Functional Medicine
What is Functional Medicine?
Functional medicine is a holistic approach that aims to investigate the underlying causes of an individual’s health issues rather than assessing them solely based on symptoms. Within this framework, the patient’s medical history is examined in detail, additional laboratory tests are conducted when necessary, and the life history is thoroughly evaluated.
The information gathered encompasses factors that impact health, such as dietary habits, exposure to environmental toxins, allergens, stress factors, and gut microbiota. Based on this comprehensive analysis, a personalised wellness plan is created for each individual.
In the functional medicine approach, the foundation of treatment is nutrition and lifestyle changes. Methods such as elimination diets are used to assess the personal effects of foods, appropriate nutrition programmes are developed, and exercise and dietary supplements are incorporated when needed. The ultimate goal is to enhance the individual’s quality of life while enabling them to take conscious responsibility for their own health.
Root Cause Analysis
Functional medicine combines conventional medical practices with alternative and complementary therapies. This can include dietary changes, supplements, stress management techniques, and lifestyle modifications alongside traditional medical treatments.
Integrative Methods
Functional medicine looks at the body as an interconnected system rather than isolated organs or symptoms. It seeks to understand how different bodily systems interact and contribute to overall health.
Holistic Perspective
This approach emphasizes a partnership between patient and practitioner, where the patient’s history and experiences are critical to understanding their health issues.
Patient-Centred Approach
Instead of merely treating symptoms, functional medicine aims to identify and address the underlying causes of illness. This may involve looking into various factors such as nutrition, hormonal imbalances, gut health, and inflammation.
Patient-Centred Approach
Instead of merely treating symptoms, functional medicine aims to identify and address the underlying causes of illness. This may involve looking into various factors such as nutrition, hormonal imbalances, gut health, and inflammation.
Emphasis on Prevention
Instead of merely treating symptoms, functional medicine aims to identify and address the underlying causes of illness. This may involve looking into various factors such as nutrition, hormonal imbalances, gut health, and inflammation.
Individualised Care
Functional medicine practitioners tailor their approach to each patient, taking into account their unique genetic makeup, lifestyle, and environmental influences.
What does a Functional Medicine Doctor do?
Functional medicine doctors act from a perspective that tries to get to the root of chronic diseases by undergoing specific training after medical education. They consider the patient’s physical, mental and sometimes spiritual health as a whole. Taking into account many components such as genetics, nutrition, lifestyle, medications, blood and urine analyses, it prepares a personalised treatment plan that will contribute to chronic diseases and disease prevention. The functional medicine doctor uses the patients
What does Functional Medicine Involve?
What are Functional Foods?
The basis of the contribution of functional foods to the body lies in the components in foods. In some foods, these components can be found naturally, while some foods can be enriched with these components. Vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folic acid, vitamins B12 and B6, and minerals such as selenium, zinc, iron, copper are some of the components found in functional foods. So, what are functional foods? The following foods are among the functional foods:
- Probiotic yoghurt
- Fortified fruit juice
- Milk fortified with vegetable milks such as almond, rice, coconut milk
- Gluten-free foods
- Omega-3 containing oils
- Eggs enriched with omega-3
- Fruits such as oranges, bananas, apples, peaches, kiwi, strawberries
- Vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, courgette, cabbage
- Nuts such as Brazil nuts, almonds, cashews
- Chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds
- Lentils, chickpeas
- Salmon, sardines, anchovies, mackerel
- Oats, barley, buckwheat
- Tempeh, sauerkraut, kefir
- Ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, chilli.
What are Functional Drinks?
Functional beverages are beverages obtained by adding ingredients such as antioxidants, dietary fibre, prebiotics, protein, peptides, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. At the same time, beverages such as green tea, coffee, black tea, which have beneficial effects on health, are also considered functional beverages.
There are various types of functional drinks such as:
• milk-based drinks,
• probiotic drinks,
• energy drinks,
• sports drinks,
• meal replacement,
• fruit and vegetable smoothies,
• caffeinated drinks.
Bland J. Functional Medicine: An Operating System for Integrative Medicine. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2015 Oct;14(5):18-20. PMID: 26770161; PMCID: PMC4712869.
Abuajah CI, Ogbonna AC, Osuji CM. Functional components and medicinal properties of food: a review. J Food Sci Technol. 2015 May;52(5):2522-9. doi: 10.1007/s13197-014-1396-5. Epub 2014 May 16. PMID: 25892752; PMCID: PMC4397330.