I have just returned from a fascinating functional medicine conference in Denver on hormone health, the last of my functional medicine modules. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and can’t wait to start applying some of the great knowledge I gained to my own life, as well as consultations with clients. In this week’s blog I’d like to give you all a short summary of what functional medicine is and how it can greatly benefit our everyday lives.
So What is Functional Medicine and How Does it Differ from Regular Medicine?
The key difference is that functional medicine is a holistic approach to a person’s health. Many modern medical practices revolve around looking at isolated symptoms or problems in an individual, whereas functional medicine is all about looking at every aspect of that individual’s lifestyle in order to make improvements to their health. Therefore there are various factors which functional medicine takes into account.
Professionals who practice functional medicine will take a look at the way a person is living their life, and instead of offering prescriptions, they will suggest ways in which that individual’s health could benefit from lifestyle changes. For example, there are huge connections between diet and chronic illnesses. If an individual is worsening their condition or their condition has been caused due poor diet, then functional medicine would have them make changes to their diet to alleviate their symptoms. In this instance, functional medicine will look at the individual’s food plan on a cellular and molecular level, with the aim of truly ascertaining how certain nutrients and toxins affect our health.
In addition to nutrition, a person’s psychological state, genetic makeup, social life and environment are all closely looked at in functional medicine. Each of these different aspects of one’s life has an impact on the way we feel, how we look and how healthy we are. Therefore, it is essential when adopting a holistic approach that no stone is left unturned when it comes to the health of a client. Functional medicine works to alleviate symptoms, worries and health problems through introducing healthy lifestyle changes, no matter how seemingly insignificant.
Functional Nutrition
Functional nutrition is one aspect of functional medicine, and a very important one at that! What we eat and drink has a substantial impact on our health and wellbeing, therefore nutrition plays an active role in the everyday work of a functional nutritionist. As I have a background in nutritional therapy, I find this aspect to be truly fascinating.
As alluded to above, functional nutrition is essentially the same practice as nutritional therapy, however with a more in-depth look at how an individual reacts to certain foods. Functional nutritionists use their knowledge of the human anatomy and the way that certain phytonutrients affect the body, to aid their clients. The client may suffer from gut issues, have a serious illness or simply wish to lead a healthier lifestyle. Whatever it is, the functional nutritionist will use their specialist knowledge to prescribe certain foods or supplements to their client to improve their health.
My Experience with Functional Medicine
I have learnt a great deal from the many seminars, modules and conferences in functional medicine that I have attended. I feel that this course has given me a deeper insight into the way that nutrition affects our bodies, as well as the impact that other factors have on our health. Therefore, I now feel much better equipped to tackle my clients’ nutritional and holistic health problems. If you would like to book yourself in for a free 30 minute discovery call, then please do so by clicking here.
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