Five years ago, I had no idea what Lifestyle and Functional Medicine were about. Now, I’m on a mission to let everyone know the main reasons why they want that kind of healthcare! So many people often wonder what the difference is between Functional Medicine and “conventional” medicine. Heck, they are even asking “What is Functional Medicine?” These are all excellent questions, and it ultimately distills down to approach.
The two frameworks use many of the same tools, but Functional Medicine is about optimizing your health and quality of life in ways you never knew were possible. Conventional medicine is about treating disease once it has already appeared. I’ve been practicing medicine for more than 15 years, and in the last 5 years, I knew there had to be a better way than the “pill for every ill” style medicine I was doing. I also knew “integrative medicine” meant a more holistic, whole person approach, and when I stumbled on functional medicine, I gravitated to it quickly because it is an evidence-based, high tech science driven approach to holistic medicine. I have seen how it changes lives. Now my mission at Inspired Wellness, PLLC is to make functional medicine available in my home town located on Whidbey Island because I believe we all deserve the best care possible.
Here are the five reasons functional medicine is the only kind of health care you want.
1. It keeps you healthy instead of just keeping you alive
As a board-certified Family Medicine physician, I know very well that conventional medicine is great at making sure you don’t die, but more often, it focuses on treating symptoms, and it fails to look upstream at the root cause of illness.
2. It’s personalized
One size fits all, cookie cutter medicine no longer cuts it. Functional medicine uses advanced testing and genetics in combination with the art of listening to your story to piece together a plan that is 100% tailored to you, your body, and your life. Functional medicine is based on a paradigm of the body as an interconnected matrix, not a disconnected set of organ systems.
3. It’s remains at the cutting edge of science
Functional medicine is able to take advantage of new research in real time such as discoveries around how the microbiome impact our health.
4. It makes you feel good
It improves your quality of life, from energy and clarity to weight and immunity. It’s about helping you feel your best at any stage in life. As already mentioned, Functional Medicine investigates the root cause of symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, gas & bloating, and skin rashes and eliminates them. It supports your body’s optimal function with natural vitamins, minerals, and herbs so that you need fewer drugs and procedures.
5. It is life changing
How you live each day determines your health and quality of life. Functional medicine is designed to teach you how to live well and to support you in maintaining that lifestyle despite the many toxic inputs and influences – chemicals in products and food, sedentary lifestyles, chronic stress – we are all exposed to in today’s world. Functional medicine teaches you how to listen to your body and tap into your health in ways you never forget. It also supports you with the guidance and tools to handle the inevitable challenges in the best possible way so that you live well and generate as much happiness in your life as you can.
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