Functional Medicine Puts The Focus On Your Whole Body, Not Just Part Of It
Functional medicine is the amalgamation of conventional western medicine and alternative/natural medicine in order to provide the best healing outcome theoretically possible.
The Foundation Of Functional Medicine
Now, there are six primary values functional medicine is founded on, and they are:
- First do no harm
- An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
- Nature’s healing power
- Recognise and treat the underlying cause for the problem
- Treat not just the symptoms but the entire person
- Practitioners are considered teachers, not preachers
The Challenge With Conventional Medicine, Why Functional Medicine Is Ideal
When it comes to conventional medicine, your body is divided into parts, with a specialist for each one. However, there’s no supervisor that understands how each part works together.
- Cardiologist - heart
- Dermatologist – skin
- Endocrinologist – hormones
- Gastroenterologist – digestive system
- Neurologist – brain and nervous system
- Urologist – bladder, kidneys and urinary tract
Functional medicine looks at you as a whole; not just a part of your body. In order for a symptom to be “corrected” or “healed”, this type of medicine focuses on bringing balance back to the body – repairing a digestive problem to address the skin issue.
Functional medicine practitioners will focus on an array of health problems people face such as:
- Body aches and pains
- Digestive symptoms
- Fatigue
- Imbalanced moods
- Reproductive/hormonal problems
- Sleep issues
- Symptoms that relate to your hair, nails and skin
Why do we suffer the symptoms of a disease or illness? It can be the result of a number of things including:
- Your body is burdened by harmful toxins, parasites, bad food and drink, harmful fungus or bacteria, stress and lack of sleep
- Your body lacks something it needs to thrive – nutrients, sleep, love, sunlight, routine, movement and good bacteria
The only way to rejuvenate your body is to determine what bad things need to be avoided and what good things need to be reintroduced… and to do it.
What Functional Medicine Practitioners Will Use To Start Rejuvenating Your Body
There are an array of tools functional medicine practitioners can use to determine what’s causing your body to experience an imbalance. These tools include:
- Food diaries
- Questionnaires
- Medical history
- Home measurements
- Laboratory tests – blood, hair, saliva, stool and urine
The results of these tests will determine what therapy is best and in what order:
- Diet – the foundation of good health for all of us
- Stress management techniques
- Deep breathing
- Detoxification
- Exercise/fitness
- Supplements
The only way healing can begin is to find and address the underlying cause of your health issues. When we understand the body systems, how these systems are connected and how to rebalance each system, it’s possible to prevent and/or reverse many chronic illnesses.
The entire body is may systems connected as one whole – if your digestive system is subjected to toxins or other harmful bacteria, it can lead to problems in other parts of the body. By understanding that food is the foundation for health and that you can feel better by improving fitness, addressing stress etc you can improve your health enormously.
If you’re suffering from ill health and feel you’ve tried everything and seen many health care practitioners before but haven’t got the results you are after it’s worth exploring Functional Medicine. For more on Lab Testing
Book in for a Free Strategy Session with me to see how identifying and rebalancing the cause of your health issues can help improve your overall wellbeing.
