What is Functional Medicine?

Functional medicine has dramatically increased in popularity in the USA and it’s understandable why. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are epidemics which are destroying more lives every year despite more people taking more medication. It is clear the current system we use to treat chronic disease is not a long term solution and people are looking for alternatives. While there is an increase in the awareness of health and wellness and concepts such as the gut microbiome in the UK with figures such as Dr Rangan Chatterjee and Tim Spector driving the paradigm of healthy living forward, functional medicine is still not a widespread publicly known term.  

The information in this blog post is for educational purposes only and, therefore, is not intended to be used to diagnose or substitute medical advice or treatment. You should always consult your medical doctor if you intend to make changes based on this information and you should never disregard medical advice or cease taking medication because of it.

Is Functional Medicine Actually New?

Although functional medicine is seen as the new kid on the block in the health world, it is actually not a new concept at all. The principles of what makes a human being healthy have been understood and used to restore health for thousands of years. In ancient Greece, the father of medicine, Hippocrates, used statements such as “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. What is new about functional medicine however is that it has taken these principles, along with modern ones, and used them to develop a systemised model which allows the healthcare practitioner to effectively:

• Assess what area of health is the problem and producing the symptoms.
• Identify why the problem is happening (the cause).
• Provide an organised plan to fix those causes and restore health.

The Problem with Labelling Symptoms and Diagnosis

Diagnosis labels are a neccessary part of organisation in modern healthcare, and many patients feel relief and a sense of recognition when they receive one to a confounding problem such as Chronic Fatigue/ME, MCAS or an autoimmune condition.

The problem with giving a diagnosis label is that we then focus on the name like it is an infection we catch, rather than focussing and emphasising the importance on what caused the problem. Chronic diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune disease and inflammatory bowel disease do not drop out of the sky. They develop slowly over time and it is recognised that they are caused by interactions between our lifestyle, environment and genetics. Some conditions can appear to start suddenly after a triggering event such as a viral infection. However there are often underyling long standing factors which have contributed to a negative response to that triggering event which leads to chronic problems.

Despite this nearly all of our efforts in mainstream healthcare are focussed on finding the diagnosis and managing the condition, not on what caused it. This is the gap in healthcare that functional medicine seeks to fill. Receiving the diagnosis and medication to manage the condition is neccessary, but it should just be the start of the process, not the end.

Functional Medicine is a Map

Functional medicine is a map. A map that allows us to look at the patient’s journey and identify which routes their life took to arrive at the destination of what their health is today. If the reasons why an individual lost their health can be identified, then we have a better understanding of how that person can restore their health again. This can involve:

• Dietary changes
• Identifying toxin exposures and supporting detoxification
• Assessing and rebalancing the microbiome and other potential microbial problems
• Assessing the nutritional status and supporting digestion and absorption
• Managing stress and other more significant mental and emotional factors
• Balancing hormones
• Supporting optimal energy production
• Genetic testing 

Who is a Functional Medicine Practitioner? 

Functional medicine practitioners are a collection of different professionals. They may be medical doctors, chiropractors, nurses, dietitians, psychologists or any other health professional who undertake further study in functional medicine to enhance the care they provide their patients and increase the number of people they can potentially help. Functional Medicine courses such as those with IFM, University of Western States and Kresser Institute all require applicants to hold prior qualifications in a health-related subject.