What is Functional Medicine?
A functional medicine practitioner focuses on uncovering and addressing the root cause of symptoms/disease. Using a combination of lab testing (including but not limited to hormone profiling, heavy metal toxicities, gut health and inflammation) and personalized nutrition, the practitioner aims to get to the bottom of what’s keeping you sick.
Is functional medicine the same as naturopathy?
The conventional medical model sees the body as a bunch of disconnected systems and organs. It’s a fragmented approach that often doesn’t address the root cause of the problem. This is why the most effective treatments are often simple things like improving diet, exercising more and taking herbs, as opposed to pharmaceutical medications.
Unlike conventional doctors, functional medicine practitioners are conservative with lab testing and put an emphasis on doing a thorough health assessment. A skilled clinician will be able to identify the most relevant tests and determine how they’ll be used to solve your specific health issues.
In addition to evaluating the body’s seven core physiological systems, functional medicine practitioners also consider the unique genetic makeup and internal and external environmental factors that can contribute to disease. This allows them to provide a comprehensive and tailored health program that includes nutrition, supplements, lifestyle changes and herbs to support the body’s natural healing abilities.
As Hippocrates famously said “Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food.” Functional medicine honors this mantra by using the most effective, least invasive, and non-toxic treatments available. This is what makes a functional medicine approach so much more beneficial than the cookie cutter, pharmaceutical fix offered by mainstream medicine.
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