While not the most thrilling topic, let’s lay some groundwork for deeper discussions in future posts.
From my perspective as both a patient and practitioner, I have found the jargon used in the healthcare space can be confusing. If you are already familiar, feel free to skip to ahead to the role of Functional Nutrition. Otherwise, let me set the stage for exploring the emerging new paradigm of healing through Functional Nutrition. Keep in mind that the following is my interpretation and simplification
Conventional or allopathic doctors are rigorously trained to “diagnose and treat” diseases following specific protocols. Osteopathic doctors receive conventional medicine training, can “diagnose and treat”, but also undergo additional training in the musculoskeletal system. Naturopathic doctors receive conventional medicine training, can “diagnose and treat”, with a focus on natural remedies to support the body's self-healing capabilities. Doctors of chiropractic medicine have the expertise to “diagnose and treat” musculoskeletal conditions but don’t have prescription-writing privileges like medical doctors.
When doctors operate within insurance-based practices, they often face constraints on appointments times, therapies, and natural remedies due to insurance and pharmaceutical company influence or regulations. Some doctors choose to break free from this system to gain more autonomy in caring for their patients, yet may lose some insurance coverage.
Naturopathic practitioners, unlike Naturopathic doctors, cannot diagnose or treat illness but serve as health consultants, providing personalized advice and natural remedies. Holistic health practitioners implement a wide variety of wellness techniques to help patients achieve “full body” health goals. Similarly, alternative medicine practitioners use traditional healing therapies such as, but not limited to, acupuncture, massage, meditation and homeopathy. Holistic, alternative and complementary seem to be used interchangeably.
Integrative health practitioners strive to coordinate care among different providers and institutions by merging conventional and holistic/alternative/complementary approaches, focusing on the person as a whole.
Functional Medicine practitioners use a systems-based, whole-body approach to health and disease, tailoring their treatment to each individual (as discussed in my last post). This approach can be applied by conventional/allopathic/naturopathic/chiropractic doctors and holistic/alternative/integrative/naturopathic practitioners. And let’s not forget health coaches or counselors, who fall in a whole new category! The training and application of Functional Medicine can vary across different healthcare practices.
Now, let’s look at the role of Functional Nutrition within the bigger picture.
Functional Nutrition practitioners/coaches/counselors fall under the Functional Medicine umbrella, but their training may vary. I received training through the Functional Nutrition Alliance, which taught me a system-based approach that combines systems biology and systems thinking. Systems biology reveals the intricate interconnections within the body, while systems thinking broadens our perspective to encompass a wider range of interactions that contribute to a person's health. Systems thinking becomes crucial when we encounter complex conditions with multiple underlying factors, chronic or recurring problems, and unexplained or undiagnosed signs and symptoms. Many of these cases are unsuccessfully treated through conventional or single therapy approaches. We need a wider lens that allows us to “unravel the systems biology and step into systems thinking so that we can do our best to work toward addressing the root causes for more sustainable clinical results,” as Andrea Nakayama emphasizes.