Importance of Functional Medicine
If you are considering a new way to have your health condition checked, then you might want to try functional medicine. This uses different model and approach in order to prevent and to manage chronic and complex illness. It is focused on treating the person rather than focusing on cluster of symptoms.
Doctors in functional medicine are spending great amount of time with their patients. Together, they discuss not only the medical symptoms that are manifesting but also, the exercise patterns, traumas, diet, lifestyle as well as exposure to toxins. Next, they make collaboration to be able to address underlying causes of the disease. Actually, this includes searching for various factors that may potentially affect the bodily function of patient including genetic makeup, lifestyle choices similar to activities, diet and stress as well as environmental influences.
A disease may have more than one imbalance that should be treated. A good example of this is obesity to which it might be the imbalance of inflammation, gut flora, hormones, genetics, exercise or exposure to environmental toxins and diet. Likewise, one imbalance such as inflammation might lead to several other conditions. Functional medicine is studying the complexities of these conditions and symptoms and believed that restoring balance is the secret to restore health.
Have you ever visited a doctor, get a treatment and still feeling sick or are you on medication that’s not just partially helping or has adverse reactions? That is what should be taken into consideration when you are trying functional medicine according to Dr. Hyman. Patients especially those who have broad varieties of conditions can actually take advantage of functional medicine approach such as:
Cardiometabolic condition – if you’re suffering from high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes, then might as well think of getting this approach.
Psychiatric and neurological conditions – you can actually get relief from ADD or attention deficit disorder, migraine headaches and depression with functional medicine.
Digestive disorders – let us say that you have ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis and acid reflux, you can finally say goodbye to it.
Well basically, the ultimate goal of functional medicine is restoring normal function and balance in the body. This is the same reason as well why there are personalized care plans for every patient from proper stress management, diet, lifestyle changes and exercise, detoxification programs, prescription drugs, nutritional supplements or botanical medicines.
All of these plans are specifically designed to assist the patients in reversing specific imbalances that cause their disease or prevent chronic conditions from happening. Practitioners of functional medicine help in empowering their patients to make this happen.