Functional Medicine an integrative approach to one’s health concerns.  It looks at the interaction among genes, lifestyle, and the environment.  When we talk about genes, we are referring to the set of genetic material you contain within your body.  With certain lifestyle factors, genes can be turned on or off. We are looking to turn on your good genes and turn off your bad genes.  This is achieved through healthy diet and lifestyle choices. Dietary factors can have a major effect on genetic expression. If we consume a diet high in inflammatory foods and immune suppressing foods, it is more likely that our bad genes will be turned on, and the immune system will no longer regulate at an optimal level.  Lifestyle factors also greatly contribute to this process. Things such as disrupted sleep patterns, alcohol intake, toxin exposure, exercise regimes, all play a role in how our bodies respond and function in our current state of health. The primary role of a functional medicine practitioner is to help guide and educate patients in how to keep these modifiable factors managed, in order for patients to achieve optimal health and prevent chronic disease.

Our practitioners look at restoring health by addressing the root cause of illness.  We are looking at identifying and ameliorating dysfunctions in the physiology and biochemistry of the human body.  Taking this approach allows us to take an individualized approach to each patients health. Each person has their own set of unique, complex and interwoven factors that contribute to development of suboptimal health.

We are looking at determining what factors are contributing to their state of health, and correcting these using a systems biology approach. We are specifically looking at assimilation of nutrients, cellular defense and repair, structural integrity, cellular communication, and transport mechanisms, energy production, and biotransformation.  Looking at all of these areas allows our practitioners to design an effective multimodal treatment strategy.

It is important that this healing process be patient centered and directed.  Our practitioners work with the patient to find the most appropriate and acceptable treatment plan to correct, balance and optimize the underlying dysfunction within the body. Our practitioners will work together with patients to determine the most appropriate diagnostic processes, set achievable health goals and design a therapeutic approach.  

Contributing factors to chronic disease

Contributing factors to chronic disease

Factors Considered in Functional Medicine

Functional Medicine Matrix Diagram