Functional medicine is a new age medicine system that is based on solid scientific evidence and helps people to reverse their chronic diseases. Functional medicine is the fastest growing field of medicine in the USA currently. The reason being conventional medicine doesn’t have answers to chronic medical issues like thyroid, diabetes, gut problems, fatigue, etc. Several years ago few doctors realized that conventional medicine was great for acute care but didn’t have solutions for chronic medical issues. This lead to the birth of functional medicine, where doctors work with their patients to identify the underlying cause of their medical issues and help them reversing it. - functional medicine doctor telemedicine

What do Functional medicine doctors do?

In the last decade, there has been a big increase in the number of people suffering from chronic diseases. And this situation is going to get worse in the coming years. The top reasons for people to die in USA are chronic health conditions. And the worst part is that the current medical system doesn’t have a way to help. Conventional medicine is trying to put bandaids on these chronic health conditions but is not working on the real causes of these diseases. This is what a functional medicine doctor does, he acts as a detective and finds the root cause of your medical condition and then helps to fix it.

Current research suggests that most chronic diseases are because of lifestyle factors that our body gets exposed to on regular basis. They have identified a few factors, but in Functional medicine, we have identified many more factors that are responsible for causing chronic diseases. Functional Medicine physician uses advanced lab testing to identify those root causes and helps you reverse them.

When you go to your regular doctor he hardly spends 10-15 minutes with you, while a functional medicine physician spends at least an hour sometimes more, to understand your health condition in detail. A functional medicine doctor goes into the detail of your health history to identify the root causes. Then after identifying the root causes of your health problem, the functional medicine physician makes a comprehensive plan. This plan includes special diet plans, stress management, exercise plans, sleep optimization, and also natural supplements. Research has now shown that Functional medicine doctors outcome with their patients is better than conventional care.

Are functional doctors legitimate?

This is a very common question that people tend to ask when they are about to see a functional medicine doctor. And the answer is Yes, Functional Medicine doctors are completely legitimate. In fact most of the functional medicine doctors go to medical school to get conventional training and then they do advanced training in functional medicine. Now, this is where it is very important to do your own research and look at the credentials of the functional medicine doctor you plan to see. Because there are several doctors who pose themselves as functional medicine doctors but in fact, they are not trained properly. When you are seeing a functional medicine physician you are getting a physician who can suggest the best treatment plan by combining the conventional and functional medicine approach. Its not that conventional medicine is all bad, but through a functional medicine physician, you get more options to treat your condition. 

For More Info: Integrative Medicine Doctor