Treating the root cause of symptoms
Perhaps you have wondered how I get to the root cause of your problem by asking a million probing questions. Well, let me explain in detail the approach, uniqueness, and the reasons behind the type of questions that l ask during the consultation.
Functional Medicine operates on a guiding principle that states that the identification of the state of a disease is not the conclusion of a medical diagnosis, it’s only the beginning. The illness does not happen in isolation but has so many influences that are associated with it.
According to Mark Hyman, MD, Director of the Cleveland Clinic for Functional
Medicine, the Matrix is a new lens to look at all your body’s systems, symptoms, and risk factors and see the story the patient tells about how they got sick and how to get better. It connects the dots between all your symptoms.
I use a model adopted from the Institute of Functional Medicine.
Your lifestyle influences, background causes, and triggers are all taken into consideration when using the matrix. Your mind, spirit, and emotions are in the middle of the matrix. With this information, l can understand your story and visualise the most important elements of Function Medicine.
- Identifying the root cause of your diseases and dysfunction
- Discovering the factors that influence the diseases from your lifestyle
- Applying your information to the matrix of biological systems to see where the underlying diseases start from
- With all this information l can create a comprehensive picture of the cause, origin, and influences of your problems which allow me to know where to begin in reversing the disease process and establishing great health.
After establishing your problems, l use a few different therapies. These may include :
- Dietary interventions ( e.g, elimination diet, anti-inflammation diet, low glycaemic index diet)
- Nutraceuticals ( e.g vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, botanicals)
- Lifestyle changes ( e.g improving sleep, quality/quantity, increasing physical activity, decreasing stress and learning stress management techniques, quitting smoking )
- Acupuncture to improve blood flow, reduce inflammation, help for stress management
- Chinese Medicine and Homeopathy to help the body heal itself and return the body to homeostasis
It helps a lot that l have a guiding tool that constantly redirects me to the important aspects of your story. This approach to gathering information not only helps me as your doctor but also helps you to have a holistic appreciation of your body and also to understand both positive and negative influences you could be exposing yourself to. What this means is, there are so many elements in our environment that contribute to the breakdown of your health.
I hope this acts as an eye-opener as to how you ought to care for, nurture your body, and most importantly, adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Love
Dr Debbie