What is Functional and Integrative Medicine?

For some time now modern medicine has sought to treat the presenting symptoms. This might mean treating a fever or a cough, for example, or addressing pain or other discomforts. Sometimes this approach is entirely appropriate, however more often this approach misses the underlying cause and the person is never completely restored to health. Think of lingering health conditions such as acid reflux, chronic fatigue, and headaches, just to name a few. 

There are many of us nutrition professionals now aligning ourselves with Integrative Medicine. I consider myself in this group. Maybe you are asking yourself what exactly this is and most importantly, does it really matter?

To answer that question, let’s first address the area of conventional medicine. For some time now modern medicine has sought to treat the presenting symptoms. This might mean treating a fever or a cough, for example, or addressing pain or other discomforts. Sometimes this approach is entirely appropriate, however more often this approach misses the underlying cause and the person is never completely restored to health. Think of lingering health conditions such as acid reflux, chronic fatigue, and headaches, just to name a few. Drugs are often prescribed and the patient is sent on her way, but the symptoms persist if the drugs are discontinued.

Additionally, there is very little discussion with the patient as to how their condition came about. Unfortunately, and not the fault of our doctors, there is limited time available to spend with patients and so remedies must be delivered quickly. Without more in-depth dialogue there is little chance the practitioner even has the opportunity to see below the surface of what is really going on.

From a dietetic perspective, a conventional approach to diet intervention would be something like prescribing the same diet to everyone with the same disease. Everyone with heart disease would get guidance on the exact same heart healthy diet, for example, with no consideration given to their culture, preferences, cooking ability, or genetics. Similarly a person seeking to lose weight would be advised on the same general diet as another without consideration given to what they’ve tried in the past or an understanding of what foods work or don’t work for them. These would be examples of conventional approaches.

Now let’s flip to the functional side. Functional practitioners are looking less at masking symptoms and more at how the body is functioning as a whole. They are attempting to uncover where the body is malfunctioning and how can we restore it to its normal, healthy state. Symptoms are just clues to lead us towards the underlying cause.

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