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Functional Nutrition Consultation
Functional nutrition is a personalized, systems-based approach that uses food, lifestyle, and targeted supplementation to support optimal health and healing. At the Holistic Healing Heart Center, we recognize that no two patients are alike. Your symptoms, history, and unique biochemistry guide every aspect of our care. We take the time to listen deeply, look beneath the surface, and help you connect the dots between your nutrition, your environment, and your health concerns.
What is Functional Nutrition?
Functional nutrition applies the core principles of functional medicine to dietary and lifestyle interventions. It emphasizes root-cause resolution—using food as information to heal underlying dysfunction rather than simply addressing surface-level symptoms. Rather than applying a one-size-fits-all diet plan, we assess your individual needs using lab work, symptom patterns, and a detailed health history.
We focus on:
- Identifying food sensitivities and intolerances
- Supporting gut healing and microbiome balance
- Correcting nutrient deficiencies
- Balancing blood sugar and hormones
- Enhancing detoxification capacity
- Using therapeutic diets (e.g., anti-inflammatory, elimination, low FODMAP)
Our Approach to Functional Nutrition
Our nutrition consultations are highly individualized and education-focused. We go beyond counting calories or recommending general diet plans. Instead, we work collaboratively with you to understand the “why” behind your symptoms and to build a sustainable plan that reflects your needs, preferences, and clinical findings.
Depending on your case, your plan may include:
- Personalized meal planning based on therapeutic needs
- Strategic supplementation to correct deficiencies and enhance biochemical pathways
- Support for mindful eating and emotional relationship with food
- Guidance on food preparation, sourcing, and quality
- Education on the gut-heart-brain axis and the importance of food diversity
Functional Testing to Guide Nutritional Care
We often recommend functional lab testing to provide a clearer picture of what your body needs and why symptoms may be occurring. These insights allow us to provide more targeted and effective nutritional protocols.
Tests may include:
- Micronutrient and antioxidant panels
- Food sensitivity and allergy testing (IgG/IgA)
- Comprehensive stool and microbiome analysis
- Organic acids testing (OAT) for mitochondrial and detox function
- Hormone and adrenal assessments
- Blood sugar, lipid, and metabolic markers
While some basic labs may be covered by insurance, most specialized functional testing is out-of-pocket. These tests are always optional and selected based on your goals and presentation.
Meet Annie McRae, Functional Nutritionist
Annie McRae brings over 20 years of experience in functional nutrition, supporting clients with chronic illness through food-as-medicine strategies. Educated at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition in London, she offers practical, science-based guidance with a warm and empowering style. Her areas of expertise include digestive health, cardiovascular nutrition, autoimmune support, and metabolic balance. Annie works in close collaboration with Dr. Cynthia Thaik to ensure your nutritional plan aligns with your broader functional and cardiovascular goals.
Consultation Structure and Fees
All sessions are currently offered by telemedicine for your convenience.
- Initial Functional Nutrition Consultation – $250/hr Includes a comprehensive intake, review of recent labs, and creation of a tailored nutrition and supplement plan.
- Follow-Up Sessions – $250/hr or $150/30 minutes Used to assess progress, make adjustments, and deepen support.
- Email-Based Support – $50/email For brief questions or protocol clarification between sessions.
Contact
Schedule Your Telehealth Consultation with Dr. Cynthia
If you’re living with atrial fibrillation and want to explore natural treatment options, Dr. Cynthia is here to help. She provides telehealth consultations to guide you through personalized care plans, addressing lifestyle changes, supplement use, and stress management techniques tailored to your unique health needs.
Dr. Cynthia Thaik will perform a thorough cardiovascular assessment, looking at cardiac function, ruling out structural damage, checking paroxysmal atrial fibrillation symptoms, assessing the adverse effects of hypertension and dietary toxicity (alcohol, caffeine, excessive inflammatory foods), checking for vascular inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, and exploring the impact of stress on arterial tone and the autonomic nervous system regulation of the cardiovascular system.
The patient will have an option to receive individual coaching from a mindfulness instructor. Together, this integrative team approach to Afib will provide the patient with the best opportunity to address the root causes underlying the atrial fibrillation and hopefully restore normal sinus rhythm. As with all health conditions, our goal is to help Afib patients transition from symptoms and disease care to optimal health and wellness – true preventive cardiology.
If you have been diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation and are looking for natural treatments, Schedule a virtual visit or call for Telehealth Appointment at (818) 842 1410
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular palpitations can be a sign of atrial fibrillation. While this condition can continue for years without harm, a consistent increase in heart rate can cause heart enlargement. This is a hazard which can result in heart failure. Atrial fibrillation also comes with an increased risk of stroke from blood clots that can form as a result.
Without a solid understanding of the causes, it can be hard to definitively put a stop to heart palpitations. However, the treatments mentioned above: reducing stress and intake of stimulants, alcohol, and nicotine, exercising more, and eating a balanced diet, are all good steps forward. If your cardiologist determines that you have a more serious heart condition that may be life-threatening, it will require treatment. There are heart medications which can prevent more serious heart rhythm disorders. However, because of their significant side effects, they are not prescribed lightly. Consequences of misuse can lead to heart attacks, or even sudden death.
Some people experience heart palpitations after eating. While those palpitations may be attributable to an underlying medical condition, it is also possible that the food or beverage that was just consumed is responsible. Sugar can have this effect, particularly on hypoglycemic people. Alcohol is another common influence, particularly among those who have paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF). Foods rich in tyramine or theobromine, such as cheese, red wine, bananas, and especially chocolate (which has both), can increase heart rate and may cause atrial fibrillation.
Actually, no. A more likely cause of heart palpitations is in fact low blood pressure. It is true that medication for high blood pressure can have a side effect of causing palpitations, which may be what is happening when someone with high blood pressure experiences palpitations.