Day 3: 5 reasons why Functional Medicine is the future of healthcare

My friends and colleagues think I’m crazy. I’ve spent a small fortune on additional training with the Institute of Functional Medicine in the last 12 months.

I don’t regret it. Here’s why:

1) Root cause analysis

In conventional medicine a diagnosis leads to treatment. In functional medicine, a diagnosis is the start of a hunt for a root cause. Find the cause (usually an interplay between environment, lifestyle and genetics) and you have a chance to reverse the illness rather than just treating the symptoms.

2) Comprehensive Framework

Root causes are divided into 6 biological imbalances (nodes) within the Functional Medicine Matrix(TM) — immunity, energy production, detoxification, structural integrity, cardiovascular and lymphatic health, hormones and digestion/absorption. Specific symptoms and test results are clues to each node. Treatment is tailored to each specific node restore balance and health.

3) Advanced testing

When conventional test results reveal ‘nothing is wrong’, people can often feel dissatisfied. They know they are unwell so ‘why aren’t we listening?!’. FM teaches interpretation skills in advanced metabolic, hormone, genetic, cardiovascular risk, immune, allergy and toxicity tests to provide answers that were previously hidden.

4) Evidence based tools

I have learnt a wealth of behavioural, psychological, nutritional, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical protocols based on the latest science to help people overcome their chronic symptoms and illnesses and boost their life and healthspan.

5) Future-proof

Our healthcare systems are currently overwhelmed by the burden of chronic disease. This situation is worsening. I believe functional medicine has the potential to integrate within existing healthcare systems. It can empower people optimise their own health which improves the odds of reversing their chronic disease.

Reversed chronic disease = less symptoms = less healthcare resources = more time for clinicians to focus on other challenging cases that need extra support.

I feel part of the future and that’s why I think it is worth the investment.