Are you focusing on the fire? Or just managing the smoke? I love using the fire analogy when it comes to describing chronic disease. Fire requires fuel to burn and grow. When the conditions are right, a fueled fire burns out of control. In order to effectively put out the fire, you must target the source of the flame and remove the fuel. The same is true in chronic disease.
When you have diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease, autoimmune disease, high blood pressure or any other chronic disease, you essentially have an out of control fire. In order to extinguish that fire, you must target the root cause of that fire. There may be many root causes to address. But, seeking out and targeting all the root causes will allow you to actually reverse symptoms and improve quality of life.
Conventional medicine often manages the smoke, and leaves the fire itself untouched. When you seek treatment for chronic disease symptoms, medications are often prescribed. But, most of the medications used to treat the symptoms of chronic diseases are ineffective and do nothing to address the root cause of the disease. Using our fire analogy: spending your time focusing on the smoke in a raging fire will never allow you to manage the flames, much less extinguish the fire.
Functional medicine, on the other hand, focuses on the root causes of chronic disease symptoms. Functional medicine providers search for the source of the dysfunction and create a personalized, targeted approach to actually reverse that dysfunction.
So, what are some of the root causes of chronic disease? As a functional nutrition provider, I typically search for imbalances in five different categories and then work with my clients to develop a comprehensive plan to address those imbalances:
1. Stress - Unmanaged stress is an independent risk factor for many chronic diseases
and is actually the number one cause of autoimmune disease in women.
2. Toxins - we are bombarded by toxins in the air we breathe, in our personal care products, in household cleaning products, and in the foods we eat.
3. Adverse Food Reactions - Food sensitivities and allergies can wreak havoc on your system.
4. Infections - Untreated infections can often be a root cause of symptoms
5. Nutritional Deficiencies - Lack of adequate intake of nutrients or poor absorption of nutrients can lead to deficiencies that cause numerous symptoms.
Functional testing can be done in each of these categories to allow a better understanding of the dysfunction leading to the symptoms of a disease. Lifestyle changes are powerful and can be implemented to allow your body to extinguish the fire it's been battling and finally heal.
Recovering from chronic disease is no easy task, but is entirely possible. To learn how to use nutrition to reverse your chronic disease, contact us for a free fifteen minute phone consultation.