Although mainstream medicine is needed for acute interventions like a heart attack, surgery, etc another approach is needed in addition for the chronic, debilitating conditions as diabetes, arthritis, etc.

To battle chronic health conditions, Functional Medicine uses two scientifically grounded principles:

1. Add what’s lacking in the body to nudge its physiology back to a state of optimal functioning.
2. Remove anything that impedes the body from moving toward this optimal state of physiology.

Functional medicine aims to understand underlying causes and symptoms of a chronic disease or illness. Qualified practitioners may treat the patient once they determine preventative measures, the origins of the illness and steps necessary to begin proper treatment.

Highlights of functional medicine include:

• Patient-centered care as topmost priority to treat the patient’s health as a whole, not just the disease or condition itself.
• Interaction of many inclusive factors such as how lifestyle practices, patient medical history and physiology of the body can determine the best way to treat symptoms.
• Combining both traditional and alternative practices such as Advanced Laboratory tests to identify the root causes of one’s health problem, prescription drugs or supplements, changes in diet/nutritional intake, exercise and stress management techniques.
• For treatment, Functional Medicine practitioners use a combination of natural agents (supplements, herbs, nutraceuticals and homeopathics), nutritional and lifestyle changes, spiritual/emotional counseling, and pharmaceuticals, if necessary, to stimulate a patient’s physiology back to an ideal state. Educating one about their condition, will give one a feeling of empowerment to take responsibility of their own health, ultimately leading to greater accomplishment in healing.

As an example, conventional doctors would normally prescribe pharmaceuticals like Prilosec, to treat acid reflux or heartburn. When the patient stops taking these medications, heartburn returns.In contrast, a Functional Medicine practitioner might find that a patient’s acid reflux is caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Eradicating the Helicobacter pylori may lead to the end of heartburnsymptoms, permanently. Also, it is important to note that in Functional Medicine, treatment for similar symptoms might vary tremendously for different patients. Factors that can come into play in producing the same symptoms include toxic chemicals, pathogenic bacteria, parasites, chronic viral pathogens, emotional poisons like anger, greed or envy, and structural factors such as tumors or cysts.

When you consult a Functional Medicine practitioner, the first step is always your history and to make sense of a complex story. The next set of clues comes from a comprehensive physical examination. The final set of clues comes from advanced laboratory testing. Innovative, cutting-edge lab tests help the practitioner look deeply into a patient’s physiology to discover how it has been compromised and how physiological balance can be restored. After diagnosis and treatment, a Functional Medicine patient can expect his or her symptoms to diminish in severity, with a new sense of well-being and substantial boost in health and vitality.

• Low Oxalates Foods May Help Reduce Auto-Immune Disease Risk, Autism and Fibromyalgia (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Fecal Transplant- An Innovative Procedure for Autism and Obesity (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• A Novel Gut Bacteria Noted to Help Combat Obesity, Diabetes and Heart Disease (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Does Milk Really Make a Body Good? The Other Side of Story (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Eat the Rainbow Diet and Supercharge Your Health (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• An Important Nutrient to Boost Your Immune System (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• The Gene That Makes the Ketogenic Diet Dangerous (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• SMASH: The Potent Recipe for Increasing Omega 3 (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• The One Emotion that Extends Your Life (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Pet Lovers: Two Supplements Effective for Arthritis (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Use This Oil and Lower Your Coronary Artery Disease Risk by 21% (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Natural Treatments for Bradycardia Slow Heart Rate (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Study Finds This Product Can Increase Breast Cancer Risk (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Acid Reflux and H.Pylori (Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• SIBO- Overlooked Cause of GI Issues (Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Crohn’s- A Functional Medicine Approach (Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Advanced Cardiovascular Testing (Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Round-Up (Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease– (Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• An uncommon often overlooked cause of high blood pressure-(Case Review) (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Anal Fissure: Causes, Signs and Effective Treatment (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Is Your Teenager At Risk of Dying From Heart Failure? What Every Parent MUST Know to Prevent Sudden Death! (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• How to remove 87% of toxins from your air at home? (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• What do the numbers 3,4, 8 and 9 have to do with your health and wellness? (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Special Alert: The Alarming Reason Some People Die From the Flu (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Grounding — A Simple, Pleasurable Way to Reduce Inflammation and Chronic Disease (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Want To Lower Your Blood Pressure By 20 Points? Try This Exercise… (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Study demonstrates these two nutritional supplements help improve cognitive function in healthy young adults (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Serum Ferritin and GGT — Two Potent Health Indicators You Need to Know (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Groundbreaking News: Low Fat Diets Increase Risk of Death, Study Says (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Study demonstrates an increase in HDL and lower lipoprotein(a) in type 2 diabetes patients with this nutritional intervention (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• The Gut-Brain Axis in Health and Disease (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Can coconut oil kill you? (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• What may be lurking at the root of psoriasis? (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Hyperactivity & Attention Deficit Disorder: Do We Have Options? (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Oral bacteria associated with increased risk of stroke (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• Risk of Breast Cancer? Do you know your estrogen metabolites? (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)
• This amazing food has shown powerful immune-boosting and anticancer activity–including blocking the formation of tumors. (functionalmedicineuniversity.com)