aaaaarrgghhh! I can’t believe it! I composed a beautiful blog on Functional Medicine and managed to lose it!! Here goes; second attempt!
The term Functional Medicine (FM) was coined in 1993 to describe the medicine of the future.
But what exactly is it?
As you may or may not know, traditional medicine runs lab tests that look for a disease process once it has been developed. For example; the liver. You are referred to a liver specialist who will send you in for laboratory assessments. As they already speculate you have a disease of this organ they will test for a particular enzyme that confirms liver malfunction. The lab tests only test what the specialist is looking for and at these later stages, it is usually a disease.
Functional Medicine takes giant steps back in the life of a patient and tests to see how well the organ is "functioning" prior to the onset of disease and therefore can be classified as a "Preventative medicine". It is not an emergency medicine.
How does this relate to so many of us today?
Unfortunately, modern day life is our own worst enemy; poor quality food, constant emotional and physical stress and environmental pollution. It is no wonder then that our bodies are struggling to keep up with the everyday demands, and as a result, are not functioning optimally. We go to the doctors and say: "I know that nothing serious is wrong with me, but I just don’t feel well, I continually struggle with these ailments…………"  Furthermore, our traditional doctors may prescribe a course of synthetic drugs that merely reduce and cover up the symptoms but don’t attack the root cause of the symptoms in the first place.
This is where functional medicine can help. By taking a series of non invasive lab tests such as urine or saliva, we are able to determine which organ is not doing its job, which, if left untreated could lead to future disease. It tackles the root of the problem and improves the quality of life for so called "healthy people". (Being free from disease is not a factor in determining health). Furthermore, those persistent niggling ailments such as: fatigue, weight gain, PMS is actually your body’s way of telling you that the organs are not working correctly and that something needs to be done.
The FM assessments are completely bespoke to the individual and as a consequence only the right dosage of natural supplementation and lifestyle changes can be prescribed for each patient. (No more guessing!) By bringing each organ back to its healthy working range ensures that individuals can enjoy vitality and a sense of health and wellbeing and greatly reduces the chance of a disease.
This description is taken from the Institute of Functional Medicine click here for their website
"Functional Medicine is a science based field of health care that is grounded in the following seven principles:
• Science based medicine that connects the emerging research base to clinical practice.
• Biochemical Individuality based on genetic and environmental uniqueness.
• Patient centered care rather than disease focused
• Dynamic balance of internal and external factors.
• Web like interconnections of physiological processes.
• Health as a positive vitality not merely the absence of disease.
• Promotion of organ reserve – health span.
In my practice, I use functional medicine as a way to eradicate common chronic low grade conditions and devise nutritional and lifestyle programmes to help my clients’ achieve optimum health.
Please note that this is not a quick fix and courses are very interactive and require a holistic approach to lifestyle and nutrition changes. It is a preventative and proactive procedure.
Examples of chronic low grade ailments that we can eradicate:
Depression, PMS, chronic fatigue, digestive complaints, stress, mood swings, weight gain, migraines, weight problems and many many more.
I shall be setting up the services online, so please sign up to the Blog for more information.