Functional Medicine for Families in Colorado, Ohio, and Michigan

Our Philosophy

Functional medicine shifts the traditional disease-centered focus of medicine to a more holistic and patient centered approach to healthcare. It aims to identify and address the root causes of disease or dysfunction in the body. It focuses on addressing the whole person while understanding the unique biochemical and genetic makeup of an individual and how these factors interact with their environment, lifestyle, and overall health. Functional medicine involves understanding the origins, prevention and treatment of complex and chronic disease.

The core principles of functional medicine include:

Patient-Centered Approach

Functional medicine practitioners prioritize building a strong provider-patient relationship while understanding each individual’s unique health history, genetic predispositions, and lifestyle factors. They take into account the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person’s well-being.

Systems Thinking

Functional Medicine practitioners look upstream to consider the complex web of interconnections in the patient’s history, physiology, and lifestyle that can lead to illness. Instead of treating symptoms in isolation, functional medicine views the body as an interconnected system, where imbalances in one area can affect other areas. It seeks to identify and address underlying dysfunctions and imbalances that contribute to disease.

Personalized Medicine

Functional medicine recognizes that each person is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing. It employs advanced diagnostic testing, such as genetic analysis, comprehensive blood panels, and functional assessments, to gather data about an individual’s health status and guide personalized treatment plans.

Addressing Root Causes

Rather than simply suppressing symptoms, functional medicine aims to identify and address the underlying root causes of disease. These causes may include factors such as nutritional deficiencies, chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalances, gut dysbiosis, environmental toxins, stress, and lifestyle factors.

Promoting Optimal Function

The goal of functional medicine is not just to treat illness but also to enhance the body’s inherent capacity for healing and optimal function. It focuses on creating an environment that supports and promotes the body’s natural healing mechanisms through lifestyle modifications, nutrition, stress management, exercise, and targeted supplementation. The focus is more of health promotion rather than disease management.

Integrating best practices

Functional medicine integrates Western medical practices along with others termed “alternative” or “integrative” medicine. The focus is on prevention through nutrition, diet, exercise along with the use of the latest laboratory or diagnostic testing. When needed, the use of drugs/medication and/or botanicals, supplements, therapeutic diets, detox programs, and stress management techniques are recommended based on individual needs.

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