In the 1990s, Dr. Coetzee developed psychoneutrogenomics to address what he considers the most crippling health crisis–mental health challenges driven by nutritional and lifestyle factors that conventional approaches often miss. Through personality assessments and nutritional science, he found that many athletes experiencing mental health issues actually suffered from poor gut health, nutrient malabsorption and high cortisol levels.
Today, Dr. Coetzee is personalizing nutrition in a different way. He and other practitioners are scaling personalized care with AI-enabled Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis (FBCA) that can turn routine bloodwork into supplement-supported treatment plans.
“So many times a patient might go to a doctor, they would look at their blood work and say, hey, you know what? Your liver enzymes are a little low. Your blood sugar is getting a little up there, but you don’t have diabetes. Just watch your diet and come back in six months. So this is where functional blood chemistry analysis becomes very valuable,” he said.
Dr. Coetzee added that functional doctors don’t want to wait until a patient gets a disease, so practitioners are using blood chemistry to find early indicators of insufficiencies like magnesium or vitamin D for example.
Optimal DX has an AI-enabled FBCA platform that enhances interpretation of standard blood tests to highlight functional imbalances. Designs for Health has teamed up with ODX with a formal integration that allows clinicians to quickly generate personalized, supplement-based care plans using Designs for Health protocols from those insights.
The streamlined process saves practitioners significant time and allows them to see more patients while reducing staffing costs. For patients, he said the major benefit is receiving a clear roadmap addressing specific nutrient deficiencies and blood markers over time, rather than just treating symptoms as they come.
Dr. Coetzee also highlighted how wearables like Whoop and Oura rings complement this approach by allowing practitioners to monitor real-time improvements in metrics like sleep and circadian rhythms, while also tracking patient compliance with recommended protocols. Together, these tools create a comprehensive, personalized approach to nutrition and health improvement.
Looking ahead, he predicts a major paradigm shift in functional health over the next five to ten years, centered on anaerobic bacteria and keystone commensal species.
To hear more on AI-enabled tools like Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis, psychology in sports performance and Dr. Coetzee’s bold predictions on anaerobic bacteria, listen to the NutraCast.
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