Functional medicine is a science-based, natural way to become healthy again.
It's patient-centered medical healing at its best.
Instead of treating health problems as isolated diseases, it treats individuals who may have bodily symptoms, imbalances and dysfunctions.
A disease such as diabetes, cancer, or fibromyalgia might create visible symptoms, but according to Functional Medicine, the root cause lies in the altered physiology below the surface.
Almost always, the cause of the disease and its symptoms has an underlying dysfunction and/or an imbalance of bodily systems.
Named diseases are just the visible part of the problem. Functional Medicine searches below the surface for the real causes of a patient's health problems.
Medicating symptoms away rarely leads to long-term relief and vibrancy. By treating the root causes of illnesses, functional medicine practitioners have a better chance of successfully resolving a patient's health challenge.
“Functional Medicine providers use scientific principles, advanced diagnostic testing, and treatments other than drugs or surgery.”
Our goal is to restore the body's primary physiological processes so patients can enjoy optimal health.
Functional Medicine Heals a Key Health Care Gap
Today's health care system is in trouble because it applies a medical management model that works well for health problems ranging from acute to chronic.
If you have a heart attack, accident, or sudden lung infection such as pneumonia, you certainly want a quick-thinking doctor to use all the quick-acting resources of modern medicine, such as life-saving technology, surgery and antibiotics. We are all grateful for such interventions.
However, prescribing drugs, surgery, and other acute care treatments often does not succeed in helping those with chronic, debilitating ailments, such as diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal/SIBO, or arthritis.
Another—two pronged—approach is needed. That's where Functional Medicine comes in...
First: We must add what's lacking in the body, to nudge its physiology back to a state of optimal functioning.
Second: We need to remove anything that impedes the body from moving toward this optimal state of physiology.
Your body naturally wants to be healthy.
By adding what's lacking and removing what's contributing to conditions, patients create a bodily healing environment.
To do this, Functional Medicine practitioners use advanced laboratory testing to identify the root cause or causes of the patient's health problem. Old-fashioned medical diagnosis helps too, in the form of listening carefully to the patient's history of symptoms and asking questions about his or her activities and lifestyle.
For treatment, Functional Medicine practitioners use a combination of natural agents (supplements, herbs, nutraceuticals and homeopathics), nutritional and lifestyle changes, and pharmaceuticals (if necessary) to prod a patient's physiology back to an optimal state. In addition, educating the patient about their condition empowers them to take charge of their own health, ultimately leading to greater success in treatment.
