed answer.

38 year old man. 15 years of IBS-D.Diagnosed at 23. Told it was "just IBS, manage it with diet."Daily diarrhoea, urgent ...
16/06/2026

38 year old man. 15 years of IBS-D.

Diagnosed at 23. Told it was "just IBS, manage it with diet."

Daily diarrhoea, urgent bathroom trips, anxiety about leaving the house. He'd already cut gluten, dairy, FODMAPs. Down to 12 safe foods and still reacting. Two gastroenterologists, three dietitians, normal colonoscopy.

When we finally ran a comprehensive stool test: Blastocystis hominis (parasite) Klebsiella overgrowth Calprotectin 95 (normal below 50) Zonulin 145 (normal below 107) Secretory IgA 180 (low) Pancreatic elastase 145 (low normal)

Multiple drivers, none of them tested before in 15 years.

Protocol followed the Healing Hierarchy.

Phase 1: Nervous system stabilisation and digestive support. Get the body able to digest food again. Phase 2: Targeted antimicrobial protocol for Blastocystis and Klebsiella, 8 weeks. Phase 3: Gut barrier repair, sIgA support. Phase 4: Dietary reintroduction, widening the diet back out.

6 months later: stool test clear of pathogens. Calprotectin 18. Zonulin 72. Secretory IgA 720. Pancreatic elastase 320.

Bowel motions normal. Eating 50+ foods comfortably. Back at the gym. Got his life back.

"Just IBS" isn't just IBS. It's a label that hides what's actually going on. Test, don't guess.

advancedfunctionalmedicine.com.au

14/06/2026

You got told you have MTHFR. You started a methyl B12 and felt terrible.

Here's what's actually going on.

MTHFR is a gene variant affecting how you process folate and B12. Roughly 40% of people carry one variant, 10% carry two. It's common, not rare. The variant doesn't mean you "can't methylate." It means you methylate less efficiently.

With the right cofactors and a few dietary adjustments, most people function perfectly well.

Throwing high-dose methylfolate at MTHFR without testing methylation status often backfires. You get anxiety, insomnia, irritability, or histamine reactions. The body needs more than one input to methylate properly.

The correct approach:

Test homocysteine first. If it's optimal (below 7), your methylation is working regardless of what your genes say.

If homocysteine is elevated, work upstream first: address gut absorption, optimise B6, magnesium, choline, glycine and zinc.

Introduce active B vitamins gradually, starting low. Methylated forms when needed, but not as the first move.

Track symptoms and re-test homocysteine, don't just guess.

MTHFR doesn't need a complicated protocol. It needs an informed one.

12/06/2026

Acne. Eczema. Psoriasis. Rosacea.

They're not skin problems. They're gut problems showing on the surface.

The gut-skin axis is real and well-researched. When the gut barrier breaks down, inflammatory molecules and immune signals reach the skin. The skin then expresses the chaos.

Acne: often driven by insulin spikes, dairy sensitivity, and gut dysbiosis. Eczema: gut barrier dysfunction, food sensitivities, immune imbalance. Psoriasis: autoimmune, almost always with a gut driver underneath. Rosacea: linked to SIBO in over 50% of cases.

Topical treatments calm the surface. They don't address what's driving the immune signal underneath. This is why so many people end up rotating creams, antibiotics and steroids forever.

Real recovery starts with the gut: Stool testing to map what's there Identify and remove triggers (gluten, dairy, sugar are common) Repair the gut barrier Stabilise blood sugar Restore the microbiome

The skin clears as the gut clears. The order matters.

You have reflux. Your GP gave you a PPI. The reflux improved a bit, then came back worse.Here's what most people don't k...
11/06/2026

You have reflux. Your GP gave you a PPI. The reflux improved a bit, then came back worse.

Here's what most people don't know: reflux is often caused by too little stomach acid, not too much.

Low stomach acid means food sits in the stomach longer, fermenting and producing gas. That pressure pushes stomach contents back up through the lower oesophageal sphincter, which itself loses tone when acid is low.

PPIs lower stomach acid further. They suppress the symptom in the short term while making the underlying problem worse. Long-term PPI use also reduces absorption of B12, magnesium, iron, calcium and protein, raises infection risk, and changes the gut microbiome.

How to tell if you're actually low in stomach acid: reflux that gets worse after big meals or coffee, bloating in the upper stomach within 30 minutes of eating, undigested food in stool, iron and B12 deficiency despite a good diet, and a positive baking soda test in the morning.

This is one of the most common patterns I see, and one of the most reversible once it's identified correctly.

10/06/2026

You have PCOS. Your GP gave you the pill. But PCOS isn't actually a hormone problem.

PCOS is a metabolic problem that drives hormonal symptoms.

The root in 70% of cases is insulin resistance. Insulin drives the ovaries to make more testosterone, which drives the cystic appearance, the irregular cycles, the acne and the facial hair.

The other 30% are inflammatory PCOS or adrenal PCOS. Each has a different root and a different treatment path. One label, three distinct conditions.

The pill suppresses the symptoms but does nothing to fix the metabolic dysfunction underneath. When women come off it years later, the PCOS is worse, not better, often with added gut dysbiosis from years of hormonal contraceptives.

Real treatment starts with proper testing: Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (the metabolic markers) HbA1c (3-month blood sugar) hs-CRP (inflammation) DHEA-S and cortisol curve (adrenal) SHBG and free testosterone (the actual hormonal pattern)

Then targeted protocols for whichever driver is dominant.

Insulin-resistant PCOS responds to dietary change, metformin or inositol, and resistance training. Inflammatory PCOS responds to gut healing and anti-inflammatory protocols. Adrenal PCOS responds to stress management and HPA support.

One condition. Three drivers. Three different treatments.

09/06/2026

Random rashes. Headaches after wine. Anxiety after meals. It might be histamine intolerance.

Histamine is a normal molecule made by the body and found in many foods. Healthy gut and liver break it down quickly. When the breakdown system fails, histamine builds up.

Symptoms include: Flushing and skin rashes Hives and itching Headaches and migraines Anxiety and racing heart Sinus congestion and runny nose Gut pain and bloating Reactions to wine, aged cheese, fermented foods, leftovers, tomatoes, avocado

Most common cause: DAO enzyme deficiency. DAO is the enzyme that breaks down histamine in the gut. It's often impaired by gut inflammation, SIBO, leaky gut, or specific gene variants.

Standard allergy testing won't pick this up. It is a metabolic issue, not an immune allergy. The trigger foods are different too. A food allergy panel can be completely clear while histamine intolerance is the issue.

Real recovery means fixing the gut and supporting DAO, not just avoiding histamine forever.

Address

4 Antony Street
Perth, WA
6157

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+611800112236

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