Margaret Apostol, ABFM, ABOIM, IFMCP

By Meredith Knight

Dr. Margaret Apostol has a quote on her office wall from the Greek philosopher and physician, Hippocrates, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” As an integrative and functional medicine doctor with a degree in nutrition, this succinct philosophy is at the heart of everything she does.

“It’s not about ignoring conventional medicine,” she said. “It’s about taking the best of conventional medicine and the best of alternative medicine and combining them to offer patients more than disease management or what I call ‘BAND-AID medicine,’ just covering up symptoms. This is root-cause medicine where we take the time to understand the whole person—their lifestyle, diet, exercise, sleep, stressors, and full medical history—to realize the origin of their symptoms and how we can work with their body to heal them, not against it.”

By the time patients find their way to Dr. Apostol, they’ve often already seen multiple doctors and specialists and are feeling discouraged, even hopeless. “They may be suffering from chronic illness, hormone imbalance, or the early stages of dementia,” Dr. Apostol said. “The first thing I do is just listen. Where the average physician spends 15 minutes with a patient, our appointments last an hour or more. We also have access to more extensive lab testing than most doctors. The patient and I work as a team. I tell them to picture an onion. We’re going to take the time to peel back the layers together one at a time until we get to the root of their problem. The body doesn’t lie. If you’re having symptoms, there’s a root cause. It may take time to find it, but we will. Then we can develop a functional medicine treatment plan that’s unique to each patient. We may need to undo many things that have been going on for years.”

Once that root problem has been addressed, it’s time to look at prevention and wellness and how to help patients feel their best for a long, vibrant life. “Nutrition is vital,” Dr. Apostol said. “No amount of supplements can help you if your diet is poor. If you’re not exercising, we want to start where you are and get you moving. We want to address the health issues you have today. Then, we want to empower you to prevent and reverse disease and optimize your health.” There’s also on-staff nutrition and wellness coaching, including everything from treatment with specific diet plans to health education.

Apostol Integrative and Functional Medicine is a cash-based practice with an hourly fee to see the doctor and lab fees for testing. Dr. Apostol is board certified in both family and integrative medicine and is an Institute of Functional Medicine certified practitioner. When not on the job, she enjoys being outdoors with her seven and five-year-old children, gardening, and reading.