What is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine
is a science-based field of health care. The term "functional medicine" was coined to describe the medicine of the
future. In fact, today, forward thinking practitioners use a functional medicine approach that includes the following:
1. Patient uniqueness: Each individual is unique.
2. Biochemical
individuality describes the importance of individual variations in metabolic function that derive from genetic and
environmental differences among individuals.
3. Patient-centered medicine emphasizes
"patient care" rather than "disease care. Functional medicine practitioners use a patient-centered approach
to support wellness.
4. Dynamic balance of internal and external factors.
5. Web-like interconnections of physiological factors – an abundance of research
now supports the view that the human body functions as an orchestrated network of interconnected systems, rather than individual
systems functioning autonomously and without effect on each other. For example, we now know that immunological dysfunctions
can promote cardiovascular disease, that dietary imbalances can cause hormonal disturbances, and that environmental exposures
can precipitate neurological syndromes such as Parkinson’s disease.
6. Health as
a positive vitality – not merely the absence of disease.
7. Promotion of
organ reserve as the means to enhance health span.
8. Preventive care:
Optimal health is not just the absence of disease. Even the most minor symptoms can foreshadow more serious conditions later
in life. This often happens via the "snowball effect," in which a "minor" imbalance within the body produces
a cascade of biological triggers that can eventually lead to poor health and chronic illness. For this reason, functional
medicine focuses on the prevention, instead of just the treatment of, even the most minor imbalances. Through changes in lifestyle,
environment, and nutrition, functional medicine professionals rely on their knowledge of key physiological, genetic, and biochemical
processes for establishing an innovative form of total patient wellness amidst the diversity of interests in health care today.