Functional Medicine started in 1991, based on the decades long work by physicians and scientists looking for better results for chronic health conditions. As a country, the U.S. ranks 37th in the world for successful outcomes in treating chronic illness. However, we spend the most money and take the most drugs. Our current health care model is the same for acute illness, like infections, as it is for chronic illness. Chronic illness occurs over time and is the result of diet, lifestyle, nutrient insufficiency, toxicity, etc.
The functional medicine approach is practiced by all pedigrees of doctors that provide primary care: MD’s, DO’s, DC’s, ND’s, LAc’s, NP’s. There are now over 50,000 functional medicine practioners and it is offered as a master’s program some major universities. All the doctors on PBS and celebrities like Dr. Oz are functional medicine doctors. I have been practicing functional medicine since 1991, over 30 years (more than most FM providers) and have worked as a trainer at nutritional workshops.
The basic principles of Functional Medicine are to identify the underlying reasons a person develops a chronic disease: heredity, diet, lifestyle, toxicity, stress factors, etc. These factors cause physiologic inflammation in the organs of the body. Knowing that chronic illnesses share in common, chronic inflammation, we utilize comprehensive laboratories to evaluate dozens of causes of inflammation. Next, we create a personalized plan to help people by modifying diets, nutrients and lifestyles to change the course of their illness, as proven in scientific publications. In addition to people having remarkable improvements in symptoms, follow up tests also show measurable changes, often reversing the course of their condition.