What is Functional Medicine?

In this episode, Dr. Hartman of Richmond Integrative and Functional Medicine shares part of his, and his family’s, story that led him to pursue functional and integrative medicine training and to open his functional medical practice. He shares how adopting their children and handling the challenges of raising kids with special needs led to significant lifestyle changes and to a questioning of his own approach to practicing medicine. He also shares a glimpse at some of the dramatic changes that he and his wife observed in their children’s health and developmental progress. In the second part of the episode, he addresses the question, “What is integrative and functional medicine?” Many people have begun to hear about it, but often still have questions about what it really means and how it is different, and similar to, conventional medicine. He explains that functional and integrative medicine is a patient-centered, systems approach that seeks to stretch beyond treating  and managing symptoms to discover the root causes of disease. He discusses how sleep, relaxation, exercise and movement, nutrition, stress, and relationships affect our health and how functional and integrative medicine view these factors as foundational to the pursuit of wellness and health. The ultimate goal is wellness, not maximizing medical interventions.

Links:

Cerebral Palsy Growth Chart Quell Device

Dr. Amy Yasko, MD

Academy of Integrative and Holistic Medicine Dr. Alan Gaby, MD

Dr. Joseph Pizzorno Textbook of Natural Medicine

The Institute for Functional Medicine

PEMF Info

Mark Hyman, MD

Dale Bredesen, MD

Alessio Fasano, MD

Zonulin Research Article for Zonulin and Leaky Gut

Tree Reference from Blog