Restores healthy function to enable the body to eliminate illness The table below compares the two approaches side-by-side. While conventional (allopathic) medicine diagnoses and treats what’s above the surface - symptoms and disease - functional medicine also attends to what’s below the surface, at the root of the disease - environmental and lifestyle factors, including sleep and relaxation, physical activity (exercise), nutrition, stress, relationships, clean air and water, and so forth. The Institute of Functional Medicine uses a tree analogy ( see below) to describe functional medicine and highlight the differences between conventional and functional medicine. As a result, our patients generally feel considerably better overall after receiving treatment and can return to activities they assumed they would never be able to engage in ever again or at the level they once did. With functional/integrative medicine, our diagnosis doesn’t stop at the symptom or illness level we continue to peel away the layers of the onion to identify the source of that illness, which is almost always at the cellular level.īy restoring health instead of merely eliminating illness, we give the body what it needs not only to eliminate the reported illness but also to eliminate other underlying illnesses that may not be showing symptoms and to prevent the onset of future illness. When you report your symptoms to a conventional doctor, the doctor either prescribes medication or a medical procedure to alleviate your symptoms and, perhaps, eliminate the illness.

Long story short, conventional medicine has not made us any healthier.įunctional and integrative medicine is different and better primarily because it focuses on health. More patients are showing up with digestive disorders and a host of chronic illnesses, including bowel disease, chronic fatigue, and cancer. More and more children are suffering from allergies, asthma, and autism. The trouble is, people are living longer and feeling worse. Now, conventional medicine can even map your genes to identify markers for disease and more effectively target treatments to specific patients.

After all, conventional medicine is cutting edge and has made significant progress in preventing, diagnosing, and treating a host of diseases and illnesses. Our patients and prospective patients often ask us, “How does functional medicine differ from conventional medicine?” Or, they wonder why they should choose us over a conventional medical doctor.

Conventional and Functional Medicine: What’s the Difference?

Functional doctor