The Difference Between Functional and Traditional Medicine
A common question I get asked is, "Why do I need to see a doctor practicing functional medicine?" The answer is, “The devil's in the details."
You see, there are many ways of looking at the body and all of its functions. In traditional medicine you are evaluated and screened for the presence of disease. This screening process is very helpful and should be implemented by everyone and every doctor during yearly exams.
You should have a physical exam every time you see a new doctor and have some basic lab work done that would rule out any major issues. However, in the functional medicine world, we take this to a different level.
While functional medicine doctors do screen for those things we are not necessarily looking to treat disease, but more looking to treat the physiology that caused the disease.
Physiology refers to the way in which a living organism or body part functions.
This approach works well with people that have been screened for major issues and have been told "nothing is wrong" or "exercise and diet" (which, honestly, the medical profession has no clue what that actually is) or " you're just depressed" and then handed a medication to treat whatever symptom they came in with.
With this type of person, functional medicine will typically look at the same labs that are done with traditional medicine, but view them through a different lens. Then go a step further and run more specialized tests that look deeper into the elaborate chemistry of the human body. This is the detail oriented viewpoint that functional medicine can offer.
This approach can also work for those that are in good health but want to look deeper into things they can do to improve their life and longevity.
Here's a true story of 'John Doe':
John was a busy man with an important job and was being checked from a traditional lens every 3-6 months. He was getting IV nutrition as well as IV NAD treatments (this is an incredible anti-inflammatory treatment that we can talk about later), taking supplements, exercising and "eating right". John did this routine for a few years, always being told everything was good and to keep doing what he was doing.
Well, ol' John ended up on the operating table with a double bypass. He began to question what had gone wrong and asked his doctors the same question.
Their response was that these things sometimes happen. While that is true, and we can't always get the answers we're looking for, John's case had an explanation.
He ended up seeing a colleague of mine for another reason and told this doc (let's call him Dr. K) his story. Dr. K reviewed his records and saw a pattern that looked like an infection. Dr. K asked John if he minded running a few more labs that might be associated with the reason he had a heart attack.
When the labs came back John tested positive for a Chlamydia Pneumonia infection. You may think this is a lung infection and you're right. However, it turns out the DNA of this little bug, and several others, has been seen in the plaque of arteries of heart attack victims.
Dr. K found the reason for the heart attack just by taking a different perspective on the situation and this is a great example of why even for those that are seemingly “healthy” might want to look into seeing a functional medicine doctor.
Main takeaway
I like to think of functional medicine as a way for people to get a full scope of their health. For those who are sick that could mean digging deeper into the root cause of their ailments and supporting their bodies back to good health. And for those who are well, it gives them the tools to maintain health and prevent future ailments that “sometimes happen” like with John Doe’s case.
If you’re interested in digging deeper into your health, whether you’re in good health or not, click the button below to schedule a functional medicine consultation.