Title: Functional Health vs. Medical Health: Understanding the Differences
Have you ever known a 4 year old child that is in their stage of questioning everything? Although it’s annoying for the parent or guardian, ultimately these little humans are learning to understand the world they live in, not taking “Because that’s the way it is” or “Because I said so” as adequate answers.
In the medical world, how often have our questions of “Why?” when told to take a certain drug, receive a medical procedure, or change a lifestyle habit is met with a “Because i said so” type of answer?
How often do we accept that as the final word?
When it comes to our health, the annoying 4 year old model of ceaseless inquisition should be our guide. Asking “Why?” doesn’t just apply to a given protocol, but also is so important for analyzing lab results and applying them to your life. I speak with so many women that say their doctors said their labs were normal, but they are still feeling symptoms. The truth is, the medical model prevents adequate time for listening to and investigating the person who the labs belong to instead of just treating the numbers on the paper.
For example, instead finding low vitamin D on a lab and immediately recommending the person take supplemental Vitamin D, it is important to take it further by asking, “Why is this person low in Vit. D?” Someone could be spending hours in the sunlight or even taking high doses of a prescription or supplemental Vitamin D and still show low levels due to many other factors (poor absorption? Metal toxicities? Liver congestion? Mineral deficiencies?)
In the functional health sphere, we must look at how the whole body works together and know the factors influencing the client's life and health to determine if a deficiency, pathogen, parasite, hormone imbalance, etc., could say much more than a straightforward or simple fix will solve.
By knowing the person and not just treating a paper, we acknowledge how the body is a complex system that works together to find homeostatic balance. Systems cannot be separated in order to get to the root cause of symptoms and find whole body wellness.
By asking the question, “Why?” when it comes to lab tests and symptoms, we can dig deeper into root causes and increase health of the entire body.
My hopes for my clients is that they will also continually ask the question “Why?” in order to take ownership of their own health and gain knowledge of their bodies that surpasses their need for me and creates a healthy pattern that lasts a life time.
Curious about digging deeper into your own health?
Book a free 15 min phone call with me to see if functional nutrition is the right thing for you!
Always rooting for you!
- Allie CHN, FDN-P
Allie is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner located in Birmingham, Alabama. She helps women and men across the country online and in her hometown office dig deeper into their root health issues and find holistic healing!
