Functional wellness is an approach to healthcare that focuses on treating the root causes of illness and promoting overall wellness, rather than just addressing symptoms.
Root-cause wellness sounds good in theory, but how does it practically improve your health? What even are the benefits of functional wellness? Those are the questions we’re going to answer in this CR Wellness blog post. When it comes to the benefits of functional wellness, we can split them into two categories.
- Direct benefits to your health
- Improvements to the patient experience
Functional wellness is quickly becoming popular because it works and it puts you at the center of your care. No more playing second fiddle to hospital networks and insurance carriers. With functional wellness, you receive personalized attention, you are empowered, and you take full control of your health outcomes.
Let’s take a look at the specific benefits of functional wellness.
Who Is Functional Medicine or Functional Wellness For?
First, let’s explore who functional wellness is for. Functional wellness can benefit everyone, but it’s especially effective for select populations. In the case of bacterial infections or a broken wrist, conventional medicine might be more efficient. But if you identify with the following descriptions, functional medicine or functional wellness might be for you:
- You want to reverse a chronic condition.
- Conventional doctors can’t explain your symptoms.
- You want to avoid the side effects of medication.
- You would rather prevent disease than react to disease.
- You want to optimize your health.
You deserve to start your healing journey today. Reach out to CR Wellness today for a consultation.
10 Benefits of Functional Wellness
- Receive Personalized Treatment
Functional wellness acknowledges that each person’s health is influenced by a combination of factors, including genetics, environment, and lifestyle. Dr. Rising, DNP, FNP-BC, takes the time to gather detailed information about each patient’s medical history, family history, lifestyle habits, and environmental exposures. This comprehensive assessment allows her to identify unique patterns of dysfunction and imbalances specific to the individual.
By tailoring treatment plans to address these specific factors, this benefit of functional wellness promotes a more targeted and effective approach to healing. This personalization enhances patient engagement and satisfaction, as individuals feel that their health concerns are being genuinely understood and addressed.
- Experience Holistic Health
In functional wellness, the body is viewed as a connected whole rather than a collection of isolated parts. Specialists have their role in medicine, no doubt, but too much specialization can impact your quality of care.
Functional medicine or functional wellness practitioners recognize that imbalances in one system can have ripple effects throughout the body. This holistic perspective encourages them to explore the relationships between different systems and how they contribute to overall health. For instance, they may consider how gut health influences immune function or how hormonal imbalances affect mood and energy levels. By treating the body as a whole, functional wellness aims to restore balance and optimize the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
- Get to the Root Cause of Symptoms
Traditional medicine often focuses on alleviating symptoms, which can provide temporary relief but may not lead to lasting improvements. If you’re tired of the “pill for every ill” approach to healthcare and you know the limitations, the approach of functional wellness can help.
Functional medicine or functional wellness digs deeper to uncover the underlying factors that contribute to health issues. Practitioners investigate the triggers that may be driving the symptoms, such as dietary choices, stressors, infections, or toxin exposure. By addressing these root causes, functional wellness aims to remove obstacles to healing and create an environment in which the body can regain its natural balance and function.
Fatigue, for example, doesn’t respond well to medication. Instead, you need to find out what’s triggering your exhaustion. It may be toxins, stress, poor nutrition, hormones, or a combination of factors. Working with a functional medicine practitioner can benefit you by helping you get to the root cause of your symptoms.
- Prevent Future Health Issues
Functional wellness places a strong emphasis on preventing health issues before they manifest as symptoms or diseases.
By identifying risk factors, imbalances, and early warning signs, practitioners can intervene proactively to promote health and prevent the development of chronic conditions. For example, identifying imbalances in blood sugar regulation early on can help prevent the progression to type 2 diabetes. This preventive approach not only enhances the quality of life but also reduces healthcare costs and the burden of chronic diseases on individuals and society.
- Work with a Practitioner Who Truly Listens
The benefits of functional wellness involve the input and preferences of patients. During consultations, practitioners spend time actively listening to patients’ concerns, experiences, and goals. This patient-practitioner partnership fosters a sense of empowerment and involvement in the treatment process. Patients are encouraged to actively participate in decisions about their care, leading to increased adherence to treatment plans and a deeper sense of ownership over their health journey.
- Try a Range of Modalities
Functional wellness draws from a diverse array of therapeutic modalities to address the complexity of health issues. This integrative approach allows practitioners to leverage the strengths of various disciplines, including conventional medicine, hormone therapy, nutrition, herbal medicine, physical therapy, and mind-body practices. By combining these modalities, practitioners can create comprehensive treatment plans that take into account the multifaceted nature of health and illness, leading to more holistic and synergistic outcomes.
- Feel Empowered and Educated
You deserve to be in control of your health. No more medications and procedures that are impossible to pronounce, much less understand. Functional medicine or functional wellness empowers patients by providing them with knowledge about their health and the factors influencing it. This education helps patients understand the connections among their choices, behaviors, and outcomes. Armed with this understanding, patients can make informed decisions about their lifestyle, nutrition, and self-care practices. This empowerment not only supports their current healing journey but also equips them with lifelong tools to maintain optimal health and prevent future issues.
- Receive Individualized Nutrition
Nutrition is central to functional medicine or functional wellness, as it plays a pivotal role in maintaining health and addressing imbalances. Practitioners evaluate patients’ dietary habits, nutrient intake, and digestive function to identify areas of concern. Based on this assessment, they develop personalized nutritional plans that focus on nutrient-dense foods, balanced macronutrient ratios, and targeted supplements if necessary. This individualized nutrition approach can lead to improvements in energy levels, immune function, digestion, and overall well-being. Targeted supplements have this go to the new website.
- Manage Chronic Disease
Functional wellness excels in managing chronic conditions that often have complex and interconnected underlying causes. For example, autoimmune diseases result from a combination of genetic predisposition, environmental triggers, and immune system dysregulation. By addressing these factors comprehensively, functional medicine and functional wellness can help manage symptoms, reduce inflammation, and modulate immune responses, leading to improved quality of life for individuals with chronic conditions.
- Be at the Forefront of Medical Research
Functional medicine is grounded in scientific research and evidence-based practices.
Dr. Rising, DNP, FNP-BC, stays updated on the latest findings in fields of wellness and impacts on chronic illnesses. This commitment to evidence ensures that wellness decisions are based on credible research and clinical experience, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of interventions. By integrating scientific knowledge with clinical expertise, functional wellness offers patients treatments that are both innovative and well-supported by scientific understanding.
How Can Functional Wellness Benefit You?
Since functional wellness is personalized to each client, the potential benefits of functional wellness are endless. Now that you’ve read our blog post, we invite you to experience it for yourself. Click here to schedule your first appointment with Dr. Rising, DNP, FNP-BC.