A partnership between patient and physician is the key to improving health.
Whether your goal is:
- Elimination of a chronic condition
- Improving basically good health
- Preventing diseases that may run in your family
- Achieving peak performance
How is Functional Medicine different from Conventional Medicine?
- Conventional Medicine treats symptoms, but not the root cause. Treating symptoms with medications that have side effects leads to a spiral of ever-increasing medications.
- Functional Medicine seeks to identify the root cause of the problems, eliminating them and allowing the body to heal.
- Chronic inflammation is at the root of most disease–find and eliminate the cause for inflammation and the body has an amazing ability to heal!
- Conventional Medicine is good for physical trauma and acute infections that need an antibiotic, but horribly lacking at treating chronic issues.
- Functional Medicine incorporates the best diagnostic tools and technologies from Conventional Medicine as well as cutting-edge tests and tools that help to identify the critical imbalances that are at the root of all illness.
Synonyms for this approach to health:
Functional Medicine – Many providers use this term to describe the systems-based approach to health. The Institute for Functional Medicine is an organization dedicated to promoting this approach by sponsoring conferences and training-modules for providers.
Anti-Aging Medicine – The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine may sound superficial, like Botox injections and chemical peels… but a division of this society focuses on promoting healthy-aging by optimizing wellness using the same principles promoted by the Institute for Functional Medicine.
Metabolic Medicine – The Metabolic Medical Institute teaches providers about wellness, prevention and management of disease with evidence-based metabolic, functional and nutritional approaches.
Personalized/ Precision Medicine – This approach to health looks at the individual’s unique health response that is a product of his current environment, past experiences and genetic predispositions.
Preventative Medicine – This approach to health is truly preventative medicine, as the goal is optimal health. By identifying root causes of imbalances, family trends toward illness can often be eliminated.
Conditions helped by Functional Medicine:
- Acne
- Adrenal Dysfunction
- Allergies (environmental and food)
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Autoimmune Diseases
- Cancer Prevention
- Chronic Sinusitis
- Cognitive Decline
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Digestive Disorders (IBD, IBS, GERD/Reflux)
- Eczema/Psoriasis
- Elevated Cholesterol
- Fatigue
- Female Disorders (PMS, Menopause, Infertility, PCOS)
- Fibromyalgia
- Heart Health
- Heavy Metal Toxicity
- Hormone Imbalances
- Insomnia
- Metabolic Syndrome, Pre-Diabetes, Insulin Resistance
- Migraines and Headaches
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
- Thyroid Disorders
- and many more!
How can Functional Medicine do all this?
Because inflammation causes disease. Depending on what organ system is inflamed, the symptoms are different, and the disease name is different, but the underlying cause is still inflammation. Functional Medicine searches for underlying causes of inflammation, to remove the cause of the disease and allow the body to heal.
Who chooses Functional Medicine?
- People with chronic conditions for which the traditional-medical approach isn’t working
- Those wanting to decrease the number of prescription medications they are taking
- People who can’t lose weight despite adherence with a diet and exercise plan
- Those with a strong family of history of disease, with the goal of prevention
- People who overall feel good but want to be their BEST
- Women considering pregnancy, to enhance health prior to conception