Functional medicine is an evolution in the practice of medicine that better addresses the healthcare needs of the 21st century. By shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, functional medicine addresses the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.” ~ The Institute for Functional Medicine ~

The 6 core principles of Functional Medicine:

  1. An understanding of the biochemical individuality of each human being, based on the concepts of genetic and environmental uniqueness.
  2. Awareness of the evidence that supports a patient-centered rather than a disease- centered approach to treatment.
  3. Search for a dynamic balance among the internal and external body, mind, and spirit.
  4. Familiarity with the web-like interconnections of internal physiological factors.
  5. Identification of health as a positive vitality not merely the absence of disease, emphasizing those factors that encourage the enhancement of a vigorous physiology.
  6. Promotion of organ reserve as the means to enhance the health span, not just the life span, of each patient.

At Palm Beach Healing Arts, we integrate the practice of Functional Medicine with our practice of Chinese Medicine to offer our patients a broader spectrum of care that works to not only find the root cause of disease and heal that with nutrition, diet, and exercise changes, but also works to prevent future disease processes that may be developing or that are of concern as a component of a patient’s family history or genetic makeup. We integrate the best medical practices available using the latest lab testing and diagnostic tools available to get to the core pathology that is causing distress and then utilize combinations of herbal and botanical medicines, supplements, therapeutic diets, detoxification programs, stress-management techniques, and acupuncture, to provide relief and enhance health.