Functional medicine is a form of medicine that shares many similarities with naturopathy. Where functional medicine is somewhat different is in it’s heavy reliance on scientific evidence to determine appropriate treatment. This “evidence” comes in the form of research and studies as well as the use of various laboratory tests. Of course, it relies on good physical exams and patient history first and foremost. What Dr. Kunkel likes most about functional medicine is that it looks at the “big picture” with a thoroughness that is rare amongst most medical approaches.
Principles of Functional Medicine:
- Recognizing and understanding the biochemical individuality of each person, based on their genetic and environmental uniqueness.
- Providing a holistic patient-centered rather than a disease-centered approach to medicine.
- Working towards a dynamic balance among all factors relating to a patient’s body, mind, and spirit.
- Understanding the profound interconnectivity of the internal body functions.
- Identifying health as a positive vitality rather than the absence of disease.
- Promoting healthy vitality within the many systems of the body as a way to enhance the health span, not just the life span, of each patient.