What is Functional Medicine?
Since functional medicine is not something very common which is why when anyone read or hear this term then some common question arises in the individual’s mind like what is functional medicine? Do I need this treatment? What exactly can I expect from this treatment?
Being a certified functional medicine expert, I am here to answer all these questions for you in the simplest way possible. Functional medicine is basically determining the root cause of the illness or disease by studying and analyzing the lifestyle, genetics, diet or the environmental factors that the individual is exposed to. In simple words, it is a kind of shift from traditional disease-centered focus to patient-centered approach.
History of Functional Medicine
The concept of this treatment started gaining traction in the era of 1960’s – 1970’s when doctors started observing that same disease was found in different patients and that too with different causes on backend. Chronic diseases were also booming rapidly and by 1991 IFM (Institute for Functional Medicine) was founded by Dr. Jeffrey Bland (the Father of Functional Medicine) who was specialized in biochemistry, nutrition and lifestyle.
A paradigm shift was made in 1990’s due to evidence based training and systems biology model by IFM, and instead of focusing on the treatment of disease, doctors became more concerned in knowing the answer to why this disease occurred. This was the time when this treatment came in existence properly which is now being followed in more than 50 countries.
Is Functional Medicine Legit? (Does Functional Medicine Work)
Yes functional medicine is legitimate practice as it is evidence based treatment backed by genomics and nutrition science. The results are highly effective for chronic diseases and the results are data-driven by lab testing and performance reports of every individual. There are now multiple studies that shows how functional medicine treats inflammatory problems, hormonal imbalance, testosterone replacement and improve metabolic markers.
What Is a Functional Medicine Doctor?
A functional medicine doctor first become certified in any other area of medical profession and afterwards they can add an additional specialization by getting trainings and certifications in the field of functional medicine. Functional medicine doctor focuses or specializes in areas of nutrition, hormones, lifestyle, immunology, environmental medicine, cardiology etc.
Who Should See a Functional Medicine Doctor?
Functional medicine doctors are not all-rounders that you can visit them for any kind of disease. There are specific limitations and boundaries that are set for functional medicine doctors to proceed within and plan the treatment accordingly. A common question here is answered and if you are suffering through any of these conditions then you should see a functional medicine doctor.
• Patients with chronic conditions
• Well-being enthusiasts and longevity seekers
• Biohackers
• Metabolic issues
• Hormonal problems
• Thyroid problems
• Gut health problems
Difference Between Naturopathic And Functional Medicine
The core difference between functional medicine and naturopathic medicine is that functional medicine is scientifically backed evidence based treatment that depends upon the lab tests and systems biology. On the other side, naturopathic medicine is based on herbal treatment, natural remedies and homeopathy.
The naturopathic doctors get their ND degree from naturopathic schools while functional medicine doctors get their MD (Doctor of Medicine), DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine), NP (Nurse practitioner) or PA (Physical Assistant) license first and then they proceed towards IFM certifications.
What Makes Functional Medicine Different From Other Paradigms?
Integrative Medicine
Functional medicine targets the mechanism of disease and is based on analyzing the individual’s lifestyle, activities, diet plans and exposed environment while the integrative medicine is kind of a mixture of conventional and complementary therapies like acupuncture, yoga and herbs.
Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle medicine is used for the treatment of diseases like blood pressure problems, heart disease and diabetes. The core focus of this type of medicine is to prevent or control the diseases through diet, exercises and proper sleep.
Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine focuses on the well-being of person’s body, mental health, emotions and spirituality. Its core principles for treatment include natural remedies, herbs, meditation and energy healing.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine treatment is quite ancient that follows the principle of balancing of Qi, Yin-Yang, five elements. The diagnosis in this treatment is done through pulse check, tongue and symptoms analysis. This pulse diagnosis technique is around 2500 years old while functional medicine testing is around 25 years old.
Ayurveda
Functional medicine is the modern approach to the treatment of diseases while Ayurvedic medicine is the ancient Indian practice that focuses on herbs, detox and balancing of Doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha).
Complementary And Alternative Medicine
Complementary medicine is used side-by-side with the conventional treatment while functional medicine serves as the whole treatment itself.
What Are The Benefits of Functional Medicine?
Benefits To Patients
Since this practice focuses on resolving the root causes of the illness so this treatment offers permanent, long term and cost-effective solution to the patients.
Benefits To Healthcare Providers
Functional medicine is a collaborative model that involves doctors, patients, nutritionist and health coaches. All of them work together in collaboration due to which the efficiency is improved and the results seem better.
Benefits To Healthcare System
Resolving the disease from its roots rather than just symptoms management improves efficiency, reduces burnout and provides data-driven outcomes.
What is the downside of functional medicine?
Functional medicine treatment requires time and is a bit more costly than normal other treatments. Secondly, you might struggle finding a good functional health clinic and in order to make this search easy for you, I am mentioning the most effective and result oriented San Antonio functional medicine clinic i.e. Thrive210 where you can get the highly certified practitioners who will be guiding you at every step and keeping a track record of your historical condition and current performance improvements.
What Are The Core Principles of Functional Medicine?
We have already discussed the core principles of functional medicine in different areas of this content but let me give you a knowledge-packed portion in one place that highlights the core principles for this type of treatment.
Evidence Based
This treatment is not a random guess based treatment but it is evident based treatment backed by science and different lab tests.
Cost Effective
It is a cost-effective treatment since the results achieved through this treatment are long-term and more effective as this treatment focuses on the removal of root cause for the disease.
Patient-Centered
Functional medicine is not a disease-centered approach but it is a patient-centered approach where the practitioner spends time with their patients, study about their lifestyle and habitual patterns as well.
Collaborative
It is a collaborative approach where the patient is actively involved throughout the process as well as the doctors also work in collaboration with the nutritionists, health coaches and sometimes therapists too.
Prevention Focused
This technique is prevention focused technique as the root cause is identified and then relevant steps are taken to prevent the disease happening again in near future.
Customized Plans
In this treatment programs, customized plans for diet, lifestyle and exercises are prepared for every individual based on their lab reports, lifestyle and other influential factors.
Key Tools For Functional Medicine Treatment
The key tools for this functional medicine treatment involves these basics mentioned below.
Lab Testing
Food As Medicine
Once the lab tests reveal the clear picture of root causes for your illness then the certified nutritionist will create a customized diet plan for you targeting those foods specifically that will help your body to overcome the root cause of your disease.
Mind-Body Medicine
It is a crucial thing to know that your mental conditions highly impact your physical conditions. For example deep breathing reduces stress hormones which then reduces inflammatory problems and CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) rewires stress response which then improves gut health and other issues.
Future of Functional Medicine
The future of functional medicine is highly promising and can be projected for rapid growth. Due to the rapid advancement in artificial intelligence sector, functional medicine field can gain a massive positive outcome since the identification of root causes based on lab tests and lifestyle patterns could be done with more accuracy, in lesser time and with more comprehensive guidance through AI. Let’s study how these factors are shaping and influencing the future of functional medicine.
Microbiome’s Role
Since the gut system of our body is the root cause of many chronic conditions and microbiome’s role in digestion is gaining more and more attention now.
Evolution of Protein Requirements
The evolution of protein requirements is influencing dietary recommendations day by day.
Benefits of Fasting
Advanced researches are being conducted to study the benefits of fasting and that how it can promote longevity and improved health conditions.
Nutrition Security
It is becoming a priority according to modern researches to focus on whole, nutrient-dense foods
Limitations of Functional Medicine
The limitations or downside of functional medicine is that the results from this treatment requires time, dedication and patience due to which many people get dropped in the middle of this treatment. Also, the cost of this treatment is not fully covered by medical insurance companies so it might become a hurdle for many people to opt for this plan.
Functional Medicine Is The Solution
Based on all the discussions above, I personally believe that this functional medicine approach is more appropriate approach for those people that are tired of taking medicines on daily basis or they are not getting desired outcomes from other treatments. This treatment however, is not something that you can expect like taking a painkiller for body pain, it requires time, effort, patience and consistency to get long-term results and these results will be much more stable than the traditional methods.
Frequently Asked questions
Why should I see a functional medicine doctor?
If you are having any chronic disease, hormonal issues or gut related problems then seeing a functional medicine doctor for your disease will help you identify the root cause of your disease and then treating it to get results for long-term.
How do I get started with a functional medicine doctor?
You can simply check for certified professionals in your area and visit them for initial assessment and lab tests.
Why do we need functional medicine?
Sometimes it happens that our illness or disease keep coming back again and again. This means that the root cause is still underlying and that the medicines are just becoming a source of temporary relief. In such cases, a person might need functional medicine treatment.
Is functional medicine covered by insurance?
No, functional medicine isn’t fully covered by insurance. For initial assessments, the cost ranges between 200$-500$ depending upon the expertise of doctor and location.