(& Why I Say Functional Health Nurse Instead of Functional Medicine)
Hi there, I’m Elisabeth, a Functional Health Nurse, and I’m excited to share with you the principles of Functional Medicine and why they’re so essential for achieving optimal well-being.
As part of my continuing education, I graduated from the Integrative Nurse Coach Academy’s program, Functional Medicine for Nurses. This is the only program made specifically for nurses that is approved by the Institute for Functional Medicine. What is Functional Medicine, you may ask? For me, it was finally a way to do healthcare that made sense.
Functional Medicine is a patient-centered, holistic approach to healthcare that aims to uncover the root causes of health issues rather than merely addressing symptoms. It takes into account a person’s unique genetic makeup, environment, lifestyle, and personal history to provide a personalized plan to target the underlying factors contributing to their health conditions. It also focuses on living a life that supports health rather than disease, focusing on providing what the individual needs in order to restore and maintain healthy functioning.
Our current healthcare system doesn’t focus much on preventing health issues. Most doctors are Medical doctors- the bulk of their focus is on matching a medication to a problem. When medicine is the primary tool in your toolbox, it’s great for emergencies like heart attacks and strokes, but not so great for promoting health or preventing and treating chronic disease.
The main solution offered for most chronic diseases is often medicine, which supports living with the problem rather than actually fixing the underlying cause of the problem. Don’t get me wrong- for some problems (like Insulin Dependent Diabetes, or Diabetes type 1) medication is essential to life! But too often people aren’t aware of conditions that could be stopped from progressing, improved, and in some cases even reversed when root causes of the problem are identified and addressed.
And here’s the thing: When you finally do get that diagnosis, can feel like there’s not much you can do except take medication and learn to live with it. But that’s not the whole story.
Functional Medicine takes a different approach. Not only does it take into account that your body is not a bunch of separate, unrelated organs, but that everything is supposed to work together. When one part of the body isn’t working well it affects other parts of the body too. Functional Medicine takes the time to figure out why your body isn’t working well and takes steps to find and fix the real root causes, no matter if you officially meet diagnostic criteria or if you’re headed that way.
For example, those causes could include reactions to things you eat, not getting enough of certain nutrients, unhealthy habits, high stress levels, or even exposure to harmful substances in your environment. The idea is to treat more than just the symptoms – it’s about making you healthier from the inside out.
So… what does all of this mean? To explain, let me tell you a story. I recently met a parent at my daughter’s sporting event who was extremely excited to find out that I am a Functional Health Nurse. His response surprised me- many people still haven’t heard about functional medicine, but he had!
A couple years ago his doctor told him he was pre-diabetic during a routine checkup. His doctor recommended he come back in a few months and by then it would be “bad enough” to start medication. Other than mentioning diet and exercise (specifically that losing weight usually helps and to avoid sweets) he didn’t give much guidance. The thing is, this man was already very lean and didn’t even like sweets! He didn’t know what to do, but remembered a friend from college who ended up becoming a doctor. He reached out for advice and learned that this doctor friend specialized in functional medicine.
He learned about the specific diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes needed to support how his body processed sugar, like how he could adjust proportions of foods he was eating, change the order of the foods he ate, start doing some resistance training and take short walks after larger meals. After 6 months, his lab results improved to the point where and he not only didn’t need to start taking medication, his doctor told him he wasn’t pre-diabetic anymore. Plus, he now felt better than he had in years- more energy and sleeping better. No wonder his face lit up when he heard I was a Functional Health Nurse!
The moral of the story is that once you experience Functional Medicine, you will also understand how amazing it is! Oh- and that just because some traditional medical advice might help some people, it doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone. If traditional medical care doesn’t have answers or ideas, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do. As a nurse who truly does care about people, current research, and evidence-based practice based on that research, I find it deeply hopeful that no matter what someone’s situation is, there’s always something they can do to function and feel better.
Here’s why Functional Medicine matters:
- Holistic Perspective: Functional Medicine recognizes that the body is a complex and interconnected system, with each aspect influencing the other. By understanding this interconnectedness, Functional Medicine aims to identify and address the root causes of health issues, rather than just managing symptoms with health hacks or quick fixes. We get to the root and rebuild the foundation of health with you at the center.
- Personalized Care: I believe that each individual is unique, and the same health condition can have extremely different underlying causes in different people. Some people are ready for a complete lifestyle overhaul and some people need baby steps. That’s why I take a personalized approach, considering factors such as genetics, environment, lifestyle, health background, support network, and more. It’s important to develop an action plan that is sustainable and achievable for you, wherever you are at in your life.
- Functional Approach: Health is not a one-size-fits-all concept. Functional Medicine acknowledges that health exists along a spectrum, ranging from optimal function, dysfunction, and finally diagnosis/disease. By identifying and addressing the underlying dysfunctions and imbalances that contribute to health issues, Functional Medicine aims to restore balance and support the body’s inherent ability to move towards health and optimal functioning.
- Prevention and Longevity: Functional Medicine places a strong emphasis on preventive care and optimizing overall health and well-being. Instead of saying, “Well, it’s genetic so there’s nothing you can do about it,” Functional Medicine values the research showing how diet and lifestyle changes can influence genetic expression in a health-positive way. By addressing potential contributing factors/root causes early on, Functional Health can help prevent the progression of chronic diseases and promote long-term health and vitality.
- Collaboration and Integrative Care: Functional Medicine often involves a collaborative approach, with healthcare practitioners from various disciplines working together to address the complex factors contributing to a person’s health issues. This integrative approach may include conventional medicine as well as holistic therapies such as nutrition, lifestyle changes, and stress management techniques. As a Functional Health Nurse I look forward to collaborating with your other health care providers as part of your health support network.
By now you might have noticed that I use the term “Functional Medicine” but I call my self a “Functional Health Nurse.” Why? Simply put, it’s because my focus, especially as a nurse, is on promoting health.
I know technically anything can be medicine, but when most people hear the word “medicine” they associate it with pills, capsules, injections, etc,… not the food that we eat or sunlight or how we live our lives. While pharmaceutical medicine certainly has its place, as a Functional Health Nurse my focus is on getting to the root of the underlying imbalances and dysfunctions that prevent health in the first place.
Sorting all of that out for yourself can be hard, especially if you don’t know where to start or what to look for. As a Functional Health Nurse, my goal is to provide you with the knowledge and tools you need to achieve and maintain optimal health.
Are you ready to have real support for your health journey? Click HERE to take the first step.