S W A S T H A L I V I N G
SIMPLE HEALTH FOR MODERN WOMEN
Functional medicine is healthcare for the 21st century.
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The functional medicine model of care offers a patient-centered approach to chronic disease management. It seeks to answer the question, “Why are you ill?” so you can receive a personalized approach versus a one size fits all.
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Functional medicine providers spend time listening to you and gathering your medical history. They use this information to identify the root cause of the illness, including triggers such as poor nutrition, stress, toxins, allergens, genetics and your microbiome (the bacteria living in and on your body).
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Once they identify the triggers, a customized healthy living plan is created uniquely for you. Your plan will address many aspects of your life, from physical needs, including nutrition, exercise and sleep, to mental and emotional stressors related to social, work and family life.
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We have lost the capacity to trust that our bodies know what is best for us and how to heal. Once we set the intention to heal, healing has begun. I will help you with the next steps.
But what is Functional Medicine?
The core concept is that chronic illness is an outcome of imbalances in the key underlying physiological systems in your body.
When inflammation, blood sugar imbalance, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, hormonal problems, and systemic upset occur the body spirals out of balance. This in conjunction with poor diet, lack of essential nutrients, emotional stress, environmental toxins, lack of exercise, and other lifestyle issues set the stage for chronic disease to develop.
Functional Medicine believes that most inflammation and disease start in the gut. What we are eating is causing our imbalances. We reverse this by changing our relationship with food.
Based on cutting-edge science, functional medicine offers a whole new way to understand and look at chronic illnesses from diabetes to depression; heart disease to hypertension; autoimmune disease to autism; allergies to anxiety.
Food instead of being the cause now becomes the solution. We do this simply by starting with elimination diets and replacing them with more plant-based Mediterranean-style diets. Integration of intermittent fasting, cold plunging, sauna, steam, and meditation can reverse inflammation and disease.
Autophagy is achieved by fasting and allows time for energy used for digestion to regenerate new healthy cells instead.
FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE VS. CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE
Functional Medicine
INVESTIGATE
It treats symptoms by addressing the underlying cause of the problem, which leads to more profound and longer lasting results.
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HOLISTIC
Treats the body as an interconnected whole, and recognizes the importance of these connections in health and disease.
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SAFE
Treatments have mild or no side effects, and other unrelated complaints often improve spontaneously.
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PATIENT-CENTERED
Treats the patient, not the disease. Treatments are highly individualized based on patient needs.
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PARTICIPATORY
Patient is respected, empowered, educated and encouraged to play an active role in the healing process.
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INTERROGATIVE
Combines the best of both modern and traditional medicines and emphasizes importance of diet and lifestyle.
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RESTORATIVE
Tests and treatments designed to promote optimal function, prevent and reverse disease, and improve quality of life.
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PREVENTATIVE
Guided by the Hippocrates, the father of medicine’s, saying to “let food be thy medicine, and medicine thy food”.
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EVIDENCE-BASED
Based on the latest research from peer-reviewed medical journals, and uncorrupted by corporate and political interests.
Conventional Medicine
SUPERFICIAL
Masks or suppresses symptoms, but does not address underlying cause, which creates “patients for life”.
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DUALISTIC
Views the body as a collection of separate parts, each of which has its own doctor (i.e. cardiologist, podiatrist, etc.)
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SIDE EFFECTS
Treatments can have side effects and complications.
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DISEASE-CENTERED
Treats the disease, not the patient. Patients with the same disease get the same treatment, regardless of their differences.
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AUTOCRATIC
Patient’s opinion is often discounted or ignored, little time is spent on education, and patient may be discouraged from playing active role.
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LIMITED
Relies almost exclusively on drugs and surgery, in spite of their risks and complications.
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PALLIATIVE
Tests and treatments designed to prevent death and manage serious disease, without dealing with the underlying cause.
REACTIVE
Focused on managing disease after it has already reached an irreversible state.
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PROFIT-DRIVEN
Heavily influenced by profit-driven pharmaceutical and insurance companies.