What is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine aims to uncover why the body is not functioning properly. The focus is on the underlying factors that are causing symptoms and affecting your health. A functional medicine expert is like a medical detective gathering all the clues of your:
Past: family history (including where you grew up, your family situation), traumatic events, health history (including symptoms, diagnoses and treatment) etc.
Present: your environment and potential toxins in your community, social life, stress level, relationships, diet, workout regimen, sleep habits and symptoms, etc.
We then determine your specific treatment plan which focuses on treating the cause of your symptoms, such as:
- repairing healthy gut flora and digestive function;
- supporting detoxification processes;
- repairing immune function and treating inflammation
- replenishing nutrient deficiencies
- rebalancing and supporting hormones
To accomplish these goals, the Functional Medicine approach integrates the (sometimes) need for prescription medications, with nutrition, botanical medicines, supplements, detoxification programs, stress-management techniques and exercise, among others.
We can work together with your primary care doctor, internist, gynecologist or specialist to design an individualized health program that includes their program enhanced by our recommendations for diet, nutrition, functional testing, and stress reduction. In addition to our expertise treating complex chronic illnesses and managing people with a wide range of diagnoses, as consultants in Preventive Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, our services are added value for keeping you healthy as you grow older and by uncovering core imbalances and lifestyle factors that may be interfering with your health right now!