Functional Medicine vs. Allopathic Medicine 

What is Functional Medicine?

Functional medicine is a holistic approach to healthcare that focuses on identifying and addressing the root causes of disease, rather than just treating symptoms. It views the body as an interconnected system and recognizes the importance of factors such as genetics, environment, and lifestyle in influencing health and disease.

What is Allopathic Medicine?

Allopathic medicine, also known as conventional or Western medicine, focuses on diagnosing and treating specific symptoms or diseases using pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, and other interventions. It typically treats symptoms rather than addressing underlying causes and follows standardized treatment protocols based on disease diagnosis. This approach often views the body as a collection of separate systems rather than an interconnected whole.

Summary:

Overall, functional medicine and allopathic medicine represent different paradigms in healthcare, with functional medicine offering a more holistic, preventive, and integrative approach to healing and wellness.

Tenets of Functional Medicine

  1. Personalized Care: Functional medicine practitioners aim to understand each patient's unique biochemical makeup, genetic predispositions, and environmental factors to develop personalized treatment plans.

  2. Holistic Approach: Instead of focusing solely on treating symptoms, functional medicine looks at the whole person and seeks to restore balance to the body's systems.

  3. Emphasis on Prevention: Functional medicine emphasizes preventing disease by promoting optimal health through lifestyle interventions such as nutrition, exercise, stress management, and sleep.

  4. Integrative Therapies: Functional medicine integrates both conventional medicine and alternative therapies when appropriate, including nutrition, herbal medicine, supplements, acupuncture, and mind-body techniques.

  5. Use of Advanced Testing: Functional medicine often employs advanced laboratory testing to assess factors such as nutrient levels, hormone balance, gut health, and genetic markers.

Tenets of Allopathic Medicine

In contrast, allopathic medicine, or conventional medicine, is the approach most commonly practiced in Western medicine. Here are some key differences between functional medicine and allopathic medicine:

  1. Focus on Symptoms vs. Root Causes: Allopathic medicine typically focuses on diagnosing and treating specific symptoms or diseases with medications or surgery, rather than addressing the underlying causes of illness.

  2. Standardized Treatments vs. Personalized Care: Allopathic medicine often follows standardized treatment protocols based on disease diagnosis, while functional medicine emphasizes individualized care tailored to each patient's unique needs.

  3. Treatment Approach: Allopathic medicine primarily uses pharmaceutical drugs, surgery, and other interventions to manage symptoms or cure diseases. Functional medicine, on the other hand, relies more on lifestyle modifications, nutrition, supplements, and alternative therapies to support the body's natural healing processes.

  4. View of the Body: Allopathic medicine tends to view the body as a collection of separate systems, while functional medicine sees the body as an interconnected whole.

  5. Preventive vs. Reactive Care: While both approaches recognize the importance of preventive care, functional medicine places a stronger emphasis on proactive measures to optimize health and prevent disease before it develops.

Learn More:

“Functional Medicine, therefore, is a way of thinking about how to approach the complex diathesis of a patient. It is not a series of specific treatment protocols, but rather a way of applying a systems biology heuristic to “root cause”-focused health care.

Functional Medicine Past, Present, and Future
Jeffrey S. Bland, PhD, FACN, FACB