The Functional Medicine Approach

Who are our patients?

We treat patients with a wide range of chronic health problems, from digestive disorders, to chronic infections, to autoimmune disease, to hypothyroidism. Patients who do best under our care:

• Don’t want to rely on unnecessary drugs and medical intervention for the rest of their lives
• Are interested in discovering the underlying cause of their problems, rather than just suppressing symptoms
• Are motivated to play an active role in their own healing process
• Are willing to make the necessary dietary and lifestyle changes to support health and well-being

How do we work with patients?

One way to think of us is as “health detectives.” We focus on identifying and addressing the underlying cause of an illness, rather than just suppressing symptoms.

Like all detectives, we use a variety of tools in our investigations, including, detailed questionnaires, a thorough medical history and examination, and comprehensive laboratory tests (blood, urine, stool and saliva testing).

We then use nutritional therapy, herbal medicine, supplements, stress management, detoxification and lifestyle changes to eliminate triggers and restore proper function and balance.

Deep and lasting healing are only possible when the root causes of illness are addressed. By understanding the core systems of the body, how they are related, and how their function can be restored, many chronic illnesses can be prevented and even reversed.

What is our treatment philosophy?

We practice a new model of medicine, sometimes referred to as “functional” or “systems” medicine. Functional medicine is neither conventional nor alternative medicine. It’s a combination of the best elements of both, and it represents the future of medicine.

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE IS:

• Investigative. Addresses symptoms by focusing on the underlying cause of the problem, which leads to more profound and longer lasting results.
• Holistic. Envisions the body as an interconnected whole that is in dynamic relationship to its environment, and recognizes the importance of these connections in health and disease.
• Safe. Treatments have mild or no side effects, and other unrelated complaints often improve spontaneously.
• Patient-centered. Treats the patient, not the disease. Treatments are highly individualized based on patient needs.
• Participatory. Patient is respected, empowered, educated and encouraged to play active role in healing process.
• Integrative. Combines the best of both modern and traditional medicines and emphasizes importance of diet and lifestyle.
• Restorative. Tests and treatments designed to promote optimal function, prevent and reverse disease, and improve quality of life.
• Preventative. Guided by the ancient Chinese saying, “The superb physician treats disease before it occurs.”
• Evidence-based. Based on the latest research from peer-reviewed medical journals, and uncorrupted by corporate and political interests.

What conditions do we treat?

In conventional medicine, there’s a doctor for every part of your body: cardiologists for the heart, gastroenterologists for the digestive system, neurologists for the brain and nervous system, podiatrists for your feet, and ophthalmologists for your eyes. But in functional medicine, we see the body as an interconnected whole, within a larger environment. We recognize that in order to treat one part of the body, all of the other parts must also be considered.

In working with you as a patient, we take a step back and try to see common features that might link all the health conditions that you might be experiencing. By looking for the commonalities and patterns, our functional medicine approach offers interventions that affect multiple pathways, helping you recover your health faster and more completely.

Thus, as functional medicine practitioners, we are able to treat a wide variety of health problems.