“I have had sich a great experience seeing Dr. Bergin. When other offices have told me I just had muscle damage or the only thing they could do for me was give shots, he said he had others ways to manage my pain and numbness, along with improving mobility. And he was right! I feel so much better! With such friendly staff and welcoming office environment, it makes for an amazing experience. I'll definitely continue seeing him!”
Service
Functional Medicine Testing
in Lakeland and The Villages, FL
Testing that looks for the mechanism behind symptoms your standard bloodwork already called normal, read with you and turned into a written plan.
- 22 years in practice
- Doctor of Chiropractic led
- Results read with you
- $47 new-patient exam
Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC Updated September 18, 2026
Functional Medicine Testing at ChiroMed
Were your results normal while you still feel worse?
A particular kind of frustration brings people here. You feel worse than you used to.
You had bloodwork done, it came back within range, and the appointment ended. Nothing was found, which is a relief. Nothing was explained, which is not.
What does functional testing ask that standard labs do not?
Standard laboratory work is built to catch disease, and it does that job well. Functional medicine testing works in the gap it leaves, and it asks a narrower question.
What is your body short of, reacting to, or struggling to process, and what would change if we addressed it? The answer is a plan rather than a diagnosis, and that difference matters more than anything else here.
Who leads it, and what does it sit alongside?
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC is a Doctor of Chiropractic with 22 years in practice.
This testing is part of the functional and holistic care offered here. It works alongside the medical care you already have, not in place of it.
It is one of the treatments offered through our holistic medicine practitioner.
What functional medicine testing actually does
Functional medicine testing looks for the mechanisms behind symptoms rather than for disease. That means nutritional gaps, food reactions, digestive balance and how the body handles blood sugar. Results are read with you and turned into a written nutrition and lifestyle plan. It informs that plan and does not diagnose disease.
The National Library of Medicine sets out what a laboratory test can do in its patient guide. Testing helps detect a condition, reach a diagnosis, plan treatment and monitor how someone is responding.
Those are four different jobs and they are not interchangeable. Functional testing helps with the planning and the monitoring.
A standard reference range describes where most of a population sits. A result at the far edge of normal is still normal, and it can still leave someone feeling flat.
So the reading matters as much as the number. Functional testing looks at position within a range, at patterns across several markers, and at what the history says alongside them.
What gets examined is nutritional status, food reactions, digestive and microbial balance, and markers of how the body is handling blood sugar and inflammation.
Testing is recommended only where the result would change what we do. If it would not, you are told to save your money.
How it works
The history
A long conversation about symptoms, timeline, food, sleep, stress and medication. Knowing what to ask for is most of what makes a test useful at all.
The decision
We work out which testing is worth doing and which is not, and we look at what your physician has already run so nothing is repeated without reason.
The read
Findings are read against your history, your position within a range and the pattern across several markers, then written into a nutrition and lifestyle plan.
Who functional medicine testing helps
- Symptoms with a nutritional, digestive or metabolic mechanism behind them
- Results that sit at the far edge of a reference range
- A pattern across several markers that one number on its own hides
- Care you want to add to a physician relationship you already have
Who it does not help
- Anyone who needs a diagnosis, which this testing does not provide
- Symptoms that need medical investigation, which get referred rather than tested
- Anything expected to replace your primary care physician
- Anything expected to work around a specialist referral
Background reading from an independent authority: the National Library of Medicine's patient guide to laboratory tests.
Conditions we treat with it
You can read more about each one. The examination decides which of them applies to you.
Why patients choose it
The history takes as long as it takes
Most of what makes testing useful is knowing what to ask for. That comes out of a long conversation about symptoms, food, sleep, stress and medication, not a form filled in at a front desk.
Testing only when it changes the plan
Anything recommended here has to change the plan, and you are told what it costs before you agree to it. Testing that would not alter what we do is testing you should not pay for.
Results are read with you
You sit down and go through what came back, what it suggests, and what it does not establish. A results portal with color-coded bars is not an explanation.
It connects to the rest of your care
This practice also treats spines, joints, nerves and metabolic health. A finding here lands in the same file as your pain and your function, rather than in a separate silo.
Cost, insurance and financing
What this costs depends on what is recommended after the consultation. Nothing is ordered before you have agreed to its price. We will not publish a figure that pretends every patient needs the same testing.
The one published price
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47
What affects the cost
- Which testing your history and symptoms actually justify, if any
- Whether anything is repeated later to check the direction of travel
- How many review visits the plan calls for
- Whether supplementation is part of the recommendation
What a course includes
- The consultation and a full symptom, dietary and medication history
- A clear explanation of any recommended testing and its cost before you agree
- A results appointment where the findings are read with you
- A written plan and a review against the symptoms you came in with
Payment:
Functional medicine testing is self-pay here. Coverage varies by carrier, and some services may only qualify as cash-pay.
Chiropractic care is different. If it is part of your plan, that part can be billed to insurance, and we verify your benefits before your first visit.
Medicare coverage varies by plan and by service, and our front desk will tell you exactly what applies before you commit to anything.
Payment plans are available for self-pay care. Ask the front desk which plan fits your course of care.
Every new patient starts at the same place: Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47.
Why ChiroMed
Why does it matter who reads the result?
Plenty of places will sell you a test. Fewer will sit down and tell you what it does not mean.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has spent 22 years building a practice where chiropractic, spinal and knee decompression and Omniwave shockwave run under one roof.
What happens when the answer is not here?
Neuromed electroanalgesia, metabolic care and functional testing run on the same plan. A finding here gets read next to your pain, your function and your history, rather than in isolation.
It also means we have somewhere to send you when the answer is that this belongs with your doctor.
Where you would be treated
How easy is the Lakeland office to reach?
The Lakeland office is at 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, on S. Florida Avenue in South Lakeland. It is minutes from Southgate Shopping Center and Lakeside Village.
Getting there is straightforward from Highland City, Christina, Grasslands, Scott Lake, Dixieland and the Polk Parkway.
What if Lady Lake is the closer office?
The northern office is at 929 US-441 #404 in Lady Lake, just above CR 466. It serves The Villages, Summerfield, Wildwood, Oxford, Fruitland Park and Leesburg.
There is parking at the door for anyone arriving from Spanish Springs Town Square or Brownwood Paddock Square. Consultations run at both addresses.
In Lakeland that is 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, Lakeland, serving Polk County. In the Villages market the office is at 929 US-441 #404, Lady Lake, serving Lake County, Sumter County, Marion County. Dr. Justin Bergin, DC performs the examination personally at both, 22 years into practice.
More on holistic medicine practitioner.
Available at our 2 locations
Treatment at our Lakeland office, and also at:
Functional Medicine Testing in recent research
These sources are independent of this practice and none of them endorses it. They are listed so the reasoning behind the care can be checked rather than taken on trust.
- The myth of IgG food panel testing
The allergy academy states plainly that IgG food panels are not validated for diagnosing food sensitivity, and that a positive result more likely reflects normal exposure.
- Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults: Screening
Graded I, meaning evidence is insufficient to weigh benefits and harms of screening adults without symptoms, a useful check on routine panel testing.
- Vitamin D - Health Professional Fact Sheet
Sets out the reference ranges and the limits of vitamin D measurement, so a result can be read against published standards rather than a clinic own cut-off.
Compare your options
Real alternatives exist, including ones this practice does not perform. Here is the honest set.
| Option | What it is | Typically considered when | Invasive? | Offered at ChiroMed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Functional medicine testing Our approach | Testing aimed at nutritional status, food reactions, digestive balance and metabolic markers, read with you and turned into a written plan. | Symptoms are real, standard investigation found no disease, and nobody has looked at nutrition, absorption or metabolic pattern. | No. Sample collection only. | Yes |
| Standard bloodwork through your physician | Laboratory testing ordered to detect, diagnose or monitor a medical condition. | Symptoms need a medical explanation, or a known condition is being tracked. | No, beyond a blood draw. | Not performed here, and it should come first. Your physician orders the panels that detect or exclude disease. Have that done before spending anything here. |
| Specialist referral | Assessment by a physician who specializes in the organ or system involved. | Red flag symptoms, an abnormal result, or a diagnosis that needs confirming. | Depends on the specialty and what they investigate. | Not performed here. The right step where symptoms are alarming, where a named condition is suspected, or where a system needs an expert rather than a plan. |
| Direct-to-consumer home test kits | Testing kits bought online and posted to a laboratory, with results returned to you directly. | Someone wants a number quickly and without an appointment. | No, though the interpretation is the part that is missing. | Not sold here. Cheap to buy, frequently hard to interpret, and of limited use without a history and someone to read them with you. |
Standard bloodwork through your physician is the step people skip, and it matters most. Functional testing adds to medical care rather than replacing it. If you have not had standard bloodwork done, that is the appointment to make first.
Is functional medicine testing right for someone like you?
Candidacy is decided at the examination, not on a web page. These are the general lines.
Likely a good candidate if
- Persistent fatigue, brain fog or low energy with normal standard bloodwork
- Weight that will not move despite genuine and sustained effort
- Digestive symptoms, food reactions or inflammation without a clear trigger
- You want to understand a mechanism rather than collect another prescription
- You have a physician you see and are looking to add to that care, not replace it
We will point you elsewhere if
- You are looking for a diagnosis, which this testing does not provide
- Red flag symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, bleeding, chest pain or new neurological changes, which need a physician now
- You want to stop a prescribed medication, which is a conversation for the doctor who prescribed it
- You have no primary care physician and no intention of finding one, since this care is designed to sit alongside that relationship
- The expectation is that a test result will settle everything, which no single result does
When we are not the right answer, we say so, and connect you with someone who is.
Your first visit
What to expect, step by step
The first visit works out which testing is worth doing and which is not.
We take your history and look at what your physician has already run, so nothing is repeated without reason. Results are explained to you in plain language, alongside what they do and do not show.
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01A long first conversation
Symptoms, timeline, what has already been investigated, what you eat, how you sleep, what you take and what changed before you started feeling this way. Bring your recent laboratory results and your medication list.
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02A recommendation, with the cost attached
If testing would change the plan you are told which testing, why, and what it costs before you agree to any of it. If it would not change anything, you are told that instead and nothing is ordered.
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03Results, read together
You sit down with the findings and go through what they suggest, where the patterns are, and what they do not establish. Anything that belongs with your physician or a specialist is flagged there and then.
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04A written plan, then a review
Nutrition, supplementation where a finding calls for it, and the lifestyle changes that matter most, written down. Then a review measured against the symptoms that brought you in rather than against the paperwork.
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An adjustment that is not aimed at a specific finding is just noise. We treat what the exam and the X-ray tell us to treat.
“Dr. Bergin was instrumental in relieving my back pain which I had for many years. The techniques he used on relieving my back pain were impressive. I been going to chiropractors for years and Dr. Bergin is the best. Thank You Dr. Bergin :)”
“Took a good amount of time going over my preliminary results and going over potential care plan. Great adjustment and doesn’t sugarcoat when discussing. Would recommend”
“The environment is incredible at this office with the staff and also both doctors are extremely friendly and great at what they do”
“Amazing, Super friendly and talented Staff and Doctors! My back was a hot mess after a semi hit my car on my first day moving to Florida. But after going through the treatment program I was able to get my neck, my back and my life in alignment. It was a total transformation. Thank You New City Chiropractic!”
“Hands down the best chiropractic office out there! They are super friendly and make me feel comfortable to tell then what’s wrong. They always ensure the best treatment for their patients!”
“I absolutely love this place , it is like going to visit family. They are always so pleasant , happy , and professional. I always enjoy seeing the ladies , they always put a smile on my face and even if I am having a bad day. The doctors are always so friendly and concerned with my well being. I actually look forward to going there and miss them on the days that I don't go.”
“I only wish it was closer. You are welcome it's definitely a compliment and I have read the great comments people made about the facility and staff! Amen Open one in Auburndale please!!”
“HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend coming here if you have any pains in your back or neck!! These guys are AMAZING at what they do!! Just a few months into coming here, I feel a change in the way I walk, the way my head sits on my shoulders, and I just feel GREAT; ALL THE TIME!! Crazy what some little adjustments did for me!!”
“This is an awesome chiropractic!! They are all nice and kind! Ever Since I have been adjusting my back, I don't need to take medicine before I go to bed. Also, I have been sleeping without waking up in the middle of the night because of the pain!! I really recommend the chiropractic 😊”
“Dr. Bergin at Chiromed Wellness Centers is the best chiropractor in town. I no longer have to take pain meds. If you still have pain, you’re not seeing to best chiropractor.”
“Love this place!! Cynthia and Angie are amazing! So nice and helpful!! The chiropractor’s are also amazing!! Just a great place overall! I highly recommended it!!”
“Look them up I waited so long to see a chiropractor and I found this place and am so happy that I did . Love the Drs they are so helpful and make feel like family.”
“The staff is super friendly and they walked me through the whole process. I’ve been going for a few weeks now and I’m already feeling results! The treatment the offer is very hands on and informative. I’ve never had manual adjustments until coming to this office and the staff makes you feel comfortable and takes care of your needs. Highly recommend !”
“The best Chiropractic center in South lakeland! love it here the Doctors are very urged to help with any of your needs, the beautiful assistants are nice and helpful they really make you feel welcomed. Most highly recommended Chiropractic Center. :)”
“Muy profesional la atención es formidable todos los empleados son muy amigables.Y muy efectiva sus terapias..Los recomiendo 100x100%”
“My pain has decreased dramatically, I’m no longer stretching and moving my neck in every angle trying to find relief. Every part of my body I can feel is finally getting closer to symmetry! All I can say is you should give new city a try!”
“I love this place!! They're very caring for their patients and strive to help you feel better. I strongly recommend giving them a try. I promise you won't regret it”
“The staff is very knowledgeable and organized, they get to know you and are flexible about fitting your treatment in to your life. They use proven methods to treat the root of your issues and the results are incredible. I was in a lot of pain after a car crash and within a few weeks I was able to go back to my normal routine with no discomfort.”
“I have seen and feel the change in my body since I started, I use to have major pain in my knees and neck ache. I'm an athlete and constantly need more adjustments, and every time I come I always without a doubt feel welcomed and important.”
Get in touch
Bring the results you were told were normal
A long history, testing that earns its place, and a written plan.
- 1
Send the form
Two minutes. Tell us what hurts and which office is closer.
- 2
We call you back
A real person, during office hours, to find a time that works.
- 3
Exam and answers
History, orthopedic and neurological testing, imaging on site when it changes the plan.
- $47 consultation, exam, X-rays if needed and report of findings
- Payment plans available on the self-pay programs
- 4.8 out of 5 from 225 Google reviews
- Choose Lakeland or The Villages on the form
Functional Medicine Testing questions
Tap a message for the honest answer. Call Lakeland (863) 940-3444
What is the difference between a regular doctor and a functional medicine doctor?
A physician is trained and licensed to diagnose disease, prescribe medication and manage illness, and that work is irreplaceable.
Functional medicine describes an approach rather than a license. It means a long history, testing aimed at nutrition, digestion and metabolism, and a plan built from food and lifestyle.
Here it is delivered by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC.
Can a functional medicine doctor be your primary care doctor?
Not here, and be wary of anywhere that says yes. ChiroMed does not replace your primary care physician.
We do not manage medical conditions, prescribe for them, or provide the screening, vaccination and acute care that primary care covers.
Keep that relationship, tell your physician what you are doing here, and use this care alongside it.
What is the downside of functional medicine?
Three honest ones. It is usually self-pay, so the cost falls on you.
The evidence behind some functional testing is thinner than the evidence behind standard medical investigation, so results are a pointer rather than a verdict.
And it attracts practitioners who overpromise. Ask any clinic what its testing cannot tell you.
Will insurance pay for a functional medicine doctor?
Coverage varies by carrier, and some services may only qualify as cash-pay. Functional testing and nutrition programs here are self-pay.
Chiropractic care does bill insurance and our team verifies those benefits separately. Medicare coverage varies by plan and by service.
You are given the cost of any recommended testing in advance, and payment plans are available.
Are naturopathic doctors legal in Florida?
Florida has not licensed new naturopathic physicians for decades, and the small number of remaining license holders are the exception rather than a current pathway.
What matters here is scope. ChiroMed is led by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic.
Nobody here holds or claims naturopathic licensure.
Same-week appointments
Feel Worse Than Your Results Suggest?
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47.
- 4.8 out of 5 on Google
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47