Functional Medicine is an evidence-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease, rather than simply placing a band-aid or writing a prescription. It looks at how each symptom may be connected and contributing to an individual’s illness.
A diagnosis can be the result of more than one cause. Functional medicine looks at genetics, lifestyle, environment, and nutritional factors, among others. Functional medicine practitioners believe in listening to the patient’s story in order to develop a timeline to help identify cause-effect relationships. Functional medicine practitioners may then order more advanced cutting-edge labs and work with the patient to develop a customized diet and treatment plan.