Functional Medicine

The illustration below uses a tree to visually represent the core aspects of the Functional Medicine paradigm and highlight the difference between conventional medical care and Functional Medicine. In order to keep a tree healthy and allow it to flourish, you need to support the most basic and essential elements first, the foundation: the roots and soil. Similarly, if a tree is not healthy, the first place you should look for answers is those same foundational elements.

Conventional medicine tends to look at the constellation of symptoms first (the branches and leaves), which usually results in a disease diagnosis. Often, this diagnosis is associated with a drug or drugs that can be prescribed to treat this constellation of symptoms, and that is the end of the story. But this approach neglects the more fundamental aspects of health that reside in the roots and the trunk of the tree. It treats all patients that present with similar symptoms the same and completely neglects both the inherent differences among patients as well as the myriad possible causes that a “disease” can have.

In Functional Medicine, the same approach applies to patients. The most important factors, and the ones we examine first when gathering information about the patient, are the basic lifestyle factors: sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress levels, relationships, and genetics. These are the roots and soil, which are in turn influenced by specific predisposing factors (antecedents), discrete events (triggers), and ongoing physiological processes (mediators), and may then result in fundamental imbalances at the trunk. These can eventually result in the signs and symptoms that are grouped into a diagnosable constellation that we call disease, represented by the branches and leaves.

If you are tired of spending your time in the leaves and watching your chronic diseases go through the cycle of diagnosis and drugs without getting any better, Dr. Mann invites you to climb down from the canopy and join us at ground level.

Key Specialties

  • Medical, Nutritional, Allergy, and Genetic Risk Analysis
  • Medical Weight Management
  • Individualized Chronic Condition Management
  • Post Cancer Wellness and Recurrence Reduction
  • Hormone Balancing for PCOS, Menopause
  • IV Infusion Therapy
  • Food Allergy Testing
  • Evaluation / Management of Dysbiosis
  • Nutrient Intake Analysis
  • Individual Medical Grade Supplements
  • Full Biometric and Body Fat Evaluation
  • Gluten Sensitivity Evaluation
  • Genomic and Lifestyle Risk Assessment
  • Detoxification
fm-tree

Functional Medicine Vs. Conventional Medicine

Functional Medicine

InvestigativeIt treats symptoms by addressing underlying cause of the problem, which leads to more profound and longer lasting results.
HolisticTreats the body as an interconnected whole, and recognizes the importance of these connections in health and disease.
SafeTreatments have mild or no side effects, and other unrelated complaints often improve spontaneously.
Patient CenteredTreats the patient, not the disease. Treatments are highly individualized based on patient needs.
ParticipatoryThe Patient is respected, empowered, educated and encouraged to play active role in the healing process.
InterrogativeCombines the best of both modern and traditional medicines and emphasizes the importance of diet and lifestyle.
RestorativeTests and treatments designed to promote optimal function, prevent and reverse disease, and improve quality of life.
PreventativeGuided by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, “let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food”.
Evidence BasedBased on the latest research from peer-reviewed medical journals, and uncorrupted by corporate and political interests.

Conventional Medicine

SuperficialMasks or suppresses symptoms, but does not address underlying cause, which often creates “patients for life”.
DualisticViews the body as a collection of separate parts, each of which has its own doctor (i.e. cardiologist, podiatrist, etc.)
Side EffectsTreatments can have side effects and complications.
Disease CenteredTreats the disease, not the patient. Patients with the same disease get the same treatment, regardless of their differences.
AutocraticPatient’s opinion may be discounted or ignored, little time is available on education and prevention, and patient may be discouraged from playing an active role.
LimitedRelies almost exclusively on drugs and surgery, in spite of their potential risks and complications.
PalliativeTests and treatments designed to prevent death and manage serious disease, sometimes without dealing with the underlying cause.
ReactiveFocused on managing disease after it has already reached an irreversible state.
Profit DrivenCan be heavily influenced by profit-driven pharmaceutical and insurance companies.

Happy, Healthy, Young & Beautiful.

Start working on your wellness today, and with our individual program, we can achieve results often not possible with conventional medicine.