What Exactly IS Functional Nutrition?
You may have been hearing the term “functional medicine” or “functional nutrition” and wondering what that even means and if it’s right for you. So happy you asked. Please see questions below that I hear often as the Functional Dietitian Nutritionist at Your Life Nutrition. This is the first of many articles I will be sending out to our amazing community of clients and friends in our newsletters and will also live on the functional nutrition area of our website. As a practitioner of functional medicine for 18 years, I look forward to building awareness and education around functional nutrition and the growing field of Functional Medicine. Thank you for joining our community of readers, and I look forward to engaging with you, inspiring you, being inspired by you, answering your questions and hearing your comments below. So we begin…
Functional Nutrition v. Functional Medicine
First, it is important to define that Functional Nutrition sits in a larger field of Functional Medicine. The first step is to define Functional Medicine. In its broadest description, Functional Medicine is a philosophical approach and practical framework for assessing the root cause of chronic illness and prioritizing treatment using evidence based natural modalities. These modalities vary, but are often nutrition changes, supplementation, movement therapy, sleep, and mindset. These modalities are often recommended in conjunction with conventional prescription medication. In the simplest terms, functional medicine’s goal is to optimize the function of the human body, and this is what informs the name of the philosophy and framework. And who doesn’t want better function of their mind and body?
Functional medicine is practiced by a growing community of physicians (MDs/DOs), naturopaths(NDs), acupuncturists(LaCs) and dietitians (RDs), who complete many months to years of post graduate training and are then, on top of their professional credential, referred to as functional medicine practitioners.
Functional Nutrition is described in a two fold manner. It is both a core pillar of Functional Medicine, as most protocols recommended by a practitioner will involve helping a patient-client improve nutrition habits. It is also a description of how a Registered Dietitian practices Functional Medicine, given a primary focus of the dietetic profession is on helping people improve habits around food and their relationship to food. I am referred to interchangeably as a Functional Nutritionist, as well as a practitioner of Functional Medicine.
When did Functional Medicine start, is it a Fad?
Functional medicine advocates are grateful to nutritional biochemist and thought-leader Jeffrey Bland, PhD who in 1990 coined the term in his famous, and one of my favorite books, The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Cause of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, Happier Life. Dr. Bland is considered the founding father of the field of functional medicine. What started out as a handful of rebel physicians in the early 90’s seeking a new model of care to better meet the needs of the patients they cared for, has grown into an international movement with tens of thousands of health professionals in active practice today.
Conventional Medicine, Functional Medicine & The Elephant in The System
First, it is important to state that while it gets a lot of flack, conventional medicine is a marvel of art and science that every person who has ever had a life saving or life affirming surgery, or taken an antibiotic to resolve an infection owes a debt of gratitude to. Thank you conventional medicine, we love you and you are doing your level best.
However, as the chronic disease burden and mental health crisis grows exponentially, the tools of conventional medicine are growing more dull by the decade, and are sometimes ineffective at providing long term solutions and pathways for the reversal of chronic disease.
Think through the last time you needed to go to the doctor. You usually don’t go to the doctor until something is wrong and then the doctor examines you to figure it out, much like a plumber looking for the leak. The tools your doctor uses are typically lab tests, imaging, prescription medication and in some cases, surgery. There is a defined scope of tests and procedures that most insurance companies will approve, so conventional medicine most often works solely within this scope. Insurance companies, as businesses, are almost always looking for cost effectiveness and low risk in what drugs/labs/treatments they approve to protect their bottom line. If you have ever tried to get an experimental test, medicine or additional visits with an allied health professional (such as a dietitian) approved by your insurance company, you’ve had first hand experience with the limited box that conventional medicine works within.
You may be currently frustrated with your physician, who may not be helping you get to the bottom of your complex health condition. This is not because they aren’t caring and brilliant, but because they are beholden to the rules of the insurance companies. They have half a tool box to work with, and they are usually doing their best. I know talking about insurance companies seems boring and not related to defining functional medicine, but stay with me. Medicine and insurance are inexorably intertwined and it’s important to understand this, especially if you are having a tough time getting the answers you need from our medical system.
Enter Medicine 3.0: The Functional Medicine Framework
Functional medicine looks at the individual in a very different and personalized way. It takes a “systems approach”, meaning that you are not just a group of symptoms viewed through a medical speciality lens (gastroenterology, neurology, etc) but instead you are seen as a unique individual made up of many integrated body systems working together. Here’s a quick breakdown of some key differences:
I hope this has been an informative primer for you on the benefits and the giant horizon of growth that “Medicine 3.0” has as it slowly gains awareness and respect, both by conventional medicine and by the public. On some days this is daunting. Those of us practicing in a functional model sometimes feel like the proverbial salmon swimming upstream, desperately wanting to partner with conventional medicine and help fill in the gaps where it is clearly not working for our clients.
My answer to this is to continue on my path as a functional medicine futurist, and manage my corner of the system well. My role is to lead by example in building a new world of more effective, compassionate and whole person oriented health care. Instead of complaining and fighting against the current system, I always respectfully partner with my client’s conventional medicine providers and gently educate them on the power of functional nutrition to come alongside their current treatment strategy to help their patients reverse patterns of chronic disease. Thomas Edison, the famous futurist that we can all thank every time we flip a light switch, said it best in this famous quote:
“The of the future will give no medication but will interest patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease”
As a progressive practice of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists at Your Life Nutrition, we believe in changing what no longer works, letting go of outdated models of caring for our clients, and thinking differently. All of this is in service to creating the healthcare system of the future where clients experience true well-being in their bodies and minds.
If this article piques your interest and you would like to explore if functional nutrition could be effective for you or a loved one, please see the functional nutrition section of our website to learn more, or set up a no-cost 15 minute introductory session with me to discuss your needs.