Functional Medicine.
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What is a functional medicine approach to care?
Typically, in today’s health care system you see a doctor for each part of your body. A podiatrist for your feet, an orthopedist for your shoulder, and a cardiologist for your heart. While these physicians are specialists in their field, it is often helpful to know how our body systems interrelate. Functional medicine sees the body as a WHOLE; looking at both how it is operating within itself and how it’s being affected by the surrounding environment. It is important to take this approach if you want to find the root cause, and not just treat symptoms. We try hard to find the “why” instead of just managing a disease. This includes what we eat, drink, breathe, how well you sleep and the toxins we are exposed to.
Testing.
We may test for some of the most common causes of symptoms and chronic disease:.
GI Issues – SIBO, GERD (Reflux), Leaky Gut, Food Intolerance/Sensitivity, Gut Dysbiosis, H. pylori, IBS/IBD
Nutrient Imbalances – Exploring deficiencies and toxicities; including iron, B12, folate, Magnesium, Vitamin D, etc.
HPA Axis Dysregulation – assessing the balance between your brain, your adrenal glands, and cortisol levels
Hormone Imbalances – blood sugar regulation, thyroid function, melatonin, and sex hormone baselines
Lipid Profile - looking beyond total cholesterol numbers to assess cardiac health and risk