Written by Mariam Karma | Edited by Olivia Cooper
Photo by Antoni Shkraba
It is common to visit a doctor when we feel sick. We may go in for varying concerns, but we generally have similar experiences: the doctor performs a check-up, diagnoses an illness, and prescribes medication. A common family of diseases that physicians diagnose is chronic disease, with 50% of adults having at least 1 chronic illness. To minimize symptoms of chronic illness, physicians prescribe rounds of medications that tend to be costly, indefinite, and ineffective at targeting the root cause of the disease. The medications minimize symptoms, but the symptoms can return after the effects of the medication wear off. Functional medicine counters these problems by treating the root cause of disease, not just symptoms [1].
Functional Medicine is a healthcare approach that emphasizes the role of genetics and lifestyle factors in disease progression and treats disease mainly by lifestyle modifications. Functional medicine physicians identify these factors by conducting an interview with patients. They also use special patient data intake tools to pinpoint the start of bodily dysfunction that led to symptoms. Once they identify a root cause of patients’ symptoms, functional medicine physicians suggest lifestyle modifications that are known to eliminate disease, which mainly involve dietary changes, supplements, adequate exercise, sleep, and managing stress. [1].
Cognitive disability and Type 2 Diabetes are chronic diseases that can be prevented by lifestyle modifications. A clinical trial found that lifestyle modifications can prevent cognitive disability. Elderly participants at high risk for dementia were randomly assigned to an intervention group (low fat/high carbohydrate diet, exercise, and cognitive training) or to a control group (general health advice). After two years under these conditions, participants in the intervention group had higher cognitive functioning on a neuropsychological test [2]. A second clinical trial found that lifestyle modifications are more effective in preventing Type 2 diabetes than metformin, a common diabetes medication. Among adults at high risk for diabetes, the incidence of diabetes was reduced by 58% in participants in the lifestyle modification group (exercise and healthy diet), but only by 31% in the metformin group [3]. Functional medicine physicians use lifestyle interventions to eliminate disease, but functional medicine has its downsides.
Functional medicine has disadvantages that must be solved to make it a more reliable healthcare approach. One disadvantage is the confusion between treatment and prevention. Functional medicine claims that it treats disease using lifestyle modifications, but the studies discussed earlier [2] [3] suggest that lifestyle modifications can lower the risk of becoming sick before a person actually becomes sick, which is prevention. Another drawback is that functional medicine physicians are not trained the same way; the information they learn may not be consistent. They also do not need board certification, so functional medicine physicians’ capabilities may be questionable [4]. To prevent the promotion of inaccurate knowledge and ideas, more investigation of functional medicine’s ability to treat, not just prevent, disease must be done. Given positive research findings, perhaps the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) could create a standardized training program of health knowledge and practices supported by the research data. For consistency, the IFM could also administer an exam ensuring physicians are qualified to practice functional medicine. These solutions can make functional medicine more reliable in carrying out its mission of treating the root cause of disease.
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