Functional Medicine: Natural Health Solutions

Guest post by Dr. Will Cole

The term “Functional Medicine” is rather ambiguous for people. Although this field is becoming more mainstream due to voices like Dr. Oz and Dr. Mark Hyman lauding it as the future of health care, Functional Medicine is still generally unknown to the public. The term and field of Functional Medicine refers to something completely different to what we have now come to know as conventional medicine / standard model of care (mainstream medicine). To fully understand what functional medicine is, it is important to contrast it with conventional medicine.

Traditionally a medical doctor uses drugs or hormones as therapeutic tools to deal with dysfunction or disease. For various conditions including low thyroid, diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and so on, the standard model of care is generally all the same. Your general practitioner could decide to treat you, or could elect to refer you to a specialist. A GP and specialist have access to the same basic tool: medication. The training in the standard model of care is to diagnose a disease and match that disease with a corresponding drug. The standard model of care works well for acute diseases, trauma, infection, and emergencies. Sadly, it fails miserably in the care of the chronic diseases that affect over 125 million Americans.

Chronic conditions- such as allergic, digestive, hormonal, metabolic and neurologic problems – which most Americans suffer from on a daily basis, are finding solutions in the field of Functional Medicine.

So what exactly is Functional Medicine and how can it help in addressing the millions of Americans dealing with chronic disease?

Here are 5 basic principles that define Functional Medicine:

1) Functional Medicine sees us as all as being different; genetically and biochemically unique. This personalized health care treats the individual, not diseases. It supports the normal healing mechanisms of the body, naturally, rather than attacking disease directly.

2) Functional Medicine is deeply science based. The latest research shows us that what happens within us is connected in a complicated network or web of relationships. Understanding those relationships allows us to see deep into the functioning of the body.

3) Your body is intelligent and has the capacity for self-regulation, which expresses itself through a dynamic balance of all your body systems.

4) Your body has the ability to heal and prevent nearly all the diseases of aging.

5) Health is not just the absence of disease, but a state of immense vitality.

Here lies the clear distinction and definition of Functional Medicine. Instead of asking, “What drug matches up with this disease?” Functional Medicine asks the vital questions that very few ask, “Why do you have this problem in the first place?” and “Why has function been lost?” and “What can we do to restore function?” In other words, we look to find the root cause or mechanism involved with any loss of function, which ultimately reveals why a set of symptoms is there in the first place, or why the patient has a particular disease label.

The clinical “Sherlock Holmes” investigation would start right at your first consultation. A comprehensive health history and detailed conversation of all your symptoms would take place. A health practitioner trained in Functional Medicine would also go line by line through every medication and natural supplement you were taking to further investigate unanswered questions.

After this point, a good candidate for Functional Medicine would undergo a series of diagnostic testing that would be specific to their individual case. This would give the clinician more pieces of the puzzle as to why the patient is going through what they are going through. By using the latest advancements in diagnostic testing it allows the practitioner to uncover the underlying dysfunctions that have gone unseen in the standard model of care.

When the lab results come in, this data is combined with the information uncovered at the consultation to customize a treatment plan unique to that individual. Using condition specific nutraceuticals, natural botanicals, herbs, nutrients and personalized dietary changes, the clinician’s goal is to deal with the underlying dysfunctions that are found, thus reversing the disease process and restoring optimal health.

Contrasting with our example of the standard model of care, the Functional Medicine model causes a radical paradigm shift in how we look at disease. By looking underneath the surface and beyond the label of disease, Functional Medicine brings true clinical investigation, much needed answers and most importantly real results for the patient.

About
Dr. William Cole, DC, graduated from Southern California University of Health Sciences in Los Angeles, California. He has his post doctorate education and training in Functional Medicine and Clinical Nutrition.

He sees patients locally in the Pittsburgh area and nationally via Skype and phone consultations.

Dr. Cole applies the latest in technology, diagnostic testing and clinical research to bring the public the most cutting edge, noninvasive and alternative care in health, Functional Medicine, and weight loss.

Dr. Cole has been featured numerous times on all of Pittsburghs major network television affiliates.

Dr. Cole has been married to his wife, Amber, since 2005, and they have two children.

Find out more health tips from Dr. Cole at facebook.com/doctorwillcole