Our Philosophy: Integrative Medicine That Honors Your Whole Story
You Deserve Healthcare That Sees All of You
For too long, conventional medicine has treated you as a collection of symptoms rather than a complete person with a unique story, complex biology, and interconnected body systems.
You've experienced the frustration: the rushed 15-minute appointments where doctors barely make eye contact, the dismissal of symptoms as "just stress" or "part of aging," the prescriptions written without exploring alternatives, the feeling that you're just another chart number rather than a human being seeking answers.
At Be Well Integrative Health, Dr. Leah Cordovez practices a fundamentally different kind of medicine – one that honors your complete story, investigates root causes rather than suppressing symptoms, and creates personalized protocols that address why you're sick, not just what's making you uncomfortable.
This isn't simply "alternative medicine" or a rejection of conventional approaches. It's comprehensive, evidence-based healthcare that integrates the best of modern medical science with a deep understanding of how your body actually works as an interconnected system – and how your lived experiences, environment, lifestyle, and biology all contribute to your current health state.
The Root Cause Approach: Why Treating Symptoms Isn't Enough
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Beyond Band-Aids: Investigating What's Really Wrong
Conventional medicine excels at acute care – setting broken bones, treating infections, performing life-saving surgeries. But it struggles profoundly with chronic disease, which now affects over 60% of American adults.
Why? Because the conventional model treats chronic conditions as isolated problems requiring symptom management:
Acid reflux? Take a proton pump inhibitor.
High blood pressure? Here's a beta-blocker.
Depression? Try an SSRI.
Chronic pain? Take these pain medications.
Can't sleep? Here's Ambien.
These medications might provide temporary relief, but they don't answer the critical question: Why is this happening?
Dr. Cordovez asks different questions:
Why is your body producing excess stomach acid or failing to contain it properly?
What's driving your blood pressure elevation – chronic stress, insulin resistance, nutrient deficiencies, hormone imbalances?
What biological factors are contributing to your depression – inflammation, hormone dysregulation, gut dysfunction, nutrient depletion?
What's causing your pain – chronic inflammation, nervous system dysregulation, unresolved trauma held in your tissues?
Why can't you sleep – circadian rhythm disruption, cortisol dysregulation, blood sugar crashes, unaddressed sleep apnea?
Upstream Medicine: Addressing the Source, Not Just the Stream
Imagine you're standing in a stream that's flooding your house. Conventional medicine hands you a mop and tells you to keep mopping. Integrative medicine walks upstream to find out why the stream is flooding – and fixes the dam.
This upstream approach means:
Comprehensive testing that reveals what's actually happening at the cellular and systemic level
Pattern recognition that connects seemingly unrelated symptoms to common root causes
Personalized protocols addressing your unique physiology, not generic prescriptions
Lifestyle and nutrition interventions that support your body's natural healing capacity
Targeted supplementation based on your specific deficiencies and needs
Medications when appropriate – but as part of comprehensive protocols, not standalone "solutions"
The goal isn't managing your disease for life. The goal is restoring health, preventing disease progression, and optimizing function so you can thrive.
Your Body Is an Ecosystem
Why Everything Affects Everything
Your body isn't a machine with separate, independent parts. It's an intricate ecosystem where every system influences every other system.
This is why:
Gut dysfunction creates brain fog, mood disorders, and skin problems
Chronic stress causes digestive issues, weight gain, and hormone imbalances
Poor sleep drives insulin resistance, immune dysfunction, and accelerated aging
Inflammation in one area spreads systemically, affecting distant organs
Hormone imbalances disrupt metabolism, mood, sleep, and cognitive function
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Conventional medicine's specialist-driven model misses these connections. You see a gastroenterologist for digestive issues, an endocrinologist for thyroid problems, a dermatologist for skin conditions, a psychiatrist for depression – each treating one system in isolation, none recognizing that all your symptoms stem from common root causes.
Dr. Cordovez sees the whole picture. She understands that:
Your chronic fatigue, weight gain, and depression might all trace back to thyroid dysfunction, insulin resistance, or chronic inflammation
Your digestive issues, anxiety, and autoimmune condition might share a common origin in gut dysbiosis and intestinal permeability
Your insomnia, afternoon energy crashes, and stubborn belly fat might all result from cortisol dysregulation and blood sugar instability
By addressing the underlying dysfunction, rather than treating each symptom separately, transformation happens across multiple systems simultaneously.
Metabolic Health: The Foundation of Energy and Longevity
Your metabolism, how your body creates and uses energy, affects everything from your weight and energy levels to your disease risk and lifespan.
We optimize:
Insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation
Mitochondrial function (your cellular energy factories)
Thyroid function and metabolic rate
Body composition (muscle mass, healthy fat distribution)
Nutrient status essential for metabolic function
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Hormonal Balance:
The Master Regulators
Hormones are chemical messengers coordinating virtually every function in your body. When hormones are balanced, you feel vibrant, energetic, mentally clear, and emotionally stable. When dysregulated, everything suffers.
We address:
Thyroid hormones (metabolism, energy, temperature regulation)
Sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone – affecting mood, libido, body composition, bone health)
Stress hormones (cortisol and DHEA – your HPA axis function)
Sleep hormones (melatonin, supporting circadian rhythm)
Nutrient status essential for metabolic function
Gut Health: Your Second Brain and Immune Headquarters
Your gut is far more than a digestive organ. It houses 70-80% of your immune system, produces 90% of your serotonin, regulates inflammation, metabolizes hormones, and communicates constantly with your brain.
We restore:
Gut microbiome diversity and balance
Intestinal barrier integrity (healing "leaky gut")
Optimal digestion and nutrient absorption
Gut-brain axis communication
Nutrient status essential for metabolic function
Nervous System Regulation: The Switch Between Stress and Restoration
Your autonomic nervous system determines whether you exist in chronic stress response (sympathetic dominance) or restorative healing mode (parasympathetic activation). You cannot heal while trapped in fight-or-flight.
We support:
Vagal tone and parasympathetic activation
Stress resilience and adaptive capacity
Nervous system flexibility and regulation
Trauma healing and processing
Mind-body connection and somatic awareness
Detoxification and Cellular Health: Removing What Doesn't Belong
Your body is constantly exposed to toxins – environmental chemicals, heavy metals, inflammatory foods, metabolic waste products. When your detoxification systems are overwhelmed, toxins accumulate and drive disease.
We enhance:
Liver detoxification pathways
Cellular antioxidant capacity
Elimination through kidneys, bowels, skin, and lungs
Mitochondrial health and cellular energy
Reduction of toxic exposures
Trauma-Informed Care: Honoring Your Complete Story
Your Biography Becomes Your Biology
At Be Well Integrative Health, we recognize something most doctors overlook: your lived experiences – particularly adverse experiences – create lasting changes in your physiology that directly cause or contribute to chronic disease.
The groundbreaking ACE Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) revealed that childhood trauma, neglect, and household dysfunction create dose-response relationships with virtually every chronic illness:
Heart disease
Autoimmune conditions
Chronic pain and fibromyalgia
Digestive disorders
Metabolic dysfunction and obesity
Depression and anxiety
Cancer
Early death
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Creating Safety for Healing
Dr. Cordovez practices trauma-informed care, which means:
Your chronic pain, digestive issues, hormone imbalances, and unexplained symptoms aren't mysteries when viewed through a trauma-informed lens. They're your body telling your story – and Dr. Cordovez is here to listen with compassion while creating comprehensive protocols that address both the physiological consequences of trauma and support your path toward nervous system regulation and whole-person healing.
Safety and Trust: Building therapeutic relationships where you feel genuinely safe sharing your complete story – not just your medical history, but your life history
Compassion Without Judgment: Understanding that your symptoms are adaptive responses to overwhelming experiences, not personal failures or character flaws
Empowerment and Choice: Involving you as an active participant in your healing, respecting your autonomy, and offering choices throughout your care
Addressing Both Biology and Psychology: Recognizing that trauma healing requires both medical interventions (treating trauma's physiological consequences) and psychological processing (working with trauma-informed therapists)
Pacing and Patience: Understanding that healing isn't linear and cannot be rushed – celebrating progress while supporting you through setbacks
Personalized Medicine: Your Unique Biology Requires Unique Solutions
Why Generic Protocols Don't Work
Every person who walks through our doors has:
Unique genetics
Distinct lived experiences
Individual microbiome composition
Different environmental exposures
Varying nutritional status
Personal health history
Specific stressors and life circumstances
Generic protocols ignore this reality. The "standard protocol" for thyroid dysfunction or the "typical approach" to weight loss fails because it treats everyone as identical.
Dr. Cordovez's personalized approach means:
Comprehensive Testing: Advanced laboratory testing revealing your specific imbalances – hormone levels, nutrient deficiencies, inflammation markers, metabolic function, gut health, and more
Pattern Recognition: Connecting your symptoms, test results, and health history to identify your unique root causes
Customized Protocols: Treatment plans designed specifically for your biology, circumstances, and goals – not cookie-cutter approaches
Ongoing Refinement: Regular monitoring and adjustment based on your response, ensuring your protocol evolves as your health improves
Integration of Modalities: Combining nutrition, lifestyle interventions, targeted supplementation, stress management, and medications when appropriate – whatever your body needs to heal
The Partnership Model: You're the Expert on Your Experience
Collaborative Healthcare, Not Paternalistic Authority
Conventional medicine operates on a paternalistic model: the doctor is the authority who tells you what's wrong and what to do about it. Your role is passive compliance.
You Are the Expert on Your Body
No one knows your body, your symptoms, or your lived experience better than you. Dr. Cordovez listens carefully, trusts your observations, and values your intuition.
Dr. Cordovez Is the Expert on Physiology
She brings deep knowledge of how bodies work, what testing reveals, and what interventions create healing, but she doesn't impose this knowledge. She educates, explains, and collaborates.
Shared Decision-Making
Together, you explore options, weigh benefits and risks, consider your values and priorities, and create treatment plans that feel right for you – not plans imposed upon you.
Education and Empowerment
No one knows your body, your symptoms, or your lived experience better than you. Dr. Cordovez listens carefully, trusts your observations, and values your intuition.
Ongoing Communication
Your healing journey isn't a one-time consultation – it's an ongoing relationship where you're supported, questions are welcomed, and protocols are adjusted based on your experience.
At Be Well Integrative Health, healing is a partnership:
Time and Attention: What Healthcare Should Look Like
The Luxury That Should Be Standard
Your initial consultation with Dr. Cordovez lasts 60-90 minutes, not the rushed 15 minutes typical in conventional medicine.
Comprehensive review of your complete health history
Discussion of your symptoms, concerns, and goals
Exploration of lifestyle factors, stressors, and life circumstances
Physical examination when appropriate
Education about what's likely happening in your body
Collaborative development of your initial treatment plan
Time for all your questions
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Review test results thoroughly
Adjust protocols based on your progress
Address new concerns or questions
Provide ongoing support and encouragement
Refine approaches as your health evolves
Dr. Cordovez and her care team for questions
Coordination of testing and specialist referrals
Support implementing recommendations
Resources and education
Evidence-Based and Experience-Informed
This means:
We Use Advanced Testing: Comprehensive laboratory analysis using validated, accurate testing methods, not guesswork or pseudoscience
We Recommend Evidence-Based Interventions: Protocols supported by research demonstrating effectiveness and safety
We Stay Current: Continuous education and integration of emerging research and innovative approaches
We Honor Individual Variation: Understanding that research reveals what works "on average" but individuals may respond differently, we adjust based on your unique response
We Integrate Multiple Modalities: Drawing from functional medicine, integrative medicine, nutritional biochemistry, endocrinology, and other evidence-based disciplines
We Know What We Don't Know: When research is unclear or your condition requires expertise beyond integrative medicine, we collaborate with specialists and refer appropriately
Rigorous Science Meets Clinical Wisdom
Dr. Cordovez's approach is grounded in scientific evidence – peer-reviewed research, validated testing methodologies, and interventions with demonstrated efficacy.
But it's also informed by clinical experience – the wisdom gained from helping hundreds of patients heal, recognizing patterns conventional research hasn't yet caught up to, and understanding that individual responses vary.
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Conventional medicine excels at acute care and crisis management but often struggles with chronic disease, treating symptoms rather than investigating root causes. Integrative medicine investigates why you're sick, addresses underlying dysfunction, and creates comprehensive protocols that restore health rather than simply managing disease. We integrate the best of conventional medicine (appropriate medications, specialist referrals, evidence-based testing) with approaches conventional medicine often overlooks (advanced functional testing, personalized nutrition, targeted supplementation, stress management, trauma-informed care).
Be Well Integrative Health operates on a membership-based model. While we don't bill insurance directly for consultations, we provide detailed documentation you can submit to your insurance for possible reimbursement. Most laboratory testing is covered by insurance when medically indicated, and we help maximize your insurance benefits for testing and medications.
Not necessarily. Dr. Cordovez works collaboratively with your current healthcare providers. Some patients eventually reduce or discontinue medications as their underlying health improves, but this is always done safely, gradually, and in coordination with prescribing physicians. Some medications remain necessary long-term, and that's completely appropriate. The goal is optimal health, not arbitrarily avoiding medications.
Dr. Cordovez creates personalized recommendations based on your specific needs, not generic protocols. Nutritional recommendations are tailored to your health status, goals, and preferences – we work with your lifestyle, not impose rigid rules. Supplement protocols are based on testing revealing your specific deficiencies and needs – you'll only take what your body actually requires, not 30 bottles of random supplements.
Complex cases are exactly what integrative medicine handles well. Dr. Cordovez has extensive experience working with patients who have multiple diagnoses, complicated medication regimens, and symptoms conventional medicine hasn't been able to explain or effectively treat. Comprehensive assessment often reveals connections between your various conditions, allowing more targeted interventions.
Yes. Dr. Cordovez's recommendations are grounded in peer-reviewed research from functional medicine, integrative medicine, endocrinology, nutritional biochemistry, and related fields. While some approaches are emerging (where clinical experience is ahead of formal research), all recommendations are evidence-informed and biologically sound.
This approach is particularly valuable if you:
Have chronic conditions conventional medicine hasn't effectively addressed
Experience multiple "unexplained" symptoms
Want to understand why you're sick, not just mask symptoms
Prefer comprehensive, personalized care over generic protocols
Value time and attention in healthcare relationships
Seek prevention and optimization, not just disease management
Have trauma history affecting your physical health
Feel dismissed or unheard by conventional doctors
The best way to know is scheduling a consultation and experiencing the difference firsthand.
Your Questions,
Our Answers
Book your consultation today
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