As a catalyst in the transformation of healthcare, functional medicine treats root causes of disease and restores healthy function through a personalized patient experience.
Functional medicine seeks to address the root causes of health problems rather than seeking to offer a ‘quick fix’, as can often be the case when using conventional medicine alone.
Your body is made up of cells which form tissue and organs and are then formed into systems, such as cardiovascular, digestive, immune and neuroendocrine. The body is totally dynamic and inter-connected; we can't departmentalise it. However, modern medicine has, in many ways, tried to do just that. If you have a persistent ‘digestive’ complaint such as chronic constipation and bloating, you will invariably receive a referral to see a gastroenterologist. There is no place to consider that the bloating, distention and constipation you are feeling may actually all be symptoms of a poorly functioning thyroid, for example.
All our systems operate via complex biochemical pathways. If these become functionally slow or halted, there is an effect at a cellular level and if left unchecked whole systems move away from their natural, optimal balance - homeostasis - resulting in a domino effect of system dysfunction. Disease can be,and often is a long way off or may not ever materialise, but the balance of homeostasis may have been tipped enough to result in a sub-optimal dysfunction, or, put simply, ill health.
When assessing your health I seek to identify interactions between different systems in the body through comprehensive case history taking, your presenting signs and symptoms, environmental and stress related factors, diagnostics that include blood chemistries, Lifecode Gx Nutrigenomic panels, gut microbiome analysis, hormones, or others if needed. The goal is to identify and address the triggers, mediators and underlying causes of your health problems rather than simply focusing on symptoms.
A Functional Medicine treatment plan may involve one or more of a broad range of therapies, including
many different dietary interventions (e.g., elimination diet, anti-inflammation diet, low glycemic-index diet),
nutraceuticals (e.g., vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, botanicals), and lifestyle changes (e.g., improving
sleep quality/quantity, increasing physical activity, decreasing stress and learning stress management techniques, quitting smoking).
Details how to book consultation can be found here