Functional medicine takes a holistic, personalised approach to understanding health and treating illness. Rather than focusing solely on isolated symptoms, functional medicine practitioners look at the whole person – genetics, lifestyle, environment, etc. – to get to the root causes of disease. Consulting a qualified functional medicine practitioner can provide many benefits.
Taking a Whole-Person Approach
A key principle of functional medicine is understanding that every person is biochemically unique. A functional medicine practitioner will take time at the initial consultation to explore your health history, diet, lifestyle factors, environmental exposures and more. This provides them with a broad picture of your overall health. Rather than just treating individual symptoms, they can identify root causes and provide personalised solutions tailored to your unique biochemistry.
Identifying Underlying Causes
Often when we experience ongoing symptoms, doctors provide solutions that simply manage those symptoms rather than getting to the bottom of why they are occurring. Functional medicine practitioners are trained to dig deeper and identify potential underlying causes. For example, they may discover food sensitivities, nutrient deficiencies, toxicity exposures, hormonal imbalances, or gut health issues that are contributing to your symptoms. Targeting the root causes provides more complete and lasting relief.
Providing Personalised Treatment Plans
Once underlying factors are identified, a functional medicine practitioner will suggest targeted, personalised solutions. This may include dietary changes, nutrient or herbal supplements, and lifestyle recommendations. Because functional medicine is science-based, all interventions are designed specifically to address your biochemistry and health goals. Functional medicine practitioners partner with you to find the combination of treatments that works best for your unique body.
Supporting Overall Wellbeing
Rather than just managing or masking symptoms, functional medicine aims to optimise overall wellbeing and vitality. The goal is to help you achieve whole-body health and an enhanced quality of life. In addition to improving troubling symptoms, a functional medicine practitioner can provide guidance on maintaining energy levels, supporting healthy ageing, reducing disease risks, and more. Their holistic approach considers your entire wellbeing.
Accessing Advanced Testing
Functional medicine practitioners use advanced lab testing to evaluate biomarkers, nutrient/mineral status, hormone levels, inflammation markers, food sensitivities, gut health and more. These tests provide objective data about your body’s functional status. The results allow your practitioner to develop targeted, science-backed strategies to correct imbalances and optimise health. Advanced testing leads to more specific, effective treatment.
Conditions a Functional Medicine Practitioner Can Treat
Common conditions they effectively treat include autoimmune diseases, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues like IBS and leaky gut, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, neurological conditions, mood disorders like anxiety and depression, skin conditions like eczema, respiratory issues like asthma, candida, and more. For example, they can help you explore effective candida treatment options and learn about managing candida symptoms with our specialised diet for candida overgrowth.
The comprehensive, whole-person approach used by functional medicine practitioners provides a number of benefits. Consulting one can help uncover the root causes of your health issues, provide personalised solutions and support for overall wellbeing. Functional medicine empowers you to take an active role in optimising your health.
