What is Functional Medicine?
Functional Medicine is an evolution in the practice of medicine which addresses the health care needs of the 21st century.
By shifting the focus of medical practice to a patient-centered approach, Functional Medicine addresses the whole person and deals with the cause of your illness, not just the symptoms.
Ask yourself:
- Are you under a lot of stress at work or at home?
- Do you often feel tired for no apparent reason?
- Due to family history are you at a higher risk for diseases such as: heart disease, diabetes, cancer or arthritis?
- Is losing weight difficult, but gaining seems unavoidable?
- Do you often eat or crave foods like pasta, chips, and sweets?
- Do you have trouble remembering things or concentrating?
- Do you wake up tired and wishing you could go back to bed?
- Does your doctor say “everything’s ok”, but you still feel lousy?
- Are you taking supplements, but feel they’re not working?
If you answered yes to any of the preceding questions, Functional Medicine may help you. Start treating the cause of your illness rather than just the symptoms. Prevent illness instead of spending time, money and heartache treating it.
Why Do You Need Functional Medicine?
Most physicians are trained to deal with acute care, such as treating a broken arm or responding to appendicitis. Conversely, a Functional Medicine Practitioner (FMP) will spend time with you, listening to your histories, and evaluate and determine what genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors are affecting your immediate and long-term health. Dr. Benzinger will address the underlying cause of your illness, not just the symptoms.
Your Functional Medicine Assessment
The Functional Medicine Assessment lets your doctor understand how every system in your body is working together to keep your body healthy.
How does the Assessment work?
Think of your body as a fish tank. If the water in a fish tank becomes polluted, the fish become sick and may even die. Now imagine your cells and organs as fish and your body as the tank. If not properly cared for, the internal fluids within our “tank” becomes polluted, resulting in an unhealthy environment in which your cells and organs “swim”. The Functional Medicine Assessment utilizes urine and saliva analysis to show how nutrients and other elements are moving throughout your body. Saliva is used because it provides an overall picture of the body’s internal cellular environment. Urine represents what’s being filtered and removed by the body. By comparing the two, Dr. Benzinger can clearly see just how healthy or polluted your tank is. Once Dr. Benzinger understands how all of your body’s organs and systems are working together, he can then determine which ones are not carrying their weight. At that point, a customized treatment plan – which may combine nutrition, pharmaceutical grade supplements, dietary programs, and exercise – can be developed to treat and prevent chronic illness and promote long-term health.
How accurate is the Assessment?
The FMA’s protocols pass the highest levels of scrutiny and inspection, including that of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
A Comprehensive Approach to Treatment
Most imbalances in health that lead to illness can be addressed. Many can be substantially improved while some can be completely restored to optimum function. But, prevention is paramount. Virtually every chronic illness is preceded by long-term disturbances in function that can be identified and effectively managed. Changing how the systems function can have a major impact on health. Dr. Benzingers examines a wide array of available interventions and treatments and customizes a plan that will have the most impact on the underlying cause of your illness.
How is Functional Medicine Different Than Acute Care?
Functional Medicine involves understanding the cause, the prevention, and the treatment of chronic illness, not just the symptoms.
A Functional Medicine Assessment utilizes 11 Biomarkers to access the overall health of your body’s systems:
- Alkaline Reserve: pH balance – yeast, viruses, bacteria and cancer live in an acid environment. What does your environment look like?
- Oxidative Stress: Every illness has oxidation involved in its development. How is your antioxidant status?
- Electrolytes: Fuel for your cells. Do your cells have enough fuel to function optimally?
- Carbohydrate Metabolism: How efficiently is your body using sugar and carbs?
- Protein Metabolism: Is your body using food properly? How is your digestion?
- Cellular Respiration: How efficiently is your body making energy?
- Hydration: Our bodies are 70% water. Are you getting enough water?
- Liver Stress/Toxicity: You are what you don’t eliminate. How are you eliminating?
- Kidney Stress: Is your body filtering and cleaning your fluids to keep you healthy?
- Adrenal Stress: How does your body handle physical, chemical, and emotional stress?
- Anabolic or Catabolic Processes: Is your body breaking down faster than it repairs?
