By Svetlana Kogan, M.D. IFMCP
In a world where many patients feel like they are being rushed and cornered into a one-size-fits-all algorithmic approach to their health concerns, Functional Medicine has been gaining momentum and winning hearts for the last 30 years. I am proud to be one of the 2 Medical Doctors in Collier County who are practicing Functional Medicine and are Certified by the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) – the world’s foremost authority and the founding institution for this outstanding discipline.
To become IFMCP certified, a doctor must undergo 2-4 years of additional live education, taught by some of the world’s best doctors, submit a comprehensive clinical case study, and pass a rigorous certifying exam. I have been practicing the principles of Functional Medicine for many years, but it was very rewarding to commit to the IFM Certification path, which demands that the practitioner learns to apply the highest standards of the art of Functional Medicine and complete this journey in the name of the quality of care my patients are receiving.
Here are the top 3 reasons why I think so many people find Functional approach to best suit their health needs:
1. Functional Medicine is a system-based approach – in other words, it recognizes that a human body is a complex network of organ systems which work in unison. While any one system disruption may be felt like the ripples in the water everywhere in the body, most health concerns result from a combination of imbalances in various body systems. Functional Medicine focuses on the causes which lead to these imbalances, rather than just slapping a patient with “band-aid” treatments which would only address the symptoms. For example, someone complaining of severe fatigue could have simultaneous disruption in their gastrointestinal absorption of specific nutrients. At the same time, this could be accompanied by inflammation. A person could also have a simultaneous disturbed hypothalamic-pituitary axis, to mention just a few possible underlying imbalances. Functional doctors take a holistic approach where all the body “players” must be considered and healed for the balance to be solidly restored.
2. Functional Medicine is personalized medicine – in that it is patient centered and not just focused on the disease the patient comes in with. Function Medicine philosophy recognizes that a large percentage of chronic disease is driven by environment – and often not just by genetic composition. This means that chronic disease results from emergence of a disturbed metabolism in the context of environmental trigger on a genetically predisposed person. To heal the disturbed metabolism, Functional approach seeks to remove what creates imbalance and instead to provide that which creates balance. Through expansive and thorough history taking, questionnaires, and nutritionally oriented physical exam – the doctor can put “the pieces of the puzzle together” – so that a picture of disturbed homeostasis appears, with the nodes of potential disturbance to be addressed highlighted for investigation and management. The treatment is custom-tailored to a person’s unique lifestyle. For example, in customizing an intervention for a patient, we personalize it based on what specific antecedents, triggers, and mediators they have been exposed to on their life path, or perhaps before they were even born. Additionally, we consider whether they are married or single, do or do not have children, are working or retired, are fit or sedentary, preferring a vegan or omnivorous diet etc.
3. Functional approach generates customized natural treatment plans which are simple and sustainable. To put it simply: It takes away the bad stuff and adds the good stuff. And best of all, it treats food as medicine! One of the core postulates of Functional Medicine is that food is information, and it affects gene expression. For example, because chronic inflammation plays a role in most diseases, modifying patient’s diet to include anti-inflammatory foods and exclude the foods which promote inflammation – will positively affect patients’ organ systems on every level, including downregulating by modulation, or avoiding activation of harmful genetic transcription processes, as opposed to by blocking such mechanisms like certain prescription medications do.
These are just some of the highlights of what makes Functional Medicine an indispensable tool in dealing with prevention and treatment of disease in the 21st century. To learn more and to find a Certified doctor in your area, visit IFM.org
Svetlana Kogan, M.D. IFMCP
The author of ‘Diet Slave No More!’, Svetlana Kogan, MD is a Board-Certified Internal Medicine, Holistic & Functional Medical Doctor with 25 years of experience. She has appeared as a health expert on prime-time TV and radio stations and has authored hundreds of holistic health articles for internet and print. She moved her Concierge Practice from Manhattan NYC to Naples in 2019. Her Functional Medicine Primary Care Practice is focused on prevention and holistic approach to illness, and longevity.
720 Fifth Ave S, Unit 209, Naples, FL 34102
Phone: (239) 676-6883
www.customlongevity.com