After many of my patients asked about my upcoming medical mission trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon, I wanted to take a moment to share.
How It All Began
Since 2017, I’ve led a group of volunteers to Ecuador each year as part of Project Nido—Spanish for “nest.” What began as a simple mission to bring women’s healthcare to underserved communities has grown into something much deeper: a commitment to listening, learning, and returning. Again and again.
Our work began with a partnership with Partners for Andean Community Health (PACH) and FIBUSPAM Hospital, both dedicated to serving Ecuador’s rural and Indigenous populations. Their patients’ stories stay with me long after I return home—and they’re the reason we keep going back.
In 2016, after a devastating earthquake struck Ecuador’s coast, PACH received a grant from the American Academy of Physician Assistants to deliver medical relief. They had the supplies, a mobile clinic packed into a bus, and a route planned. What they didn’t have was a provider focused on women’s health.
At the time, I had two small children at home, spoke only high school Spanish, and had never done international medical work. But I said yes. I packed my altitude sickness meds, boarded a flight, and landed in a community with no electricity, 90+ degree heat, and one concrete building still standing. Villagers were told to walk, ride horses, or find transport—because for three days, medical care would be available.
I wasn’t prepared for the line waiting for me.
Why? Because I was the only female provider—and many of these women had never seen one before.
We were in a large building with no exam rooms. No privacy. So I listened. Again and again, women described getting “sick” once a month—abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness, fear. It took me a while to realize: they were describing their periods.
They didn’t know what menstruation was. Some thought they were bleeding from an illness. Others believed they would eventually “run out” of blood—and that would be how they died. With no access to pads, many missed school or work for a full week each month.
That was the moment I knew: this couldn’t be a one-time trip.
Since then, we’ve returned year after year, growing our team and expanding our mission. One year, I joined medical students and alumni from Temple University. Another time, I was joined by post-college grads applying to become physician associates and medical school. Our teams are always diverse, but our goals remain the same: listen, educate, and serve.
One of our most meaningful initiatives has been the creation and distribution of menstrual health kits, each including reusable menstrual underwear and cloth pads, reusable hot/cold packs for cramps or joint pain, herbal remedies like ginger and cinnamon, instructional guides in Spanish and Kichwa, gentle yoga stretches for relief, and toiletries and small comfort items.
We pair these kits with charlas—informal women’s chats where we talk openly about menstruation, cramps (yes, the uterus is a muscle), and how to manage symptoms using tools already available in the community.
Each year, the charlas grow—more questions, more laughter, more empowerment. And every time we hand a woman her kit, we’re offering her more than supplies. We’re offering dignity, knowledge, and ownership of her health.
Last Year’s Breakthrough: Screening and Saving Lives
Last year was one of our most impactful trips yet.
Thanks to another grant from the American Academy of Physician Associates, we brought a digital colposcope and thermal ablation device—tools that allowed us to both screen for and treat precancerous cervical cells on the spot.
I hand-carried the equipment through TSA, customs, and across the Andes. We created a mobile gynecology clinic in a dark, electricity-free schoolhouse—powered only by headlamps and sunlight.
With the help of two remarkable young volunteers—a high school student and a Princeton undergrad—we screened 40 women in two days:
26 had cervical abnormalities
15 received immediate treatment with thermal ablation
Two were more serious cases and transportation was arranged for them to go to FIBUSPAM Hospital, six hours away, for biopsy and possible surgery.
It may sound like a small number. But those 15 women just gained 20 more years of life—in places where Pap smears are rare and cancer is diagnosed too late.
What’s Next
We’ll keep going back. With more volunteers. More equipment. More education. We’ll keep talking about menstruation, reproductive health, and cancer screening. We’ll keep training the next generation of providers to listen—really listen—to what’s being said and what’s left unsaid.
Because once you see what’s possible, you can’t look away. And once you’ve seen what’s missing, you can’t stay home.
But Project Nido has always been about more than just healthcare. It’s also about planting a seed—especially in the hearts of young adults.
A core part of our mission is to expose students and early-career professionals to meaningful service, in the hopes that they “catch the bug.” No matter what path they pursue—medicine, law, business, or the arts—we want them to carry forward the mindset of giving back, of staying rooted in compassion and justice.
Because when you expose young people early, it stays with them. It imprints. You light a match, and sometimes you ignite a lifelong fire.
Our hope is that Project Nido not only brings healing to underserved communities, but also helps build a future generation of leaders who see service not as a task to complete, but as a way to move through the world.
Nearly everyone experiences a headache at some point, but for those who suffer from frequent or chronic headaches, the impact can be truly debilitating. Whether it’s the dull, persistent ache of a tension headache, the intense throbbing of a migraine, or pain associated with an underlying health condition, identifying the root cause is essential for lasting relief.
Headaches can stem from a wide range of factors, including stress, hormonal imbalances, musculoskeletal tension, neurological sensitivities, or illness. That’s why an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis is so important. At the Kaplan Center, we reject the notion that you simply have to “live with it.” Our team is committed to helping patients identify the underlying causes of their headaches and develop personalized, effective treatment plans.
One highly effective and increasingly popular treatment we offer is acupuncture. This ancient therapy, rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine and practiced for over 2,000 years, is now backed by modern scientific research for its effectiveness in managing and preventing various types of headaches.
The Science Behind Acupuncture
Recent clinical studies, including those published in prestigious medical journals such as The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and JAMA Internal Medicine, show that acupuncture can significantly reduce the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraines and tension-type headaches. These improvements are often sustained over time and can be more effective than medication alone, without the side effects commonly associated with pharmaceuticals.
Acupuncture is thought to work by stimulating specific points on the body (called acupoints) to regulate the central nervous system, promote the release of endorphins and serotonin, reduce inflammation, improve blood flow, and balance the body’s stress response. For headache sufferers, this means more than temporary relief—it can lead to fewer attacks, better sleep, and improved overall well-being.
In one major study, those who received true acupuncture had significantly better outcomes than those receiving standard care or sham (placebo) acupuncture. These findings have led organizations such as the World Health Organization and the American Migraine Foundation to recognize acupuncture as a viable, evidence-based treatment option.
How We Can Help
Our acupuncture treatments are delivered by highly trained practitioners in a calming, patient-centered environment. Most patients find the sessions relaxing and even rejuvenating. Over time, many report dramatic improvements not only in their headache patterns but also in their energy levels, mood, sleep, and stress resilience.
If you or someone you love is living with chronic headaches, know that lasting relief is possible. Call the Kaplan Center today—703-532-4892—to schedule your appointment and take the first step toward a pain-free, empowered future.
We are here for you, and we want to help.
Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2
Ferritin often hides in plain sight on lab reports. But if I had to pick a favorite lab value—it would be this one. Why? Because ferritin is a multitasker. It’s one of the few lab values that offers insights into both iron metabolism and inflammation—making it a subtle but powerful indicator of what’s going on beneath the surface.
Ferritin 101: More Than Just an Iron Marker
Ferritin is often billed as a marker of iron stores. True! But that’s like saying your dog is just a pet—it’s also a security guard, emotional support system, and leftover vacuum.
Ferritin also acts as an acute phase reactant, meaning it can spike in response to inflammation. That dual personality makes it incredibly useful—and sometimes a little tricky—in clinical practice.
Let’s look at two very different patients whose ferritin levels pointed us in two very different diagnostic directions.
Case One: The 46-Year-Old Woman with Chronic Fatigue
She came to our clinic with all-too-familiar symptoms: relentless fatigue, poor sleep, and periods that could qualify as an endurance event—six days, heavy every month. A CBC was done elsewhere. Her hemoglobin? Normal. Verdict? “You’re fine.”
But at the Kaplan Center, we don’t settle for “fine.”
We dug deeper. Her ferritin was a level nine. Single digits. Yikes. We aim for ferritin levels above 50 ng/mL for optimal energy, cognitive function, and restorative sleep.
What’s tricky is that her hemoglobin was still normal—because the body was borrowing from its iron reserves to keep the ‘checking account’ looking normal. But her ‘savings account’—her ferritin—was very low. Like someone covering bills with a dwindling emergency fund, she was running on borrowed resilience. Eventually, those reserves dry up—and that’s when symptoms like fatigue, disrupted sleep, and poor stress tolerance start showing up loud and clear.
Her WatchPAT sleep study also showed no sleep apnea, but she had frequent awakenings, poor sleep efficiency, and trouble maintaining deep sleep. While ferritin doesn’t control sleep stages directly, low iron stores are known to impair energy production, dopamine synthesis, and thermoregulation—all of which can contribute to non-restorative sleep.
Iron isn’t just about oxygen transport. It’s about mitochondrial health, dopamine production, and helping your brain power down at night. So if your labs look “normal” but you feel anything but normal, find someone who will look beyond the surface.
He was a healthy athlete until a tick-borne illness and COVID knocked him flat. Now? Crushing fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and brain fog. He had headaches and saw strange visual patterns. His ferritin level came back at 144 ng/mL.
At first, you might think, “Great iron stores!” But not so fast.
In his case, the elevated ferritin was less about iron, more about inflammation. Ferritin is the body’s way of waving a red flag: neuroinflammation ahead. Using the Kaplan Method™, alongside specialized testing, we started him on a personalized comprehensive plan to regain his health so he could return to playing pickleball.
High ferritin can reflect inflammatory stress—something we often see in Long COVID, autoimmune conditions, and chronic infections. It’s part of the body’s acute phase response, kind of like sending in the fire trucks whether it’s a campfire or a five-alarm blaze.
Here’s another reason I love ferritin: it has the power to improve a teen’s cognitive function, academic outcomes, and even self-esteem—especially in adolescent girls (who are recently started menstruating). Most pediatricians only check hemoglobin level, not ferritin- so this is missed.
In the U.S., up to 40% of teenage girls have ferritin levels under 25 ng/mL, often missed because standard labs only check hemoglobin. But research shows that even non-anemic girls with low ferritin (≤12 ng/mL) perform significantly worse on tasks involving verbal learning, memory, and attention.
A randomized controlled trial conducted in Washington, D.C., studied non-anemic adolescent girls with ferritin levels ≤12 ng/mL. Over eight weeks, the group receiving iron supplementation experienced significant improvements in verbal learning and memory scores, while the placebo group showed no meaningful change. Ferritin levels in the treatment group rose from an average of 12 to 27 ng/mL, confirming that iron repletion—not just hemoglobin normalization—was key to improved cognitive performance.
At the Kaplan Center, our integrative model looks at not just what’s “in range,” but what’s optimal for function. We recognize that iron plays a key role in neurotransmitter synthesis, oxygen delivery, and mitochondrial function—all crucial for learning and brain development.
That means when we check ferritin in a tired, struggling teen, and supplement appropriately, we’re not just treating fatigue—we’re helping their brain catch up, their confidence grow, and their future open up.
The Kaplan Method™: Why We Ask “What’s Beneath This?”
At the Kaplan Center, we use ferritin as one of many clues in a larger systems-based, root-cause approach. The Kaplan Method™ integrates immunology, neurology, functional medicine, and decades of clinical insight to understand why symptoms are happening—and how to reverse them.
We do advanced testing. We don’t just treat numbers. We look at patterns. We ask: Is ferritin low due to chronic menstrual loss, poor gut absorption, or chronic infection? Is it high because of oxidative stress and cytokine reactivity? Ferritin doesn’t just give us a number—it gives us a direction.
At the Kaplan Center, we don’t stop at “normal.” We pause, rethink, and investigate.
So there it is. Ferritin is my favorite lab value—because it gives us something priceless: insight. And sometimes, it’s the overlooked clue behind a foggy brain, a sleepless night, or that frustrating feeling when a sharp student just can’t seem to focus, no matter how many flashcards they flip. Do kids even make flashcards anymore? Either way—low ferritin might be why none of it’s sticking.
Nidhi Reva, is a Physician Assistant and Director of the Kaplan Center’s Long COVID Clinic and recipient of the Arlington, VA 2021 COVID-19 Hero award.
We are here for you, and we want to help.
Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2
Why I Keep Going Back
/in News, Women's Health/by Nidhi RevaAfter many of my patients asked about my upcoming medical mission trip to the Ecuadorian Amazon, I wanted to take a moment to share.
How It All Began
Since 2017, I’ve led a group of volunteers to Ecuador each year as part of Project Nido—Spanish for “nest.” What began as a simple mission to bring women’s healthcare to underserved communities has grown into something much deeper: a commitment to listening, learning, and returning. Again and again.
Our work began with a partnership with Partners for Andean Community Health (PACH) and FIBUSPAM Hospital, both dedicated to serving Ecuador’s rural and Indigenous populations. Their patients’ stories stay with me long after I return home—and they’re the reason we keep going back.
In 2016, after a devastating earthquake struck Ecuador’s coast, PACH received a grant from the American Academy of Physician Assistants to deliver medical relief. They had the supplies, a mobile clinic packed into a bus, and a route planned. What they didn’t have was a provider focused on women’s health.
At the time, I had two small children at home, spoke only high school Spanish, and had never done international medical work. But I said yes. I packed my altitude sickness meds, boarded a flight, and landed in a community with no electricity, 90+ degree heat, and one concrete building still standing. Villagers were told to walk, ride horses, or find transport—because for three days, medical care would be available.
I wasn’t prepared for the line waiting for me.
Why? Because I was the only female provider—and many of these women had never seen one before.
We were in a large building with no exam rooms. No privacy. So I listened. Again and again, women described getting “sick” once a month—abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness, fear. It took me a while to realize: they were describing their periods.
They didn’t know what menstruation was. Some thought they were bleeding from an illness. Others believed they would eventually “run out” of blood—and that would be how they died. With no access to pads, many missed school or work for a full week each month.
That was the moment I knew: this couldn’t be a one-time trip.
Growing the Mission: Menstrual Health & Charlas
Since then, we’ve returned year after year, growing our team and expanding our mission. One year, I joined medical students and alumni from Temple University. Another time, I was joined by post-college grads applying to become physician associates and medical school. Our teams are always diverse, but our goals remain the same: listen, educate, and serve.
One of our most meaningful initiatives has been the creation and distribution of menstrual health kits, each including reusable menstrual underwear and cloth pads, reusable hot/cold packs for cramps or joint pain, herbal remedies like ginger and cinnamon, instructional guides in Spanish and Kichwa, gentle yoga stretches for relief, and toiletries and small comfort items.
We pair these kits with charlas—informal women’s chats where we talk openly about menstruation, cramps (yes, the uterus is a muscle), and how to manage symptoms using tools already available in the community.
Each year, the charlas grow—more questions, more laughter, more empowerment. And every time we hand a woman her kit, we’re offering her more than supplies. We’re offering dignity, knowledge, and ownership of her health.
Last Year’s Breakthrough: Screening and Saving Lives
Last year was one of our most impactful trips yet.
Thanks to another grant from the American Academy of Physician Associates, we brought a digital colposcope and thermal ablation device—tools that allowed us to both screen for and treat precancerous cervical cells on the spot.
I hand-carried the equipment through TSA, customs, and across the Andes. We created a mobile gynecology clinic in a dark, electricity-free schoolhouse—powered only by headlamps and sunlight.
With the help of two remarkable young volunteers—a high school student and a Princeton undergrad—we screened 40 women in two days:
It may sound like a small number. But those 15 women just gained 20 more years of life—in places where Pap smears are rare and cancer is diagnosed too late.
What’s Next
We’ll keep going back. With more volunteers. More equipment. More education. We’ll keep talking about menstruation, reproductive health, and cancer screening. We’ll keep training the next generation of providers to listen—really listen—to what’s being said and what’s left unsaid.
Because once you see what’s possible, you can’t look away. And once you’ve seen what’s missing, you can’t stay home.
But Project Nido has always been about more than just healthcare. It’s also about planting a seed—especially in the hearts of young adults.
A core part of our mission is to expose students and early-career professionals to meaningful service, in the hopes that they “catch the bug.” No matter what path they pursue—medicine, law, business, or the arts—we want them to carry forward the mindset of giving back, of staying rooted in compassion and justice.
Because when you expose young people early, it stays with them. It imprints. You light a match, and sometimes you ignite a lifelong fire.
Our hope is that Project Nido not only brings healing to underserved communities, but also helps build a future generation of leaders who see service not as a task to complete, but as a way to move through the world.
Nidhi Reva, is Founder, Project Nido and Director of the Kaplan Center’s Long COVID Clinic.
Acupuncture for Headaches: A Holistic Approach to Lasting Relief
/in Migraine, Treatments/by Rebecca Berkson, L.Ac, Dipl.OMNearly everyone experiences a headache at some point, but for those who suffer from frequent or chronic headaches, the impact can be truly debilitating. Whether it’s the dull, persistent ache of a tension headache, the intense throbbing of a migraine, or pain associated with an underlying health condition, identifying the root cause is essential for lasting relief.
Headaches can stem from a wide range of factors, including stress, hormonal imbalances, musculoskeletal tension, neurological sensitivities, or illness. That’s why an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis is so important. At the Kaplan Center, we reject the notion that you simply have to “live with it.” Our team is committed to helping patients identify the underlying causes of their headaches and develop personalized, effective treatment plans.
One highly effective and increasingly popular treatment we offer is acupuncture. This ancient therapy, rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine and practiced for over 2,000 years, is now backed by modern scientific research for its effectiveness in managing and preventing various types of headaches.
The Science Behind Acupuncture
Recent clinical studies, including those published in prestigious medical journals such as The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and JAMA Internal Medicine, show that acupuncture can significantly reduce the frequency, duration, and intensity of migraines and tension-type headaches. These improvements are often sustained over time and can be more effective than medication alone, without the side effects commonly associated with pharmaceuticals.
Acupuncture is thought to work by stimulating specific points on the body (called acupoints) to regulate the central nervous system, promote the release of endorphins and serotonin, reduce inflammation, improve blood flow, and balance the body’s stress response. For headache sufferers, this means more than temporary relief—it can lead to fewer attacks, better sleep, and improved overall well-being.
In one major study, those who received true acupuncture had significantly better outcomes than those receiving standard care or sham (placebo) acupuncture. These findings have led organizations such as the World Health Organization and the American Migraine Foundation to recognize acupuncture as a viable, evidence-based treatment option.
How We Can Help
Our acupuncture treatments are delivered by highly trained practitioners in a calming, patient-centered environment. Most patients find the sessions relaxing and even rejuvenating. Over time, many report dramatic improvements not only in their headache patterns but also in their energy levels, mood, sleep, and stress resilience.
If you or someone you love is living with chronic headaches, know that lasting relief is possible. Call the Kaplan Center today—703-532-4892—to schedule your appointment and take the first step toward a pain-free, empowered future.
We are here for you, and we want to help.
Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2
References
Jena, S., Witt, C. M., Brinkhaus, B., Wegscheider, K., & Willich, S. N. (2008). Acupuncture in patients with headache. Cephalalgia, 28(9), 969–979.
Linde, K., Allais, G., Brinkhaus, B., Manheimer, E., Vickers, A., & White, A. R. (2016). Acupuncture for the prevention of tension-type headache. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4), CD007587.
Vickers, A. J., Vertosick, E. A., Lewith, G., MacPherson, H., Foster, N. E., Sherman, K. J., … & Linde, K. (2018). Acupuncture for chronic pain: Update of an individual patient data meta-analysis. The Journal of Pain, 19(5), 455–474.
World Health Organization. (2002). Acupuncture: Review and analysis of reports on controlled clinical trials.
Zhao, L., Chen, J., Li, Y., Sun, X., Chang, X., Zheng, H., … & Liang, F. (2017). The long-term effect of acupuncture for migraine prophylaxis: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 177(4), 508–515.
Ferritin: More Than Iron—A Diagnostic Power Tool
/in Inflammation/by Nidhi RevaFerritin often hides in plain sight on lab reports. But if I had to pick a favorite lab value—it would be this one. Why? Because ferritin is a multitasker. It’s one of the few lab values that offers insights into both iron metabolism and inflammation—making it a subtle but powerful indicator of what’s going on beneath the surface.
Ferritin 101: More Than Just an Iron Marker
Ferritin is often billed as a marker of iron stores. True! But that’s like saying your dog is just a pet—it’s also a security guard, emotional support system, and leftover vacuum.
Ferritin also acts as an acute phase reactant, meaning it can spike in response to inflammation. That dual personality makes it incredibly useful—and sometimes a little tricky—in clinical practice.
Let’s look at two very different patients whose ferritin levels pointed us in two very different diagnostic directions.
Case One: The 46-Year-Old Woman with Chronic Fatigue
She came to our clinic with all-too-familiar symptoms: relentless fatigue, poor sleep, and periods that could qualify as an endurance event—six days, heavy every month. A CBC was done elsewhere. Her hemoglobin? Normal. Verdict? “You’re fine.”
But at the Kaplan Center, we don’t settle for “fine.”
We dug deeper. Her ferritin was a level nine. Single digits. Yikes. We aim for ferritin levels above 50 ng/mL for optimal energy, cognitive function, and restorative sleep.
What’s tricky is that her hemoglobin was still normal—because the body was borrowing from its iron reserves to keep the ‘checking account’ looking normal. But her ‘savings account’—her ferritin—was very low. Like someone covering bills with a dwindling emergency fund, she was running on borrowed resilience. Eventually, those reserves dry up—and that’s when symptoms like fatigue, disrupted sleep, and poor stress tolerance start showing up loud and clear.
Her WatchPAT sleep study also showed no sleep apnea, but she had frequent awakenings, poor sleep efficiency, and trouble maintaining deep sleep. While ferritin doesn’t control sleep stages directly, low iron stores are known to impair energy production, dopamine synthesis, and thermoregulation—all of which can contribute to non-restorative sleep.
Iron isn’t just about oxygen transport. It’s about mitochondrial health, dopamine production, and helping your brain power down at night. So if your labs look “normal” but you feel anything but normal, find someone who will look beyond the surface.
Case Two: The 25-Year-Old Man with Long COVID
He was a healthy athlete until a tick-borne illness and COVID knocked him flat. Now? Crushing fatigue, post-exertional malaise, and brain fog. He had headaches and saw strange visual patterns. His ferritin level came back at 144 ng/mL.
At first, you might think, “Great iron stores!” But not so fast.
In his case, the elevated ferritin was less about iron, more about inflammation. Ferritin is the body’s way of waving a red flag: neuroinflammation ahead. Using the Kaplan Method™, alongside specialized testing, we started him on a personalized comprehensive plan to regain his health so he could return to playing pickleball.
High ferritin can reflect inflammatory stress—something we often see in Long COVID, autoimmune conditions, and chronic infections. It’s part of the body’s acute phase response, kind of like sending in the fire trucks whether it’s a campfire or a five-alarm blaze.
Questions? Give Us a Call!
703-532-4892 x2
A Word on Teens, Ferritin & Cognitive Performance
Here’s another reason I love ferritin: it has the power to improve a teen’s cognitive function, academic outcomes, and even self-esteem—especially in adolescent girls (who are recently started menstruating). Most pediatricians only check hemoglobin level, not ferritin- so this is missed.
In the U.S., up to 40% of teenage girls have ferritin levels under 25 ng/mL, often missed because standard labs only check hemoglobin. But research shows that even non-anemic girls with low ferritin (≤12 ng/mL) perform significantly worse on tasks involving verbal learning, memory, and attention.
A randomized controlled trial conducted in Washington, D.C., studied non-anemic adolescent girls with ferritin levels ≤12 ng/mL. Over eight weeks, the group receiving iron supplementation experienced significant improvements in verbal learning and memory scores, while the placebo group showed no meaningful change. Ferritin levels in the treatment group rose from an average of 12 to 27 ng/mL, confirming that iron repletion—not just hemoglobin normalization—was key to improved cognitive performance.
At the Kaplan Center, our integrative model looks at not just what’s “in range,” but what’s optimal for function. We recognize that iron plays a key role in neurotransmitter synthesis, oxygen delivery, and mitochondrial function—all crucial for learning and brain development.
That means when we check ferritin in a tired, struggling teen, and supplement appropriately, we’re not just treating fatigue—we’re helping their brain catch up, their confidence grow, and their future open up.
The Kaplan Method™: Why We Ask “What’s Beneath This?”
At the Kaplan Center, we use ferritin as one of many clues in a larger systems-based, root-cause approach. The Kaplan Method™ integrates immunology, neurology, functional medicine, and decades of clinical insight to understand why symptoms are happening—and how to reverse them.
We do advanced testing. We don’t just treat numbers. We look at patterns. We ask: Is ferritin low due to chronic menstrual loss, poor gut absorption, or chronic infection? Is it high because of oxidative stress and cytokine reactivity? Ferritin doesn’t just give us a number—it gives us a direction.
At the Kaplan Center, we don’t stop at “normal.” We pause, rethink, and investigate.
So there it is. Ferritin is my favorite lab value—because it gives us something priceless: insight. And sometimes, it’s the overlooked clue behind a foggy brain, a sleepless night, or that frustrating feeling when a sharp student just can’t seem to focus, no matter how many flashcards they flip. Do kids even make flashcards anymore? Either way—low ferritin might be why none of it’s sticking.
Nidhi Reva, is a Physician Assistant and Director of the Kaplan Center’s Long COVID Clinic and recipient of the Arlington, VA 2021 COVID-19 Hero award.
We are here for you, and we want to help.
Our goal is to return you to optimal health as soon as possible. To schedule an appointment please call: 703-532-4892 x2