As I continue to walk through correcting some personal health challenges, I am doing what I encourage each of you to do, work with a practitioner who is in alignment with your own personal health philosophy. As I’m doing this, I am continually amazed at the research and science behind the functional medicine world. I want to share some of what I am experiencing with you today.
But first, you need to determine what your personal health philosophy is. Is it to manage your disease using conventional approaches, primarily addressing your symptoms with drugs and/or surgery? Or, is it to get to the root cause of the problem, and then restore the body back to good health, using natural approaches? If it is to manage your disease, then I suggest you find a medical doctor who is in line with that philosophy. But if you want to get to the root cause then I highly encourage you to seek out a functional medicine practitioner whose objective truly is to get to the root cause of the problem.
Traditional medicine best serves the patient when it comes to an acute, immediate life-threatening or emergency situation, that requires quick intervention, that at times could literally be a life or death situation. Keep in mind that terms like Wholistic Health, Natural Health, Functional Medicine are fairly interchangeable. I would like to quote a passage from Functional Medicine University’s website to summarize what we mean by functional medicine:
“Using scientific principles, advanced diagnostic testing and treatments other than drugs or surgery, Functional Medicine restores balance in the body’s primary physiological processes. The goal: the patient’s lifelong optimal health.”
There are 3 points in this summary that I want discuss today:
- Scientific Principles
- Advanced Diagnostic Testing
- Treatments other than drugs or surgery
Scientific Principles
As a licensed practitioner, I need to take continuing education courses each year to maintain my license. I continue to be in awe by the true, scientific research that backs up the functional medicine approach to restoring the body back to good health. And what’s even more interesting is a lot of this research and peer review studies come from the medical journals and literature.
Even when I worked in the natural products industry, on multiple occasions I attended an annual conference called Medicines of the Earth. I recall being so blown away by the scientific studies, research, knowledge and real-life experiences that the practitioners who were teaching these classes shared and taught. It really was mind-blowing.
My point here is this: just because it’s a “natural” approach does not mean it is weak or ineffective. Functional Medicine, natural medicine, wholistic medicine, has hundreds, if not thousands of true, scientific studies behind it.
Advanced Diagnostic Testing
I think it’s this point that prompted me to write this blog this week. I have been working with several wholistic medicine practitioners through my health journey this past year. They each have their own unique approach and tools that they work with, and I have been extremely impressed with their knowledge and conviction of these tools. In my own personal experience, the diagnostic testing that they utilize far surpasses the approaches the conventional practitioner utilizes – especially when it comes to diagnosing chronic, degenerative diseases, including things like auto-immune conditions and cancers as well. Now I’m sure there are exceptions to what I am about to say, but in my experience, the testing that conventional medicine has utilized on me didn’t go beyond basic bloodwork. If I had strictly pursued the conventional route in the past year and a half, I would have been x-rayed unnecessarily, just to be told there was no kidney stone in my kidneys or ureters; I would have been on at least one blood pressure med, and probably on my way to a second or even third medication by now simply from the side effects or ineffectiveness of the first medication; and I would be taking a chemo pill for the rest of my life that is known to be “tried and true” even though when I looked up the side effects, one of the things it said was “don’t let it touch your skin!” Really?! And I’m to swallow that?! But in the meantime, the imbalance in my body, as well as now the drugs, would continue to literally deteriorate me from the inside, out.
Let me just share with you several tests these practitioners and others have run on me (or I have run on myself in the past), and you tell me, have you ever heard of them:
- Thermography
- Hidden Food Sensitivity Test
- D-Dimer test
- Autoimmune Complete
- LDH Isoenzyme Fraction
- TPO & TGB tests
- PTT/INR test
- Epstein Barr Antibody test
- Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test
- Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (with a 31 page report)
- Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone
- Complement C4a Level
These are just a few of the many, many valuable tools and tests available out there to the practitioner who wants to help his/her patient get to the root cause of the health problems. One area that I have never considered for myself personally before is the area of mold exposure. Not that I didn’t know it could be a problem, I just didn’t know how far reaching and how it can impact one’s health chronically even years after exposure.
Treatments Other Than Drugs or Surgery
Once the knowledge of the research is understood, and valuable diagnostic testing is done, then the functional medicine practitioner can move into the treatment phase, using natural approaches, not drugs and/or surgeries.
Some of the treatments I have received so far are:
- Specialty supplements – formulas especially
- A supplement called Boluoke
- Hyperbaric chamber dives
- A custom diet
In Summary
I know this is a lot of information to take in, and it can be somewhat mind blowing! But the main point I really wanted to emphasize is to not underestimate the value and power of the knowledge, skills and tools that the world of wholistic health, and functional medicine practitioners have. The unfortunate part is, insurance doesn’t cover any of it. I’ll reserve my rant for another day the things insurance does cover, that certainly are not necessary, and in some cases, flat out sinful, but it won’t cover the tools necessary for a person to uncover the root cause of their health problem, and restore their body back to good health using natural approaches.
But the biggest take away I want you to hold onto is – functional medicine is not a lame, subpar or ineffective approach. Instead it is powerful and invaluable. It is the truth. To learn more about functional medicine click here: https://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/public/department50.cfm.
To find a functional medicine practitioner in your area click here: https://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/find-Functional-Medicine-Clinicians.cfm
I would like to give credit to Dr. Ron Grisanti, who is my most recent functional medicine doctor, and the owner of Functional Medicine University. Dr. Grisanti is passionate about functional medicine, and continues to open up my eyes and mind to this beautiful healing discipline called wholistic health.
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