Jarrod Cooper

Jarrod Cooper – ND
Functional Medicine Practitioner

My name is Jarrod Cooper and I am a degree-qualified Naturopathic Doctor and Functional Medicine Practitioner. I have been interested in health and wellness from a young age, with strong influences from my mother in natural medicine.

I haven't always been as healthy as I am today. In my 20s I was of average health and led a normal life. However, I noticed my health slowly start to decline over this period as my focus was on many areas, such as my kids, my wife, the corporate business I owned and other life demands.

My Health Story

I slowly began to experience fatigue, digestive issues, a skin rash, weight gain, anxiety, some hair loss, low mood and body aches and pains. I sought advice from my GP and was told I was healthy and everything was fine. My blood tests came back "within range" and I was offered various drugs, which, after researching, I decided not to take, choosing to explore natural medicine instead. So why was I feeling this way? I knew I could and should feel so much better than I did, and that I should be excited about life. How come I wasn't?

I consulted various natural health practitioners and gained real insight into which parts of my body were not functioning correctly. A dysfunctional duodenum in my digestive system and low thyroid activity, even though my blood markers were in range, were two driving factors. Once I added supplements and herbs to my routine, things began to improve. However, it wasn't until I discovered functional medicine that my health took a turn for the better, as I uncovered the deeper root causes of these conditions.

Journey to Functional Medicine

This experience rekindled my passion for natural medicine, inspiring me to study nutrition and holistic life coaching in my spare time. After a marriage breakup and a business decline, I decided to pursue a full-time career in natural medicine, completing a Bachelor of Health Science and qualifying as a Naturopathic Doctor (ND).

Before graduating, I discovered functional medicine, which in my opinion is an advanced healthcare model. It blends advanced functional testing with proven natural treatments to address the underlying causes of disease, bridging the gap between conventional medicine and natural medicine.

I immersed myself in functional medicine, learning everything I could, applying the principles and running investigative testing on myself, and the results were remarkable. Correcting underlying pathologies, balancing my gut microflora and clearing infections, understanding my genetic and biochemical pathways, and identifying key nutrient deficiencies and how my neurotransmitters were performing put me in the best condition of my life, free of anxiety, fatigue, digestive issues, aches and pains and skin issues.

Over more than a decade in clinical practice, working with thousands of patients, I saw the same pattern again and again: people doing the right things in the wrong order. That led me to develop the Healing Hierarchy, the clinical framework I now use with every patient, and to write the book of the same name, which became a #1 Amazon bestseller.

I continued my education by seeking out some of the best practitioners and researchers in functional medicine in the world, and trained with:

• Dr Ben Lynch
• Chris Kresser
• Dr Mark Hyman
• Dr Datis Kharrazian
• Dr Andrew Rostenberg
• Dr Peter Osborne
• Paul Chek

I also studied through the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) and the Kresser Institute, and hold professional memberships with the IFM and the Australian Natural Therapies Association (ANTA).

Qualifications and Training

• Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy), Naturopathic Doctor (ND)
• Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM): advanced functional medicine practitioner training
• Dr Ben Lynch: advanced training in epigenetics, methylation and biochemical pathways
• Kresser Institute (USA): functional medicine practitioner training
• CHEK Institute (USA): holistic life coaching
• Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM): member
• Australian Natural Therapies Association (ANTA): Fellow Member
• Author, The Healing Hierarchy (#1 Amazon bestseller)

Clinical Special Interests

• Mystery illness and complex chronic disease
• Gut and gastrointestinal disorders, including SIBO
• Mould illness and CIRS
• Chronic infections, parasites and viral reactivation
• Autoimmune disease
• Thyroid and Hashimoto's
• Methylation, MTHFR and genetic reporting
• Anxiety, mental health and cognitive decline
• Fatigue and sleep issues
• Hormone imbalances
• Metabolic dysregulation
• Food intolerances
• Skin disorders
• Longevity and biological age

Mission to Help Others

After years in clinical practice, I realised that seeing patients one at a time, I could only help a limited number of people. That led me to build Advanced Functional Medicine into a multidisciplinary clinic, so our team of health practitioners can help far more people than I could alone. It also led me to write The Healing Hierarchy, which sets out the framework I use with every patient, and to create Functional Medicine Solution, an online program for patients and practitioners.

When I'm not spending time with my partner Gemma and our six children, I lead the team at Advanced Functional Medicine, based at the Antony St Specialist Centre in Palmyra, Western Australia.

Book Appointment

Jarrod's books at Advanced Functional Medicine are currently closed to new patients. He takes on a limited number of new complex cases each year through his telehealth Consultation Packages across Australia and worldwide.  See availability and how to book below.