Business Details
Personalized Root Cause Healthcare Solutions
Ann Arbor Holistic Health is a pioneering healthcare provider dedicated to addressing the root causes of chronic health issues through a personalized, science-based approach. Our team of experienced practitioners combines modern diagnostics with holistic methodologies to deliver comprehensive care tailored to each individual's unique needs. With decades of collective expertise in functional medicine, naturopathy, and integrative health, we specialize in uncovering hidden imbalances in the body's systems. Our methodology emphasizes thorough diagnostic testing, customized wellness plans, and continuous client support to facilitate lasting healing. We serve clients nationwide through both in-person consultations in our Ann Arbor clinic and virtual appointments. Our commitment to client-centered care is demonstrated through personalized nutrition guidance, hormone balancing, gut health optimization, and chronic condition management. We prioritize transparent communication, evidence-based practices, and empowering clients with the knowledge to maintain long-term wellness. Our practitioners bring both professional expertise and personal health journey experience to every client interaction. We measure success through measurable symptom improvement, with 81% of clients reporting significant health benefits within their first month of care.
Services
Functional Lab Testing
Personalized Wellness Plans
Hormone Balancing
Gut Health Optimization
Chronic Condition Management
Nutritional Counseling
Autoimmune Support
Weight Management
Stress Reduction Programs
Fertility Support
Highlights and features
- We offer decades of combined experience in functional and naturopathic medicine
- Our personalized wellness plans address individual biochemical uniqueness
- We utilize advanced functional lab testing for comprehensive diagnostics
- Our team approach combines 95+ years of collective practitioner expertise
- We provide continuous 360 support with unlimited email communication
What people say
Life-changing results
Highly recommend
Profoundly blessed
Symptom improvement
Expertise and compassion
Services
Functional Lab Testing
Our advanced diagnostic testing identifies root causes of chronic symptoms through comprehensive blood, hormone, gut, and genetic analysis. We use cutting-edge technology to detect food sensitivities, hormonal imbalances, gut dysbiosis, and environmental toxin exposure. This scientific approach enables precise treatment planning for conditions like autoimmune disorders, metabolic syndrome, and chronic fatigue.
Personalized Wellness Plans
We create individualized wellness roadmaps based on diagnostic results and personal health history. Each plan integrates nutrition guidance, supplement protocols, lifestyle modifications, and stress management techniques. Our practitioners provide ongoing support through regular coaching sessions to adjust plans as clients progress toward their health goals.
Hormone Balancing
Our hormone optimization program addresses thyroid dysfunction, adrenal fatigue, and sex hormone imbalances using bioidentical hormones and natural interventions. We combine DUTCH hormone testing with symptom analysis to restore hormonal equilibrium. This approach helps alleviate symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, and mood swings while improving overall metabolic function.
Gut Health Optimization
We specialize in resolving complex digestive issues through GI-MAP stool analysis and leaky gut assessments. Our protocols address pathogenic overgrowth, intestinal permeability, and microbiome imbalances using targeted antimicrobials, probiotics, and elimination diets. This comprehensive approach improves nutrient absorption and reduces systemic inflammation.
Chronic Condition Management
Our functional approach to chronic disease addresses root causes rather than symptoms through personalized interventions. We develop sustainable treatment plans for autoimmune conditions, metabolic disorders, and neurological issues. By combining lifestyle modifications with targeted supplementation, we help clients achieve lasting improvements in conditions like diabetes, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and chronic migraines.
People
Kristina Carman
Naturopathic Doctor
With 12+ years in holistic health, Kristina specializes in digestive wellness and hormone balance. Her global experience informs culturally sensitive care, and she speaks Hungarian. She enjoys nature hikes and family cooking adventures.
Pauline Hoang
Naturopathic Physician
Dr. Pauline combines functional and Chinese medicine for complex health cases. Board-certified with experience across North America, she speaks Mandarin and Cantonese. Enjoys outdoor activities including rock climbing and volleyball.
Jason Belejack
Naturopathic Doctor
A former EMT with 10+ years in naturopathy, Dr. Jason focuses on men's health and Lyme disease. He teaches anatomy and physiology while managing a homestead with his family.
Pamela Moore
Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner
Pamela specializes in genetic testing and epigenetics after overcoming Hashimoto's and Lupus. With 15 years of experience and 500+ clients helped, she brings expertise in mold illness and environmental health.
Fern Moreno
Naturopathic Doctor
Dr. Fern combines environmental medicine expertise with hormone health specialization. A certified yoga instructor, she speaks Spanish and focuses on mold illness recovery and fertility support.
Questions
What makes Ann Arbor Holistic Health different from conventional medical practices?
We focus on identifying and addressing root causes of health issues through personalized functional medicine rather than just treating symptoms.
What types of health conditions do you typically help with?
We specialize in chronic conditions like autoimmune disorders, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, metabolic syndrome, and chronic fatigue.
Do you accept insurance for your services?
We provide superbill documentation for potential insurance reimbursement but do not directly bill insurance companies.
How long does a typical wellness plan last?
Most clients engage in 3-6 months of structured care with ongoing maintenance options, depending on individual health goals.
Can I work with you if I live outside Michigan?
Yes, we offer virtual consultations and remote lab testing services for clients nationwide.
What kind of lab testing do you use?
We utilize advanced functional labs including GI-MAP, DUTCH hormone testing, HTMA, and food sensitivity panels from leading specialty labs.
Reviews (18)
Caerusnet Referral Teams Official Channel
Mar 26, 2022
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Justine Altman is very smart, caring, compassionate and intelligent. She's as good as it gets in the wellness world! What a blessing to help people get to the root cause of their issues so they can live a better life. My wife Ava and I give 5 stars!
Evonne Langseth
Mar 09, 2022
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Justine is the best practitioner I've ever worked with! I've struggled with menstrual/fertility issues ever since my first period as a young girl. At that young, delicate age my doctor was more concerned about my weight than my symptoms and she put a label on me that stuck with me for half my life. I carried this label around with me and as a result I always struggled with eating enough and gaining weight and all the hormone issues that came along with being so unhealthy.
I met Justine when I was 35 years old and at our very first appoint she said ONE SENTENCE and it completely changed my mindset about my body image and food. I quickly began to gain a healthy amount of weight and fell pregnant naturally! As I continue to work with her I realize she is full of this kindness and wisdom and grace that is life changing. Sessions with her aren't just about healing naturally, they're like little therapy sessions that are SO POWERFUL! She has helped me in more ways than I could ever share. I love working with her!
I met Justine when I was 35 years old and at our very first appoint she said ONE SENTENCE and it completely changed my mindset about my body image and food. I quickly began to gain a healthy amount of weight and fell pregnant naturally! As I continue to work with her I realize she is full of this kindness and wisdom and grace that is life changing. Sessions with her aren't just about healing naturally, they're like little therapy sessions that are SO POWERFUL! She has helped me in more ways than I could ever share. I love working with her!
Karyn Olsson
Feb 15, 2022
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A 6 year journey to better health led me to Gary Merel. His determination and expertise become my last stop and his treatment confirmed a team of experts at Mayo Clinic. I feel healthier. I am healthier! Gary is also very meticulous. He followed up 100% of the time, was caring and professional. He just does the right thing - not a supplement pusher. Everything is data - driven. I strongly recommend Ann Arbor Holistic.
Rachael Zaracki
Jan 28, 2022
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I've seen a lot of integrative/naturopathic people and was initially risk adverse because I've felt that I have been deeply taken advantage of in the past. Gary is NOT like that at all. I like approach which is to deal with a problem intensely for 2-4 weeks and then to be done. I appreciate NOT having to be on supplements long term. He worked with my financial strains which I deeply appreciate. I highly recommend seeing him.
Erica Martin
Dec 28, 2021
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I had a wonderful experience with Ann Arbor Holistic Health. Gary Merel really went above and beyond to address my health concerns. He made sure to schedule many follow up appointments and phone calls (often free of charge) with me until we both felt that significant progress had been made. I truly felt like he would not give up until we had answers and I was feeling much better. In the future, I will be sure to reach out to Gary if any other health concerns should arise. As of today, my health problems have mostly disappeared and for that I could not be more thankful!
Leann Moot
Feb 26, 2021
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I went to Ann Arbor Holistic Health for Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT). I was constantly having hot flashes/night sweats, was only sleeping 4 hrs a night, no energy, gained weight and felt awful. I am so thankful for the treatment I received at Ann Arbor Holistic Health, they took excellent care of me, explained why and how they will take care of my situation. They were very professional, understanding, caring and most of all they resolved my situation. I learned a lot about how and why to eat healthier. I would highly recommend Ann Arbor Holistic Health for your health concerns, you will be amazed as I was.
Mason Richard
Dec 09, 2020
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The service and the program to help my body and gut was overall amazing and very insightful, but also very pricey. The whole program heavily revolves around you to actually put in the work and time to stick to the diets and supplements and if you can stay with everything it is one of the most rewarding and awakening processes you will ever take part in. The whole program can be taxing on your mental health if you find happiness from eating (such as myself) but Gary Merel acted as a coach who helped me through the whole process of cleansing and rebuilding my body back to where it should be, he provided little tips and tricks to stick with it and keep going.
But the whole package of supplements and coaching can be very pricey for some people but in my opinion after the whole process I now have the tools to keep my body and gut in check and to me its completely worth it. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is not a "normal" doctor visit, its more of a coaching and mentoring service to help you get your body back into a healthy and clean state.
But the whole package of supplements and coaching can be very pricey for some people but in my opinion after the whole process I now have the tools to keep my body and gut in check and to me its completely worth it. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is not a "normal" doctor visit, its more of a coaching and mentoring service to help you get your body back into a healthy and clean state.
Adeel Syed
Oct 21, 2020
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I enjoyed working with Gary to better my health. I didn't go in to lose weight necessarily, but after working to normalize all my levels, I found my body doing a much better job burning through the excess pounds. In general I feel much better and would recommend giving Gary a try for a natural way to feel better
Mason Richard
Sep 26, 2020
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The service and the program to help my body and gut was overall amazing and very insightful, but also very pricey. The whole program heavily revolves around you to actually put in the work and time to stick to the diets and supplements and if you can stay with everything it is one of the most rewarding and awakening processes you will ever take part in. The whole program can be taxing on your mental health if you find happiness from eating (such as myself) but Gary Merel acted as a coach who helped me through the whole process of cleansing and rebuilding my body back to where it should be, he provided little tips and tricks to stick with it and keep going.
But the whole package of supplements and coaching can be very pricey for some people but in my opinion after the whole process I now have the tools to keep my body and gut in check and to me its completely worth it. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is not a "normal" doctor visit, its more of a coaching and mentoring service to help you get your body back into a healthy and clean state.
But the whole package of supplements and coaching can be very pricey for some people but in my opinion after the whole process I now have the tools to keep my body and gut in check and to me its completely worth it. Another thing to keep in mind is that this is not a "normal" doctor visit, its more of a coaching and mentoring service to help you get your body back into a healthy and clean state.
Alicia Rogers
Feb 03, 2020
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Gary and his team are amazing. My health had been steadily declining since the birth of my second child. Gary was the fourth practitioner that I had seen. His kindness, knowledge and patience really helped me get back on a path to healing. Gary is very empathetic and listens to to you, he makes himself available to his clients as much as possible. I felt like I always had his attention and never felt like I was inconveniencing him with my health problems which I had felt before with other doctors. This is a worthwhile investment into your health. I would highly recommend Ann Arbor holistic health! Gary, Thank you so much for everything you did for me!
Sharon Naebeck
Nov 20, 2019
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I came to Ann Arbor Holistic Health to take time out from my very busy life and learn how to improve my health and well-being. Gary has taught me different ways and given me in depth materials to use with consistent meetings to back up the information. Through blood tests we were able to pinpoint areas I needed to work on, and started to improve my health through diet and supplementation. Supplements were included in the price of the program.
I have come a long way, and will be a work in progress for awhile. Now that I have all this information, I want to choose what works the best for me, with Gary's help, in my upcoming final appointment. Gary and his staff are easy to work with, and really care about their clients and their well-being. Thank-you to them, for all their help. I wish them all the best.
I have come a long way, and will be a work in progress for awhile. Now that I have all this information, I want to choose what works the best for me, with Gary's help, in my upcoming final appointment. Gary and his staff are easy to work with, and really care about their clients and their well-being. Thank-you to them, for all their help. I wish them all the best.
Becky Reames
Oct 13, 2019
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Ann Arbor Holistic Health has been great to work with. Everyone on staff, especially Gary, are so kind and care so much about their clients health and well-being. When we first saw Gary years ago he was able to diagnose a gluten intolerance in our child that no one previously had been able to diagnose, resulting in an end to her daily debilitating stomach pain. More recently Gary was able to help us take a closer look at our teenage daughters physical health so that we could improve on it, with the hopes that doing so would improve on her mental health. We definitely learned a lot from Gary and were able to put his findings towards our goal.
Glitter Girl
Jun 26, 2019
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Ann Arbor holistic health is fantastic. My health improved drastically under Gary's care. Everything was done systematically. Staff working there are very helpful and will take care of all things. I had no hopes about my life, first time i went there but i got my health back in this 6 month program. Gary is very knowledgeable about all labs, supplements, diet plans etc. He understands his patients health needs and helps them. Highly recommend this place.
Vicki Paglione
After a year of typical medical visits only to be continually told nothing was wrong with me, I made an appointment with Gary. After my initial visit I left knowing that this was the right decision for my health. Gary was confident he could help me root out the cause of my distress and he did. 3 months later, and I am feeling better than I have felt in a very long time. I highly recommend Gary and his staff. You won't regret it.
Kimberly Schmitt
I was not getting the health results I needed from allopathic medicine. My PCP referred me to a dermatologist who then referred me to a rheumatologist who then referred me to a nephrologist. Not one of them had any idea how to properly identify and address my issues. After meeting Gary and undergoing simple blood and urine tests, it was discovered that I had an overgrowth of candida and leaky gut.
Within a few short months, with the proper diet and supplements, all of my issues are resolved. I found him to be extremely efficient at targeting what would or would not work for me. He respected my input and if something wasn't working he was quick to give me an alternative option. The staff is also pleasant and everyone at Ann Arbor Holistic Health made me feel very welcome and comfortable throughout the entire process. I highly recommend them.
Within a few short months, with the proper diet and supplements, all of my issues are resolved. I found him to be extremely efficient at targeting what would or would not work for me. He respected my input and if something wasn't working he was quick to give me an alternative option. The staff is also pleasant and everyone at Ann Arbor Holistic Health made me feel very welcome and comfortable throughout the entire process. I highly recommend them.
Ashley Chynoweth
Gary was able to help my 6 year old daughter (struggling with celiac, hypothyroidism and JRA) turn her health around within 3 months! Her immune system now seems to be working properly and she has gained two pounds already. We couldn't be happier with the results and the service AAHH provided.
Joanna Danowski
Gary really helped to dial in on my symptoms, and worked to find things my traditional doctors couldn't. I really liked that all of his treatment was based on lab results and science. And the lifestyle changes and treatments recommended are completely doable if you are willing to put a little bit of work in. We went to him with some fertility concerns, and now that I have finished treatment with him, I haven't felt this good in a long time, and I am looking forward to seeing some positive results. Gary has left me in the healthiest, best position possible moving forward.
Becky White
I was impressed by the helpfulness of the whole staff. Gary is extremely knowledgeable and caring. He was persistent on solving the whole problem. He was also readily available for questions. I would highly recommend him to anyone.