Functional medicine is considered the future of healthcare. Unlike traditional medicine, it digs deeper to find the root cause of diseases and chronic conditions.
It considers your unique genetic makeup, diet, lifestyle choices, and medical history.
Practitioners are proactive, addressing issues like blood sugar levels before conventional pre-diabetes symptoms present themselves. They also encourage preventative strategies like healthy eating and exercise routines.
Ask for Recommendations
When finding a Functional Medicine doctor Denver, you have many different options. To avoid wasting your time and money, find someone other patients recommend. You can also check their credentials, licenses, and experience. Also, it’s important to understand their philosophy and approach to health.
This type of physician is more interested in uncovering the cause of your symptoms than simply managing them. They’ll look at your genetics, lifestyle, and medical history to help you get to the root of your problem.
They also work closely with other healthcare professionals like coaches and dietitians. This gives you additional support in making the necessary dietary and behavior changes. This is especially helpful if you’re dealing with a complex issue. For example, they’ll look at your blood sugar levels before conventional doctors diagnose pre-diabetes. This helps prevent future costly complications down the line. They’ll also discuss your medications and after-hours care.
Schedule a Consultation
When finding a Functional Medicine practitioner, checking their credentials and license is important. Ideally, you’ll want to find a physician who is Certified in both Functional Medicine and Conventional Medicine and brings the best of these two schools together.
Another thing to look for is a doctor who takes a holistic approach and looks at the whole body, including your diet and lifestyle. They also focus on prevention, which is a great way to save you from future healthcare costs.
For example, a Functional Medicine practitioner will look at your blood sugar and address it way before conventional doctors do, which can avoid future complications like heart disease, neuropathy, and depression.
During your consultation, you can ask your potential doctor any questions and get to know them better. They’ll also encourage you to work together on addressing underlying causes and promote overall health and wellness.
Take a Look at Their Office
Functional medicine practitioners recognize that a patient’s bio-individual needs must be met for them to thrive – not just survive. Unlike conventional doctors, who often diagnose quickly and prescribe drugs to mask the symptoms, functional medicine looks deeper into your whole health picture. This includes looking at your diet and lifestyle, as well as your history and unique genetic makeup.
When choosing a Functional Medicine practitioner, prioritize collaboration with their patients. This allows patients to take an active role in their healthcare, encouraging them to change their lifestyle habits and address the underlying causes of their health issues.
This translates to a holistic approach that includes herbal medicine, vitamins and minerals, digestive support, exercise, stress management techniques, and even detoxification programs. It is also important that your doctor works with a team of professionals, including nutritionists and health coaches, to help you implement these changes into your daily routine.
Get a Feel for Their Bedside Manner
We’ve all heard horror stories about medical professionals behaving poorly with patients. This is why finding the right doctor with a good bedside manner is important. A smile goes a long way in making you feel comfortable when you’re putting your health into their hands.
Often, functional medicine doctors spend at least 1 hour with each patient during their initial consult. This is much more time than you might get with your regular doctor, who gives you 7 minutes of their undivided attention before rushing you out the door.
They also work very collaboratively with their patients. They help patients identify lifestyle and dietary factors affecting their specific physiology. And, unlike conventional doctors who focus on disease management, functional medicine practitioners look upstream to assess how the unique genetic makeup of each person can influence their seven core physiological systems. This enables them to find the root imbalances that cause symptoms and diseases in each individual.
