Why I Love Functional Medicine

There aren’t many “Silver Bullets” or shortcuts when it comes to vibrant health. However, when I was struggling with my health last year, I discovered something that I consider to be somewhat of a Silver Bullet—and it’s something that you might not have heard of before. Last year, I visited a Functional Medicine practitioner! There are three reasons why I love Functional Medicine practitioners.

Functional Medicine practitioners will create a health plan that is suitable for your specific health needs and goals.

A friend of mine—who is also a nurse—was telling me about her experience in the hospital with her mom. She said that the medical team was determined to keep her mother’s blood sugar at a particular level. However, my friend knew that her mother’s mental state was not normal at the level that was prescribed by the physician. When she talked to the medical team about it, she was told that her mom’s medical care would not be covered by insurance if certain protocols were not followed.

This is something that causes a lot of frustration for me. There are a lot of caring, intelligent healthcare professionals in the U.S., but unfortunately, these individuals are working in a less-than-stellar system. Insurance companies and the government should not be requiring the same protocols on every patient because every patient is different.

In contrast to the scenario in the hospital with my friend’s mom, Functional Medicine practitioners do not follow a one-size-fits-all approach with every patient. They realize that every person is different and that every person requires a health plan that is specific for him/her.

Functional Medicine practitioners will spend a lot of time with you.

When I visited a conventional physician about issues with the skin on my hands, the visited lasted less than 15 minutes. The physician wrote a prescription for steroids and sent me on my way.

My Functional Medicine practitioner spent 1.5 hours with me so that she could have a complete picture of my health history. She found out about my mom’s health when my mom was pregnant, my birth, my breastfeeding history when I was a child, medication history, mental health history, history of toxic exposure, and any other pertinent issues. Each follow-up appointment lasted 30 minutes to one hour.

Functional Medicine practitioners will find and treat the root cause of your health issues.

On the Institute for Functional Medicine website (ifm.org), I saw a video clip of Mark Hyman, MD explaining that depression has many causes. He explained that depression does not occur due to lack of Prozac. Depression can occur from an autoimmune disease, malnutrition, a toxic gut, hormonal issues, all of the above, and more.

His point was that we can’t just slap a diagnosis on someone, give them a drug, and pretend that they will be well. If you don’t find and treat the root cause of the disease, the person’s health will continue to decline.

In addition to gathering a very thorough health history, Functional Medicine practitioners run specialized tests to help determine the cause of the patient’s symptoms. When I visited my Functional Medicine practitioner, my test results revealed dehydration (I had been breastfeeding since August 2018); Epstein-Barr virus reactivation; toxicity and yeast in the gut; and a high need for vitamin C, alpha-lipoic acid, B-vitamins, probiotics, pancreatic enzymes, glutathione, and plant-based antioxidants. Also, based on my results, my practitioner suspected that I have MTHFR mutation. Based on my practitioners thorough testing, I was able to address my many health issues (mostly malnutrition), and ultimately restore the severely broken skin on my hands.

Let’s play the “What If” game for a second. What if I had only visited a conventional physician and had simply decided to take medications to get rid of the symptoms? In the best-case scenario, my skin would have immediately improved with minimal drug side effects, but my nutrition would have continued to decline, leading to additional symptoms and serious disease. In the worst-case scenario, my skin would have continued to get worse, I would have needed more powerful drugs that would have caused more powerful side effects; my overall health would have continued to spiral downward; and I would have been left with a pile of medical bills.

Are you struggling with chronic health issues? Go to ifm.org to find a Functional Medicine practitioner!