Functional medicine doctor · Coconut Grove, Miami

Functional Medicine in Miami

Functional medicine at Organic Well is root-cause care led by an Internal Medicine physician, Dr. Elizabeth Isalguez: conventional diagnosis first, then a look at how nutrition, hormones, gut health and lifestyle interact. It suits adults who want prevention and health optimization as well as those with symptoms such as fatigue or metabolic, hormonal or digestive concerns. Visits are in clinic in Coconut Grove, Miami, or by secure telehealth across Florida.

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In-clinic in Coconut Grove and via telehealth across Florida · (305) 930-8891

Medically reviewed by Dr. Elizabeth Isalguez Last reviewed September 16, 2026

Key takeaways

Functional medicine here means Internal Medicine first: conventional diagnosis is never skipped in favor of a root-cause narrative.
The practical difference is time: a full first consultation, so patterns across systems can actually be seen.
Testing is chosen to answer a question, and we say when a popular test has no validated basis.
Lifestyle is treated as a prescription with specific targets, not as generic advice.
Where conventional medicine has a proven treatment for your condition, that is what we recommend.

What it supports

Root causes, not band-aids

Connect symptoms across systems into one explanation.

MD-level rigor

Internal Medicine training behind every functional plan.

Time to be heard

Longer visits designed around understanding you.

What functional and integrative medicine actually is

Functional medicine asks why a symptom is happening instead of stopping at how to suppress it. It looks for the upstream contributors (nutrition, sleep, metabolic health, hormones, gut function, stress, environment) and treats them as clinical targets rather than background noise.

Integrative means both toolkits are on the table. Dr. Isalguez is an Internal Medicine physician with more than twenty years of clinical experience, and that training sets the floor: conventional diagnosis and evidence-based treatment come first, with functional approaches layered on where they add something. A root-cause framework is not a license to skip a diagnosis.

How it works, step by step

Full intake: a long first appointment covering history, timeline, medications, family history, nutrition, sleep, stress and goals.
Review of existing data: outside labs, imaging and specialist letters read properly rather than repeated.
Targeted testing: conventional and advanced markers selected to answer specific questions raised by your history.
Unified explanation: symptoms that have been treated separately by different clinicians, connected into one working model.
Written plan: nutrition, movement, sleep, supplements and medication where indicated, in priority order, with a review date.

Who it’s for, and who it isn’t

Likely a good fit: adults with chronic symptoms and no clear answer, patients seeing several specialists with no one holding the whole picture, people who prefer lifestyle-first care with medication as a considered option, and prevention-minded adults who want more than an annual physical.

Likely not a fit: anyone who wants alternatives to proven treatment for a serious diagnosed condition. If you have a condition where conventional medicine has strong evidence, that is what we will recommend, and we will say so plainly even when it is not what you hoped to hear.

What to expect at your first visit

Time, and questions you may not have been asked before. The first appointment is a full clinical intake rather than a fifteen-minute review. You will leave with an initial working explanation, a testing plan if one is needed, and the first two or three changes worth making before we meet again.

Where we draw the line

Some tests and treatments circulate widely in this field without evidence behind them. We do not use IgG food sensitivity panels to diagnose intolerance, we do not diagnose adrenal fatigue, and we do not sell long supplement protocols as a default. When a therapy is investigational, we say investigational.

Equally, we do not dismiss symptoms because standard labs are normal. Normal labs mean disease has not been detected; they do not mean nothing is wrong. Holding both of those positions at once is the entire point of the practice.

Pricing and insurance

Organic Well does not participate with insurance plans. That is what makes longer visits and genuinely personalized care possible. Fees are reviewed transparently before you book, and superbills are provided for potential out-of-network reimbursement.

Functional medicine in Coconut Grove, Miami

Consultations take place at 3661 S. Miami Ave, Suite 1003, minutes from Brickell and Coral Gables, with intakes, lab reviews and follow-ups also available by secure video for patients across Florida.

What the research says

Peer-reviewed sources, quoted directly, including where the evidence is thin.

In this study, the functional medicine model of care demonstrated beneficial and sustainable associations with patient-reported HRQoL.

Beidelschies M, Alejandro-Rodriguez M, Ji X, Lapin B, Hanaway P, Rothberg MB. Association of the Functional Medicine Model of Care With Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality-of-Life Outcomes. JAMA Network Open, 2019.

7,252 patients at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, propensity-score matched against a primary care cohort. At six months the functional medicine group improved by 1.59 PROMIS Global Physical Health T-score points versus 0.33 in primary care (P = .004 across 398 matched pairs).

Read the source
The lifestyle intervention reduced the incidence by 58 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 48 to 66 percent) and metformin by 31 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 17 to 43 percent), as compared with placebo; the lifestyle intervention was significantly more effective than metformin.

Knowler WC et al. Reduction in the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes with Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin. New England Journal of Medicine, 2002 (Diabetes Prevention Program).

3,234 adults with impaired glucose tolerance, randomized to placebo, metformin or a structured program targeting 7% weight loss and 150 minutes of activity per week. Behavior change, delivered properly, outperformed the drug.

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In this study involving persons at high cardiovascular risk, the incidence of major cardiovascular events was lower among those assigned to a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts than among those assigned to a reduced-fat diet.

Estruch R et al. Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet Supplemented with Extra-Virgin Olive Oil or Nuts. New England Journal of Medicine, 2018 (PREDIMED).

Hazard ratio 0.69 (95% CI 0.53 to 0.91) with olive oil and 0.72 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.95) with nuts, against a reduced-fat comparator: a dietary pattern, not a supplement, moving hard clinical endpoints.

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Our position

We cite the first study with its limitations attached: it is a retrospective cohort, not a randomized trial, and patients who choose (and pay for) this model differ from those who do not. The effect size is real but modest, and some of it is almost certainly attributable to time and attention rather than to any particular protocol. The randomized evidence sits underneath it, in DPP and PREDIMED: structured changes to diet and activity beat medication in prevention. We think time and attention are worth paying for. We do not think that justifies claiming more than the evidence shows.

Frequently asked questions

In-clinic in Coconut Grove and via telehealth across Florida · (305) 930-8891

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What is functional medicine?

Functional medicine focuses on understanding how body systems interact to influence health and symptoms.

How is integrative medicine different from conventional care?

Integrative medicine combines medical care with lifestyle, nutrition, and preventive strategies.

Do I need symptoms to see a functional medicine doctor?

Not necessarily. Many patients seek functional medicine for prevention and health optimization.

How long does functional medicine care take?

Functional medicine care typically involves ongoing monitoring and personalized adjustments.

Is lab testing part of functional medicine?

Yes. Laboratory testing often helps guide personalized care plans.

Can functional medicine help with fatigue?

Functional medicine may help evaluate underlying contributors to fatigue.

Do you replace my primary care doctor?

We can complement or coordinate with your existing physicians; many patients use us as their primary partner for proactive care.

Is functional medicine evidence-based?

Our care is evidence-informed: conventional standards first, emerging strategies discussed transparently with their level of evidence.

What conditions do you work with?

Fatigue, metabolic and hormonal imbalance, digestive issues, inflammation, and general optimization. After an intake we confirm fit.

How do I choose a functional medicine doctor in Miami?

Look for a licensed physician (MD or DO) who orders tests to answer a specific question, explains the evidence behind each recommendation, and gives you a written plan with a review date. Dr. Isalguez is an Internal Medicine physician with 20+ years of clinical experience; the first visit is a full intake, in Coconut Grove or by video.

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