Dr. Alison Lechner

Dr. Alison Lechner Functional Medicine Doctor

03/15/2026

As a physician, I often see people come home from trips feeling run down or getting sick shortly after traveling. ✈️

It’s rarely just bad luck.

Air travel disrupts sleep, increases dehydration, exposes us to more viruses, and places additional demand on the immune system.🦠

During times like this, the body’s nutrient needs increase—particularly for nutrients involved in immune defense, cellular energy production, and recovery.

One way we support patients during periods of increased physiologic demand is through IV or IM nutrient therapy, which delivers targeted nutrients directly into circulation.

Many patients choose these therapies before travel to support:
✨ immune resilience
💦 hydration
⚡️ energy levels

If you’re preparing for spring break travel, it may be worth thinking about how you’re supporting your immune system before you go.

📩 Message us or call the office to learn more.

Most people measure exercise by calories burned.But the last benefit of exercise is calorie burn.The real benefits happe...
03/06/2026

Most people measure exercise by calories burned.
But the last benefit of exercise is calorie burn.
The real benefits happen inside your cells. ⚡️

Exercise strengthens your metabolic machinery — your mitochondria, cardiovascular capacity, metabolic flexibility, and recovery systems.

But those benefits depend heavily on which training zones you’re using.

Most people are exercising in the wrong zone… and have no way of knowing. 🤔

At Shine, we use PNOĒ metabolic testing to measure:
• your true metabolic rate
• how efficiently you burn fat vs carbs 🔥
• your personalized training zones
• how your body produces energy ⚡️

In this week’s newsletter we explain:
• why weight loss resistance happens
• how stress physiology affects metabolism
• how PNOĒ reveals a clearer picture of your metabolic health

Comment NEWSLETTER and we’ll send it to you. 📩

For a lot of women, birth control was the only option presented.Painful periods?
Irregular cycles?
PMS?
Perimenopause sy...
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.

A calcium score of 0 is reassuring.In many cases, it’s associated with low short-term cardiovascular risk.But it’s impor...
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.

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

You can eat well, exercise consistently, and still see no movement on the scale.In our practice, stalled weight loss is ...
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.

Maybe a statin was mentioned.Maybe it was brushed off as “not a big deal.”Maybe you were told to “watch it” - with no re...
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.

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

Address

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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