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There are so many takes on food in the world that it can feel impossible to know what’s noise and what’s actually helpful. Every season, there’s a new trend, a new list of rules, a new person telling you what you should or shouldn’t be eating. It’s confusing, overwhelming, and honestly, it can pull us farther away from what food is truly meant to do.
“There are so many takes on food in the world that it can feel impossible to know what’s noise and what’s actually helpful.”
In my functional medicine practice, we zoom out from the trends and look at something much simpler and much more powerful: Food as information.
Every bite you eat sends a message to your body. It tells your hormones how to communicate, your nervous system how safe you are, your mitochondria how much energy to produce, and your gut microbiome which bacteria should thrive. Food shapes inflammation, blood sugar, sleep, mood, and how well your body repairs itself.
That’s what functional medicine is really about. It reminds us that the body isn’t guessing. It’s responding to the inputs we give it. And while food is, of course, fuel, it’s also one of the most consistent streams of data your body receives all day long.
When we understand that, eating stops being about perfection or pressure. We don’t have to moralize food to appreciate its impact. We simply need to understand the science of how it speaks to the body — and that’s where functional medicine shines.
It becomes a conversation, one where your body is always listening.
Your body reads food like code
When we talk about food as information, we’re talking about biochemistry. Every bite you take triggers a cascade of signals throughout the body.
Here’s what the science tells us:
- Protein signals your body to build and repair tissue, stabilize blood sugar, and produce satiety hormones like GLP-1 and peptide YY.
- Fiber feeds your gut microbiome, which produces short-chain fatty acids that lower inflammation, support immunity, and regulate mood.
- Healthy fats help create hormones, stabilize energy, and support brain function, because your brain is nearly 60% fat.
- Colorful plants deliver antioxidants that protect cells, support detoxification pathways, and calm oxidative stress.
- Sugar-rich or ultra-processed foods spike cortisol, destabilize the gut, and create blood sugar volatility that affects mood and sleep.
Nothing you eat is neutral. That doesn’t make food moral or immoral — it simply means everything you eat contains information that your body has to interpret.
How food talks to your hormones
Your hormones respond directly to the information they receive from your meals. When you eat protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich carbohydrates, your body gets a steady, predictable signal: Your blood sugar stays stable, inflammation stays low, and your metabolism feels supported.
When meals are irregular, imbalanced, or built mostly from ultra-processed foods, your body gets a very different message. Your blood sugar swings. Cortisol ramps up. Insulin spikes. And over time, these signals disrupt hormone balance — especially estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormones, and even testosterone.
Functional medicine views food as a powerful hormonal regulator, not because of restriction, but because of rhythm, quality, and information.
“Functional medicine views food as a powerful hormonal regulator, not because of restriction, but because of rhythm, quality, and information.”
That’s why it pays close attention to:
- Protein intake for hormone synthesis
- Healthy fats for estrogen and progesterone production
- Fiber for detoxification pathways that metabolize hormones
- Micronutrients like magnesium, zinc, B vitamins, and omega-3s that regulate hormonal rhythm
Your body’s takeaway is simple:
Balanced meals = balanced hormones.
When you feed your body well, your hormones respond with steadiness, resilience, and clarity. When you don’t, your hormones compensate — often with symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, cravings, acne, irregular cycles, or sleep disruption.
Your hormonal landscape is dynamic, and food is one of the biggest levers you have.
Your gut microbiome is listening too
The gut microbiome is one of the biggest information hubs in the body. Functional medicine also teaches us that eating is relational. You’re not just feeding yourself; you’re feeding trillions of microbes that live inside you. The bacteria in your gut help regulate inflammation, immunity, digestion, and neurotransmitters like serotonin.
“You’re not just feeding yourself; you’re feeding trillions of microbes that live inside you.”
The food you eat is the primary factor shaping which microbes thrive.
- Fiber and plants feed beneficial bacteria.
- Ultra-processed foods feed inflammatory bacteria.
- Polyphenols (in berries, greens, herbs, cacao) act like instructions for the gut lining to repair itself.
This is why functional medicine often starts with the gut. When the gut receives the right information, everything downstream — hormones, mood, skin, metabolism — improves.
Food and your nervous system: Safety vs. stress
Most people don’t think of eating as a nervous-system experience, but it is. That’s because your body is constantly asking, Am I safe right now?
When you eat slowly, chew thoroughly, and engage your senses, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system — the “rest and digest” state where digestion and absorption actually happen.
When you eat distracted, rushed, anxious, or standing over the sink, your body gets the opposite signal. In fight-or-flight, digestion slows. Acidity changes. Enzymes decrease. Nutrients aren’t absorbed efficiently. Cortisol takes over, and your body prioritizes survival over digestion.
“When you eat distracted, rushed, anxious, or standing over the sink, your body gets the opposite signal. In fight-or-flight, digestion slows.”
You could eat the healthiest bowl on earth, but if you’re eating in fight-or-flight mode, your digestion won’t fully activate because your body is focused on “urgent” matters.
You cannot metabolize what you don’t feel safe enough to digest.
This is why, in my practice at Love Life, I teach my patients to “activate” their meals: a few intentional breaths before eating, putting your phone away, relaxing your shoulders, letting your body know the stressor is gone.
That small shift reactivates the parasympathetic system. Digestion improves. Blood sugar stabilizes. Your gut-brain axis gets the message: You’re safe to eat.
Food is emotional too — and that matters
Functional medicine is not rigid. It doesn’t ask you to eliminate the joy of food. Food is connection. Food is memory. Food is culture. Food is comfort and celebration and it’s even identity and love.
From a physiological standpoint, positive emotion around food increases oxytocin, the hormone that fosters safety, bonding, and relaxation. This improves digestion and lowers stress hormones, which means your body absorbs nutrients more effectively when you feel at ease.
“Positive emotion around food increases oxytocin, the hormone that fosters safety, bonding, and relaxation.”
You don’t have to choose between nourishing your body and enjoying your food. Functional medicine believes in both.
Eating for energy, not exhaustion
Your mitochondria — the energy powerhouses in your cells — respond directly to your meals. This is a big part of your metabolic health.
Nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium, omega-3s, antioxidants, and amino acids give them the raw materials they need to function. Ultra-processed foods, chronic blood-sugar spikes, and nutrient-poor meals leave them depleted, which is why they’re so often tied to fatigue and burnout.
“Your mitochondria — the energy powerhouses in your cells — respond directly to your meals.”
Food gives your mitochondria instructions: Make energy, or slow down to protect me.
Another cornerstone of metabolic health is steady blood sugar, one of the most foundational pieces of functional medicine. Because when blood sugar is chaotic, everything else is chaotic. Unstable blood sugar can impact:
- Hormone balance
- Sleep
- Mood
- Energy
- Thyroid function
- Cravings
- Inflammation
- Stress response
Even if your labs are “normal,” daily blood sugar swings can disrupt your adrenal system and push your body into a pattern that feels like burnout.
One of the simplest principles is the “protein-and-fiber-first” approach. When you build meals that include protein, fiber, and healthy fat, you slow down glucose absorption, improve insulin sensitivity, and create a steadier internal terrain for your hormones and nervous system.
Your biology thrives on steadiness, not spikes.
The functional medicine approach to eating
Functional medicine isn’t about rigid food rules. It’s about understanding the impact of food and using that information to nourish the whole system.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
1. Food Without Morality
No “good” or “bad” foods — just understanding how different foods communicate different things to your body.
2. Stable Blood Sugar
Balanced meals with protein, healthy fats, and fiber send a calming message to hormones and metabolism.
3. Eating With Awareness
A few breaths before eating and slowing down helps your body drop into the parasympathetic state where digestion actually happens.
4. Feeding the Microbiome
More whole foods, more colors, more fiber. This is information that heals.
5. Choosing Pattern Over Perfection
What you do consistently matters more than any single meal.
Functional medicine meets you where you are and helps you understand why your body feels the way it feels — and how food can support you, not overwhelm you.
Food is a conversation, not a test
When we look at food as information, we stop chasing trends and start understanding our own bodies. We stop eating from fear and start eating from clarity. We stop labeling foods as “good” or “bad” and start asking better questions: What message is this sending to my body? How does this help me feel? What is my body telling me in return?
Functional medicine doesn’t expect perfection. It asks for awareness. It invites you to slow down enough to ask your body what it needs. It reminds you that your body isn’t trying to make your life difficult — it’s always communicating, always adapting, always doing its best with the information it’s given. What you eat becomes part of that information.
“Your body isn’t trying to make your life difficult — it’s always communicating, always adapting, always doing its best with the information it’s given.”
When you choose foods that support steadiness, safety, and nourishment, your body responds in kind. And the good news: Uou don’t have to overhaul your life to start. Small shifts create real change.
Food can be medicine.
Food can be grounding.
Food can be comfort, culture, and connection.
Food can be information that helps your body do what it was designed to do: heal, repair, restore, and thrive.
Dr. Jaclyn Tolentino is a Board-Certified Family Physician and the Lead Functional Medicine Physician at Love.Life. Specializing in women’s health and hormone optimization, she has been featured in Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and Women’s Health. As a functional practitioner and a breast cancer survivor, Dr. Tolentino is dedicated to uncovering the root causes of health challenges, employing a holistic, whole-person approach to empower lasting wellbeing. Follow her on Instagram here for more insights.
