Functional Medicine & Nutrition For Solana Beach
Functional Medicine (FM) is an approach to increasing health which focuses not as much on symptoms, but rather looks to the underlying causes of symptoms as a means to reestablish healthy balance within the body.
Diagnostic testing is at the heart of this approach, allowing the skilled FM practitioner to see which body systems are dysfunctional. Testing includes blood, urine, stool and saliva, much of which can be done in the comfort of the patient's own home by the patient. Results of the tests are analyzed to determine how best to use natural (and occasionally medical) approaches to restore healthy function to the body as a whole. Dr. Bennett incorporates the Kalish Method of Functional Medicine as the basic protocol in his clinic. Kalish Method is described below.
Growing up in America, we are generally exposed to the traditional western medical approach. While this model is appropriate in cases of serious trauma and infection, it can actually be detrimental to patient health when applied to many of the most common disease states we see today. These include metabolic syndrome, acid reflux/heartburn, diabetes, fatigue, chronic pain syndromes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, depression, digestive disorders, etc. Taking drugs or medications often does not address the underlying causes of these conditions, or attempts to do so in ways that carry significant danger associated with side effects and under-appreciated interactions with other medications.
To better understand how Functional Medicine differs from traditional western medicine, it may be best to review a typical case.
A patient presents for care with digestive system distress including heartburn (GERD), alternating diarrhea and constipation and fatigue. Traditional medicine may prescribe a proton pump inhibitor (eg Prilosec) to reduce the symptoms of heartburn, and a drug for irritable bowel syndrome. This approach may indeed help the patient feel fewer symptoms, but it may totally ignore what caused those symptoms to occur in the first place. And, it may cause unintended detrimental effects to the patients health.
A Functional Medicine practitioner would note the symptoms and then look to discover the underlying cause(s). The FM practitioner would potentially conduct a stool analysis to look for an underlying parasitic infection, for a bacterial infection in the stomach (eg h. Pylori), or for a food sensitivity to gluten or another common food. The patient may also be tested via the blood for signs of inadequate stomach acid which is quite often the cause of heartburn. The patient may also be evaluated via urinary organic acids testing to determine how well the energy producing and detoxification systems of their body were operating, or whether there may be a deficiency in a critical nutrient or cofactor involved in these systems.
h pylori, also written h. Pylori is a major focus presently, after a recent mention on the Dr. Oz show in January of 2012 which discussed the correlation between H. pylori infection and stomach. In San Diego, I have found a high percentage of patients are infected with h. Pylori, yet many of them have very few if any symptoms. Dr. Bennett offers patients an excellent means of testing for and assisting the body in its eradication of this detrimental bacterial infection.
Once the underlying issues have been revealed, the Functional Medicine practitioner would use proven protocols to help the body back into balance, with a reduction in symptoms and increased health and wellness a frequent result.
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