Root-Cause Functional Medicine · New Orleans, LA
I’m Dr. Joe Mather. I run an independent medical practice so I can practice medicine the way it should be done: finding out why you’re sick, then helping you heal with the best treatments from functional and conventional medicine.
Board-Certified Family Medicine
Tulane School of Medicine & Public Health
Board-Certified American Board of Family Medicine
Independent – We take no lab or supplement profit
Whatever brought you here, there’s a good chance I’ve helped patients with something similar. These are the areas where I have particular expertise.
Gut Health
Bloating, reflux, constipation, and food sensitivities. Most of my patients with chronic GI issues feel about 75% better within four months.
Environmental
Environmentally acquired illness — the root causes that so many other doctors miss.
Prevention
Feeling okay isn’t the same as being well. Preventative care and health optimization to help you feel energetic, strong, and confident.
Yes. I’ve helped patients in more than a dozen countries, for over a decade. That experience has taught me the best tools from functional and conventional medicine — and what actually works. I frequently help patients who have struggled for years despite already working with other doctors.
My priority is to help you heal as quickly as possible. Most of my patients with SIBO or chronic GI issues feel about 75% better within four months. Metabolic issues like diabetes often respond within weeks. Illness from environmental toxicity improves month after month, though full recovery takes more time.
Watch
Success stories, interviews, and short lectures — straight from my YouTube channel.
A letter from Dr. Joe
When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was grow up and become a doctor, just like my Dad and Grandfather. I wanted to be someone that others could trust to help them. So you can probably imagine my frustration when, at the end of my Family Medicine residency, I realized that a prescription-heavy style of medicine was not the answer to help my patients get better.
I eventually found the growing field of functional medicine, which emphasizes treating the root causes of illness. This was the paradigm shift I needed to explore a variety of different tools. I began offering treatments based in lifestyle and natural medicine, and I was thrilled to finally see my patients get better.
As time went on, I had the opportunity to work with patients all over the world. This gave me the perspective to see how a lot of other functional and integrative doctors were practicing, and I didn’t like what I saw. Practitioners were charging outrageous consultation fees, wasting their patients’ money on inaccurate labs, and seemed more interested in selling bottles of supplements than listening to their patients.
I run an independent medical practice so that I can practice medicine the way it should be done. Perhaps you have been told that your symptoms are just due to stress. Maybe you are struggling with chronic GI symptoms. Or maybe you are like many of my patients who have unexplained symptoms and need a doctor who is able to listen, think, and research. Whatever reason brought you to my website, I’d like you to know that I’d be honored to work with you to heal.
Dr. Joe Mather
New Orleans Functional Medicine
Sharing what I've learned with fellow physicians — teaching root-cause medicine.
Maybe you’ve already seen a doctor who only had time to write a prescription before sending you to another physician to do the exact same thing. Perhaps you’ve worked with a functional medicine doctor who was so focused on ordering expensive labs and selling supplements that they forgot to listen to you. Perhaps you saw an integrative practitioner and were pushed into an inefficient protocol or program.
In almost every case I’ve seen, the problem wasn’t the doctor — it was the system they worked inside. Offices that accept insurance have to practice by the whims of insurance plans, not what’s best for you. Doctors who make money by recommending lots of tests and supplements are incentivized to recommend extensive, complicated treatment plans — even when that’s not the best way to heal. Practices that push patients into extended programs don’t have any reason to get you better; they make more money keeping you around.
That’s exactly the system I built my practice to escape.
I’ve spent years thinking about the best way to help all sorts of patients feel their best, and I’ve designed an office that lets me concentrate on your healing.
I find out why you are sick, then help you heal using the best treatments from functional and conventional medicine.
One doctor who knows your whole story.
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In my private practice, I have time to think, to review medical studies, and most importantly, to listen to you. This lets me spend more time on your case than the average physician.
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Unlike offices that decide what illness you have before you walk in, I take the time to review every single case to make sure diagnoses aren’t missed.
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Every patient gets an individualized treatment plan that fits their symptoms and history. You are never forced into a protocol or program.
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I work as a solo physician, so you never have to worry about being pushed to another practitioner after a few visits.
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I’m just as comfortable helping you with lifestyle, herbal therapies, and supplements as I am prescribing medications when they’re needed.
“I’ve been sick for 5+ years, hadn’t been in the gym for over a year, and Dr.Joe got me back to working out within three months!”
“After my first visit with Dr. Mather, my gut issues started improving significantly within a week. He is no nonsense with his suggestions. I haven’t felt this good in years! I highly recommend him!”
Paying out of pocket for medical care can be daunting. Because I want to help as many patients as possible, I’ve done all I can to make care affordable and free of hidden incentives.
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Despite getting superior results for my patients, I charge less than other experts in the field so that more patients can work with me.
02
Unlike many functional medicine offices, I never profit from labs or testing. I’m completely independent, so you can trust I’ll only order the tests you need.
03
My patients get 30% off all supplements I recommend from Moss Nutrition — a discount that comes out of my own commission.
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I don’t force patients into memberships, programs, or bundles. If I can get you better in a few weeks, why pay for six months of care?
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I provide detailed superbills that clearly outline the services you receive and their associated costs.
I’ve watched a troubling trend grow in functional medicine: practitioners who make money by selling you supplements and lab tests directly. I think that’s a problem — the extra income quietly pushes doctors toward more aggressive, more complicated treatment plans than you actually need.
So here’s how I handle supplements: I recommend products from Moss Nutrition, a family-owned business that has earned my trust over many years by consistently helping my patients heal. You get 30% off, and because that discount comes out of my own commission, you can trust that when I recommend something, it’s because I think it will help — not because I’m lining my pockets.
You’ve probably felt overwhelmed by how much health information is out there. Most of it now comes from blogs, forums, and podcasts — and while some of it is useful, a lot of it is confusion and misinformation, often from people who aren’t actually seeing patients.
This is where I can help. I’ve spent years listening to my patients and learning from their experiences. If you’ve read about it online, I’ve almost certainly heard about it — so I can help you cut through the noise to the things you actually need to do to feel better.
I have over a decade of clinical experience treating patients from all over the world. For my public health degree, I conducted research with Burmese refugees and worked in an infectious-disease ward in Malaysia. My first year out of residency, I worked as a GP in rural New Zealand — treating children and adults for both chronic and emergent health problems, and diagnosing and treating fractures at an orthopedic clinic.
After returning to the US, I worked as medical director for a busy urgent care while learning everything I could about integrative and functional medicine. I later learned a great deal about hormone replacement at a concierge internal-medicine practice, then spent several years as medical director of the Ruscio Institute of Functional Medicine, where I saw patients from across the country, mentored other physicians, and published research. I’ve had the privilege of being taught by world-class physicians, including Dr. Neil Nathan, who helped me learn strategies for patients who are highly reactive and sensitive to other approaches.
I’m a Medical Doctor practicing in New Orleans, LA, board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and in practice since 2014. I graduated from Tulane University School of Medicine and School of Public Health in 2011. When I’m not working with patients, you’ll find me playing with my three kids, exercising, or playing the drums.
Practical, honest writing on staying healthy in a toxic world.
Just click any orange “Schedule Your Visit” button — there’s one at the top of every page. You’ll be taken to a scheduler where you can pick the next available appointment that works for you. Please double-check that you’ve entered your email address correctly, as you’ll receive a welcome email with instructions on how to complete your new-patient paperwork.
I run an independent, out-of-pocket practice so I can focus on your healing rather than the whims of insurance plans. Despite getting superior results, I keep my fees lower than other experts in the field so that more patients can work with me.
I never profit from selling supplements. I recommend products from Moss Nutrition and pass a 30% discount to you out of my own commission, so you can trust that any recommendation is about your health, not my income. I’m also completely independent of all labs.
Never. Every patient gets an individualized plan built around their symptoms and history. And because I work as a solo physician, you won’t be handed off to another practitioner after a few visits.
I treat many conditions, with particular expertise in chronic GI symptoms, mold and heavy-metal toxicity, and preventative care. Many of my patients come to me with unexplained symptoms after seeing multiple other doctors.
For Licensed Clinicians
I teach the real-world strategies I use with patients every day — CME lectures for MDs, DOs, NPs, PAs, and DCs. Not a lab company. Not a supplement pitch.
“I’d be honored to work with you to heal.”