Natural Health subscribes to the idea of wholism; that man is seen as a whole – a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. This is called the vital force or chi. Early naturopaths realised that if you could restore the vital force to the patients, the body would naturally heal itself. Naturopathy, along with acupuncture, homeopathy and most other wholist modalities subscribes to this basic understanding of the body’s own intelligence.
Modern orthodox medicine has made enormous strides and saved millions of lives over the past 60 years. It has had remarkable success in medical emergencies such as physical trauma after a car crash. However, apart from these positive and beneficial attributes, and I must reiterate that I am not saying that orthodox medicine does not have its place, the performance of drug-based medicine has been far less impressive in preventing the chronic conditions that now plague us, such as arthritis, depression, diabetes and heart disease. Modern medicine does not subscribe to this idea of wholism or the importance of prevention. As long ago as the second century BC, the Yellow Emperor in the Classic of Internal Medicine said, “A doctor who treats a disease after it has happened is a mediocre doctor… A doctor who treats a disease before it happens is a superior doctor.” Indeed, Chinese physicians were paid to keep their patients healthy and were dismissed or not paid if the patient became ill. This ensures a “health system” not an “ill-health system”. Unfortunately, this understanding has changed to a new paradigm – wait until it is broken and then fix it. This is not intelligent medicine and part of the role of a functional medicine doctor is empowering the patient to take responsibility for his or her own health.
The definition that “health” is the absence of disease or sickness might be valid, however, a person may be very far from the glowing, energetic reality of true health. The journey to true health needs a broader approach. The ancient idea that healing is most effective when you consider the whole person, is becoming more apparent. As Socrates said in the Fourth Century BC, “The part can never be well, unless the whole is well.”
So, what is functional medicine, so what is this “broader approach”. Functional medicine addresses the underlying causes of disease. The human body is a complex system which consists of a number of organ systems working in-sync for the sustenance of life. The balancing act that those systems perform is called homeostasis. Functional medicine involves examining core clinical imbalances that underlie a disease or condition. These imbalances arise from environmental inputs, such as, diet and nutrients (including water), exercise, and trauma, and are processed by a patient’s body through his or her unique metabolism. Functional medicine is more than a step-by-step approach, it is a conceptual guide. A way of putting all the pieces together.
Looking at food and nutrients in terms of function means adopting a broader perspective. There is far more to be understood than calories, macro-nutrients and defined essential vitamins and minerals. Functional medicine looks at the many functions that these key substances perform throughout the body and identifies the body’s need based on that evaluation. The functional approach assumes that food contains molecules that are necessary, purposeful and designed to support life and promote well-being and optimal health. The influence of foods and vitamins on our body systems has a large impact on our health. It may come as a surprise to learn that genes can be switched on and off in our cells and the view that genes are immortal, unchanging strings of code, is changing. Because of the ability of genes to switch on and off, you can change the way your genes behave, and one of those ways is with nutrition and supplements.
Giving your body a nutrient dense diet of whole, unprocessed and organically grown fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and probiotic foods has a huge impact on your genes. Thereby, resulting in good health and at the same time, removing foods that cause gut disturbances for some. An example of this would be gluten and dairy. Functional medicine also aims to not be invasive in its testing, and one of the ways this is done is with a quantum scanner. The body will emit different electromagnetic wave signals during its varied conditions, such as health, sub-health, disease, etc. If we can determine these specific electromagnetic wave signals, we can determine the status of the body’s health. By simply holding the quantum sensor in your palm, health data will be collected within minutes. This is then read by our functional medicine doctor.
