Maybe you have heard the term Functional Medicine recently. More and more people are hearing these words but what do they mean? Functional Medicine is a new form of healthcare today that is more patient-centered than traditional medicine. Whereas traditional medicine focuses solely on identifying and suppressing disease with medication, functional medicine treats the individual as a whole and puts the focus on restoring normal, biological health.

To truly understand how these two styles of healthcare differ, one would need to understand the difference between health and disease and the difference between nutrients and medications.

Health: the state of the body when it functions optimally.

Disease: any disorder of normal function in the body.

When we look at these medical definitions of health and disease it becomes quite apparent that in order to be healthy and well, one must have a body that functions properly. It also points out that if you suffer from ANY health problem, your body is in a state of abnormal function (disease). The goal of functional medicine is to determine why your body is not working properly (disease) and restore optimal biological function so you can once again experience health and wellness. Determining what is out of balance is only half the battle; a patient-specific program of health restoration must also be formulated and carried out. This approach to healthcare differs greatly from traditional medicine where the primary focus is on identifying the disease and then matching the disease to a drug. Very little attention if given to how or why the disease process started and the emphasis of treatment is to suppress the disease with a medication. Since medications are the only treatment offered to patients these days, let’s look at what medications are and how they work in the body.

Medication: a substance not normally found in the body which has a physiological effect when introduced into the body.

From this definition we can see that medication is a chemical not normally found in or produced by the body. One might argue that some drugs do not fit this description, like hormone replacement therapy. It is true that if your body is not able to produce a hormone like thyroid hormone, then it must be replaced; but it is usually replaced with a synthetic form of the hormone. However, when we consider the majority of drugs prescribed in this country, they are man-made chemicals that are not produced by the human body or required by the body to function normally. Drugs fulfill their purpose by altering normal biological function in order to produce a “desirable effect.” Drugs cause disorder of normal function in order to create the intended effect on the body. I may have lost you here, so let’s break this down a bit further. Take a common drug like Lipitor that has the “desirable effect” of lowering cholesterol levels. How does this drug lower cholesterol? It disrupts normal liver function so that your liver produces less cholesterol. For the drug to work it must create a new “disease state” in the liver. Remember the definition of disease is any disorder of normal function.

So what are these new diseases caused by drugs? If you read the side effects of any drug, you are looking at the list of new diseases that the drug can cause. Even if you are not aware of the side-effect, the drug has still altered one or more normal functions in your body. So millions of people are simply trading one disease for new diseases and they still have the original disease occurring in their body. How do we know this? Stop taking the drug and see if you original problem returns.

It should be stated here that some people have lost so much function in a particular organ or system that it simply cannot be restored and these people will require medication. The point that is trying to be made here is that medication should be the last resort, not the first.

Functional medicine physicians will usually provide the body with nutrients before recommending medication. So what is a nutrient and how is it different than a medication?

Nutrient: a substance that provides nourishment that is essential for growth, health and the maintenance of normal function in the body. Examples include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.

As you can see, nutrients are ESSENTIAL for normal function and health, whereas medications are not by definition. If a person is lacking nutrients, their body simply cannot work properly. When the body stops working properly disease occurs. Every single person has unique nutrient requirements based on their age, gender, lifestyle and genetics. Many people suffering with chronic health problems are simply not getting the right nutrients in the correct amounts for their bodies to function properly. Doctors that practice functional medicine often utilize nutrients to support the normal biological processes that make good health possible. Again, nutrients are essential for normal body function and therefore health.

There are in fact many differences between functional medicine and traditional medicine and we will cover more of the differences and some of the similarities between these two styles of healthcare in upcoming articles. In the meantime, if you suffer from a chronic health condition and you would like more information about functional medicine or Dr. Sexton please contact our office or visit our website.

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources.