The Functional Medicine Model
As an M.E sufferer, I saw countless GPs and medical specialists who could find no clue as to what was wrong with me, why my body was failing to function and why all my body systems were out of whack. It's a tough place to be when the doctors can't figure out what's wrong with you and shrug their shoulders at you.
After finding no hope with Western medicine, I decided to look into alternative modes of therapy for my disease. I started consulting with a naturopath to find answers about what was causing me to feel mentally and physically exhausted, why I had the most intense brain fog and why my digestive system totally shut down. He started to assess the underlying factors that might be going on, namely by assessing my gut function as a chief place to start.
Having undergone my personal health journey by looking at the root causes of my own condition, I started to train in this field and during my time qualifying as a Nutritional Therapist and Naturopath I was introduced to the field of Functional Medicine.
What is Functional Medicine?
Functional Medicine (FM) is a holistic model of healthcare that asks how and why illness occurs and aims to restore health by addressing the root cause of disease for each individual.
FM is individualised and patient-centred with a systems biology-based approach. As the diagram above shows, a diagnosis can be the result of more than just one cause. For example, IBS may be caused by multiple factors, such as an impaired microbiota, also known as dysbiosis (Chassard et al. 2012).
"Functional Medicine is medicine by cause, not by symptom. Practitioners don't, in fact, treat disease. We treat the body's ecosystem.We get rid of the bad stuff, put back the good stuff, and because your body is an intelligent system - it does the rest" - Dr Mark Hyman MD.
The basis of FM practise is to consider the patient as an individual, rather than simply focussing on the disease itself. Practitioners look at the body as one whole, integrated system whilst also assessing what is driving the disease and any lifestyle factors that may be involved in the perpetuation of symptoms. It asks how the body is influenced by its environment, lifestyle and genetics.
To put it simply, I define FM as a model of lifestyle medicine that considers the triggers of poor health and how people can make lifestyle changes in order to combat health problems and promote wellness. Whilst reviewing biochemical system pathways and physiological processes, a FM practitioner would typically look at a patient's:
Nutritional status
Physical activity
Sleep patterns
Stress levels
Emotional and mental state
*Functional laboratory testing (e.g. a stool analysis) may be required to uncover further information on the patient's health.
What is the Difference Between Functional Medicine and Conventional Medicine?
I completely acknowledge the need for conventional medicine. It is a necessary healthcare that saves lives and, in the case of having a car crash, this is not the time to be consulting an FM practitioner on how your stress levels are impacting your health!
Conventional medicine is excellent for acute care and medical emergencies. However, in chronic disease and conventional medicine there is a missing link between symptom suppression and health promotion, and this is where FM comes into play:
Lifestyle medicine does not replace Western medicine, but it simply enhances health. In my particular case it was the only option when it came to my recovery, however this doesn't mean to say that the two cannot work in tandem.
Why Do We Need Functional Medicine?
Society has seen a sharp increase in the number of people who suffer from complex, chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, mental illness and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis (Nolte et al. 2008).
78% of healthcare expenditures are for the treatment of chronic diseases and yet physicians are often not adequately trained on how to manage the complexity of them (Jones et al. 2010).
The New England Journal of Medicinehighlights that the children born today may be the first generation in history with a lower life expectancy than their parents, highlighting the need for disease prevention strategies (Olshansky et al. 2005).
Prevention strategies are the most cost-effective approaches to tackling chronic illnesses.
The gap between emerging research and integration into conventional medical practise is enormous (as long as 50 years), particularly in the area of complex, chronic illness. We therefore need trained professionals who can apply this model to patients today.
FM offers the patient-centred focus that is missing in conventional practises. It is an approach that emphasises the importance of obtaining the patient's story and incorporates mindfulness of their unique narrative (I personally know the importance of having to have my story heard in a time where 10-minute GP visits didn't quite cut it).
I hope this helps you to gain more of an understanding of this mode of therapy. In its essence, Functional Medicine is a modern-day term for naturopathy. Its a way of providing patients with the tools to restore their health by understanding how seemingly separate symptoms are in fact connected and focussing on why symptoms may be occurring. Not only does this help to prevent and treat ailments, it involves going below the surface and not just using prescription medications for temporary improvement (also known as the 'band-aid approach', which does little to address the underlying problem).
By adopting a healthy lifestyle, we can therefore ensure that we are maximising our health and wellness to lead the best possible life imaginable, and this is fundamentally what FM seeks to promote.
Its a mode of healthcare that really helped to save me during my own personal health battles and I hope it can open your eyes to what else is out there if you have any of your own health hang-ups.
If anyone has any questions on FM please let me know in your comments below!
DISCLAIMER: Functional Medicine should not replace Western medicine and my work is an adjunct to complement conventional care.
References:
Chassard, C. Dapoigny, M. Scott, K.P. (2012). 'Functional Dysbiosis within the Gut Microbiota of Patients with Constipated-Irritable Bowel Syndrome', Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 35 (7), pp. 828-38 NCBI [Online]. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22315951 (Accessed: 10 January 2018).
Jones, D.S and Quinn, S. (Eds). (2010). Textbook of Functional Medicine. Washington: The Institute of Functional Medicine.
Nolte, E and McKee, M. (2008). Caring for People with Chronic Conditions: A Health System Perspective. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Olshansky, S.J. Passaro, D.J. Hershow, R.C. (2005). 'A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century', New England Journal of Medicine, 352, pp. 1138-1345 NEJM [Online]. Available at: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsr043743 (Accessed: 10 January 2018).