Product of the Week: Function Health
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Mark Hyman’s comprehensive health company is designed to take a more preventative approach to medicine
Dr. Mark Hyman is one of the most prominent proponents of functional medicine and a co-founder of Function Health, a membership-based diagnostic health platform company. He was inspired to found the company based on the shortcomings of traditional healthcare. In an interview with Athletech News last fall, Dr. Hyman noted, “I saw that our system prioritized outdated processes and profits, with people only visiting doctors on a reactive basis. That experience inspired me and the other founding members of Function to create a new way for people to manage their health and live their best lives.”
Function Health has grown a lot since its founding in 2021, with its beta release in April 2023 and its expansion across the country. The company is expanding its focus on athletes, most recently with a partnership with the NBPA.
“Athletes push their limits daily, yet standard checkups often miss key performance insights,” Emeline Minor, who works in Special Projects at Function, told Athletech News. “Cortisol and testosterone impact recovery, while glucose and insulin regulate sustained energy. Monitoring these markers helps athletes train smarter and avoid burnout. Key nutrients like vitamin D aid muscle repair and injury prevention, benefiting anyone engaged in physical activity.”
To see what the future of preventative and performance-based health might hold, I decided to test Function Health by going to a nearby Quest Diagnostics. I took the tests over two separate sessions to get the results of more than 100 biomarkers for a view of my health across many dimensions, from my heart, hormones, immunity, thyroid, and more. So how did Function stack up compared to other preventative health services?
Pros
For $499 per year, members get two rounds of testing: an initial assessment and then another test three to six months later to see how their numbers are evolving. After your initial signup, you are asked to give a detailed summary of your medical history and medications. Next, you schedule your tests at Quest Diagnostics. I also appreciated the text reminders from Function in the days before the assessment on how best to prepare for the tests.
While Quest Diagnostics is not as comfortable as some other options for blood draws (for example, for InsideTracker, a professional came to my apartment), there are many locations around major cities, and there was almost no wait time.
For those who are squeamish with blood draws, the first round of testing required nearly six vials of blood. Because of the draining nature of such a blood draw, Function splits them into two separate appointments scheduled several days apart. The service recommended not doing any physical activity later that day, but I felt good enough to continue with my normal routine just a few hours later. For the second test, there was also a urine sample.
Although I had a handful of biomarkers out of range, my biological age was still a fair amount younger than my calendar age, which helped put my results into perspective and prevented any panic while I waited for the physician’s notes, which took a little more than a week. In addition, for the biomarkers out of range, clicking on each result yielded a summary of what it meant, its causes, foods to eat, foods to limit, supplements to take, and more. I thought the website’s design was fairly easy to use and click through, although I would have appreciated a snapshot view of all the biggest next steps for me to follow to improve my metrics.
One big benefit of Function is that the company essentially subsidizes the costs of all these tests; the phlebotomist at Quest Diagnostics told me that these tests normally cost far more than what Function charges. Although the company does not accept insurance, it is FSA/HSA eligible.
Cons
A small downside to the test is certain restrictions must be taken before, which is admittedly fairly typical of all blood tests. Users are not allowed to work out for 24 hours, take supplements for 72 hours, or eat certain foods, like fish (in case it spikes certain biomarker levels in your bloodstream) for a few days before. While a minor inconvenience, it’s worth calling out the small changes needed prior to the exam.
One other downside is the timing disparity between getting the results back and the clinician’s notes back, which can be up to 2 weeks. The clinician’s notes add more context to your results, and if any results are urgent, Function will call you immediately. With the results come recommendations about the best foods to eat, potential lifestyle changes, and any recommended follow-up tests. For those anxious to receive their results, the timing difference may cause some short-term panic, perhaps brought about by googling or WebMD searches.
I asked physicians unassociated with the brands about my results, and they noted that some of the biomarkers used were newer, without as much clinical research backing them. For example, measures like HDL Large, LDL Medium, and LDL Small were all part of the heart health measurements but represent newer ways to understand cholesterol. According to Dr. Hyman, this is the “most critical test” for understanding cholesterol health. However, some of these other physicians recommended focusing more on the more standard cholesterol numbers due to their proven nature. I wish there had been a clearer way to view which biomarkers were more clinically
Overall, Function is likely best for those who have existing medical conditions or deficiencies and want to track their progress, driving towards improvements on these health goals.