FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE?
Functional medicine is the future of conventional medicine. At Iowa Family Chiropractic we uses functional medicine to address the root cause of your health challenges. We look at the whole person, whole systems, and lifestyle. Functional medicine helps improve the total health and wellness of our patients. We are seeing a sharp increase in the number of people sufferings from chronic disease and autoimmune disorders. As a result, we need to reorient our practices – away from acute, emergent “sick” care and toward true health care. Functional medicine involves understanding the origins and treatment of complex disease, as well as the intended function of each bodily system.
Whether you want to refer to it as alternative medicine, holistic medicine, functional medicine…it means looking at you and taking into account your personal, family, social and medical history, conducting exams and sometimes labs, and finding solutions that don’t just cover symptoms, but resolve problems.
Who can benefit from a consultation?
We have helped hundreds of patients overcome thyroid and adrenal challenges, hormonal imbalances, autoimmune conditions, blood sugar and cholesterol struggles, digestive and gut problems, and more.
You know your body better than any doctor. If you believe that you are out of balance, you are probably heading in the right direction by scheduling a consultation.
What’s wrong with me?
If you’ve found yourself here, there is a good chance you’ve asked yourself this question. It is important to know that your body was created to be healthy. Your body KNOWS how to be healthy.
So what is the problem?
The world we live in now has a variety of stressors that knock us off balance, not just once, but often multiple times each day, making it difficult to find balance again. There are three types of stress that affect us:
Physical stress: Humans are more sedentary than ever. This shift in lifestyle would potentially be okay, except this inactivity is coupled with emotional stress. We act as though we are being chased (getting some good exercise, but also experiencing a high heart rate, slowed digestion, cravings for fats, etc.) when we are actually still.
Often, the answer to our sedentary lifestyle is to exercise more. The issue with exercise is the WAY we do it – most people are at the gym for an hour on a treadmill or elliptical, frustrated that they can’t lose weight. Over-exercise is contributing to many adrenal and thyroid problems.
Chemical stress: Diet can be incredibly confusing and frustrating. Keto, paleo, Mediterranean – what is the answer? The research continues to evolve and change.
The real issue is the quality of food we are eating. It is much more difficult to eat a healthy diet today than it was 50 years ago. Our meat and dairy is full of antibiotics and hormones, vegetables are genetically modified and laden with insecticides, and packaged, processed food is the easiest thing to grab and go with our busy routines.
Unfortunately, these foods disrupt our normal digestive processes, mimic our bodies natural hormones, alter thyroid function, and worse.
Emotional stress: Relationships, work, time, money – emotional stress is the most common, and most debilitating type of stress, yet also the most neglected.
We have two type of nerves: stress nerves and rest nerves. They work opposite each other, like a teeter totter. When stress is high, our rest nerves shut down. These rest nerves allow for proper immune function, digestion, growth and repair, along with many other vital functions. By shutting off these critical roles, we will see deficits that result in digestive challenges, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, and hormonal disruption.
What can you expect from us?
We will work with you to determine not only what your health challenge is, but also how to resolve it. A diagnosis means nothing without a solution.
Our approach varies depending on the root cause. We may use a combination of dietary changes, prescribed homeopathy, supplements and herbs, lifestyle modifications, acupuncture, chiropractic care, therapies, and stress relieving strategies.
Areas Where Functional Medicine Can Help:
- Nutrition
- Weight loss
- Thyroid
- Hormonal balance, fertility and menopause
- Gut and digestion
- Liver and gallbladder
- Heart and cardiovascular health
- Autoimmune conditions
