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The recent pandemic has seen an increased need for functional medicine, as people looked for complementary means to increase their well-being.
The subsequent quarantine lockdowns severely limited people from consulting with their healthcare professionals, triggering a significant concern.
These health obstacles have skyrocketed the popularity of online searches for health information.
What is the Functional Medicine Approach?
Our world today with more pressure than ever before in history, is rife with “dis-ease”. Patients often grapple with multiple health concerns, with one leading to the next if not properly addressed.
Through functional medicine, professionals seek to understand a person’s health history and current concerns, along with their lifestyle, movement and dietary habits, and use robust functional pathology tests to identify contributing deficiencies or other triggers that contribute to the manifestation of ill health.
If the contributing factors are not identified and addressed accordingly, these feelings of ill health can progress and feel like there is no road to recovery.
Functional medicine’s core principle goes beyond just addressing symptoms.. It aims to identify the root causes of the ill health, whether it be in biochemistry, diet or lifestyle, to address them head-on.
This approach ensures that the wellness strategy not only targets the current concerns, but also doesn’t potentially cause additional damage to other bodily systems. By looking at the source imbalances in the body, the wellness strategy is targeted for the client, increasing the chances of improvement in total body health.
An Approach that Integrates All Aspects of Healing
We, at Dr. Kathleen and Team, integrate all aspects of healing into our wellness programs. We believe that recovery should not just be about alleviating current ailments, but also about helping individuals develop new skills to become healthier long-term.
By using a functional medicine approach, we can isolate and identify the underlying contributing factors to why a person is feeling unwell.
Then, we employ natural medicine to find the best combination of nutritional therapies and lifestyle adjustments for the client to ensure the most complete and lasting recovery.
Many health-conscious people often see modern wellness options as an ongoing cycle. Where the symptoms seem to abate temporarily, only to have the illness reoccur or be replaced by another.
Our natural and functional medicine approach aims to disrupt this cycle, focus on root causes. Also, offer the opportunity to learn and develop new strategies to get on top of health concerns.
Of course, results are dependend on the individual’s ability to accept and action new ways of improving their wellbeing. Some may find they need ongoing support long-term. We do consider a multi-modility approach (we always encourage a client to maintain a relationship with their conventional medical doctor or specialist) . Moreover, we complement this so that wellness plans have the potential to lead to growth and true wellbeing of the client..
We thoroughly evaluate potential triggers contributing to clients’ health concerns. Rather than just providing a temporary fix for what might become a bigger health problem later on.
We place a firm emphasis on the vital importance of energy levels and lifestyle factors. Which can significantly impact health outcomes.
The Benefit of an Integrated Approach Speaks for Itself
In some cases, a person who recovers from an illness feels well enough to experience a false sense of security that blinds them to the fact that they could still get sick again at some point.
This could be due to a number of factors, such as neglecting their health, slipping into bad habits. Or an unavoidable circumstance where a person’s health is compromised. It’s crucial to practice preventive care to reduce these risks.
In instances like this, it could be beneficial if the client takes the time and effort to optimise their immune system. Further, achieve better health, and became more aware of the ways. They could avoid becoming ill again, with the guidance of their conventional and functional health professionals.
This is why we integrate specific approaches to help people who come to us, by creating custom wellness programs. Finding out what nutritional supplementation might work best, optimising lifestyle, diet, movement and stress management techniques. Also, assessing genetic and environmental factors that influence health and the expression of ill-health.
We offer a virtual global consulting online service complete with testing through our affiliate labs worldwide. That uses the functional medicine approach, just as if we were seeing you face to face in person. Finding out as much as possible about an individual is key to our practice and efforts to create a wellness plan. That will help with getting the body back in balance, to help the body to heal.
Instilling the Value of Maintaining Health as a Deterrent to “Dis-ease”
Human beings are not exactly invincible when it comes to infections, illness, or injuries, but to make up for that. We actually have an impressive immune system and ability to help us heal once the health matter at hand has been addressed.
We always put effort into helping people with not only addressin their current concerns. But helping them to approach their future in a preventative way as best as possible.
We don’t do temporary fixes. We don’t dismiss the matter of genetics and how it could affect a person’s predisposition to ill-health. Further, We don’t do a once-over and dismiss everything else by quickly prescribing a one-off supplement. We take great care in the comprehensive nature of our care for you, in turn. You will learn a great deal about your health to arm yourself with information for lifelong wellness goals.
We will always strive to ensure you get the best natural heath care and advice possible. Because you deserve to enjoy a full, healthy life.
This is why we operate as passionate functional medicine practitioners. We aim to show people what true health really is, and we stand by you every step of the way. We provide you with all the tools you need to help yourself to truly thrive. This is how we help people in New Zealand and all around the world.
Let us help you get on your health journey, visit our website: www.drkathleen.co.nz