What is Functional Medicine?

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Functional Medicine aims to determine how and why illness occurs and restore health by identifying the root causes of disease for each individual through good detective work and often functional testing. These root causes are then addressed through nutrition, lifestyle and nutritional supplements if required.

 

 Functional testing involves either saliva, urine or stool tests to look at, for example, the balance of healthy/unhealthy bacteria in the bowel or signs that nutrient support may be indicated. Occasionally blood tests are involved. Jo will endeavour to work with your GP wherever possible as some testing can sometimes be done through the NHS. The aim is always to get to the root cause of symptoms and be a detective for your health. 

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Is it medicine?

Jo is NOT a Doctor of Medicine or a GP. Functional Medicine focuses on trying to identify the root cause of issues and addressing these through making changes to nutrition and lifestyle. Conventional Western medicine tends to focus on treatment of symptoms through medications and surgery. Although some medical doctors and GPs have started using the functional medicine approach, functional medicine hinges on nutrition, so it's important to work with someone knowledgeable in this area .

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Being qualified in nutrition, chiropractic and lifestyle counselling, Jo has many tools in her box, in order to support clients in getting back into balance.  Training with the Institute of Functional Medicine has given  a good structure to work from and also the ability and knowledge to access urine, stool and blood testing should it be required. 

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