Functional Medicine was the vision of an American medical biochemist in the 1990s, who realised that chronic ill health often develops and is subsequently sustained by a defined number of core imbalances in the body's function. Since its conception, the principles of Functional Medicine have been validated many times over by innumerable scientific studies and as well as in clinical practice.
The key to Functional Medicine is to pinpoint which imbalances affect you. I find this out by finding out about you as a person. I am interested in your life, your health, what you eat, how much stress you face, your exercise routine, how well you digest food, how you well you sleep, everything. I talk to you, I use questionnaire evaluation and I use laboratory testing. Using all these vital clues, I can recommend a programme to really help you feel and look better.
Even if you have a similar health complaint to your neighbour you will need your own unique treatment programme, because the underlying contributory imbalances will be different in each case. However, for a general idea of the more common imbalances that have been linked to various health conditions, click on the headings below.
The information given here is designed for general guidance only and is in no way intended as a substitute for medical counselling.
Depression and anxiety
Digestive problems
Fatigue
Female hormone trouble
Problems with weight
Depression and anxiety
Mood and behaviour disorders commonly reduce quality of life. Although the extremes are those we tend to hear more about through crime statistics, the more subtle problems are actually more common. And whilst social factors play a huge role in the development of mood problems, the part played by nutrition is less well recognised.
The rest of this section will give you some examples of the sorts of imbalances that have been found to exist in people suffering depression or anxiety.
Diet and nutrient status
A good diet is the foundation of good health. Optimising levels of a number of nutrients has been found to have positive effects on both mood and behaviour. There have also been a number of trials that demonstrated a positive outcome in both adults and children from specific supplementation of various nutrients.
Immune reactions to food
Rates of depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances have been found to be greater in people with food or environmental allergies as well as food intolerances.
Poor digestion
Your diet is only as good as your digestion. Even with an optimum diet, if digestion is compromised then nutritional depletions will result. For instance low stomach acid, a fairly common although usually undiagnosed complaint, may lead to poor absorption of vitamin B12. One study reported complete resolution of drug-resistant depression following correction of vitamin B12 deficiency.
Low levels of vitamin D
Clinical trials examining the role of vitamin D in mood has shown improved mood and reduced depression following vitamin D supplementation. It is becoming increasingly apparent that low vitamin D levels are widespread, occurring even in sunnier countries than the UK.
Heavy metal toxicity
Our world is becoming increasingly toxic, with people accumulating numerous toxic metals in their bodies from mercury and lead, to dioxins and pesticides. Essentially all of these chemicals can adversely affect mood. Rather than improving mood directly, detoxification programmes have been found to improve mental ability.
Digestive problems
Immune reactions to food
There is enormous confusion when it comes to immune reactions to food. Most people refer to any reaction as an 'allergy', whereas in reality only very few reactions are true allergies - and you usually know about them! However, there are many other immune-based reactions to food, some immediate and some which may take up to 4 days to become noticeable. Symptoms often (although not always) show up in the digestive tract, causing anything from pain and discomfort, to IBS or general inflammation.
Stress
The stress response was originally designed to prepare you for activities such as fighting or running away from predators. It makes sense, then, that one of its effects is to channel all your available energy into your muscles. Since digesting dinner is an energy-consuming process, digestion is one of the processes that is shut down in times of emergency. These days stress tends to be chronic rather than acute, but the physiological effects unfortunately remain the same: eat your food when you are stressed and you won't be digesting properly. Over time mal-digestion may translate into various problems including inflammation, IBS and food intolerances.
Poor gut flora
Your gut flora is now recognised as being hugely important to your health. It is essential not only for the health of your digestive tract itself, but also your immune system. Disturbed gut flora has been linked to many health issues, from the more obvious digestive discomfort, IBS and tummy upsets to the less obvious pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, liver and ear problems. Many factors in modern life can upset gut flora, including stress, antibiotics and poor diet.
Parasites and bacterial infections
Parasitic and bacterial infections are far more common than many people suspect. While some are very obvious (amoebic dysentery, for example), others have been found to cause more insidious problems. For instance, pathogenic strains of a parasite called Blastocystis have been reported to cause not only gastrointestinal symptoms, but also weight loss, fatigue, depression, headaches, skin rashes and joint pain.
Fatigue
Stress
Fatigue is often a symptom of chronic stress. Your adrenals, two little glands that sit on top of your kidneys, are responsible for producing hormones such as cortisol to help you cope with stress. Some people have strong adrenal glands and can stay healthy under stress for many years. Others are less fortunate, and prolonged stress leads to these glands weakening and losing their ability to produce stress hormones so easily. Since cortisol is necessary to keep you awake, lower levels can make you feel very tired, unhappy or confused.
Chronic inflammation
Inflammation is part of the body’s natural defence system against infection and other foreign molecules. Whilst normally maintained in a natural balance, there are many factors that can disrupt this. Examples are poor diet, low vitamin D levels, chronic (often undetected) infections and more. The immune system shifts into a chronic state of alarm, or inflammation. Think what it feels like to have 'flu: an alarmed immune system can make you very tired.
Poor sleep
It is obvious that sleeping badly makes you feel tired. What is less obvious are the many causes of poor sleep, which can range from hormonal imbalances in many different systems, to reduced clearance of toxins by your liver.
Blood sugar imbalance
It never fails to amaze me how something as simple as steady blood sugar can have such dramatic effects on our well-being. Far from the realms of diabetes, poor blood sugar control can interfere substantially with your stamina, concentration, energy levels and mood.
Low levels of nutrients
Many nutrients are involved in producing energy in the body. For instance, to move blood sugar into your cells you need chromium; to make thyroid hormones that regulate your metabolism you need iodine, selenium, zinc, iron and many others. It is a fact that modern diets provide far fewer nutrients than did those of our distant ancestors. Couple this with stress leading to poor digestion means that nutrient insufficiencies are not as rare as you might think.
Female hormone trouble
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) is believed to affect approximately 80% of UK women at some point in their lives. Some women are mildly affected, experiencing few symptoms, whilst for others PMS may seriously affect their lives on a monthly basis.
The term PMS is used to describe a wide range of symptoms that occur after the middle of the menstrual cycle and disappear almost as soon as the period arrives. These symptoms can range from bloating, breast tenderness, migraines, depression, mood swings, food cravings, etc.
The rest of this section will give you some examples of the sorts of imbalances that have been found to exist in people who suffer PMS.
Diet
A good diet is needed to provide the nutrients required as raw materials for hormone production. By cutting back on refined foods and eating more good quality protein (oily fish, pulses, lean meats), nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables you can help your body with hormone production. Also, various elements of diet may interfere with the body's ability to get rid of extra hormones.
Digestive health
Constipation and the health of your intestines may not seem an obvious factor in PMS. However, regular bowel movements help remove toxins and processed hormones from the body. If you suffer from constipation, then toxins and oestrogen ready for excretion can be reabsorbed back into your body.
Stress
One effect of prolonged stress is that progesterone may be redirected to produce cortisol, the stress hormone. At the same time, cortisol competes with progesterone at the progesterone receptor, meaning that more progesterone is needed in order to take effect. Stress has been found to interfere with sex hormone production in various other ways too.
Inefficient liver function
The liver is one of the busiest organs of your body and is responsible for detoxification and elimination of external and internally produced toxin, as well as the processing of all body hormones. Inefficient liver function can lead to excess toxins not being properly removed from the body but instead are reabsorbed back into circulation disrupting hormone balance.
Environmental toxins
Xenoestrogens have been in the news quite often in recent years. These are substances that are so similar to natural oestrogen, that the body gets confused between the two and can lead to symptoms of raised oestrogen levels.
Problems with weight
When people try to lose weight they usually automatically think of eating less, usually avoiding fat and exercising more. This may work for some in the short term, but generally speaking research has found that weight loss from this type of dieting is rarely maintained. And for so many others, this approach just doesn’t work at all.
In fact, many different things can influence your weight. The rest of this section will give you a very rough idea of the sorts of underlying imbalances that have been found to exist in people who have difficulty losing weight.
Nutrient intake
Choosing foods by their calorie content alone and reducing calories to the minimum you can manage is neither healthy nor sustainable. Proper food choices for weight control take into account your cellular function as well as your body’s hormonal systems that control not only the energy you have available to live, but also your feelings of fullness and satisfaction. For example, fats make you feel full, whereas sugar makes you feel happy for a few hours, and then very hungry.
Eating habits
It is not only what you eat, but when and how you eat that can make a difference to your weight. For instance, research has shown that skipping breakfast can mean you eat more later in the day, and may even contribute to raised cholesterol levels.
Chronic stress
Amongst other changes, your stress hormones make the amount of fat and sugar in your blood increases, and your insulin levels rise. Chronic stress means that this response almost permanently switched on. If this is the case, you can eat less, exercise more and still gain weight.
Digestive problems
Another thing that stress does is to stop your digestion from working properly. There are also many other causes of poor digestion. Poor digestion can lead to low levels of nutrients being absorbed, which may then go on to affect your metabolism.
Hormone imbalances
Your body produces many hormones other than those produced when you are stressed. Imbalances in almost any of them may promote weight gain.
Food and environmental allergens
Allergens have the capacity to cause inflammation. Inflammation is part of the body’s natural defence system against infection, irritation, toxins and other foreign molecules. Usually, the immune system maintains a natural balance which produces just enough inflammation to keep infections and the like under control. However, when this balance is disrupted the immune system shifts into a chronic state of alarm, or inflammation. Anything that causes inflammation can make you gain weight.
