Why are we suffering?
“There is no ‘disease’ in the body, only dis-ease. The origin is always unique, always” - Dr Jeffrey Bland.
The father of functional medicine has said that, “there is no ‘disease’ in the body, only dis-ease. The origin is always unique, always”-Dr Jeffrey Bland. This dis-ease in the body, is what I always tell my patients is the body trying to communicate with us. Often times we shoot the messenger. We pop a pill for whatever ill we are experiencing, but rarely consider why our body is spending so much energy giving us that blessed symptom. It shows up as a headache, rash, bowel changes, stomach ache, or body aches if it is mild. When the symptoms accelerate from being repeatedly ignored, it may turn into a diagnosis or illness.
There are a few functional medicine principles that I want every patient I work with to understand. The first, is that the humans body’s natural state is one of balance and sustained wellness and vitality. Our bodies are extremely intelligent and have been keeping our species alive for thousands of years. I often ask clients, what they intuitively think is going on with them, because there can be powerful healing in that. Our bodies WANT to be well, we just have to give it the right resources to make that happen and stop doing things that are causing damage or harm.
Another important principles is that everything in the body and overall life experiences is interconnected. Everything. We cannot assume that the sinus congestion someone is experiencing is just and ENT problem and is in isolation from the rest of the body. All our system work together and talk to each other. It is becoming more mainstream for healthcare providers to finally start addressing past traumas and how this impacts the state of the body currently.
Lastly, persistent functional balances creates resilient vitality (health) that naturally repels disease. Dis-ease precedes disease, and is evidence of imbalance, blockage, and/or impairment in natural functioning. The root cause and the complaint may be notably distant from one another. The collection of root causes is unique for each person and health care must be individualized for each person.
Keeping it simple, yet accurate we can say that our choices influence our environment which changes our genetic expression. This changes our biochemistry and determines whether we obtain wellness or illness. The environment we choose is based on what we maximize, minimize and prioritize in our every day lives. Every choice we make; every day we live.
One inconvenient, yet very true truth, is that we are not designed to be stressed, toxic, inflamed, infected, malnourished, & unrested and yet still easily thrive, grow, reproduce, be thin, feel well, eat anything we want, enjoy perfect popps and have great sex. This combination would not be natural.
The reason we are struggling is simple, yet in some difficult to regulate: crap foods (nutrient poor diets), toxins and stress.
1. Crap Food
AKA- ‘edible food-like substances’. A double negative because it is stripped of vitamins and nutrients, yet contains added chemicals/preservatives that take more nutrients and vitamins for the body to detox. Increases the stress on the body.
2. Toxins
Deplete nutrients because they take a lot of effort for the body to detox. Toxins increases stress and inflammation in our bodies. Toxins impairs our bodies ability to create energy and detox them.
3. Stress
Strips nutrients because we don’t digest or absorb well when under stress. We also have to detox stress hormones which requires more nutrients. Stress alters our digestion ability and impairs ability to detox.
Keeping it simple; this is it. This is what causes us to be sick, inflamed, symptomatic, tired, and holding us back from feeling fantastic. Crap food, toxins and stress are why we are limited in our ability to achieve true, lasting wellness. This is the starting point where we do our work at Rapha Functional Wellness with clients. You can begin today to take inventory of your life and see where you are struggling in one or all of these 3 areas.
What is your body communicating with you and how can you start giving it what it needs?
“Functional medicine is a science-based, personalized healthcare approach that assesses and treats underlying causes of illness through individually-tailored therapies to restore health and improve function”. – Dr. Mark Hyman.
Our job at Rapha Functional Wellness is to inspire, empower, and motivate people to makes daily choices to restore this balance in their body and obtain true wellness. This is our passion. Our calling. Our heart.
If you would like more information about working with us, book a free consult or email us at [email protected].
