This article was published in the September 2024 issues of Best Version Media's local print publications, including Newcastle Living.
Conventional medicine is brilliant at addressing acute health issues. If you need surgery, antibiotics, or a life-saving intervention, it’s got you covered better than anything else. But what happens when the fire is more of a slow burn, like the fatigue that drags you down day after day, the digestive issues that won’t go away, or the persistent pain that you’ve just learned to live with? Here’s where conventional medicine often falls short, focusing on managing symptoms rather than fixing the reason behind the symptoms.
The Limits of Symptom Management
Your car’s check engine light comes on, and instead of resolving the problem, you just put a piece of tape over it and keep driving. Sounds ridiculous. Yet, this is often how conventional medicine approaches chronic health issues—by masking symptoms without finding out why they’re happening in the first place. Take chronic migraines as an example. You might get a prescription for painkillers to help you get through the day, but those headaches are your body’s way of signaling that something deeper is wrong. Maybe it’s a hormonal imbalance, maybe it’s stress, or maybe it’s something in your diet. The painkillers might provide temporary relief, but they don’t solve the underlying issue—they just push it out of sight.
Connecting the Dots
This is where functional medicine steps in and changes the game. Instead of just covering the symptoms, functional medicine digs deeper to figure out what’s really going on. It views the body as an interconnected system, where one imbalance can ripple out and cause problems in completely different areas. That migraine? It might be connected to the same thing that’s causing your digestive issues or your fatigue. By addressing these root causes—whether it’s hormonal imbalances, chronic inflammation, or nutrient deficiencies—functional medicine doesn’t just treat one symptom; it can create improvements across your entire health spectrum.
How to Integrate Functional Care into Your Life
1. Ask Why: If you’re dealing with chronic symptoms, don’t just settle for a quick fix—start asking questions. Why are these symptoms happening? Often, what seems like a complicated issue has a surprisingly simple solution once you uncover the root cause.
2. Test, Don’t Guess: Functional medicine often uses special testing to uncover imbalances that standard tests might miss. But even standard tests can reveal crucial details when interpreted through the right lens. Many clients tell me they’ve been dismissed with a “your labs are normal” response. Functional medicine digs deeper, using different parameters to uncover the real issues.
3. Focus on Prevention: Even if you’re feeling good today—it’s all staying healthy for the long haul. Health doesn’t happen on accident, and diseases like heart disease or diabetes often start developing years, even decades, before they’re diagnosable. Being proactive about your health can catch these issues early and prevent chronic conditions before they even start.
4. Tailor Your Diet: Everyone’s body processes food differently. What works for one person might not work for another. By working with a practitioner, you can create a personalized nutrition plan that ensures your body gets exactly what it needs to function optimally. This approach not only supports your health better, but also reduces the risks and costs associated with unnecessary supplements.
Photo Credits: Danielle Barnum Photography.
Cara Merak is the owner of the Unscripted Clinic in Newcastle, Washington. She
champions a holistic healthcare approach, prioritizes identifying and
addressing the root causes of health issues and sharing them with her community on UnscriptedClinic.com/blog and Instagram. @UnscriptedClinic. She welcomes requests to cover specific topics and can be emailed at cara@unscriptedclinic.com
If you are looking for personalized health support,
we highly recommend, contacting the Unscripted Clinic or
click here to schedule a discovery call with Cara.
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