How to Cure the Sick Health Care System: Insights from Dr. Joseph Pizzorno’s Open Letter and Santorio’s Functional Health Vision

By Santorio, Inspired by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno (PMC5312748)

Discover how functional medicine and Santorio’s AI-driven approach offer real solutions to America’s chronic disease epidemic—starting with toxin elimination.

Are We Fixing Health or Just Managing Disease?

What if our healthcare system isn’t really a health care system—but a disease treatment system?

That’s the powerful argument made by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno in his open letter to President Trump (PMC5312748), where he and other leaders in natural medicine call for an urgent transformation in how we approach chronic illness. Their message is clear: we must shift from reactive treatment to proactive, personalized prevention.

At Santorio, this philosophy drives everything we do. By combining functional medicine with advanced AI analytics, we empower people to understand the root causes of their symptoms—and take action before disease sets in. One of the biggest culprits? Hidden toxic load from our environment, food, and water.

Spotlight on Dr. Joseph Pizzorno

Dr. Joseph Pizzorno is a pioneer in naturopathic and integrative medicine, known for founding Bastyr University and advising U.S. government agencies on health and environmental policy. His lifelong work centers on evidence-based, root-cause healing—and the undeniable role environmental toxins play in chronic disease.

At Santorio, his research is foundational. We incorporate his protocols and insights into our AI-powered wellness platform, helping users uncover toxin-related risks and build data-informed detox strategies tailored to their needs.

Key Insights from the Research

The letter presents not just a critique, but a blueprint for better health care—starting with toxin reduction and root-cause diagnostics.

1. Toxins as Root Drivers of Disease

Chronic illness often begins with toxin accumulation, not genetics or bad luck. Pesticides, heavy metals, and industrial chemicals disrupt metabolism, immunity, and hormone balance—especially when exposure is long-term and low-grade.

For example, children eating ≥75% conventionally grown foods have 9x higher urinary organophosphate pesticide levels than those on primarily organic diets—levels that have been linked to cognitive, metabolic, and reproductive health risks.

2. A 5-Step Functional Health Protocol

Dr. Pizzorno outlines a clinical approach to identifying and resolving toxin-related illness:

Step 1: Evaluate exposure (e.g., pesticides, mercury, plastics)
Step 2: Assess biological damage using GGTP, ALT, eGFR, and 8-OHdG
Step 3: Reduce or eliminate exposure sources
Step 4: Support the body’s natural detox pathways
Step 5: Facilitate excretion through nutrition, hydration, and movement

3. Lab Tests Reveal Subclinical Stress

Elevated GGTP—even within “normal” ranges—is associated with a 12-fold increased risk of diabetes, signaling liver and mitochondrial dysfunction caused by toxic stress. Similarly, 8-OHdG reveals DNA oxidative damage, offering early warning of long-term disease risk.

4. Prevention Works, but It Takes Time

While switching to organic food and filtering water can reduce exposure in days, the body may take months or even years to fully excrete long-lived chemicals. That’s why ongoing strategies—not just one-time detoxes—are essential.

Santorio’s Approach: Turning Functional Science Into Personalized Care

At Santorio, we’ve built a platform that takes these research insights and transforms them into real-time, personalized health strategies—scalable for daily life.

1. AI-Based Exposure Assessment

We analyze your location, food sources, water quality, and lifestyle to estimate toxin exposure risk—from pesticide residues to heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

2. Functional Lab Interpretation

Santorio reviews lab results (GGTP, ALT, 8-OHdG, etc.) using functional medicine ranges, helping detect subtle issues that traditional systems overlook.

3. Personalized Detox & Lifestyle Guidance

Based on your data, we deliver evidence-backed recommendations, such as:

Prioritizing low-toxin foods (e.g., organic or “Clean 15”)
Supplementing with detox agents like N-acetylcysteine (NAC), zinc, and glutathione
Using water filtration, reducing plastic use, and incorporating sweating protocols like sauna sessions

4. Long-Term Tracking & Optimization

You can track your detox progress, lab improvements, symptom changes, and behavioral consistency over time—creating a feedback loop for continuous wellness improvement.

5 Smart Steps to Support Your Detox Journey

You don’t need to overhaul your life overnight. Start with these simple, impactful changes:

Choose organic for high-residue produce (like strawberries, spinach, and apples) to reduce daily pesticide intake.
Install a quality water filter to reduce heavy metals, fluoride, and VOCs that stress your detox organs.
Check GGTP and 8-OHdG levels with your provider or wellness platform—they reveal early signs of metabolic and oxidative stress.
Take NAC and glutathione precursors to support phase I and II liver detox pathways.
Use a validated toxin exposure questionnaire (like the Environmental Exposure Questionnaire) to identify hidden risks from home, food, and workplace.

The Takeaway: It’s Time to Redefine What Health Care Really Means

Dr. Pizzorno’s message is clear: chronic disease is not inevitable. With the right testing, data interpretation, and interventions, we can shift from a system that manages symptoms to one that prevents disease and builds health.

At Santorio, we make this vision a reality—by using AI and functional medicine to uncover the invisible drivers of illness and deliver personalized, proactive strategies that help you thrive.