What is functional diagnostic nutrition?

Functional Diagnostic Nutrition is a science-based holistic approach to healthcare that investigates and identifies the root cause of your health problems. Imbalances in your body can lead to a number of symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, gut health issues, blood sugar dysregulation, etc... Functional Diagnostic Nutritionists (FDNs) work together with their clients to address their health needs, bring their body back to balance and ideally, restore them to optimal function. They do this by focusing on the individual as a whole and not just focusing on their symptomatology. 

Functional Diagnostic Nutritionists utilize functional lab testing to evaluate the specific health care needs that are unique to each client. These tests identify healing opportunities within the hormone, immune, digestive, detoxification, energy production and nervous systems of the body. In order to restore the systems of the body to normal function, FDNs will offer a bespoke set of recommendations in the areas of diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction and supplementation. Diet and lifestyle changes are a cornerstone of functional healthcare.

Functional Nutritionists utilize a wide variety of different lab tests based on a client's needs. It is common to run standard blood work, metabolic panels, and hormone panels. It is also common to run food sensitivity testing as well as tests that evaluate gut health. The GI-Map is another preferred test that evaluates the microbiome for commensal and opportunistic bacteria, parasites, pathogens, fungi and viruses. Functional lab tests provide tremendous insight as to the function of an individual's body. For this reason, lab testing can be a critical component to restoring a client's health.

Functional and Conventional medicine are both necessary but have very different approaches. 

Conventional medicine is generally looking to diagnose an illness, disease, or condition. The conventional healthcare model may give you a diagnosis or treat a set of symptoms but they won't necessarily ask "why" someone has that diagnosis or set of symptoms. Often, if you don't have a diagnosis then you will be deemed "healthy" or "normal" even when your symptoms persist. Conventional Medicine is absolutely necessary especially for acute and critical care. Imagine if you cut off your finger or had a compound fracture and you were driven to an herbalist instead of to the emergency room... yikes!

In contrast, the Functional Healthcare model does not diagnose illness or disease. Instead, it takes a look at pre-existing diagnosis and the set of symptoms, asks "Why?" and seeks to resolve the underlying root causes.  For example, if a Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist has a client with a diagnosis of H. Pylori, the H. Pylori will be viewed as a symptom or result of the main problem. The question would become, "Why is this client's gut such a hospitable environment for H. Pylori and how can we change that?" Of course it would be necessary to eliminate the H. Pylori but it would be equally important to support the client in improving their gut health so that H.Pylori and other pathogens didn't take up residence again.

The Functional Healthcare model is often sought out by people who have not been able to resolve their ongoing health issues through the conventional health care model. Often these people have struggled for years (or decades) and think they have tried everything to heal their bodies. The Functional Healthcare model takes a deep look at the function of a body's systems and seeks to restore them to highest function returning a client to optimal health.