Most people figure they must be getting older based on how they feel and look. We wince at our first grey hair, deepening wrinkles, and shifting body fat. We huff and puff climbing the stairs, forget names, and occasionally leak fluids. We relate to the line from a Leonard Cohen song, “I ache in the […]
Functional Medicine
Services / Functional Medicine

Safe natural therapy to heal illness and improve well-being
Functional medicine is personalized medicine that focuses on the underlying causes and prevention of serious chronic disease rather than disease symptoms. It is a science-based field of health care grounded in the principles of biochemical individuality, patient-centered care, the dynamic balance between internal and external factors, the web-like interconnections of physiological factors, and the promotion of organ reserve.
Providers
David Edelberg, MD
Medical Director & Internal Medicine Physician
Dr. Edelberg, board certified in Internal Medicine in 1974, began incorporating alternative therapies into his practice during the 1980’s. Since founding the parent company of WholeHealth Chicago in 1993, he has become nationally recognized as one of the pioneers of integrative medicine, the new medical specialty combining conventional medicine with alternative therapies.
Caley Scott, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Caley Scott is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Scott developed a passion for naturopathic medicine while working as a medical assistant at an integrative clinic in the Chicago suburbs after completing her bachelor’s degree. Seeing first-hand the incredible success of using nutrition and natural therapies with her patients helped shape her view on healthcare and compelled her to seek a unique route in medicine.
Parisa Samsami, DC, DABCI
Functional Medicine Physician
Dr. Parisa Samsami is a Chiropractic Physician specializing in Functional Medicine. She has great success in treating patients unable to find answers in the traditional medical paradigm. She places a strong emphasis on patient education and believes that diet and lifestyle play an important role in achieving optimal health and chronic disease prevention.
Wendy Ploegstra, APN
Integrative Nurse Practitioner
Board-certified in family practice in 2008 and certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner in 2018, Wendy A. Ploegstra has incorporated alternative therapies into her practice as far back as she can remember.
Health Tips
Despite waiting weeks for an appointment and filling out all those forms, you can tell from the get-go, you’re being regarded as an inconvenience. Maybe, despite your persistent symptoms, you “look” too healthy to have anything seriously wrong with you and your new doctor has scheduled you for a cursory history/physical/basic blood work before she […]
Did you ever wonder why some obese people, after decades of being badgered by their families and physicians to lose weight, out-live all of them and are healthy for decades? Or how someone of normal weight falls over dead in his fifties from a massive heart attack the week after his check-up which included a […]
If every one of your parents/grandparents/great-grandparents made it well into their 90’s, and passed away with their bodies and minds basically intact, you can probably skip this Health Tip. Something like, “Dad was 94 and had finished chopping logs. Sat on a stump, closed his eyes and just died.” Or, “Meemaw (Grandmom was clearly from […]
Last week, we chatted about how your microbiome affects your longevity. Now let’s meander to the other end of your 30-foot-long alimentary canal, up to your mouth, specifically your gums. WholeHealth Chicago patients know we do a check on the health status of their mouths during the physical exam, asking about their dental visits or […]