The Difference between Functional Medicine, Holistic Medicine, Natural Medicine and Integrative Medicine
Dr. Scott Resnick | Chattanooga TN
Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine is often confused with terms like holistic, integrative and natural medicine. While thought on occasion to be interchangeable terms, they are in fact quite different.
The term Functional Medicine is a relatively new term in medicine, but reflects the cultural knowledge of millennia, and the scientific knowledge of the 21st century. Its premise is in returning a human body, whose health is a function of its genetics and the environmental “soup” in which these genetics have been bathed, to a state of optimal function. Current science is showing us that a number of modifiable factors are contributing to our health risks daily, and I just don’t mean cigarettes. We are learning that when biologic systems are out of balance, lacking essential fats, minerals, nutrients or chemical, the body falls out of function, and disease ensues.
This approach to medicine differs from other approaches to health which are common in today’s lexicon. Holistic, Natural and Integrated approaches to medicine similarly diverge from a conventional , allopathic approach of using pharmaceutical drugs to counter a patient’s symptoms. In fact this is why so many patients trend toward some of the more “alternative” approaches to health. But each of these terms has its own identity, emphasis and value. And in no case do these identities overlap with the medical approach to health taken by Functional Medicine. Let’s look at each separately.
The term Functional Medicine is a relatively new term in medicine, but reflects the cultural knowledge of millennia, and the scientific knowledge of the 21st century. Its premise is in returning a human body, whose health is a function of its genetics and the environmental “soup” in which these genetics have been bathed, to a state of optimal function. Current science is showing us that a number of modifiable factors are contributing to our health risks daily, and I just don’t mean cigarettes. We are learning that when biologic systems are out of balance, lacking essential fats, minerals, nutrients or chemical, the body falls out of function, and disease ensues.
This approach to medicine differs from other approaches to health which are common in today’s lexicon. Holistic, Natural and Integrated approaches to medicine similarly diverge from a conventional , allopathic approach of using pharmaceutical drugs to counter a patient’s symptoms. In fact this is why so many patients trend toward some of the more “alternative” approaches to health. But each of these terms has its own identity, emphasis and value. And in no case do these identities overlap with the medical approach to health taken by Functional Medicine. Let’s look at each separately.
Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine, similar to Functional, is distinct from traditional medicine in that it strives to consider the whole body in an approach to health. Treatment is focused on considering that the mind, spirit and body are all interconnected in respect to health. It is felt that by evaluating the physical, emotional and spiritual contributions to health, the whole body is brought into a state if coherence. I feel that the term holistic has too broad of an application to root itself in a defined identity. A Qigong practitioner may practice in a “holistic” style, but is not addressing the metabolic abnormalities; a nutritionist may similarly have a “holistic” practice, but may not address the mind/body components. I have seen ‘holistic’ used with sound therapy, meditation and yoga, nutritional energetics, and aromatic therapy. The problem is not that these different therapies have no value, in many cases each of these categories may be greatly beneficial to an individual seeking a greater state of health. The problem is that it is difficult to know what modality really defines a “holistic” practitioner, and what “holistic” will impart to your care plan.
Natural Medicine
Natural medicine is perhaps the most vague of the aforementioned terms. In fact, sometimes the lines between natural and synthetic can be blurred; some of our best symptom-based allopathic therapies are influenced by a very natural means. Taxol, a potent drug used in the treatment of advanced cancers, is made from the bark of the yew tree. Is this a natural medicine? Aspirin is made from the bark of the willow tree, and its use in pain control was in use several hundred years before the birth of Christ, in the era of Hippocrates. Digitalis, a heart medication used to slow the heart rate and increase the strength of contraction, comes from the foxglove plant. Vincent van Gogh used foxglove, and twice painted his friend Dr. Gachet holding the plant in his hand. An interesting side note: overdose with digitalis causes lights to give an eerie halo around objects. Could this be the impetus behind the painter’s famed Starry Night?
So what is natural and what isn’t? Certainly optimal health depends on a greater exposure to what we know are natural products rather than those that are not found in nature. Without question, non-natural substances such as pesticides, petrochemicals and poisons are injurious to the human body. The jury is out, but I am betting that we see that genetically modified organisms, although able to provide us with a fully ripe tomato in February, may hold some secret aimed at the disruption of our body’s health. Unquestionably a “natural” approach to health is going to be the best option. Our bodies weren’t meant to continually have to reconcile and metabolize red dye #2, pesticides and pollutants. Functional medicine utilizes natural products predominantly, but not exclusively, to help the patient reach a state of health. The trick is to find the balance. A natural approach to health is unquestionably the best. But if my appendix ruptures, you can rest assured that I will be first in line for sedatives, pain killers, anesthesia and surgery! Read more about Natural Medicine here.
So what is natural and what isn’t? Certainly optimal health depends on a greater exposure to what we know are natural products rather than those that are not found in nature. Without question, non-natural substances such as pesticides, petrochemicals and poisons are injurious to the human body. The jury is out, but I am betting that we see that genetically modified organisms, although able to provide us with a fully ripe tomato in February, may hold some secret aimed at the disruption of our body’s health. Unquestionably a “natural” approach to health is going to be the best option. Our bodies weren’t meant to continually have to reconcile and metabolize red dye #2, pesticides and pollutants. Functional medicine utilizes natural products predominantly, but not exclusively, to help the patient reach a state of health. The trick is to find the balance. A natural approach to health is unquestionably the best. But if my appendix ruptures, you can rest assured that I will be first in line for sedatives, pain killers, anesthesia and surgery! Read more about Natural Medicine here.
Integrative Medicine
A similar conundrum exists when referencing the term integrative medicine. Certainly an integrated approach is important to a patient’s health. One of the shortcomings of “modern” medicine is that patients are frequently reduced to a single symptom, organ system or diagnosis. Too often on medical rounds a patient is referred to as the “gall bladder in room 6”, or the “post-heart attack in the unit”. Modern medicine has shorted us by failing to realize and to incorporate the complexity of life and biology into the diagnostic and therapeutic picture. Many times more than one modality is required to assess a patient’s needs. This is the domain of integrative medicine. An integrated medical environment may offer physicians, physical therapists and psychological counselors. There may be an emphasis on nutrition and wellness, or diet and supplements, but the medical component of an integrative medicine clinic is often within the standard paradigm- using drugs to counter symptoms while dabbling into ancillary therapies. Generally integrated physicians are dipping their toes into the proverbial wellness pool, but failing to delve deeply into the factors that are keeping their patients from realizing a true state of health. This is the domain of Functional Medicine.
A functional approach to the patient utilizes the tenants of both holistic and integrated models of care; yet adds still another dimension. It is impossible to fully realize a patient’s full health without looking at it holistically, considering the influences of mind, body spirit and energetics. Similarly a patient’s health may be best managed in an integrated fashion, with practice and communication shared across a variety of both “alternative” and conventional modalities. The added dimension of a functional medicine practice is that it goes deeper into the body’s multiple complexities and associations with our natural world. It considers how an individual’s genetics are being influenced by our environment; it looks into the ways that the environment, with toxins, chemicals and stressors, dictates the way that our body functions and ages; and most importantly, it stresses the complexity and beauty of the human animal in nature, and its need for natural foods, sunlight, community and nutrition.
So the message to the consumer is to understand that different modalities offer different approaches to your health. Holistic and integrated care plans typically fall short when approaching whole body health, as they do not typically look into the deficient biochemistries, hormonal balances, and nutritional states of the body. A functional practitioner, on the other hand, is versed in the nutritional and biochemical needs of the body, but is typically well versed in, and able to incorporate holistic and integrated care plans as well.
What's Next?
Learn more about how you can benefit from a visit with a Functional Medicine Doctor by visiting our blog
Contact us today!
Visit our home page for more information on Chattanooga Functional Medicine and the services we offer.
A functional approach to the patient utilizes the tenants of both holistic and integrated models of care; yet adds still another dimension. It is impossible to fully realize a patient’s full health without looking at it holistically, considering the influences of mind, body spirit and energetics. Similarly a patient’s health may be best managed in an integrated fashion, with practice and communication shared across a variety of both “alternative” and conventional modalities. The added dimension of a functional medicine practice is that it goes deeper into the body’s multiple complexities and associations with our natural world. It considers how an individual’s genetics are being influenced by our environment; it looks into the ways that the environment, with toxins, chemicals and stressors, dictates the way that our body functions and ages; and most importantly, it stresses the complexity and beauty of the human animal in nature, and its need for natural foods, sunlight, community and nutrition.
So the message to the consumer is to understand that different modalities offer different approaches to your health. Holistic and integrated care plans typically fall short when approaching whole body health, as they do not typically look into the deficient biochemistries, hormonal balances, and nutritional states of the body. A functional practitioner, on the other hand, is versed in the nutritional and biochemical needs of the body, but is typically well versed in, and able to incorporate holistic and integrated care plans as well.
What's Next?
Learn more about how you can benefit from a visit with a Functional Medicine Doctor by visiting our blog
Contact us today!
Visit our home page for more information on Chattanooga Functional Medicine and the services we offer.