Your gut influences far more than digestion — it plays a central role in immunity, hormones, metabolism, and brain health. Functional medicine starts with the gut because dysfunction here can ripple through the entire body. This deep dive explains why gut health is often the missing link behind chronic symptoms.

Advanced gut testing helps uncover hidden drivers of inflammation, fatigue, and chronic symptoms by revealing how well the gut’s microbiome, immune system, and barrier function are working. This clarity allows functional medicine practitioners to create targeted, root-cause treatment plans that truly support long-term health.

Gut symptoms are only part of the story—lab testing reveals the unseen drivers of inflammation, digestion challenges, and immune imbalance.

Anxiety isn’t just a mental experience — it’s deeply connected to what’s happening in the gut. At the Laguna Institute of Functional Medicine, we see how digestive health, inflammation, hormones, and the microbiome shape mood more than most people realize. The gut and brain communicate constantly through nerves, hormones, and immune pathways, which means gut imbalance can fuel anxiety, stress, and emotional overwhelm.
This article explores how functional medicine approaches anxiety by supporting gut health at the root — revealing why healing the microbiome can quiet the mind, strengthen stress resilience, and improve overall well-being.

Your gut is the command center of your health. Between ages 35 and 60, changes in digestion, metabolism, and energy often trace back to microbiome imbalance. Discover how a gut-focused functional medicine approach, led by Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj of the Laguna Institute of Functional Medicine and the Well12 Program, helps restore balance, strengthen the heart, and unlock lasting vitality from the inside out.

Heart health is about more than cholesterol or blood pressure.
New research shows a deeper connection — one that begins in the gut. Your microbiome quietly shapes inflammation, metabolism, and vascular health. When it’s balanced, the heart thrives. When it’s not, risk rises. Supporting that gut–heart dialogue with the right foods and habits can help your cardiovascular system perform at its best.

But here’s the truth no one talks about: bloating and belly fat are often symptoms of an inflamed, out-of-balance gut. Not a willpower problem. Not just water weight. And not something you need to “suck in” or starve away.

In functional medicine, we look beyond the surface. What if your gut health — the very foundation of your digestion, metabolism, hormones, and immunity — was quietly sabotaging your results?