Our bodies are made up of a network of systems, such as the respiratory system, the reproductive system, the immune system, the endocrine system, the nervous system, the digestive system, the circulatory system and many more. For each system, there are organs that work together in order to perform a biological function. It takes quite a lot for each system to continue to work at peak performance. When you are not feeling well, you might think about how these different systems and components relate to each other and what the reasons might be for feeling the way you do. If you often think about you and your family’s health, how your systems can continue to work at peak performance, and need the latest information on health-related topics, read more at Consumer Health Review.
The Current Medical Model
The strategy of therapy medical professionals apply today is often not based on the ‘different systems’ thinking. They often make use of the germ theory – find the germ and get rid of it by using a drug developed specifically for that bug. This is a great method when providing acute care, but it does not help in any way to balance or restore your body’s systems and finding out why it was out of balance in the first place. That is exactly what functional medicine is all about – it looks at why certain systems are out of balance and why it is causing chronic disease. It also offers an approach in order to reverse or prevent these illnesses. If we change our behavior and environment we can change the way our genes respond and get stimulated and therefore also change our pattern of health and direct or regulate our biological functions.
The Functional Medicine Model
The way our genes interact with the environment and how responses are stimulated in our physiological processes throughout life has a big influence on our overall health and wellness. Where the current medical model often focuses on addressing the symptoms of illness and comes up with a diagnosis, this new approach/functional medicine approach focuses on the underlying causes of health care problems. It searches for the causes of the interaction between genetic uniqueness, lifestyle, diet and environment. This won’t only bring relief, but it will also help an individual to realize their specific potential for longevity and vitality.
Self-Assessment
Take the first step to personally managing your health by using the functional medicine approach. Answer the following questions for a self-assessment:
- Do you often feel tired or fatigued for no specific reason? Click here to find out more about the treatments, tests, causes and symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.
- Do muscle and joint pain limit your physical mobility or activity?
- Are you struggling with sleep or staying asleep?
- Have you unintentionally lost a lot of weight over the past few years?
- Do you feel that your health has become worse over the past year or two?
- Are you taking any prescription medication?
- Do you feel that you are losing your strength?
- Do you experience a consistent ringing in your ears?
- Do you tend to forget a lot?
- Are you often anxious or depressed?
- Have you lost your sense of smell or taste over the last year or two?
- Do you often feel winded or suffer from shortness of breath?
- Do you suffer from allergies?
- Do you often make use of over-the-counter medications, such as sleeping remedies and anti-inflammatories?
- Do you often catch the flu or a cold?
- Do you have chronic bad breath?
- Do you feel pain or discomfort in your digestive area and alternate diarrhea and constipation?
- Do you have periodontal or gum disease?
- Do you have elevated blood glucose, cholesterol or blood pressure levels?
- Have you lost a lot of muscle mass over the past few years?
By doing this self-assessment, you will get a general idea of how healthy you are. It might get you thinking about the different systems in your body and whether they are perhaps out of balance. Wouldn’t you feel more at ease addressing the underlying elements which put your body’s systems out of balance than just using a drug in order to relieve the specific symptom?
