If you had a wilting, withering plant left alone, inside, with dim light, re-circulated air, and depleted soil- how would you bring it back to life?
Most likely, you would know exactly what to do.
You would give it plenty of attention, fresh air, clean water, direct sunlight, nutrient-rich soil, and maybe even some love!
Instinctively, you would recognize that the plant’s bleak environment was anything but healthy, let alone life-giving. In medicine, we call this concept an “evolutionary mismatch.” This mismatch caused the plant to inevitably compromise, lose its luster, and enter into a state of survival. Predictable right?
Now, when it comes to our own bodies, we often feel helpless, confused, and disempowered like it’s up to chance, a genetic roulette. And because of this, we often feel like health is just a distant dream.
We wish we could look and feel vibrant, sleep better, and have more energy- but we just don’t know how to make this happen. As a culture, we have lost ourselves in a sea of opinions, mixed messages, and dogma. And in doing so, we have lost track of our own internal guidance system that can lead us back to health.
We have bought into the allure of pharmaceutical culture, enormous pressure, toxins in our food, life lived indoors, and excessive sugar and caffeine to carry us through the day. And this simply does not work as evidenced by the skyrocketing rates of autism, depression, cancer, autoimmune disorders and other chronic, debilitating diseases.
Here, we find ourselves in our very own “evolutionary mismatch.”
As a society, we’ve decided to blame our genes, look for a quick fix, and paint the plant green, rather than putting in the work to change the landscape. We’ve chosen to suppress symptoms and to just get by, rather than get to the root and thrive. However, there is another, very promising option.
Cue functional medicine.
“Functional Medicine is a personalized, systems-oriented model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease.” -The Institute For Functional Medicine
In functional medicine, we address the whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. We spend time with our patients, hear their stories, and get to the root of various issues by looking at the interaction between the patient, their genes, and the environment in which they live. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of vibrant health for each individual as it looks beyond the absence of disease and into health creation.
In functional medicine, we use the best of modern and ancient practices, to recommend supplements, sophisticated devices, mindset techniques, diet, and lifestyle changes. These recommendations can have a big impact as they work to balance the systems, bridge gaps, drive function and assist you in healing your whole self, both mind and body.
Functional Medicine Is…
- Holistic: We address all aspects of the person, including his or her body, mind and life as a whole. In this way, we are able to see passed the divisions and into the intricate connections that make up the whole person.
- Personalized: Every treatment is unique and different because every person is unique and different.
- Patient Centered—Your desires, your vision, and objectives matter, and they are the centerpieces of our work together.
- Participatory: Together, as practitioner and patient, we enter into a partnership, where patients are empowered and encouraged to take an active role in the healing process.
- Root-Seeking: We seek to get to the heart of the problem, extract the essence, and remove the root through a variety of simple and sophisticated means, ranging from simple questionnaires to lab work.
- Evidence Based: Uncorrupted by corporate and political interest, our work, as practitioners, is based on the latest research.
- Restorative: Treatments are designed to build you up, balance the systems, restore optimal function, prevent and reverse disease, and improve your overall quality of life.
- Safe: Treatments have mild to no side effects, and other unrelated complaints often improve spontaneously.
- Proactive: Treatment is more than just preventative.
Whereas, conventional medicine is reactive, disease oriented, doctor centered, standardized and the third leading cause of death- true story, check here and here for more info.
On Functional Medicine Presentation With Trilogy Orlando
This recording of the live webinar version of “On Functional Medicine: A Holistic Approach To Wellness and Tools To Support Your Health, Growth and Life As A Whole” is presented by Dr. Brooke Stuart, AP, DACM. Originally presented on Thursday, March 23rd to the Nurses Club of Trilogy Orlando.
Finally, it is important to note that the body is always trying to help us sustain life and create health, but it needs you to be on its team. It needs you to choose an empowered path and provide it with the right tools to set it free.
In my practice, I use functional medicine to support both your vibrant health and unique transformation as you learn how to let go and grow and move forward powerfully to create the life of your dreams!
Feel free to check out our Mind Body Reset program right here. This 6 week course is where you will have the opportunity to send your mind and body an empowering, new message of safety and peace through your presence and the same mindset, diet, lifestyle techniques and holistic therapies that I use in my private practice- as you establish a new baseline for your health and well-being and build a relationship with it based on the truth about healing. This is the exact process I teach my patients and apply in my own life, and have seen time and time again become a catalyst for radiant health, freedom and a life lived true to you.
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For more information, support and a tried and true springboard that can help you address the fundamentals and unlock your power to heal, make sure to schedule a free holistic consultation and check out letgoandgrow.com. To learn more about holistic healthcare and working with Dr. Brooke Stuart in private practice, check here.
More Resources
- A Practical Guide To Supplements- Favorite Brands, Philosophy & Function
- Straight to the Point: How Acupuncture and Acupressure Can Treat Pain
- All About Acupuncture
- The Heart Based Practice, A Simple 3 Min. Meditation
- Diet Philosophy: Drop The Dogma & Discover What Works For YOU
- Diet Philosophy Part II: On Personalization
- The Ultimate Tea Guide: Types of Teas & Their Benefits
- Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Diet
- Resistant Starch Made Practical
I’m grateful for your explanation when you informed us that functional medicine involves addressing the whole person instead of focusing on an isolated set of symptoms while using the best of both modern and ancient practices to perform treatment and prevention of diseases. I have been feeling quite fatigued these days, so I wanted to see a doctor who can help me feel much better soon before it completely affects my performance at work. I’ll take note of this while I look for a functional medicine doctor operating in Alpharetta to contact for an appointment next week.
Nice content! This really gave me a better understanding about functional medicine. Thanks a lot for posting!
I have to say that since discovering Functional Medicine 2 years ago, I can’t imagine a different health and treatment model. I listen to family members that come from appointments with conventional MDs complaining about the lack of attention during their visit as well as the lack of root cause analysis. I think I could get them to see a functional medicine practitioner if they were more more widely available. That is one of the biggest constraints to our society moving in this direction. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir, though.
Thanks for sharing your article. I will do my best to spread the word and create demand.