Together Medicine

Transforming the health of our community one life at a time.

What Is Functional Medicine?

According to the Institute for Functional Medicine, "Functional medicine is a systems biology–based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to an individual’s illness."  In other words, practitioners use their knowledge of the human body systems and experience, to determine the cause or causes of a disease or group of diseases.  This is accomplished by taking a thorough medical and environmental history of each client assessed, as well as obtaining traditional and specialized laboratory testing when necessary.

Treatment options are based upon lifestyle modifications but can also include nutritional supplementation and pharmaceutical medications when appropriate and necessary.  Each practitioner may be different, but the approach is generally an integrative, or holistic approach.  If you would like further information, please visit the Institute for Functional Medicine website here

The information that follows are the foundations of good health for any individual.

FIVE PILLARS OF HEALTH

MINDSET

How do you perceive your home, work, or leisure lives?  Our mental and spiritual approach to our everyday lives helps shape our perception of our environment.  Sometimes it can be helpful, and other times it can be harmful.  It's important to have a balanced approach to all that we come into contact with in order to maintain our health.

MOVEMENT

Moving your body on a daily basis is critical to your health.  Movement has an innumerable amount of health benefits, such as improving your immune system function, maintaining muscle mass and tone, improving detoxification pathways, and improving your mood.  If you have a sedentary lifestyle, you need to make an effort to begin some type of movement regular movement or exercise each day.

DETOXIFICATION

Our bodies are exposed to many different types of toxins each day.  Our bodies have a great number of ways to help keep us from the effects of those toxins, but they sometimes need some help.  Whether we're breathing in or touching chemicals that can harm our health, we need to be able to get rid of those chemicals as efficiently as possible.  Reducing noise, turning off electronics well before going to bed, eating well, getting sufficient sleep--these are all steps that help maximize our bodies' detoxification pathways.

NUTRITION

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food".  Many of us have heard this saying which is attributed to Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine".  There is no truer statement.  Just as food can be medicine, what we eat can also be poisonous to us.  Over time, a bad diet can lead to a number of the chronic diseases that affect our communities, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers.  Based upon your needs, there can be multiple ways of eating that can help you recover and maintain your health.  Nutrition is a critical to the foundation of good health.  Making the right food choices can be the difference between life and death.

RESTORATION

First and foremost, we need sleep to help keep our bodies in good health.  Sleep is the time period when our bodies recover from a day of work, school, or play.  Without adequate sleep, our bodies are unable to recover appropriately, which places additional stress on them.  The end result is that we get sick more easily, we feel tired all of the time, we can't think, and the list goes on and on.  So, prioritize sleep and develop a good pre-sleep routine.  Also, take time out of your day every day to gather your thoughts, center yourself, and focus yourself.  Finally, if you're a workaholic, take time off from work to decompress your mind.

It would be our privelege to help you achieve your health goals.  If you are interested, please schedule an initial consultation visit so we can evaluate your needs and come up with a plan, Together.