If you turn on the TV today, you’ll see a flood of commercials for biologic drugs — the “mabs.” Adalimumab (Humira). Infliximab (Remicade). Etanercept (Enbrel). These blockbuster monoclonal antibodies rake in billions every year by targeting inflammation — specifically by shutting down immune signaling molecules like TNF-α. On the surface, it sounds like progress. But here’s the catch: they don’t solve why inflammation is raging in the first place. They just turn off parts of your immune system. And if you’ve ever listened closely to the side effect profiles at the end of these commercials, you know what I’m talking about: increased risk of cancer, life-threatening infections, autoimmune complications. The question is simple: before shutting down your immune system, wouldn’t it make sense to ask why it’s inflamed in the first place?
What Inflammation Really Is
Inflammation is your body’s natural defense mechanism. It’s how your immune system responds to injury, infection, or imbalance. In the short term, it saves lives. Long-term, it slowly erodes them. Pathophysiology of inflammation involves:
- Cytokines: chemical messengers like TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β that regulate immune response
- Acute response: redness, swelling, heat, pain — meant to heal
- Resolution phase: when immune activity should shut off after healing
- Chronic inflammation: the “off switch” breaks, creating smoldering damage that leads to tissue destruction, mitochondrial failure, and even DNA mutations
That’s why inflammation is often called the “common soil” of disease (Furman et al., Nature Medicine, 2019). The CDC reports that 6 in 10 adults in the U.S. live with at least one chronic disease, and 4 in 10 live with two or more. The Lancet has described chronic inflammation as a “global health crisis,” contributing to the majority of deaths worldwide. Researchers coined the term “inflammaging” to describe how low-grade chronic inflammation accelerates biological aging, fueling Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and frailty.
Lab Red Flags of Inflammation That Are Ignored
Most doctors order basic labs but rarely interpret them through a functional medicine lens. This means subtle signs of immune dysfunction get ignored until disease is advanced. Here are some acute-phase reactants and functional markers that can signal inflammation, even if you’re told “everything looks normal”:
- Ferritin: often elevated with hidden inflammation or infections
- Liver function tests (ALT, AST, GGT): inflammation in the liver can spike these
- High platelets: a response to systemic inflammation
- Monocytes: elevated levels often reflect chronic infection or immune activation
- Sed rate (ESR): a crude but useful marker of inflammation
- Hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein): detects low-grade cardiovascular inflammation
- Homocysteine: elevated levels increase vascular and neurological risk
- Fibrinogen: an inflammatory clotting protein tied to cardiovascular disease
- White blood cell count: too high or too low both indicate immune dysfunction
- ANA (antinuclear antibodies): signals autoimmune activity
In conventional ranges, these may not always flag as abnormal. But in functional medicine, optimal ranges are much tighter, and even small shifts can reveal that your immune system is already smoldering.
Why Conventional Medicine Misses It
The conventional model waits until the fire has already consumed half the house. Then it prescribes a drug to cover up the smoke. Doctors aren’t trained to ask why the fire started — they’re trained to contain symptoms. That’s why so many people with fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, mood swings, or thyroid problems get labeled with things like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, “idiopathic” (doctor-speak for we don’t know), or anxiety and depression. Instead of searching for root causes, the system funnels you into prescriptions that may quiet the symptoms but fuel deeper dysfunction.
Functional Medicine Testing: The Tools Nobody Else Is Using
At GrassRoots, we use advanced diagnostics that most conventional providers either aren’t trained in, don’t order, or don’t know how to interpret.
- Advanced inflammatory markers
- hs-CRP, homocysteine, fibrinogen, ferritin, and cytokine panels
- Looking at patterns instead of isolated labs reveals hidden inflammation
- Gut health testing
- US Biotek Advanced Stool Test to evaluate microbiome balance, pathogens, digestive enzymes, and immune activation
- Zonulin and permeability markers for early detection of leaky gut
- Tick-borne and chronic infections
- IGeneX ImmunoBlot with over 90 percent sensitivity and specificity for Lyme and co-infections, compared to conventional testing that misses up to half of cases
- Expanded panels for Babesia, Bartonella, Anaplasma, and EBV
- Mycotoxin and environmental toxins
- US Biotek Urine Mycotoxin Test to reveal hidden mold toxins
- Heavy metals testing for lead, mercury, and arsenic
- Hormone and metabolic testing
- HUMAP for cortisol rhythm, sex hormones, and metabolites
- Genova Metabolomix+ for organic acids, amino acids, nutrient deficiencies, and mitochondrial health
These tests don’t just tell us if you’re sick. They show why your body is inflamed. Without them, conventional doctors are playing whack-a-mole with your symptoms.
Lifestyle Fire Extinguishers
Once we uncover the root cause, we can tailor strategies to calm the fire.
- Nutrition: anti-inflammatory diet personalized with food sensitivity insights; omega-3s, turmeric, cruciferous vegetables, colorful phytonutrients
- Movement: consistent, moderate activity reduces cytokines; overtraining fuels them
- Sleep: even one poor night raises IL-6 and TNF-α (Irwin, 2019). We optimize circadian rhythm with BrainTap, red light, and sleep hygiene
- Stress resilience: chronic stress equals chronic inflammation. Breath-work, vagal tone exercises, meditation, and community engagement all help lower load
- Environmental detox: mold remediation, water and air filtration, chemical reduction
Advanced Therapies at GrassRoots
Lifestyle is foundational, but sometimes the fire has been raging too long. That’s where advanced therapies come in.
- Peptides like BPC-157, Thymosin alpha-1, and KPV for immune modulation, tissue repair, and gut healing
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for oxygen delivery, tissue repair, and immune regulation
- Infrared sauna and cold plunge for detoxification, stress resilience, and cytokine reduction
- Red light therapy for mitochondrial support, collagen and elastin stimulation, and inflammation reduction
- PEMF to improve cellular signaling and recovery
- IV ozone therapy as a powerful immune modulator, antimicrobial therapy, and inflammation regulator
We believe in a multiple-tools-in-the-toolbox philosophy. Every patient is unique. Some respond best to peptides, others to HBOT or IV ozone. The power is in personalization.
The Bottom Line
You won’t hear this from the average specialist. Not because they don’t care, but because they were never trained to look at inflammation this way. As a clinician, I can tell you: we don’t learn this in school. The system is designed to manage disease, not restore health. But you deserve better. You deserve someone who listens, investigates, and refuses to accept “everything looks fine” when you know it doesn’t. At GrassRoots Functional Medicine, our mission is simple: find the answers nobody else is looking for. Cool the fire. Heal the root. Reclaim your vitality. Because you’re not broken. You’re inflamed. And there’s a way forward. You don’t have to keep living burned out, inflamed, or dismissed. There are answers waiting to be found. Schedule your Discovery Call with GrassRoots Functional Medicine and take the first step toward restoring your energy, your health, and your life. This is where your real transformation begins.
References
- Furman, D., et al. (2019). Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nature Medicine, 25(12), 1822–1832.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023). About Chronic Diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/index.htm
- Franceschi, C., & Campisi, J. (2014). Chronic inflammation (inflammaging) and its potential contribution to age-associated diseases. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 69(Suppl_1), S4–S9.
- Hunter, P., et al. (2017). The inflammation theory of disease. The Lancet, 390(10113), 2130.
- Irwin, M. R. (2019). Sleep and inflammation: partners in sickness and in health. Nature Reviews Immunology, 19(11), 702–715.
- US Biotek. Advanced Stool Test. https://usbiotek.com/advanced-stool-test/
- IGeneX. The Difference in Lyme Testing. https://igenex.com/the-difference/
- US Biotek. Mycotoxin Testing. https://usbiotek.com/mycotoxin/
- Genova Diagnostics. Metabolomix+ Test. https://www.gdx.net/product/metabolomix-plus-nutritional-test-urine
