Functional Medicine

Functional medicine is a holistic approach to healthcare that focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of disease, rather than simply treating symptoms. It involves a partnership between the practitioner and the patient, and incorporates a variety of therapies and modalities, including nutrition, lifestyle changes, and supplements, to promote optimal health and wellness. The goal of functional medicine is to address the underlying imbalances that contribute to chronic health conditions, rather than simply managing symptoms.

Lab Testing in Functional Medicine

Functional medicine uses non-invasive lab testing to guide individualized nutrition plans to correct imbalances. Primary tests include salivary hormone testing, comprehensive stool analysis including microbiome and parasite panels, and organic acid urine tests with a comprehensive metabolite profile examining markers for metabolism and mitochondrial function, detoxification, inflammation, oxidative stress, neurotransmitters and brain health.

SHI LIAO: NUTRITION & DIET THERAPY

In Chinese medicine, the concept of "nourishing life" (養生 yang sheng) supports health through seasonal eating, food preparation and choices that support digestion and understanding food as one of the main ways we nourish ourselves. Song dynasty doctor Sun Simiao (d. 682), known affectionately as the King of Medicine (藥王 Yaowang) wrote extensively of the primary importance of a diet and that “those who practise medicine must first recognise the origin of an illness; they must know which violations have caused the suffering. Then they must treat it with dietary means. If dietary therapy does not cure the illness, only then can they employ drugs.”

For more information on Sun Simiao’s writing on Yang Sheng, see Dr. Sabine Wilm’s wonderful article Nurturing Life in Classical Chinese Medicine: Sun Simiao on Healing without Drugs, Transforming Bodies and Cultivating Life