Functional Fueling Nutrition

Functional Fueling Nutrition Functional Nutrition Solutions for Thyroid and Hormone Imbalances.

We are a team of registered dietitian nutritionists that specialize in personalized, evidence-based nutrition solutions for hypothyroidism, hashimotos, PCOS, and other hormonal imbalances. Functional Fueling Nutrition is a Los Angeles and virtual based nutrition practice specializing in functional medicine and hormones. Our Registered Dietitian, Lauren, helps women ages 25-55 restore hormone imbalances using advanced lab testing and functional nutrition to get to the root cause and achieve optimal healing.

12/23/2025

So many of the women we work with arrive with a similar story—years of histamine symptom management and no clear long-term solution.

Maybe you’re experiencing chronic symptoms like our client:

Chronic fatigue.
Brain fog and anxiety.
Food intolerances and fear around eating.
Joint pain.
Symptoms that worsened before her period and with exercise.

Histamine and MCAS had been the focus for so many years. But it wasn’t the root cause. It was the alarm—signaling that the immune system had been under chronic stress.

Instead of just asking, “How do we lower histamine?”
We asked a different question:
What is the immune system responding to—and why hasn’t it been able to shut off the signal?

When we addressed the true drivers of the histamine issues, the body started doing what it had been trying to do all along.

Within weeks: improvements to memory and the ability to exercise again without feeling like she had to sleep for several days following

Within months: no more joint pain or stomach aches and regular cycles

If this story feels familiar, you’re not broken. Your body is communicating.

Comment “histamine messenger” for a link to our blog to learn more!

12/18/2025

Ovulating—but your basal temp or progesterone stays low in the luteal phase?

This is one of the most common patterns I see.

Regular cycles. Confirmed ovulation.
Yet progesterone barely rises in the early luteal phase.

Here’s the part most women are never told:
This usually isn’t an ovarian problem. It’s a thyroid signal problem.

When thyroid hormones are lower—especially T4 and T3—progesterone output during the luteal phase drops, most noticeably around days 18–23.

Research even shows that women with “normal” thyroid labs produce more progesterone when their thyroid hormone levels are higher.

Why this matters👇
• T3 directly signals luteal cells to release progesterone
• T3 drives the mitochondrial conversion of cholesterol into progesterone

No T3 signal = a weaker progesterone response.

✨ If you want to see whether this pattern applies to you, comment “T3quiz” and I’ll send you my quiz to help you connect the dots.

🎙️This week’s podcast dives deeper into this thyroid–progesterone relationship.

12/06/2025

Do this before you start on your next gut, mold or any detox protocol!

Comment “125” for a link to listen to our full podcast episode

12/03/2025

🌙 Do you regularly wake up around 2am?

In this week’s podcast episode, Dr. David Allen and I break down why 2 am wake-ups really happen.

We also dive deeper into:

• How the liver and kidneys relate to fertility, aging and motivation
• Why detox protocols backfire when your system is depleted
• The simple breath-and-pause technique that stops a stress or anger spiral and improves your stress tolerance
• How digestion + absorption weaken with age
• How reconnecting the mind + body accelerates true healing

If you’re waking around 2am, your body is talking to you — and this episode explains exactly what it’s trying to say.

Comment “124” and I’ll send you the link to listen to the full conversation

Most people think Hashimoto’s starts when TSH rises or thyroid hormones drop… but the first shifts begin 8–10 YEARS earl...
11/26/2025

Most people think Hashimoto’s starts when TSH rises or thyroid hormones drop… but the first shifts begin 8–10 YEARS earlier — inside the immune system.

That’s why healing Hashimoto’s isn’t about chasing TSH levels, it’s about repairing the immune terrain that drives the thyroid attack in the first place.

Your body develops “energy leaks” long before thyroid antibodies (TPO and TG) show up:
• Chronic viral load (EBV, CMV, HSV, etc.)
• Mold + environmental toxins
• Gut infections + leaky gut
• Long-term stress + hormonal transitions
• Micronutrient depletion

It’s not one infection or immune stressor — it’s the overall viral/microbial burden that overwhelms immune tolerance. Hashimoto’s develops when the dominos align: genetics, hormone shifts, nutrient gaps, stress, and toxic load.

The good news is when you support the immune system, the thyroid can finally heal✨

Inside our approach, we focus on:
✓ Rebalancing minerals + micronutrients
✓ Restoring immune tolerance
✓ Addressing “energy leaks”
✓ Reducing oxidative stress
✓ Healing the gut + rebuilding digestive resilience

If you want to understand this connection further…COMMENT “HASHIS” AND ILL SEND YOU A LINK TO LEARN MORE!

Most people think Hashimoto’s starts when TSH rises or thyroid hormones drop… but the first shifts begin 8–10 YEARS earl...
11/26/2025

Most people think Hashimoto’s starts when TSH rises or thyroid hormones drop… but the first shifts begin 8–10 YEARS earlier — inside the immune system.

That’s why healing with Hashimoto’s isn’t about chasing TSH… it’s about repairing the immune terrain that drives the thyroid attack in the first place.

Your body develops “energy leaks” long before antibodies show up:
• Chronic viral load (EBV, CMV, HSV, etc.)
• Mold + environmental toxins
• Gut infections + leaky gut
• Long-term stress + hormonal transitions
• Micronutrient depletion

It’s not one immune stressor — it’s the overall viral/microbial burden that overwhelms immune tolerance. Hashimoto’s develops when the dominos align: genetics, hormone shifts, nutrient gaps, stress, and toxic load.

The good news:
When you support the immune system, the thyroid can finally heal. ❤️‍🩹

Inside our approach, we focus on:
✓ Rebalancing minerals + micronutrients
✓ Restoring immune tolerance
✓ Addressing “energy leaks”
✓ Reducing oxidative stress
✓ Healing the gut + rebuilding digestion resilience

Comment “hashis” and I’ll send you the blog post to learn more!

11/23/2025

When you fast until your Holiday brunch, your cortisol rises, insulin sensitivity drops, and your hunger hormones push you toward overeating — not because of “willpower,” but physiology.

In this episode with , we break down how to structure your morning so your body is supported, steady, and primed for better digestion and energy all day long. 🤍

👇🏼 Comment “thanksgiving” for the full episode link.

11/17/2025

🎄 OUR HOLIDAY GUIDES ARE HERE! 🎁
The holidays are full of joyful moments… and a few stressors, too.

To help you stay grounded and energized this season, we created two brand-new resources👇

1. The Functional Holiday Recipe Guide (FREE for everyone!)
Real-life holiday moments ➜ paired with quick, Functional Fueling®–approved festive recipes.
Inside you’ll get:
• A Hormone Insight (what’s happening in your body)
• An Action Step (what to do in the moment)
• A Festive Functional Recipe (that supports hormones + energy)
PLUS an exclusive FFN supplement discount code 🎁

✨Comment “holidays25” to grab your free copy!

2. The Ultimate FFN Holiday Hormone Health Guide
FREE with any $50+ supplement purchase
46 pages of:
✔️ Bloating + travel tools (plus 3 travel workouts)
✔️ Airport & road trip nutrition guidance
✔️ Healthy holiday food + tradition swaps
✔️ My Holiday Health Gift Guide w/ exclusive discounts
✔️ A 7-Day Holiday Hormone Reset Meal Plan — perfect between events to re-energize, de-bloat, and keep metabolism + cycles humming

✨Comment “shop” to shop our formulas

——
Take advantage of BOTH guides for the ultimate holiday support.

Think of these as your functional nutrition toolkit for holiday resilience.

Address

San Diego, CA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+16193792416

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Our Story

Functional Fueling Nutrition is a nutrition private practice owned by Lauren Papanos, MS, RD, CSSD. Lauren specializes in a root-cause, personalized approach to nutrition. Lauren is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, a board certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics and is trained in functional nutrition. She holds both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nutritional Sciences. She has worked as a Division I Power 5 Performance Dietitian as well as in outpatient functional medicine clinics. She has been featured on websites like Women’sHealthMag.com, Active.com, Insider.com and published research in several medical journals.

Her specialties include:


  • thyroid and metabolism

  • women’s hormones