What Is Integrative/Functional/Natural/Holistic Health?
I like people to think of integrative medicine as a balance between conventional medicine and a more natural healing art form. I think it is important to use conventional medicine when appropriate, and understand that finding the root cause of problems is key to maintaining optimal health. A lot of my patients have seen 10-30 doctors/providers only to have been prescribed medications with minimal or short term effectiveness. Most patients want to dig further for answers, they want to find out WHY they are having symptoms vs getting a pill to mask symptoms they are experiencing.
Integrative Medicine connects mind, body and spirit when looking at the overall health of a person. All 3 are interconnected and can play significant roles in the health of an individual. Making sure each pathway is ‘clear’ of any potential or past disruption, is important.