“FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE DETERMINES HOW AND WHY ILLNESS OCCURS AND RESTORES HEALTH BY ADDRESSING THE ROOT CAUSES OF DISEASE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL.”
— THE INSTITUTE FOR FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
What is Functional Medicine?
Approximately 50% of adults have at least one chronic health condition, and chronic diseases are responsible for over 85% of healthcare spending. There is especially an increase in the number of complex medical diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, mental illness, and autoimmune conditions.
Our current medical system approach to these conditions is oriented towards symptom management using medications and surgery rather than exploring the potential for overcoming these illnesses. The acute care medical model does not have a system approach to treat and prevent chronic and complex diseases. Most medical training does not provide adequate training to apply lifestyle measures into the disease management treatment plan.
Functional Medicine is a scientific, integrative, and systems based approach to patient care. Functional medicine looks upstream to determine the many causes that can lead to an illness, such as genetics, lifestyle, and unique physiology. An emphasis is also placed on internal factors, such as mind, body, and spirit, and external factors, including physical and social environments. Functional medicine practitioners take an extensive history to learn each patient’s unique story to formulate a treatment plan that is individually tailored. A comprehensive physical exam, along with traditional and advanced laboratory tests are utilized to further explore the question of “Why do you have these medical conditions?”
The information gathered can be used to correct underlying imbalances while emphasizing lifestyle factors including nutrition, movement, stress identification and management, and sleep optimization.
A common diagnosis for the application of Functional Medicine is depression. Depression can be caused by vitamin and mineral deficiencies, omega-3 deficiency, thyroid abnormalities, and lifestyle factors such as an inflammatory diet, just to name a few. In the same respect, all of these factors can manifest not only as depression, but many other conditions such as fatigue, obesity, and insomnia. In a nutshell, everything can cause everything! How the disease manifests itself depends on the individual’s genes, environment, and lifestyle, and only treatments that address the right cause will have lasting benefit beyond symptom suppression.
To learn more about Functional Medicine, please visit www.ifm.org.
Why Choose Bloom Functional Medicine?
As a physician, it is my honor and privilege to serve your health care needs. I believe that a physician-patient relationship which centers on trust, compassion, and honesty is the foundation of a healing relationship. We have learned so much during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the importance of understanding and mitigating the risks of chronic disease, building a strong immune foundation to improve our overall resiliency, and increasing strategies to optimize our overall health.
Functional Medicine can help uncover your underlying causes of conditions so that they may be addressed in a holistic manner . Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we address chronic medical conditions. Through a process of hearing your whole health story, taking an in-depth history, and using conventional and functional lab testing, we can collaborate to address these issues, formulate a plan for healing, and allow your body and mind to bloom!
At Bloom Functional Medicine, you will have the benefit of longer appointments to dive deeper into your medical history and concerns. We will work beyond the diagnosis name and code number for your medical conditions to get the underlying causes of your diseases and move beyond symptom control.
You will have access to advanced functional laboratory tests and their interpretation, including hormone tests, gut health tests, food sensitivity tests, and nutrient status tests to further hone in on potential causes of your medical conditions. We will track your findings as well as your progress at regularly scheduled appointments, while focusing on the core principles of nutrition, movement, stress identification and management, and sleep optimization.
You will have the benefit of a board certified Family Medicine Medical Doctor who can collaborate with your primary care provider to offer a holistic and comprehensive care plan for your medical conditions and overall health.
Let’s partner together on your journey to improved health!
Schedule your complimentary 15 minute call to see if Functional Medicine is right for you.