New to functional medicine? Functional medicine a treatment approach that investigates the root cause of chronic symptoms and conditions. This new treatment model offers a different approach for combating chronic disease based on your individual genomic makeup.
But functional medicine goes beyond genetic conditions and predispositions and looks at environmental factors and lifestyle habits that can trigger disease. Diet, nutrition, sleep patterns, hormones, stress, all impact your health.
At Balanced Well-Being Healthcare, we start with a comprehensive evaluation to get a better picture of your overall health.
Functional Medicine Initial Screening
Our comprehensive screening process for patients focuses on the following key categories that impact wellness:
- Food. What you eat, how you fuel, has a direct relationship with disease triggers and outcomes.
- Inhabitants. Infections and toxins (heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, Biphenyls) can invade your body and become difficult to eliminate on your own. Know what inhabits you. Our testing also looks for hidden sources of infection.
- Nutritional Needs & Deficiencies. Nutrition is key for fueling your body’s innate healing abilities. Many of us become nutritionally depleted due to stress, infection or a toxic burden.
- Digestion. Cultivating a healthy gut is the foundation to a healthy body. If digestion is not complete, we lack the proper tools to breakdown and absorb the vital nutrients from our food.
- Hormonal Imbalance. Hormone regulation involves 3 categories: Sex, Thyroid and Adrenals. Making sure hormone levels are balanced is essential for feeling good and keeping your immune system effective.
- Energy Production. Making sure your mitochondria are functioning and firing properly can ensure that your body is processing energy correctly. Mitochondria are the power house in the cell and sustain life.
- Lifestyle Choices. Sleep habits, stress management and social health all impact your overall wellness.
- Metabolic Highways. This screening ensures that your metabolic highways are free and operational for the nutrients that need to travel through them to the areas of your body that need them. Genetics, your diet, the health of your gut and environmental exposures all influence how cluttered your highways remain.
- Methylation. Methylation is a biochemical process where chemicals are added to proteins, DNA, or other molecules to support proper body functionality. Know how your environment and genes affect your methylation. If your body is not properly performing methylation, it can be diagnosed by increased levels of homocysteine, the amino acid by-product. One of the main risks from high levels of homocysteine is coronary artery disease.
- Detoxification. This process allows your body to rid itself of harmful toxins and open your metabolic highways for better nutrient absorption.
Getting the Step-Up on Disease
Functional medicine chooses to focus on existing imbalances that were present before symptoms and disease set in. By identifying and addressing core imbalances, we can better restore proper function of bodily systems to prevent (and manage) chronic disease.
Functional medicine works to uncover the triggers of disease or imbalanced that initiated the symptoms that patients experience. Refer to the Institute of Functional Medicine for a more in-depth discussion of its crucial role in healthcare.
Be Prepared for Your Visit
To get the most out of your initial visit and screening, thoroughly examine your personal lifestyle habits. As we analyze your current habits, be prepared to commit to necessary changes to diet, nutrition, sleep patterns, hormonal support, stress management, and other areas that may be sabotaging your wellness. (The use of pharmaceuticals is used if appropriate, but we prefer to use drug-free natural approaches to treatment.)
Functional Medicine – A Better Approach to Healthcare
Our functional medicine approach to treatment improves your health, for the long-term. We give you the tools to heal for a lifetime of wellness. Learn how you can benefit from functional medicine today by calling 970-631-8286 and discover how healthy you are on a biochemical, molecular level. We will teach you strategies and tips to balance your body physically, mentally and emotionally so you can have what you need for total body wellness.