Why the functional medicine approach

Have you been through the hoops of conventional medicine to get to the bottom of your symptoms and only to be left directionless and disappointed? Were you prescribed medication without any explanations for the underlying cause? My guess is that you were left feeling just as lost and frustrated as I did when I was first diagnosed with my autoimmune conditions. This is exactly when you might want to consider a more methodical approach to your healing.

In functional medicine, doctors take a personalized, root cause approach to not just treating your symptoms, but to understand the reasons behind them. Your symptoms are signals pointing to a malfunction within the ecosystem of your body. Functional medicine practitioners connect the dots within the whole body system to identify the crux of the issue.

So how does a functional medicine doctor dig deeper and get to the core of your health problems?

The key areas of focus* are:

• the immune system (defense/repair)

• mitochondrial function (energy)

• detoxification pathways (elimination of toxins)

• transport (cardiovascular/lymphatic system)

• hormones

• cellular structure/musculoskeletal structure

• digestion/microbiome

And so the investigative work begins. In order to uncover how each of these key areas of your body are performing, a functional medicine doctor will typically order highly comprehensive blood work to understand your baseline. In some cases, additional bespoke testing can be ordered: we’re talking stool testing for your a gut microbiome analysis, a SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) breath test if you’re experiencing IBS, hormone level measurements, nutrient level testing and so on.

In addition, a seasoned functional medicine doctor will go through your life timeline to better understand your history, predisposing factors (both genetics and environmental), triggering events, and perpetuating factors of the symptoms.

What’s the next step?

The treatment plan begins! The practitioner will formulate a custom treatment plan based on all of these data points and provide lifestyle recommendations, medication if it’s necessary, and recommendations for dietary supplements.

This means everything from the food you eat to the environment you’re living in, the physical, mental + emotional stress you are subjected to, as well as the the products you use on a daily basis, are all considered when assessing and treating you.

There is so much depth to the functional medicine approach. The upside potential is tremendous - but it does require some work on your part as the patient to dig deep into your motivation for improving your health, and put the plan into action. Here’s a fact that no one will tell you in conventional medicine: you can begin to take back control of your health by 1) proactively modifying your personal lifestyle factors and 2) addressing the mental, spiritual and emotional components of your life.

How does a functional medicine health coach fit into the picture?

So much of the treatment depends on you, the patient, to start making changes to your mindset, diet/nutrition, exercise, sleep habits, stress management and their support network. Implementing the doctor’s treatment plan into your daily life can be overwhelming, especially when it involves altering certain habits that are second nature to you.

Unlearning a habit that isn’t serving you can be a challenge! That’s where I come in - a functional medicine certified health coach with experience in behavior change, positive psychology and the functional medicine principles to guide you.

My job (and passion!) is to help you ease into behavior change that lead to positive health outcomes. Along the way, I provide practical guidance on your personal lifestyle factors (food, movement, sleep and stress management), share recipes that are tailored to your palate, and continually support you in managing positive habits across the board!

I also bridge the gap between you and your doctor by clarifying areas of uncertainty. By shedding light on the obstacles along the way, I’ll work with you to smooth out the bumps on the journey to wellness.

Navigating your health issues may have been an isolating and lonely experience in the past but it doesn’t have to be your future. Functional medicine is built around a collaborative care model: the doctor, health coach and you, the patient, are a team and we’ll work closely together to restore your wellbeing.

*Courtesy of the Institute for Functional Medicine (Functional Medicine Matrix tool)