What's is functional medicine?
Functional medicine is a relatively new approach (since the 90's) to healing the body: created by Dr. Jeffrey Bland, the concept of functional medicine is a discipline that combines progress in basic medical sciences with expertise in clinical medicine to address the growing problems associated with chronic disease.
Functional medicine is a “how and why” of a disease or feeling unwell, that digs deep to discover the root causes of the illness instead of just treating the symptoms or test results.
Side note: a traditional medicine is amazing too and saves lives so if there is a medical emergency don’t hesitate and go to a MD.
One condition has many different causes, symptoms or cluster of symptoms and, likewise, one cause or a symptom may result in many different conditions and dysfunctions that’s why a very comprehensive investigation is so important. Also we have unique biochemistry so that these symptoms may vary from person to person and feel completely different.
Think about it as the game Jenga: all the blocks (bodily functions) depend on each other to keep the structure (body) stable but we don’t know which block is the weakest link.
Or another example: your pinky toe may be hurting from an injury (an obvious reason) or it may be hurting because of some food you ate 3 days ago (a hidden reason) - interesting, right?
Hows
How's and Why's
Functional medicine uses a client centered but science based approach to restoring health and optimal wellness with the use of the latest laboratory testing and by developing holistic protocols with lifestyle, nutrition, mindset and movement modifications focusing on bio-individuality, personalization, client’s health and genetic history, physiology, environment and preferences. It’s a system or instructions set on how to restore, repair, and rebuild the critical bodily functions to be healthy and feel good because the ultimate goal is to heal disease and promote a healthy life which is not defined as simply an absence of disease, but rather a positive vitality filled with energy, joy, gratitude and balance.
My go to sources for some Func and people that i share aligned views on health topics with:
https://drwillcole.com/