Why I Love Functional Medicine

I love practicing Functional Medicine. I love how it has shifted my approach to the work I do with patients.

Functional Medicine has taught me to look at the whole person, and to try to come to an understanding of why they are where they are. What were the events or influences that led to this place? What triggers might have set something in motion?

Maybe there was a genetic predisposition for a certain condition, like autoimmune thyroid disease, and maybe that got triggered into activity by an illness, inflammation, a stress, or a series of events that triggered the immune system.

And if so, what factors are possibly continuing to stir the pot, providing ongoing provocation to the system? Are there environmental factors? Foods? Chemical exposures? What about lifestyle factors such as proper sleep, good exercise and some stress management techniques?

A Functional Medicine approach to a condition looks at all of these factors and more. I want to understand not just the root cause(s) but what may be ongoing factors allowing the system to stay out of balance and to cause symptoms.

It’s not enough just to address the symptoms and the lab values in order to treat and suppress the symptoms. Yes, I want to relieve symptoms, but I also want to try to stop the process that is causing the issue. If there is a latent infection, I want to address that. Quiet down inflammation that might be driving the process. Assess nutrient status, detoxification ability, and gut function. Each of these components influences the others. It is in looking at the web that we find clues and can shift the system towards healing.

This really is the beauty of Functional Medicine and why I love offering this approach to my patients. I have a special interest in autoimmune conditions and this is an area where this approach has been particularly beneficial. When we can address the factors that contributed to a problem, understand the triggers and try to mitigate the factors that continue to drive the process, we can make great strides back towards optimal health.

This really is the magic in medicine.

I am here to help if this is an approach that resonates with you.