The practice of medicine has been changing. Functional medicine and Integrative medicine have now been established for several years and are quickly gaining popularity in the 21^st century. Both disciplines are highly regarded by world-renowned health care practitioners such as Drs. Deepak Chopra, Mark Hyman and Dean Ornish.  Many believe functional and integrative medicine are the future of medicine. Physicians are beginning to take a more holistic approach to treating patients, no longer just concentrating on treating a disease.

What is functional medicine?

Although functional medicine and integrative medicine have similarities and overlap in several areas,  there are a few factors that make each discipline somewhat unique. What are the key points to living a healthy life? According to the Institute of Functional Medicine, functional medicine restores healthy function by treating the root causes of disease. The functional medicine framework allows clinicians to systematically identify and address the underlying processes and dysfunctions that are causing imbalance and disease in each individual. By understanding a patient’s genetic, environmental, and lifestyle influences, functional medicine clinicians create personalized interventions that restore balance, health, and well-being.

In other words, it’s medicine as it should be practiced. Western medicine looks at how to treat a symptom for a population. Functional medicine looks at how to optimize the health and function of each person. Anyone facing a chronic condition may benefit from a functional medicine perspective. Here are a few of your lifestyle components we will evaluate:

• Lifestyle: Your diet, activity level, work life, hobbies and stressors
• Genetics and predispositions: Family history of physical and mental conditions
• Environment: Early life events, trauma and exposure to toxins and allergens

Functional Medicine is really an engagement between the physician and patient, and practitioners equip patients with tools so they can have a sense of agency over their own health and understand how the body functions.

What factors need to be considered?

1. Food

. First make sure you’re getting at least 30 grams of fiber per day. Then throw in “lean and clean” protein and lots of healthy fats. You don’t have to avoid saturated fat, but you should steer clear of damaged fats-such as oils used over and over in restaurants-as well as too many pro-inflammatory omega-6s (found in most vegetable oils). And cut man-made trans fats from your diet.

2. Exercise. You can’t be healthy without exercising. It’s understandable that a regular routine can seem insurmountable, especially after a long, stressful day at work or home. However, even the smallest amount of exercise is helpful, from standing up and taking a walk five minutes out of every hour to doing yoga, Pilates, or playing pickleball for just 15 minutes per day.

3. Heart healthy supplements. I recommend fish oil and vitamin D (“a significant predictor of plaque”), magnesium, vitamin K, and coenzyme Q10.

4. Managing stress. Get enough sleep, go for a workout, do some meditation, or look at the Heart Math program.

5. Sleep: Expert advice says seven to nine hours of sleep every night is needed to achieve optimal health. But learning about how you sleep is also just as important. In that regard, wearable technology, including watches and rings, are extremely useful for providing real-time feedback to learn more about our sleep hygiene.

6. Fabulous flavors. If it doesn’t taste good, people won’t eat it. I encourage the liberal use of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory spices such as chili powder, curry, garlic, and ginger.

Follow a holistic approach to keeping well, you will only need to see a doctor when you are sick.