Pros of Functional Medicine

It addresses the root causes of illness and offers long-term solutions.

Functional medicine aims to identify the underlying mechanisms of disease. By addressing the issues that cause illness instead of just the symptoms, it provides a more comprehensive, long-term solution. It can also help patients avoid medications and surgeries which aren’t 100% necessary, thereby helping them to limit the side effects and complications they face. For instance, antibiotics can disrupt the body’s natural microbiome, or balance of gastrointestinal bacteria, which plays a role in autoimmune disorders.

There are comprehensive tests that are offered by Stemedix that can be done at home to find the deficiencies and insufficiencies one may have to address from a cellular level.

It puts health power in the patient’s hands.

Functional medicine practitioners empower individuals to take control of their health. This approach offers prescriptive advice to tailor nutrition and other lifestyle aspects to their unique needs. They can therefore take an active role in their wellness and help to steer the narrative of their health in a more positive direction.

It saves money.

Healthcare can be a tremendous cost, both on a personal and global level. The treatment approaches prescribed by functional practitioners are often a fraction of the cost of conventional ones. This can help patients maintain better financial stability, but also reduces the burden of skyrocketing healthcare costs on society as a whole.

Cons of Functional Medicine

It requires change.

Functional medicine takes a comprehensive approach to treating and preventing illness. To that end, patients may be encouraged to make lifestyle changes that will promote optimal overall health. Of course, our current lifestyle is familiar and comfortable to us. Change can be uncomfortable, but patients who are drawn to functional medicine believe temporary discomfort is worthwhile in the pursuit of health.

It can get complicated.

Practitioners gather as much data from patients as they can. They use this information to uncover patterns that could explain the emergence of illness. Because there is such a complex interplay of factors contributing to disease, trying to find the root cause can become complex. With that being said, new developments that help doctors draw a connection between causes and disease are being discovered all the time. Moreover, the longer you stay with a functional medicine practitioner, the more they’ll be able to learn from you, your symptoms, and the approaches that make a difference in managing your condition.

Treatment itself is considered more complex than that used in conventional as well. Instead of simply taking a pill each day, you may be prescribed a supplement regimen, regular exercise, and dietary modifications. Yet, these approaches won’t bear potentially dangerous side effects, as many traditional medications do.

It’s fairly new.

Functional medicine is an emerging field, so it lacks a comprehensive system of education for up-and-coming practitioners. There are several institutions in existence, but the field is growing at a slow rate. The field ultimately has the potential to call into question many of the practices we have been following for decades, and unconventional approaches have historically been slow to amass a following.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t promising, however. Experts say the future for functional medicine is looking bright, and attendance for functional medicine events continues to grow. The demand is certainly there, and now it’s up to healthcare leaders to meet the wishes of patients seeking functional medicine options in their communities.

Of course, certain instances call for the unique care offered by conventional medicine. Emergency surgeries, wound care, and other life-saving treatments continue to be critical to the health and wellbeing of the population. Comprehensive, long-term health is where functional medicine excels.

This post was written by a medical professional at Stemedix Inc. At Stemedix we provide access to Regenerative Medicine, also known as Stem Cell Therapy in Tampa. Regenerative medicine seeks to replace tissue or organs that have been damaged by disease, trauma, or congenital issues.

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