What is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine is a personalized approach that focuses on finding and treating the root causes of health issues, rather than just managing symptoms.
It considers your genetics, environment, and lifestyle to create a plan that may include nutrition, sleep, stress management, detox, and exercise to improve overall health.
Chip Nguyen, DNP, NP-C
Family and Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner
Dr. My Phuong (Chip) Nguyen, DNP, NP-C, IFMCP, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and Cleveland Clinic’s certification in Functional Medicine. Fluent in English and Vietnamese, she brings 17 years of experience in primary care, urgent care, pulmonology, sleep medicine, and functional medicine.
Inspired by her own journey with autoimmune disease, Chip focuses on addressing the root causes of health concerns, empowering patients to reduce stress, feel confident, and achieve optimal wellness. Currently practicing Functional Medicine with a leading hospital organization, she specializes in concierge executive health, advanced diagnostics, and personalized care for chronic disease management.
Chip’s expertise includes advanced lipid panels, nutritional and detoxification genetics, hormone optimization, and specialty testing such as DUTCH, GI MAP, and NutrEval. She collaborates with a multidisciplinary team to offer services like IV nutrition therapy, peptide education, hormone replacement, and lifestyle medicine coaching.
In addition, Chip is a skilled aesthetic injector passionate about enhancing natural beauty with subtle, refined results.
Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, traveling, working out, and spending time with her dog, Laird.
Embark on Your
Unique Wellness Journey
Experience personalized care and holistic healing through our extensive range of functional medicine services.
Autoimmune Diseases
Conditions caused by abnormal immune responses, often influenced by genetics or environmental factors.
Read MoreChronic Illnesses
Long-term conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer that affect daily life and require ongoing management.
Read MoreUnexplained Symptoms
Conditions where no clear medical cause is found, affecting 15-30% of primary care visits.
Read MoreMental Health
Addressing stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep issues that arise from prolonged or overwhelming stress.
Read MoreGastrointestinal Issues
GI problems like GERD, bloating, and IBS, with a focus on root causes.
Read MoreHormones & Menopause
Managing hormonal imbalances causing symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and mood changes.
Read MoreCardiovascular & Metabolic Health
Addressing heart, blood vessel, and metabolic diseases that impact overall health.
Read MoreWeight Loss
A targeted plan for reducing excess body fat through balanced nutrition, hormone optimization, glucose stabilization, and sustainable lifestyle changes, with GLP-1 therapy considered together if appropriate.
Read MoreFunctional Medicine Approach
At the core of Chip’s approach is the belief that optimal health involves addressing various factors like hormones, muscle health, energy, recovery, and sleep. Achieving true wellness requires making meaningful changes in habits and behaviors. Chip focuses on guiding individuals toward sustainable lifestyle improvements, including:
Sleep
Restorative sleep is crucial for physical and mental recovery, impacting mood, cognitive function, and overall health.
Nutrition
A balanced diet with the right nutrients fuels the body’s functions, supports energy levels, and promotes healing.
Stress Management
Managing stress through mindful practices can lower inflammation, enhance resilience, and improve mental clarity.
Detoxification
Supporting the body’s natural detox processes helps reduce toxin buildup, promoting better organ function and overall vitality.
Movement
Regular physical activity strengthens muscles, supports cardiovascular health, and contributes to overall well-being.
Testimonials
Please describe how you felt prior to working with Chip and the Functional First Team. What prompted you to seek help?
My limbs felt heavy and I was worried about my heart health along with being pre-diabetic. I was also experiencing bloating, brain fog and fatigue. I was already trying the Keto diet and was not entirely sure what I was doing, so there was a concern about that. I had heard about functional doctors and wanted to give that a try.
What wins did you experience due to working with Chip Nguyen and the team? Please be specific. How did Chip, Vanessa, or Brittany help you on your health journey? (symptom changes, mindset shifts, etc)
All concerned areas have improved drastically. My heart health - blood panels have taken a 180-degree turn. My limbs no longer feel heavy. Gut health is improved...no more bloating. Much improved mental clarity and energy. My physical body feels looks and feels stronger. I just turned 64 and feel like I'm 35. It was great working with Chip and the team. Chip was able to pin point specific issues to address and provide the knowledge and action steps necessary to affect positive changes. Vanessa was a great help in answering my questions toward my new diet and offering solutions that worked. Brittany was a great help in keeping me motivated and helping to reduce my stress levels.
How likely are you to recommend Chip Nguyen to someone you know? 0- Unlikely, 5= Very Likely
5/5
Steve
What wins did you experience due to working with Chip Nguyen and the team? Please be specific. How did Chip, Vanessa, or Brittany help you on your health journey? (symptom changes, mindset shifts, etc)
First thing was the capillary issue on my legs. After about just one month of supplements and better diet, the issue completely disappeared. Now, 8 months later, still perfect. Second was Chip figuring out that I might have H-Pylori. I had to take a daily pill to prevent heartburn. I'd been taking this medication of at least a couple of years. After 14 days of antibiotics, the H-Pylori was gone, heartburn gone, daily pill gone. Third thing was stomach issues. Stomach is much improved and still improving with the current group of supplements and better diet.
How likely are you to recommend Chip Nguyen to someone you know? 0- Unlikely, 5= Very Likely.
5/5
Rick
What wins did you experience due to working with Chip Nguyen & Vanessa Van Der Linden and the team? Please be specific. How did Chip, Vanessa, or Brittany help you on your health journey? (symptom changes, mindset shifts, etc)
wanted to share a few wins since working together. The most obvious one is sleep. My average sleep score is now around 85 on my Oura, which is kind of amazing for me. I still have nights where I don’t sleep great, but I also now occasionally sleep 8 hours, which honestly just never happened for years. Overall, sleep feels like a huge win.
Even bigger than sleep, though, is my overall resilience. It feels really good to be in a place where we’re working to optimize instead of putting out fires. We’re improving things, and I have more goals and ideas I want to get ahead of, rather than constantly reacting to problems. That shift alone feels huge.
For example, this month (since I’m not traveling), I set a goal of 10 CrossFit classes and 10 yoga classes, and I’m halfway through the month and on track. That’s on top of playing pickleball, golfing, and regular walking. I’m honestly thrilled to be able to manage this level of activity and feel good doing it.
I also wanted to share some body composition data since I know you like objective measures. Over the past three months, my weight went up slightly from 143.5 to 145.5, but what feels more meaningful is that my muscle mass increased from 58.6 to 60 pounds, and my body fat percentage dipped slightly from 25.7% to 25.5%. I’m claiming this as a win—1.4 pounds of muscle at 58 years old! Who says you have to lose a percentage of muscle every year?
This really feels like the result of the adjustments we’ve made together and the support from you, Chip, and Vanessa. I’m very grateful and excited to keep building from here.
How likely are you to recommend Chip Nguyen and Vanessa Van Der Linden to someone you know? 0- Unlikely, 5= Very Likely.
5/5
Susie
Steve
Please describe how you felt prior to working with Chip and the Functional First Team. What prompted you to seek help?
My limbs felt heavy and I was worried about my heart health along with being pre-diabetic. I was also experiencing bloating, brain fog and fatigue. I was already trying the Keto diet and was not entirely sure what I was doing, so there was a concern about that. I had heard about functional doctors and wanted to give that a try.
What wins did you experience due to working with Chip Nguyen and the team? Please be specific. How did Chip, Vanessa, or Brittany help you on your health journey? (symptom changes, mindset shifts, etc)
All concerned areas have improved drastically. My heart health - blood panels have taken a 180-degree turn. My limbs no longer feel heavy. Gut health is improved...no more bloating. Much improved mental clarity and energy. My physical body feels looks and feels stronger. I just turned 64 and feel like I'm 35. It was great working with Chip and the team. Chip was able to pin point specific issues to address and provide the knowledge and action steps necessary to affect positive changes. Vanessa was a great help in answering my questions toward my new diet and offering solutions that worked. Brittany was a great help in keeping me motivated and helping to reduce my stress levels.
How likely are you to recommend Chip Nguyen to someone you know? 0- Unlikely, 5= Very Likely
5/5
Rick
What wins did you experience due to working with Chip Nguyen and the team? Please be specific. How did Chip, Vanessa, or Brittany help you on your health journey? (symptom changes, mindset shifts, etc)
First thing was the capillary issue on my legs. After about just one month of supplements and better diet, the issue completely disappeared. Now, 8 months later, still perfect. Second was Chip figuring out that I might have H-Pylori. I had to take a daily pill to prevent heartburn. I'd been taking this medication of at least a couple of years. After 14 days of antibiotics, the H-Pylori was gone, heartburn gone, daily pill gone. Third thing was stomach issues. Stomach is much improved and still improving with the current group of supplements and better diet.
How likely are you to recommend Chip Nguyen to someone you know? 0- Unlikely, 5= Very Likely.
5/5
Susie
What wins did you experience due to working with Chip Nguyen & Vanessa Van Der Linden and the team? Please be specific. How did Chip, Vanessa, or Brittany help you on your health journey? (symptom changes, mindset shifts, etc)
wanted to share a few wins since working together. The most obvious one is sleep. My average sleep score is now around 85 on my Oura, which is kind of amazing for me. I still have nights where I don’t sleep great, but I also now occasionally sleep 8 hours, which honestly just never happened for years. Overall, sleep feels like a huge win.
Even bigger than sleep, though, is my overall resilience. It feels really good to be in a place where we’re working to optimize instead of putting out fires. We’re improving things, and I have more goals and ideas I want to get ahead of, rather than constantly reacting to problems. That shift alone feels huge.
For example, this month (since I’m not traveling), I set a goal of 10 CrossFit classes and 10 yoga classes, and I’m halfway through the month and on track. That’s on top of playing pickleball, golfing, and regular walking. I’m honestly thrilled to be able to manage this level of activity and feel good doing it.
I also wanted to share some body composition data since I know you like objective measures. Over the past three months, my weight went up slightly from 143.5 to 145.5, but what feels more meaningful is that my muscle mass increased from 58.6 to 60 pounds, and my body fat percentage dipped slightly from 25.7% to 25.5%. I’m claiming this as a win—1.4 pounds of muscle at 58 years old! Who says you have to lose a percentage of muscle every year?
This really feels like the result of the adjustments we’ve made together and the support from you, Chip, and Vanessa. I’m very grateful and excited to keep building from here.
How likely are you to recommend Chip Nguyen and Vanessa Van Der Linden to someone you know? 0- Unlikely, 5= Very Likely.
5/5