Dr. Alison Lechner

Dr. Alison Lechner Functional Medicine Doctor

05/29/2026

Your mental health isn’t just in your brain—it’s deeply connected to your gut.

A 9-year study found that one of the strongest predictors of anxiety and depression was the body’s inflammatory response to a gut-derived toxin (LPS).

The pathway:
Gut imbalance → LPS → inflammation → changes in mood, anxiety, and cognition

As inflammation increased, symptoms worsened.
As it decreased, symptoms improved.

This isn’t about replacing mental health care—it’s about expanding the lens.

If you’re not addressing gut health and inflammation, you may be missing a key piece.

Mental health is systemic.
—
If you’re dealing with anxiety, low mood, or brain fog, ask:
What’s driving inflammation in your body?

Training for a race this season? Hydration is not just about how much water you drink on race day. Long runs, heat, and ...
05/22/2026

Training for a race this season? Hydration is not just about how much water you drink on race day. Long runs, heat, and sweat can shift both fluid and electrolyte balance, and once dehydration builds, endurance performance and recovery can both suffer.

That is where IV support may help the right runner. Before a race, it can be used to help top off hydration status. After a race, it can be a useful option when you need quicker replenishment or when drinking enough right away feels hard on the stomach.

The key is balance. Too little fluid can impair performance, but too much plain fluid can also be a problem, including dilution of sodium in some endurance athletes.

At Shine Functional Health, we use IV therapy thoughtfully as one tool within a bigger race-support plan, not as a substitute for good daily hydration, electrolytes, fueling, and training.

Feeling low energy, dehydrated, or just off?IV therapy works differently than oral supplements—by delivering fluids, ele...
05/20/2026

Feeling low energy, dehydrated, or just off?

IV therapy works differently than oral supplements—by delivering fluids, electrolytes, and key nutrients directly into the bloodstream, we bypass the gut and support cells more efficiently.

That means faster hydration, improved energy production, and better overall recovery.

Simple support → real physiological impact.

This is what that looks like in real life 🤍

PMS is not “just part of being a woman.” It’s often a clue that the body needs more support in areas like mineral status...
05/13/2026

PMS is not “just part of being a woman.” It’s often a clue that the body needs more support in areas like mineral status, inflammation, prostaglandin activity, hormone clearance, and blood sugar regulation. Prostaglandins are natural chemicals involved in pain and inflammation, and higher prostaglandin activity is linked with stronger uterine cramping.

That’s where IV therapy can sometimes fit in, not as the whole answer, but as one support tool while we work on the deeper drivers. For some patients, I’m thinking about nutrients like magnesium, B vitamins, calcium, vitamin C, and trace minerals as part of a broader plan.

Magnesium may help with bloating, breast tenderness, and mood symptoms, and calcium and vitamin B6 have also been studied for PMS support, especially around mood and physical symptoms.

The goal is not just temporary symptom relief. The goal is understanding why your symptoms keep showing up each month.

Your body is always prioritizing survival first.When the nervous system perceives ongoing stress, the body starts divert...
05/06/2026

Your body is always prioritizing survival first.

When the nervous system perceives ongoing stress, the body starts diverting energy and resources toward keeping you alive — and away from functions that feel less essential in that moment.

You cannot stop to digest a meal if you are running from a bear.

And your body is not overly concerned with optimizing fertility, libido, recovery, or deep sleep during survival mode either.

Over time, chronic stress physiology can start to change how the body functions:
digestion slows down
hormones shift
inflammation increases
nutrient demands rise
recovery becomes harder
sleep becomes less restorative

Sometimes symptoms like bloating, fatigue, low libido, cycle changes, brain fog, or feeling “wired but tired” are not random. They are signals that the body has been operating in a prolonged stress state for too long.

This is why we think about healing as more than symptom management. We look at the full picture — nervous system load, inflammation, nutrient status, gut health, metabolic function, sleep, and recovery capacity — because these systems are deeply connected.

Healing starts with helping the body feel safe enough to recover again.

05/01/2026

You can be eating well, taking supplements, and still not absorbing nutrients efficiently.

When the gut is inflamed or disrupted, things like dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability can interfere with nutrient absorption. Sometimes the issue isn’t what you’re taking — it’s what your body can actually use.

That’s one reason we may use IV therapy as part of a broader gut healing plan.

It allows us to deliver nutrients like magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and zinc directly into circulation while we work on restoring gut function underneath.

Not a shortcut.

Just one way to support the body while healing is happening.

functionalmedicine precisionmedicine

If you’re dealing with chronic symptoms, it’s easy to feel like everything is disconnected.Energy, mood, hormones, food ...
04/26/2026

If you’re dealing with chronic symptoms, it’s easy to feel like everything is disconnected.

Energy, mood, hormones, food reactions—it can all feel unpredictable.

What we see clinically is that many of these patterns are more connected than they appear.

The gut isn’t just responsible for digestion. It plays a central role in immune activity, inflammation, and how well your body can absorb and use nutrients.

When it’s not functioning optimally, it can quietly keep the body in a state of stress—even if standard labs don’t show a clear issue.

This is why nutrition at Shine isn’t about a generic plan.

It’s about understanding your physiology and using food (along with targeted support) to reduce the overall burden on your system.

Not more restriction.
More precision.

You’re not just tired. You may be depleted.Chronic stress doesn’t just affect how you feel—it changes what your body nee...
04/19/2026

You’re not just tired. You may be depleted.

Chronic stress doesn’t just affect how you feel—it changes what your body needs.

When you’re under stress, your body burns through key nutrients faster than you can replace them—especially magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and iron.

Over time, this can start to look like: fatigue, brain fog, poor recovery, low resilience.

One of the most overlooked pieces? Iron. Often “in range”… but not at a level that truly supports optimal oxygen delivery and energy.

Think of it like this: You’re driving a car with low oil, minimal coolant, and barely any gas—and wondering why the engine light is on. The car isn’t broken. It’s depleted.

That’s what stress does. It drains the raw materials your body needs to function. So the fatigue isn’t the problem—it’s the signal.

At Shine, we look underneath the surface to understand what your body is missing—and how to replenish it effectively.

💧 IV therapy is one way we can support this—delivering key nutrients directly, when your system needs it most.

Stop pushing through. Start looking underneath.

04/16/2026

Most labs are read one number at a time—
normal or abnormal.

But that’s not how we look at them.

We’re looking for patterns.
Connections.
Early signals that something is off… even if nothing is flagged.

Because even basic labs can tell a deeper story—
through ratios, trends, and how everything is working together.

And it’s not just about the numbers.

We’re also asking:
What’s going on in the body’s environment?
Is there inflammation?
Is the immune system under stress?

This is often where we find answers—
especially for patients who’ve been told everything looks “fine,” but don’t feel it.

That’s what it means to interpret labs.
You’re building a framework that allows you to restore health.

04/03/2026

A calcium score of 0 is often interpreted as “you’re in the clear.”

But clinically, it’s more nuanced than that.

A CAC score measures calcified plaque—the later stage of plaque development.

What it doesn’t capture is soft plaque, which forms earlier and is more likely to rupture.

This is why a score of 0 can be reassuring, but not definitive. This is where a more complete evaluation becomes important.

In my practice, I also look at markers like ApoB and Lp(a) to better understand the number of particles interacting with the artery wall and any underlying genetic risk that may not be reflected in a standard lipid panel.

Because interpretation isn’t just about what a test shows—it’s about understanding what it may be missing.

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135 N Arlington Heights Road # 152
Buffalo Grove, IL
60089

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 12pm

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