From thyroid to sleep – here are 5 women’s health concerns that functional medicine can help with, according to an expert practitioner

Ever been told your blood test results are “normal,” even when you know something feels, well, off? 

Maybe you’re tired (like, really tired) but can’t sleep, or your periods are playing up, and you’ve started noticing symptoms that are different to your usual. You might even be battling dry skin, even though you’re drinking more water and staying on top of your skincare routine more consistently than ever.

It’s a shared experience here on TRB’s all-female team – trying to do all the right things, but knowing instinctively that something isn’t adding up and feeling like the standard approach to diagnosing and treating symptoms as they present probably isn’t telling the full story.

The functional medicine women’s health approach, unpacked

By taking a comprehensive approach to testing and diagnosing women’s health conditions, functional medicine can get to the root of the problem and help create a treatment plan tailored to you.

And to take a look into exactly how (and when) this might benefit you, we’re back partnering with Phoenix Maas, Functional Medicine practitioner and qualified Osteopath at The Maas Clinic.

Start by skimming our introduction to integrative vs functional medicine in the UK to learn more, and discover what makes The Maas Clinic’s unique approach stand out.

Ready to dive in? Below, with expert input from Phoenix, we’ll explore five common health concerns that affect women every day (including some of us on Team TRB) and how functional medicine can help you get to the root of them.

1. Thyroid dysfunction

Thyroid dysfunction in women is often missed because standard blood tests don’t tell the whole story. You might experience any of the following, but be told your thyroid is “fine”:

• Anxiety
• Dry skin
• Menstrual irregularities
• Cold sensitivity
• Constipation
• Brain fog
• Thinning eyebrows 
• Low libido

Testing & treatment

In functional medicine for women’s health, we go deeper than just testing TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) alone. A full thyroid panel includes: 

• Free T3
• Free T4
• Reverse T3
• thyroid antibodies like TPO and TgAb

By evaluating other genetic factors like DIO2 and MTHFR, we can also understand how well your body converts thyroid hormones and methylates effectively. 

Autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s (a leading cause of thyroid issues) can be triggered by latent viruses like Epstein-Barr, especially in women with certain genetic predispositions. 

Treatment according to the functional approach takes a broad view, supporting the immune system, gut, and stress response, rather than simply “replacing” hormones.

2. Gut woes

In functional medicine, the gut is foundational. That’s because your digestive health doesn’t just influence bloating or food tolerance – it also impacts almost every other system, playing a major role in mood, hormones, immunity, and even how your body detoxifies.

For women, especially, the gut regulates how we metabolise oestrogen through the oestrobolome – a collection of gut bacteria involved in oestrogen clearance. An imbalanced microbiome (also called “dysbiosis”) can lead to symptoms like PMS, oestrogen dominance, heavy periods, and mood swings.

Testing & treatment

A functional medicine approach investigates gut integrity, inflammation, and your estrobolome (the part of your microbiome involved in hormone metabolism). 

Genetics can also play a role here. Certain factors that a functional medicine practitioner should look at can impact how well you detoxify hormones and tolerate certain foods or stressors, including:

• COMT – which affects how oestrogen and catecholamines are broken down
• DAO – which is involved in histamine degradation

Support strategies include: 

• microbiome testing
• personalised diet changes
• prebiotics and probiotics
• stress management

3. Cycle symptoms and hormonal imbalance

Your menstrual cycle is literally a vital sign. In women’s functional medicine, your cycle will be used to map how your hormones are performing and pinpoint where support is needed.

Testing & treatment

In functional medicine, practitioners take a look at the whole system, not just lab numbers. 

Symptom tracking, basal body temperature (BBT), and wearable tools like the Oura Ring help spot ovulation issues or stress-related hormonal dips. Rather than relying on a single blood test, a DUTCH urine test gives a fuller picture of how your body produces, uses, and eliminates hormones.

Treatment starts with the adrenals. If you’re under chronic stress, your body will prioritise survival over reproduction, often leading to low progesterone, irregular cycles, or fatigue.

By supporting adrenal function and using targeted nutrition and supplementation to aid detox pathways and methylation (especially for those with COMT or MTHFR variants), hormone health becomes much more manageable – and less mysterious.

4. Low iron 

Iron deficiency is common in women, especially if you have heavy periods, but it’s not always picked up in standard tests.

Testing & treatment

Instead of looking only at haemoglobin, functional medicine uses a more complete iron panel that looks at: 

• ferritin
• serum iron
• transferrin saturation
• TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity)

This helps detect low iron before it affects your red blood cells.

Not all anaemia is caused by iron deficiency – sometimes B12, folate, or B6 are the real culprits. And if you’ve also got gut issues like low stomach acid or SIBO, you may not absorb iron well in the first place.

Treatment is highly personalised under the functional medicine approach. It might involve: 

• iron supplements with vitamin C
• gut support
• hormone balancing to address the root of heavy periods
• genetic testing (like HFE mutations for iron metabolism)

What we should be aiming for here is optimal iron levels for females, not just numbers that are “within range”.

5. Sleep problems

Struggling to fall asleep—or waking up at 3 am with a racing mind—might not just be a stress issue. It could be your hormones, blood sugar, gut, or even genes.

Testing & treatment

Functional medicine looks at the full picture: Is your progesterone low? Is cortisol too high at night? Are blood sugar crashes waking you up? Do you lack magnesium or vitamin B6? All of these play a role in restful sleep.

Gene variants like CLOCK or PER3 can also affect your body’s internal clock, and testing tools like the DUTCH test or salivary cortisol panels reveal the state of your adrenal rhythm.

Nutrition, adaptogens, and lifestyle support, guided by a practitioner, can help recalibrate your sleep-wake cycle. We aim to restore the sleep-wake cycle from the inside out, not just patch symptoms.

The goal should be to help your body want to rest, by resolving the biological imbalances behind poor sleep.

Ready to explore functional medicine for women’s health?

There we have it! Five scenarios where a women’s functional medicine approach could really help unlock a deeper level of care and support. Tbh, it’s a shift that most of us on Team TRB are interested in making.

And it doesn’t stop with the list above. Whether you’re feeling puzzled by an undiagnosed issue, struggling with an ongoing illness, or just looking to boost your wellbeing, the brilliant team at The Maas Clinic offer a compassionate and whole-body approach to feeling and living better.

Because functional medicine doesn’t just treat different parts in isolation, it treats you.

Want to learn more about integrative and functional medicine for women’s health, or to book an appointment? Schedule a call with Phoenix today.