Americans are among the most heavily medicated populations in the world. Yet, with all of these medications, the United States ranks 35th in life expectancy according to the World Health Organization, with more chronic diseases reported than ever before. One might legitimately argue that this is a reflection of the fact that many millions of Americans are essentially priced out of quality health care, being without affordable health insurance. It can also be argued that it is a lack of effective health care when it is present, with the medical focus centered on diseases and not on people. Perhaps both are equally at fault, along with the environment, diets, and lifestyles of Americans that result in avoidable diseases.
Dissatisfaction and cost of medical care has led many to alternatives such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, nutritional supplements, and therapeutic massage. Increasingly recognized to have merit among open-minded medical professionals, these modes of health care may be incorporated with conventional medicine as complementary therapies to address the cause of disease rather than the symptoms of disease. This holistic approach is called Integrative Functional Medicine.
Integrative Functional Medicine combines proven, scientifically sound methods of examining the entire person, including lifestyle, diet, mental and emotional factors in addition to genetic and biochemical systems in order to determine why an illness has developed in order to treat the root cause. A practitioner of Functional Medicine recognizes that all systems are inter-related with dysfunction in one resulting in dysfunction in another or all other systems. Therefore, the practitioner doesn't stop with a prescription for a drug to reduce high blood pressure, for example, but instead addresses the symptom of high blood pressure as a part of a greater imbalance that is a part of physical, mental, and emotional function.
Unlike conventional medicine, Integrative Functional Medicine is not focused on pathology but on overall cellular health and function, treating the body as a whole. This personalized approach to health care deals with underlying causes and prevention of disease employing natural health solutions. Few question that the cause of most diseases today are the result of accumulated environmental toxins, undiagnosed nutritional deficiencies, and chronic inflammation. The Functional Medicine practitioner employs innovative testing and extensive studies to investigate an individual's cellular health to determine a positive, holistic program specifically designed to bring about improved health and well-being.
This holistic approach to good health and the treatment of disease may include quality nutritional supplements for the body and stress reduction techniques for the mind to bring the entire system into healthy balance once again. It brings together the best of conventional medicine and alternative medicines for a new approach to health care.
Author Resource:-
MorNatural (http://www.mornatural.com/) offers a practical and comprehensive, science-based approach to improving health that is changing people's lives every day including our approach to natural health solutions.
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