Over 20 years ago I found myself knee deep in all the information I could find about WHAT was causing my dis-ease. I was frustrated that my doctor couldn’t give me the answers I needed and that he kept treating me with the same medication, over & over. At the time I hadn’t heard of functional medicine or root cause medicine, but that’s exactly what I started doing at a very beginner level. I was completely captivated by what I was learning, and began implementing it in my own life. I started seeing the changes in my health and fell in love with the research and practice of what I was calling natural medicine. I continued to soak up everything I could & implemented along the way. I healed. This was the beginning of something so much bigger than I ever could have realized. I learned WHAT was making me sick, WHY I wasn’t getting the help I needed, & HOW to actually heal.
Now I help others get well, and stay well.
What is Functional Medicine?
“Functional medicine is a science based personalized healthcare approach that assesses and treats underlying causes of illness through individually tailored therapies to restore health and improve function.” -Dr. Mark Hyman
Functional medicine can mean different things depending on who you’re talking to. I’ve seen some approaches that include basic principles, to some that encompass the full spectrum of what functional medicine has to offer. Today we’re diving into what functional medicine means to me & how I practice.
Functional medicine identifies & addresses the underlying causes of disease, views the body as an integrated system, and addresses the whole person, not just the symptoms. The client is the main focus rather than the disease, and the client and practitioner work together to restore health.
What it’s like to work with me.
How excited do you get when you go to your doctor appointments? Let me guess, not very? That’s not the experience we’re going to have. You’ll be excited to get on our calls because I make the process of getting relief & making progress enjoyable!
I’m able to give clients 1:1 attention, and the time needed to truly understand, assess, and resolve their health concerns. I treat each client as a unique individual, and the origin of dis-ease is always unique. I look at your detailed health history, and interconnectedness of environment, genetics, & biochemistry.
“What kind of person has this dis-ease vs. what kind of dis-ease does this person have”.
Oftentimes going to the doctor means treating disease, but it’s also important to promote health & wellness beyond that. We can both learn so much by going through a detailed health history, and customize a program that addresses your unique needs.
I take an integrative, science-based approach by looking “upstream” to consider all interactions of lifestyle & history. Creating a focus on prevention by taking into account the whole person…mental, physical, emotional, & spiritual. As needed, I utilize the latest laboratory testing and other diagnostics, supplements, nutrition, detoxification programs, mindset, and stress-management techniques.
How is Functional Medicine different than Western Medicine?
So often we’re led to believe that prescription medicine is our only option, but that is far from true. With the knowledge of how to apply functional medicine to a unique individual, the opportunity to heal is infinite. And, while our genetic makeup is a component, we have a lot of control over our gene expression & the impact that has on our health. What we eat, drink, feel, think, say, etc. impacts our genes, and can you believe that starts in the womb?!
“We are not what we inherit, we are what we express”
So many people are suffering from chronic inflammatory lifestyle disease, and the current medical model simply isn’t set up to address those issues for long term, sustainable health. When we try to treat one part of the body without taking into account the rest of the parts it’s connected to, we miss out on a lot of vital information. We are not here to simply manage disease, but restore overall wellness & vitality. Our body gives us information in the form of dis-ease long before it becomes a diagnosable disease. Unfortunately, these sometimes subtle indicators are ignored. When addressed early on, we can heal and prevent illness.
When you’re addressing the root cause, you’re not only restoring your health now, but for the future as well.