Weight Issues Treatment in Greenville, SC
Functional medicine weight management in Greenville, SC. Dr. Hendry identifies hormonal and metabolic barriers to weight loss and addresses them at the root. Call (864) 365-6156.
What Is Weight Issues?
Weight management difficulties — both undesired weight gain and inability to lose weight despite genuine effort — are rarely simple caloric imbalance problems. The majority of patients who struggle with weight have underlying biological factors that make weight management physiologically difficult: hormonal imbalances, insulin resistance, thyroid dysfunction, gut dysbiosis, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, and inflammatory states that dysregulate the body's weight-regulating systems. Functional medicine identifies and addresses these root causes.
Common Symptoms
Root Causes: A Functional Medicine Perspective
Insulin resistance — the most prevalent metabolic driver of excess weight — occurs when cells stop responding to insulin's signal to take up glucose. The pancreas compensates by producing more insulin, and elevated insulin drives fat storage while blocking fat release. A diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar perpetuates insulin resistance in a vicious cycle.
Thyroid dysfunction significantly slows metabolic rate. Cortisol from chronic stress drives central adiposity and carbohydrate cravings. Low testosterone in men and hormonal imbalances in women create metabolic environments that favor fat storage and muscle loss. Gut dysbiosis — particularly an imbalanced ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes bacteria — extracts more calories from food and produces metabolic endotoxemia that drives weight gain. Sleep deprivation raises ghrelin (hunger hormone) and lowers leptin (satiety hormone), creating biological hunger that is not addressable by willpower.
How We Treat Weight Issues at IHP
Dr. Hendry's functional medicine approach to weight begins with identifying which biological barriers are active: comprehensive metabolic testing (fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, complete thyroid panel, cortisol rhythm, sex hormones), gut microbiome assessment, inflammatory markers, and nutritional status. This assessment reveals the specific drivers requiring correction.
Treatment combines dietary interventions targeted to the biological pattern (low glycemic for insulin resistance, thyroid-supportive nutrition, anti-inflammatory for inflammatory patterns), targeted supplementation (berberine and inositol for insulin resistance, thyroid support, adaptogenic herbs for cortisol management), sleep optimization, and acupuncture — which has documented effects on appetite regulation, stress hormones, and metabolic function. Acupuncture at specific points reduces ghrelin, improves insulin sensitivity, and supports metabolic rate.
Dr. Hendry's Approach
Dr. Hendry treats weight difficulties as a medical problem with medical solutions — not a motivation or willpower failure. His systematic approach identifies the biological barriers to healthy weight and addresses them directly, enabling patients to achieve and maintain healthy weight once the underlying physiology is corrected.