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Functional medicine focuses on personalized and preventative healthcare, treating the root causes of health problems rather than just symptoms. Balancing the body’s functions is key to preventing chronic conditions. Practitioners evaluate the entire body, including mental health, and use various treatments. Functional medicine was developed in the 1990s and is practiced worldwide by healthcare professionals with various qualifications.
Functional medicine is a field that focuses on individualized and personalized approaches to health care and places a strong emphasis on preventative care. While traditional Western medicine treats the symptoms of diseases and conditions, functional medicine practitioners believe in treating the root causes of health problems before they start. These root causes can include environmental factors, diet and exercise deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and more. Functional medicine focuses on treating the body as a whole, rather than addressing medical needs in specific parts of the body, and is similar in nature to holistic medicine.
Balancing basic biological processes is a core value of functional medicine. Properly balancing the body’s various functions, such as the immune system, digestion, and nutrient intake, is thought to be key to preventing chronic conditions such as heart disease and arthritis. Functional medicine practitioners believe that disease is caused when these delicate balances are disrupted. Intervening to restore these balances in order to prevent disease is a primary purpose of functional medicine.
When treating patients, practitioners of this type of medicine evaluate the entire body and make health decisions based on a wider variety of factors than a traditional physician might. Functional medicine takes into account the patient’s medical history, genetics and living environment to make treatment decisions. After the patient has been fully evaluated, treatments might include lifestyle changes, traditional drug therapies, dietary supplements, or various forms of detoxification.
Mental health is also a strong component of functional medicine. Psychological and spiritual elements have strong significance in the role of overall health. Good health is not judged by the absence of disease alone. Rather, functional medicine practitioners believe that true health comes from overall positivity and vitality.
The concept of functional medicine was first developed in the 1990s as a way to address a growing number of patients with chronic diseases. The first functional medicine research center was established in 1992. Now one can find practitioners of this type of medicine all over the world.
Many functional medicine professionals have Doctorates of Medicine (MDs) or are Registered Dietitians or Registered Nurses. There is no specific degree available in functional medicine; rather, those with other healthcare qualifications integrate aspects of functional medicine into their practices. Many health professionals who wish to incorporate functional medicine techniques into their practices participate in learning courses before doing so.
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