What are the opening hours?

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

Dr. Alison Lechner

Functional Medicine Doctor

02/20/2026

For a lot of women, birth control was the only option presented.

Painful periods? Irregular cycles? PMS? Perimenopause symptoms?

“Let’s put you on the pill.” 🚩

And while it can change symptoms… it doesn’t fix why they were happening in the first place.

Birth control works by preventing ovulation - which means you’re not experiencing a true menstrual cycle while you’re on it.

⭕️Your cycle is a vital sign.

When it’s irregular, painful, missing, or unpredictable, that’s information -not a flaw.

If you’ve ever felt like birth control was a band-aid, you’re not wrong.

There is another way to support your hormones - one that looks at root cause, not suppression.

➡️Let us know in the comments what topic you’d like to see in the future around menstrual cycles and hormone health!

02/19/2026

Your cholesterol panel can look “normal” and still miss the bigger picture.

If you:
– Have a family history of heart disease
– Feel metabolically off (weight gain, blood sugar swings, fatigue)
– Are navigating perimenopause
– Or just want to be proactive instead of reactive

You deserve more than a 4-number panel.

Most heart attacks don’t come out of nowhere. They develop quietly over years of particle exposure, inflammation, insulin resistance, and metabolic strain.

The good news?
We can measure those drivers early.

We created a free guide outlining 10 cardiometabolic markers that give you a clearer picture of risk - so you can actually take action before there’s a crisis.

➡️Comment CARDIO and we’ll send it to you.

Prevention isn’t aggressive.
It’s informed.

02/17/2026

This is what a visit to my practice looks like.

Unrushed.
Personal.
Intentional.

When someone comes to Shine, I’m not just looking at one lab value or one symptom. I’m looking at patterns. History. Context. The bigger picture.

It always starts with comprehensive bloodwork - not just the basics, but the markers that help us truly understand how your body is functioning.

From there, we often incorporate advanced functional testing to dig deeper into gut health, hormones, metabolism, or cardiometabolic risk.

Sometimes that includes IV or IM therapy when someone is depleted or needs targeted support.

But it’s never one-size-fits-all.
And it’s never about chasing symptoms.

You’ll sit down with me. We’ll talk. I’ll listen.

You’ll work with our functional nutritionist who analyzes your specific metabolic needs to create a personalized plan - not a generic plan.

Everything we do is built around long-term health and longevity.

If you’ve been wanting care that actually feels thoughtful and personalized, this is what that looks like.

02/12/2026

A calcium score of 0 is reassuring.

In many cases, it’s associated with low short-term cardiovascular risk.

But it’s important to understand what it actually measures.

CAC scans detect calcified plaque - typically a later-stage feature of atherosclerosis. Plaque often begins as soft, inflammatory buildup. Over time, the body can remodel and calcify it, which may make it more stable.

Soft, lipid-rich plaques are generally more likely to rupture - and plaque rupture is what triggers most heart attacks.

CAC does not detect soft plaque.

This isn’t about fear. It’s about context.

If you want to understand your cardiovascular risk earlier - before calcification appears - you need to look at cardiometabolic markers like:
• ApoB
• Lipoprotein(a)
• Fasting insulin
• hs-CRP
• Triglyceride/HDL ratio
• and more

➡️We put together a free guide that outlines 10 cardiometabolic lab markers your doctor should be running to understand true cardiovascular risk.

Comment CARDIO and we’ll send you the link to our Smarter Cardio Guide.

02/06/2026

If you read those first few slides and thought, “oh wow… that’s literally my day,” you’re not alone.

✨Our bodies are designed around rhythm - regular sleep, consistent meals, light and dark, stress and recovery.

When the rhythm of our lives gets disrupted, hormones and metabolic health often feel harder to manage.

➡️We shared more about circadian rhythm - and how you can start to re-align with your body’s natural rhythm in this week’s newsletter.

Comment RHYTHM and we’ll make sure our newsletter lands in your inbox.

02/05/2026

So what do you do instead of waiting?

✨You assess early.

✨You look at patterns, not just symptoms.

✨You intervene when labs are trending - not when they’re already screaming.

➡️This is the kind of care we practice every day: proactive, personalized, and focused on long-term health

Comment “PREVENTION” if this approach resonates.

Follow for more on proactive, root-cause care.

01/30/2026

You can eat well, exercise consistently, and still see no movement on the scale.

In our practice, stalled weight loss is rarely a motivation issue.

It’s usually driven by physiology:
🚩Perimenopause-related hormone shifts

🚩Chronic stress and cortisol signaling

🚩Gut inflammation or blood sugar dysregulation

🚩Inadequate fueling relative to demand

➡️Doubling down on restriction or intensity often backfires.

Understanding what’s changed - and responding accordingly - is what moves the needle.

✨Looking for a better approach?

Comment SUPPORT and we’ll send over our Perimenopause Empowered Guide which offers a clear framework for what to look at and where to start.

01/20/2026

Maybe a statin was mentioned.

Maybe it was brushed off as “not a big deal.”

Maybe you were told to “watch it” - with no real explanation of what that actually means.

So you leave the appointment unsure:

〰️Do I need to worry about this?
〰️Is medication the only option?
〰️Or is this something I should be paying more attention to?

LDL is one piece of the puzzle - but by itself, it rarely tells the whole story.

Things like inflammation, blood sugar regulation, stress, and how cholesterol is behaving in the body all matter when it comes to real cardiovascular risk.

If you want more clarity, we created a free Smarter Cardio Panel that breaks down 10 overlooked lab markers and explains why they’re important.

👉 Comment CARDIO and we’ll send it to you.

01/16/2026

If you’re exhausted from trying all the things — supplements, protocols, labs - and still don’t feel better, you’re not doing anything wrong.

Many people we see are trying incredibly hard.

They’re informed, proactive, and motivated — but without understanding how their systems are functioning at the root level, especially down to the cellular and signaling level, it can start to feel defeating. Can you relate?

This isn’t about doing more.

It’s about building the right foundation so the body can actually respond, adapt, and heal.

You deserve care that makes sense — and support that helps you feel hopeful again.

01/12/2026

Feeling off lately? Start here ↓
Comment PERI for our free Perimenopause Empowered Guide

If this sounds familiar, you’re not being dramatic - and you’re definitely not broken.

🚩Waking up drenched in sweat.
🚩Staring at the ceiling at 2am.
🚩Getting pushed over the edge by things that never used to bother you.
🚩Feeling so irritable you don’t even like yourself.

This is often how perimenopause shows up - long before anyone uses that word.

You don’t need to “wait it out” or push through until you’re miserable.

✨Hormone therapy can be a powerful tool when it’s used thoughtfully and at the right time - especially when it’s part of a bigger plan that supports sleep, mood, metabolism, and quality of life.

👇And when symptoms feel layered or overwhelming, deeper support matters. Having someone help you understand your options, personalize care, and guide next steps can make all the difference.

If you’re ready for that level of support, you can book a free discovery call through the link in our bio or comment SUPPORT.

Address

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

Opening Hours

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

Website

https://shinefunctionalhealth.com/

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