Diet and Its Key Role in Functional Medicine and Chronic Disease

What Is Functional Medicine?

The Functional Medicine approach to illness concerns itself with identifying and treating the underlying or root causes of disease. In this manner, Functional Medicine practitioners are concerned not only with treating ongoing illnesses, but are also committed to preventing disease and maintaining good health.

What is Chronic Disease?

Chronic disease is a disease that has taken years and years to develop. These are the diseases that plague and cause the demise of almost all Americans over the age of 50.

You need to know, however, if you die at age 50, you have been developing the disease that killed you for over 30 years. The diseases I’m talking about include Heart Disease, Cancer, and Neurological Diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.

What Are the Real Causes of Chronic Disease?

The simple answer is that if you put “bad actors” in your internal environment and allow them to run wild for many years, the effect will result in some form of chronic disease. The leading bad actors in the internal environment are:

1. Excessive inflammation
2. Excessive toxins
3. Imbalance or lack of key hormones, nutrients, minerals, and vitamins

The problem is that the person being affected often doesn’t even know that these bad things are going on. Silent killers. Functional medicine can help.

Why Diet Matters

The “bad actors” listed above are almost always the result of poor dietary habits. A few simple changes in your diet can markedly affect all three of these bad elements.

Here is just a sample of some of the dietary factors that are important.

• Increasing your intake of the right fresh vegetables can help ensure that you receive the right balance of vitamins and minerals without excess sugars and chemical preservatives.
• Eliminating processed sugar is one of the best ways to protect your health. Too much sugar can lead to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other serious medical problems - all of which are characterized by excessive inflammation.
• Gluten and dairy can produce systemic inflammation in individuals who are sensitive to these food ingredients. They also produce inflammation in individuals who are “not sensitive.”
• Opting for foods rich in Omega-3 can strengthen your body's immune system and cut down on excessive inflammation.
• Take Antioxidants helps to flush toxins from your system and provides added support for cell regeneration and healing.
• Avoiding processed foods is also recommended for our patients to reduce toxins and inflammation.
• Avoiding lectins - the plant poisons that are ubiquitous in our foods

Diet Is the First Place to Start

Changing one’s diet can be a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, it appears to be a simple thing to do once someone shows you what you should eat and what you should not eat.

On the other hand, actually doing it can be difficult. Long-standing dietary habits are hard to break.

At Five Star Vein and Wellness we realize that this can be a problem. We also know that one diet doesn’t fit all. Different diets work for different people.

However, the principles of cutting down on inflammation, elimination of toxins, and maintaining proper hormonal and nutrient balance have to be permanent goals. If you are not willing to commit to striving to reach these goals, then you will NEVER rid yourself of chronic diseases.

At Five Star Vein and Wellness we are committed to helping you achieve your health goals. We are committed to reversing and preventing chronic disease. Participate in our team and change your life!

Call us to set up a free appointment to speak with one of members about our program.