What is Functional Medicine? In general the term is still pretty unknown to the public. The term and field of functional medicine refers to something completely different than what we have now come to know as conventional medicine or the standard model of care. To fully understand what functional medicine is, it is important to contrast it with conventional medicine.
Conventional Medicine
So, what happens in our health care system at the moment? You make an appointment with your GP or medical doctor. You explain in a very short visit all the symptoms you are experiencing. The GP will then diagnose the dysfunction or disease you are experiencing, for example: high blood pressure, depression, type 2 diabetes, or elevated cholesterol and so on.
The GP might even send you for some tests and will then eventually prescribe the relevant medication to deal with the problem. This standard model of care works well for acute diseases, trauma, infection, and/or emergencies.
But sadly it fails to address the root cause of the dysfunction or disease.
Functional Medicine
There are many different definitions out there for what FM is. But I quite like this one from Dr. Mark Hyman. “Functional Medicine is a science-based personalised healthcare approach that assesses and treats underlying causes of illness through individually-tailored therapies to restore health and improve function”. Functional medicine determines the root causes and looks at the whole individual and supports the normal healing mechanisms of the body, naturally, rather than attacking disease directly.
Functional Medicine asks the vital questions that very few conventional doctors may ask: “Why do you have this problem in the first place?” and “Why has function been lost?” and “What can we do to restore function?”
“Health is much more dependent on our habits and nutrition than on medicine.”
Quote by John Lubbock
What’s Functional Medicine Health Coaching?
Dis-ease precedes disease. It is evidence that our body is experiencing some kind of imbalance, blockage, and/or impairment in the way it is functioning. The collection of root causes of dis-ease in the body is unique for each person. As a health coach using functional medicine principles and a holistic approach I help my clients to get to the root cause of their discomfort and the dis-ease they are experiencing. Everything in the body is interconnected and the body’s natural state is one of wellness. I help each client to obtain balance in all areas of their life, which includes looking at the ENTIRE person (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and customize what they need to obtain health & wellness. Each client’s active participation and belief in their own healing are central to their ability to get WELL and STAY well. My goal is to help each client to achieve just that !!
“The key to creating health is figuring out the cause of the problem and then providing the right conditions for the body and soul to thrive. It isn’t taking another medication.”
Quote by Dr Mark Hyman
Glowing with Health Ltd - 1Cor10:31 