Functional and holistic medicine are both focused on balancing the body—find out where they differ.
Different schools of medicine have formed throughout the years, all with the same goal of helping us to live happier and healthier lives. Medicine is all about treating the body and helping us to recover when necessary, but different schools of medicine believe in different approaches. Functional Medicine and Holistic Medicine share some ideas, but they are still very different approaches to medicine.
Breaking Down Functional Medicine and Holistic Medicine
Seeing where Functional Medicine and Holistic Medicine intersect and differ can help us to better understand these forms of medicine more fully. Let’s explore what approaches these types take.
What is Functional Medicine?
Functional Medicine is a twist on conventional medicine that focuses on your overall health as opposed to one disease or condition. Within Functional Medicine, there is the belief that in order to truly treat disease, you must find the root cause of the disease and treat that instead. Rather than simply focusing on treating symptoms, Functional Medicine takes a full look at your overall health to help solve the problem at its source. Ultimately, the goal is to increase your complete health, not just one element of it.
This form of medicine focuses on using biology and a variety of additional factors to treat and manage diseases. The strategies used in this style of medicine can include conventional treatments, lifestyle changes, dietary changes, and more.
What is Holistic Medicine?
Holistic Medicine is an approach to medicine that focuses on healing through natural and sometimes spiritual or emotional methods. This school of medicine focuses on improving a variety of imbalances within, including physical ailments, emotional imbalances, or even concerns with spirituality. In most cases, this form of medicine uses natural remedies and focuses on education as a primary vessel for improvement. Common techniques include massage therapy, aromatherapy, and acupuncture to align the body, mind, and spirit.
Where They Intersect
The primary connection point between these schools of medicine is their focus on overall health. Both of them believe in treating root causes rather than simply managing symptoms, and there are also times when treatment recommendations can overlap. These two approaches are committed to improving health and happiness across the board in order to treat and manage diseases.
The Takeaway
Denver Functional Medicine doctors and professionals are already helping Colorado residents to improve their overall health a little more every day. Treating the underlying cause of diseases can lead to huge benefits for your overall health—sometimes more benefits than you might expect. To learn more about Functional Medicine or find out how it can help you to enhance your health and treat disease, feel free to contact us directly. We are always happy to help you take control of your health and happiness!
