Metabolic Health: Functional Medicine for Metabolic Health
Root-cause care for weight, blood sugar, cholesterol and metabolic syndrome
Jarrod Cooper - ND
Naturopathic Doctor · Author, The Healing Hierarchy
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If you are doing the things you have been told to do and still gaining weight, still tired, or still watching your blood sugar and cholesterol creep up, the standard advice to eat less and move more is missing something. Metabolic health, how your body handles blood sugar, insulin, fat and energy, sits underneath a huge proportion of chronic disease, and it is highly responsive to the right approach once you understand what is actually happening. At Advanced Functional Medicine we work with people across Australia by telehealth to investigate and improve metabolic health at the root, not with willpower and guesswork.
The people we help most have usually been told to lose weight without being told how, or watched their numbers drift year after year while being reassured they are still in range.
What Metabolic Health Covers
Insulin resistance and blood sugar. This is the central engine of metabolic dysfunction, and it develops silently for years before it shows up as prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. We assess it properly, including the markers standard testing routinely skips, so it can be caught and reversed early rather than late.
Weight that will not shift. When weight does not respond to diet and exercise, the reason is usually metabolic, hormonal or inflammatory, not a lack of effort. We look for what is actually blocking it, including thyroid, insulin, cortisol and the gut, rather than prescribing more restriction.
Cholesterol and cardiovascular risk. We take a nuanced view of lipids and cardiovascular risk rather than reacting to a single number, and we look at the metabolic context around it.
Metabolic syndrome. The cluster of raised blood sugar, blood pressure, waist circumference and lipids that together sharply raise long-term risk, and that responds well to a coordinated root-cause plan.
Fatty liver. Non-alcoholic fatty liver is closely tied to metabolic health and is often reversible when the underlying drivers are addressed.
The role of GLP-1. GLP-1 has become central to the conversation about weight and blood sugar. We help patients understand where it fits, how gut health and specific nutrients influence the body’s own GLP-1, and how to approach metabolic health in a considered, individualised way rather than treating any single medication as the whole answer.
Conditions and Goals We Work With
Insulin resistance and prediabetes, type 2 diabetes support, stubborn weight and weight loss, high cholesterol and cardiovascular risk, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver, high or low blood pressure, and general metabolic optimisation for long-term health and longevity.
How We Investigate
We test rather than guess. This typically includes an extended blood panel of over eighty markers read against optimal ranges, covering insulin and blood sugar markers, a full lipid picture, liver and inflammatory markers, and where relevant organic acids and gut testing, since the gut plays a real role in metabolic health. Reading these against optimal rather than just normal ranges is how we catch dysfunction years before a standard test would flag it. From there we build a sequenced, individualised plan.
FAQ
Frequently
asked questions
The questions patients ask most often when they first come in. If yours isn't here, bring it to your appointment.
I am eating well and exercising but not losing weight. Why?
When weight will not shift despite genuine effort, the cause is usually metabolic, hormonal or inflammatory rather than willpower. Insulin resistance, thyroid function, cortisol and gut health can all block weight loss. We test to find which of these is at play for you, then address it directly, rather than prescribing more restriction.
Can you catch blood sugar problems before they become diabetes?
Yes, and this is one of the most valuable things we do. Insulin resistance develops silently for years before standard glucose tests flag it. By reading the right markers against optimal ranges, we can identify it early, when it is most reversible.
Where do GLP-1 medications fit in?
GLP-1 is a powerful tool in the weight and blood sugar conversation, but it works best as part of a considered, individualised plan rather than as a standalone fix. We help patients understand how it fits, and how gut health and specific nutrients influence the body's own GLP-1 production, so the underlying metabolic health improves rather than only the number on the scale.
Is high cholesterol always a problem?
Not in isolation. We take a more nuanced view than a single number, looking at the full lipid picture and the metabolic context around it, so the response is matched to your actual risk rather than a blanket rule.
Do I need to travel to see you?
No. We consult across Australia by telehealth with the same care and testing as an in-person visit. Pathology is collected locally and everything runs through your patient portal.
How telehealth works
Telehealth: the same care, wherever you are
Most of the patients I treat never set foot in the Perth clinic, and that is by design, not compromise. Telehealth patients get exactly the same care and access as someone who walks in the door in person. Not a reduced version: the same practitioner, the same functional testing, the same treatment sequence, the same follow-up. Plenty of my Perth patients choose telehealth anyway, simply because it is more convenient than travelling in.
Here is what that looks like in practice. Consultations run through a secure medical video link, joinable from your phone or computer with nothing to download. Your testing is arranged through our electronic links with the major Australian pathology labs, so you collect locally and the results come straight back to me. Any specialised kits that are not collected at a standard centre are simply posted to your door. Every patient also has access to a secure online patient portal, where your results are stored, you can message me and the team directly between appointments, and order your supplements. Being interstate or overseas changes nothing about the standard of care you receive.
Where to start
Two paths forward,
depending on where you are.
If you are managing your weight, blood sugar or cholesterol without seeing real movement, there are two paths forward.
Start with the foundations on your own. Stabilise blood sugar by eating protein at every meal and reducing refined carbohydrates. Remove the major inflammatory triggers: gluten, dairy, processed sugar, alcohol, and seed oils. Walk after meals to support insulin sensitivity. Prioritise sleep, since poor sleep alone can drive insulin resistance and weight gain regardless of diet. These changes alone can produce meaningful improvement and they cost nothing.
When you are ready for the clinical layer, an extended blood panel read against optimal ranges, covering insulin, blood sugar, lipids and liver markers, will give you the data needed to identify exactly what is driving your metabolic health and address it in sequence. At Advanced Functional Medicine, we offer both in-person consultations from our Perth clinic and telehealth consultations for patients across Australia and worldwide.
Ready to find out what is actually driving your metabolic health?
WRITTEN BY
Jarrod Cooper - ND
Naturopathic Doctor and founder of Advanced Functional Medicine. Consults from Perth, Western Australia and via telehealth nationally and internationally. Author of The Healing Hierarchy: Restore Function. Rebuild Your Body.
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