FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE
Functional medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness.
The prevailing myth about blood chemistry analysis is that it’s a diagnostic tool only used for determining the presence or absence of disease. This, however, isn’t true. When conducted from a functional perspective, blood chemistry analysis can be an incredible method for preventing the evolution of dysfunction into disease. Applied correctly, FBCA can serve as a signpost on a patient’s journey to optimal health. Let’s explore how.
Functional Medicine practitioners such as Dr. Lea Kelley can pinpoint the major area of dysfunction and direct further testing more strategically. Finding answers faster and treating your dysfunction before it evolves into disease is why Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis is so special.
Patient-Focused; Not Disease-Focused
In contrast to allopathic medicine’s focus on disease, the functional approach to blood chemistry is a patient-focused one.
An allopathic practitioner looks to categorize a patient’s symptoms under a specific disease to deploy a specific treatment plan tailored to that disease. This approach begins with disease and works back to the patient. Functional medicine does the opposite; it starts with the patient and their concerns, then works towards treating those concerns.
By building a holistic, comprehensive picture of their patients’ health, functional medicine practitioners provide treatment plans tailored to the patient. Ideally, this helps to prevent the disease from occurring in the first place. Going even further, it helps to prevent states of dysfunction — that is, those states of imperfect health that fall through the cracks of disease diagnosis.
“Normal” Isn’t Optimal
If Functional Medicine differs from allopathic medicine in that it focuses on the patient rather than the disease, how is that reflected in blood chemistry?
Allopathic blood chemistry analysis relies on whether or not a given biomarker’s values are inside or outside of a laboratory’s reference range. These ranges are calculated based on the average values found within a sample population. Blood testing laboratories define “normal” as the values reflected in roughly 95% of their sample — the upper 2.5% and lower 2.5% are considered to be abnormal.
The problem here is that many practitioners only diagnose disease or dysfunction based on whether their patients’ blood tests fall outside of the broad range of values found within the 95% reference ranges. But these are statistical averages; not true markers of actual health.
Rather than say their patients’ blood biomarkers fall within “normal” limits that have very little to do with the individual's real health, Functional Medicine practitioners use blood chemistry analysis by looking at much tighter ranges. These functional blood chemistry ranges are empirically correlated with real health outcomes, and by tracking their patients’ progress toward or away from those ranges, practitioners help guide their patients toward optimal health — not merely “normal” health.
The clinical application of functional medicine is based upon a profound knowledge of the following:
Physiological and biochemical function of the body, from the cellular level to the organ and system level.
The biochemical uniqueness of each individual, based on personal and family history, environmental and nutritional exposure, life style, genetics, and emotional factors.
The appropriate clinical interventions for beneficial alteration of gene expression.
The basic biological processes in all the body systems and their mutual interactions, requiring integration of all areas of medical specialization.
The influences of nutritional, environmental, social, emotional, and physical factors on human function.
Scientific diagnostic tests (functional lab tests) designed to expose non-linear diversity of causes for any health complaint: Each symptom may have several factors acting simultaneously, therefore the treatment has to be multifaceted, relying on scientific diagnosis of multiple elements of health.
Epigenetics
As a result of the completed human genome project, which has mapped the entire human DNA sequence, we are now able to understand the patient's genetic structure and address the
individual's unique needs based on that structure. Each one of us has a "personal limit" of one or more stress factors in a special combination that is individually unique. Once we exceed that
"limit" we are no longer able to control our disease risk (our inherited or acquired sensitivities or susceptibilities), and symptoms may develop.
Under the influence of these stressors, we lose our capacity to handle other environmental and nutritional factors - we no longer have sufficient "reserves" and any additional physical or
emotional stress may cause a major breakout of disease or exacerbation of it. By modifying the patient's activities, nutrient levels, toxic exposure, emotional status, and behavioral patterns based
on the individual's unique genetic structure, functional test results, psycho-emotional and medical history, examination findings, and environmental exposures, we can create the necessary
biochemical changes that enhance the protection of DNA in times of undue stress. This protection can help stabilize the DNA, reducing predisposition to functional illnesses like fibromyalgia and
depression, as well as other illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Additionally, knowledge of the individual's DNA structure and how to modify its expression enables us to focus on specific
clinical measures to reduce the risk for preventable conditions like mood disorders, high blood pressure, or even prostate enlargement and cancer. Functional genetics and genomic lab tests
have been available during the past decade to Functional Medicine practitioners who have been trained in the interpretation and interventions relevant to these tests.
Bibliography:
"Textbook of Functional Medicine" / Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), David S. Jones, MD, Editor in Chief "Immunotics" / Robert Roundtree, MD
"Genetic Nutritioneering" / Jeffery S. Bland, PhD
"Functional Nutrition" / Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)