There has been a global shift in the approach to health and well-being in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a heightened awareness of prevention, as opposed to cure. Functional Medicine is fast gaining traction in the health and wellness industry, and the demand for holistic healthcare is growing now more than ever.
What is functional medicine?
Simply put, functional medicine is root cause medicine, it aims to identify and treat the root cause of chronic disease, as well as prevent diseases.
The human body is made up of twelve major body systems, functional medicine recognizes that to treat disease, you must view the body as a whole system, rather than only focusing on the affected system. Think of the body as an orchestra, when all instruments are working well, the orchestra works in symphony to create beautiful music, but if one instrument plays out of tune, the whole orchestra suffers. Similarly, when one body system stops functioning effectively, it has a knock-on effect on all of the other systems.
Functional medicine also recognizes that we are all bio-chemically and genetically different, no one body is the same, and therefore treatment must be individualized, and not a one size fits all approach.
What is the difference between functional medicine and conventional medicine?
How does Functional Nutrition fit into all of this?
Functional Nutrition is based on the broader functional medicine model, it is a holistic approach to diet and specifically uses food and nutrition as medicine. Functional nutrition investigates how food affects one’s physiology, and how the presence of chronic diseases will affect their nutritional needs.
By understanding what foods support the individual body well, or foods that are not tolerated, and identifying nutritional deficiencies, the individual can work with their body to help it to function effectively.
Who can benefit from functional nutrition?
Anyone who is suffering from a chronic disease, or anyone who is simply looking to improve their overall health and wellness to prevent disease in the future.
My approach
As a Functional Nutritionist, I understand that the body is interconnected, and to treat the root cause of disease, you must treat the body as a whole. Once the root cause has been identified, I use nutrition and lifestyle strategies to activate the body’s innate healing mechanisms, helping the body to heal itself.
These are the steps that I take to help my clients:
- Comprehensive evaluation of previous medical history including medication and supplement history
- Reviewing each body system in detail
- Review of current diet and lifestyle habits to identify nutritional needs and lifestyle modifications.
- Specific functional lab testing to identify if and where there are imbalances in the body.
I typically test the following:
- Stress and Sex hormones
- Thyroid Function
- Inflammation
- Micronutrient Testing
- Leaky Gut and Gut Infections
- Food Sensitivities
- Neurotransmitter Metabolites
- Mitochondrial Function
Once I have done a thorough review of your medical history and current health status, I create a customized protocol that consists of
1) Anti-Inflammatory Nutrition Plan:
To help to reduce inflammation and boost your nutritional status that will help to start the healing process.
2) Lifestyle recommendations
These can be anything from covering exercise, habits, referrals for other therapies such as acupuncture (if needed), and general lifestyle strategies that will support your healing journey.
3) Supplement recommendations (if needed)
4) Emotional balancing and mindset recommendations
As mentioned earlier, our whole body is interconnected, what affects one system will affect the others, and this holds true for our thoughts and emotions too. Every emotion and thought that we have will affect us physically, so processing them in a healthy manner is just as important as our diet. I provide the tools to help you to do this, whether it is meditation, chakra balancing, breath work or EFT sessions with me, it will all depend on the level of support you need in this area.
My goal of a great is to empower you to look and feel like the happiest and healthiest version of yourself.
If you’re struggling to lose weight, have a hormonal imbalance or a chronic health condition, and would like nutritional support, then book a free 30-minute call with me here to discuss how we can work together to help you to achieve your health goals.
#PCOS #hypothyroid #hypothyroidism #hashimotos #stress #hormonalimbalance #weightloss #weightmanagement #functionalmedicine #functionalnutrition #holsitichealth #holisiticweightloss
