What is Functional Medicine?

Functional medicine offers a solution to one of the biggest problems in modern healthcare…

The conventional medical system excels at treating acute diseases and injuries. But it often falls short in managing chronic conditions and preventing illness. Many of us wait until we’re already sick to seek care, only to be prescribed expensive medications that mask symptoms without addressing the root causes: our lifestyles, diets, genes, and environments.

Instead of creating lasting health, we’re stuck reacting to symptoms.

Functional medicine steps in where conventional care leaves off. It goes beyond symptom relief, focusing on prevention and tackling the root causes of disease so we don’t just feel better—we actually get better.

That’s why it’s called the future of healthcare. Dive deeper to see how functional medicine is transforming healthcare from the ground up.

What Is Functional Medicine?

“Functional medicine takes a comprehensive approach to prevention, health, and well-being; treats root causes of disease; and restores healthy function through a personalized patient experience—all while being a vital partner to conventional medicine.”
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)

Functional Medicine is a personalized, patient-centered, science-based approach to healthcare. It empowers patients and practitioners to collaboratively identify why illness occurs and address those root causes to restore health holistically.

This model considers a wide range of factors, including the patient’s history, genes, diet, and environment, as well as the social determinants of health like poverty, trauma, and discrimination. These factors not only contribute to illness but also hold keys to restoring health.

Watch the video below for a brief explainer on the definition of functional medicine:

Functional medicine can be particularly effective for chronic and inflammatory conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, and more—conditions that can improve or even resolve completely with changes to diet and lifestyle.

In contrast to conventional approaches that focus primarily on managing disease, often leaving patients dependent on expensive drugs while still experiencing disruptive symptoms, functional medicine aims to reverse disease. By uncovering the triggers shaping each patient’s health, practitioners target the root causes and help patients achieve lasting wellness.

Learn more about the functional medicine model here.

Why Do We Need Functional Medicine?

“Our current health care model fails to address the causes of and the solutions for chronic disease. We segregate lifestyle medicine from clinical care and fail to recognize the urgent need for a model that reverses illness, promotes health, and optimizes function.”
Patrick Hanaway, MD

Our current system tends to respond best to acute health needs—a broken arm, an infection, appendicitis, a heart attack. The problem is, it treats chronic conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or food intolerances the same way:

Acute Condition

May be prevented by medications or vaccinations.
Onset is often sudden and disruptive.
Diagnosis tends to be clear-cut, specific, and provides patients with certainty about their condition.
Often treated with a widely accepted and established cure, which resolves symptoms fairly reliably.
Recovery is relatively short, and full recovery can usually be expected.

Chronic Condition

May be prevented or managed by behavior changes, including dietary and lifestyle interventions.
Onset can be subtle or gradual, with symptoms slowly increasing in number and/or intensity.
Diagnosis may be complex or unclear, and/or doctors may not agree on a diagnosis. Patients are likely to feel uncertainty about their condition.
A cure may or may not exist, and treatments may only partially relieve symptoms.
Recovery may be extended and/or non-linear. Relapse possible, and symptoms may evolve. Patients may never fully recover.

Non-communicable chronic illnesses are on the rise, and the conventional healthcare system is struggling to respond effectively:

50% of adults have at least one chronic health condition (source)
25% of adults have two or more chronic conditions (source)
Chronic conditions account for 86% of all healthcare costs—$3.2 trillion as of 2015 and still growing (source 1, 2)

Learn more about the costs of healthcare here.

Modern Healthcare: A System in Dysfunction

Our current healthcare system is not working. Here’s why:

Sickness-based model: Care is reactive and passive, treating illnesses after they occur rather than preventing them in the first place
Pharma-dependent: We’re managing long-term symptoms with medications instead of resolving underlying causes, especially through nutrition and lifestyle
Cost-ineffective: Healthcare costs skyrocketing while quality of patient care declines
One-size-fits-all: Despite each patient’s unique history, lifestyle, and needs, doctors often don’t have the time to listen and customize treatments, so they provide generalized care instead
Narrow in scope: Broader influences on health, including mental health, ultra-processed food, and the social determinants of health, are often overlooked

Functional Medicine: The Solution

Functional medicine offers a wellness-based, patient-centered model of care that addresses the gaps in the healthcare system both efficiently and cost-effectively.

By taking a holistic view, functional medicine identifies the many interconnected factors influencing patient health and tailors a treatment plan to target the problem areas. This often includes lifestyle interventions like therapeutic food plans, movement practices, and stress management techniques, all aimed at cultivating optimal well-being.

In short, while conventional medicine tends to react to symptoms by prescribing drugs, functional medicine works proactively to resolve illness at its source and foster optimal long-term health.

When Was Functional Medicine Created?

The History of Functional Medicine

Functional medicine arose out of the convergence of three forces in healthcare:

The modern, science-based practices of the conventional healthcare system
Holistic, wellness-centered approaches, many of which are rooted in ancient practices like Traditional Chinese Medicine
Emerging scientific research, especially epigenetics, which offers cutting-edge insights into whole-person health and longevity

Today, the leader of the functional medicine movement is The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). IFM was founded in 1991 by Susan and Dr. Jeffrey Bland, a biochemist and nutrition researcher, IFM advocates for a systems-oriented, patient-centered approach to healthcare. The Blands hoped to move “from the drug-based model of fighting infectious diseases that worked so well in the 20th century to a systems-oriented, patient-focused clinical model designed to reverse the growing chronic disease epidemic.” IFM integrates clinical medicine with emerging insights that enable more personalized, wellness-oriented patient care.

A foundational insight of IFM’s approach is that our most pressing and widespread health challenges “are caused by the interactions between genetics, lifestyle choices, and environmental exposures”. Effective care must take all three of these factors into account. Functional medicine employs “a comprehensive, ‘whole person’ approach to treat the root causes of disease and restore healthy function by addressing the unique physical, mental, and emotional needs of all patients.”

Meet The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)

The Institute for Functional Medicine

The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) sets the gold standard for education, training, and clinical practice in the field of Functional Medicine globally.

Their mission is to promote the widespread adoption of functional medicine. They are the only organization providing functional medicine certification along with educational programs directly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

As leaders in functional medicine education for healthcare practitioners, IFM is equipping a new generation of doctors with “the nutritional, environmental, social, and lifestyle strategies that, over time, will move toward a preventive, patient-centered healthcare system focused on optimum wellness, not just temporary symptom relief.”

Visit IFM.org here.

Over the past 30+ years, IFM’s reach has grown as more and more physicians have embraced this holistic model and sought training in applying it. Leaders like Mark Hyman, Terry Wahls, Kara Fitzgerald, David Perlmutter, Tom O’Bryan, Deanna Minich, Patrick Hanaway, Shilpa Saxena, Jill Carnahan, Sandra Scheinbaum, and many more exceptional functional medicine providers have become the spokespeople for the movement. They advocate for the model’s adoption, conduct research into its efficacy, and tell their functional medicine success stories.

Thanks in large part to IFM and other functional medicine leaders, momentum is building toward a transformation in healthcare. More doctors and health coaches are training in functional medicine, and more patients are seeking their expertise. Research into functional medicine’s potential continues to demonstrate its value, and the healthcare establishment is taking notice. In 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine highlighted the “whole health” combination of conventional and complementary care as a promising means of achieving a higher standard of care. This latest high-profile recognition of functional medicine suggests that systemic change is on the horizon.

What Are the Core Principles of Functional Medicine?

Thanks to its unified model, the functional medicine approach can be applied across a wide range of healthcare professions and specialities. Regardless of what kind of functional medicine doctor a patient sees, they will adhere to several core principles in their diagnosis and treatment.

The principles of functional medicine include:

Evidence-Based

Builds on conventional healthcare practices by incorporating the latest scientific research and emerging integrative health insights.

Systems-oriented and holistic

Views the body as an interconnected system where an imbalance in one area can adversely affect other areas, including genes, environment, diet, and lifestyle.

Cost-effective

Proactively identifies and efficiently addresses the root causes of illness, which can be more cost-effective in the long run than reactively treating each new symptom.

Patient-centered

Providers invest time in listening to patients’ stories, ensuring they feel heard, and involving them in decision-making.

Collaborative

Empowers patients, practitioners, and the broader care team to work together in identifying root causes, overcoming barriers, and implementing necessary dietary and lifestyle changes.

Prevention-focused

Emphasizes a wellness-based approach that proactively promotes optimal health rather than reactively responding to illness

Individualized

Moves away from one-size-fits-all treatments by customizing care plans to fit each patient’s history, lifestyle, and environment. Much like health coaching, the patient is treated individually with consideration given to their unique background.

Within this paradigm, practitioners often focus on specific topics, including:

Nutrition, food reactions, and weight management
Digestion and the microbiome
Inflammation and immunity

Stress
Hormones
Sleep
Energy, movement, and exercise

Brain health
Mitochondrial function
Toxin exposure
Mental health and mood

Functional medicine providers may specialize in treating one or a few types of conditions. Learn more about the most common conditions functional medicine providers treat below.

What’s It Like to Be a Functional Medicine Patient?

You’re probably accustomed to this type of visit with your conventional doctor:

Spend a few brief minutes discussing your acute symptom or need
Doctor may ask one or two questions about your diet or lifestyle, if that
Doctor may refer you for basic lab testing
Leave with a new prescription, a referral to another doctor, or instructions to come back if it gets worse

In contrast, an appointment with a functional medicine provider is collaborative, patient-centered, and holistic, resulting in a very different type of experience:

Spend a significant amount of time with the doctor discussing your comprehensive personal health history
Doctor will ask in-depth questions about your diet and lifestyle
Doctor may refer you for comprehensive lab testing
Leave with lifestyle changes, dietary interventions, mind-body tools, or any number of diverse holistic interventions to implement before your next appointment

Key components of the functional medicine paradigm that patients will encounter throughout their time in treatment:

Patient Story: Provider listens attentively to the patient’s comprehensive history during intake, asking clarifying questions to understand not only their medical background but also the personal experiences that shape their health.
Empowering Partnership: Patient and provider create a collaborative relationship to solve problems and achieve wellness goals.
Modifiable Lifestyle Factors: Together, patient and provider identify challenges and opportunities within the patient’s lifestyle and environmental exposures, formulating a plan to address them.
Systems Biology Matrix: Provider organizes the patient’s clinical imbalances and underlying causes of disease using the functional medicine matrix, a framework based on systems biology that helps identify patterns and triggers.
Personalized Recommendations: Patient receives an individualized care plan to guide their journey to improved well-being.

Learn more about the Functional Medicine Model from IFM here.

Key Tools and Approaches Used in Functional Medicine Treatment:

Lab Testing: Functional medicine providers frequently use lab testing to gain a deeper look at the many interconnected systems within the body. Lab tests offer insights into digestion, food sensitivities, hormones, immunity, and more, enabling providers to customize treatments to each patient’s specific needs.
Food As Medicine: A crucial component of functional medicine involves adjusting and optimizing a patient’s diet to alleviate symptoms and enhance well-being. Interventions like elimination diets, therapeutic food plans, and testing for food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities are often employed.
Mind-Body Medicine: Nurturing the gut-brain connection through meditation, tai chi, yoga, and other mind-body tools allows functional medicine providers to address not only physical symptoms but also the thoughts, emotions, habits, and behaviors that influence health.

Listen to our episode of Health Coach Talk with Dr. Vincent Pedre discussing the gut-brain connection:

Health Coaching: Implementing changes can feel overwhelming for patients, and providers may lack the time and skills to support them through the process. Functional medicine health coaches use evidence-based behavior change techniques to bridge the gap between what clients know they should to do to be healthy, and the intrinsic motivation they need to actually make and sustain lifestyle changes.

Dive deeper into the functional medicine patient experience here.

Who Should See a Functional Medicine Doctor?

Functional medicine caters to a diverse range of patient needs:

Patients with chronic conditions, who seek to reverse their disease and reduce or eliminate symptoms and may feel frustrated with or let down by the conventional healthcare system
Wellbeing enthusiasts and longevity seekers, who take a proactive approach to cultivating optimal wellness and healthy aging and are invested in making healthy lifestyle changes
Biohackers, who want to understand and leverage their bodies’ interconnected processes and their own genes, microbiomes, and environments so that they can optimize their health holistically

Common Conditions Treated By Functional Medicine Providers:

Adrenal disorders
Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
Arthritis and fibromyalgia
Asthma
Autoimmune diseases
Cancer and cancer prevention
Cardiovascular disease
Celiac disease and food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities
Chronic pain

Diabetes, prediabetes, metabolic syndrome, and insulin resistance
Digestive disorders
Obesity and weight gain
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menopause, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Sleep problems
Thyroid disorders
Toxin exposure and environmental allergies

Everyone can benefit from functional medicine. It’s called “the future of healthcare” because its incredible benefits—focusing on everyday diet and lifestyle changes—are relevant to virtually every patient. Anyone who seeks optimal wellness, healthy longevity, or solutions to unresolved conditions can find value in a functional medicine approach.

Does Functional Medicine Work?

Research Into Functional Medicince’s Effectiveness

Functional medicine is a science-based approach to healthcare. Like conventional providers, functional medicine practitioners rely on scientific evidence to ensure treatments are both safe and effective. The field of functional medicine leads the way in adoption of cutting edge techniques, with practitioners often incorporating the latest research into patient care for optimal results.

Below is a selection of research studies and papers from major journals showcasing various aspects of functional medicine, innovative evidence-based approaches, and potential areas for future research.

Functional Medicine – General

Food as Medicine

Gut-Brain Connection and Mind-Body Medicine

Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

What Are the Benefits of Functional Medicine?

“The scope and cost of chronic disease continue to rise. Functional medicine has proven to reverse this trend by providing better outcomes and cost savings for both patients and the healthcare system in the long term.”
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)

Functional medicine expands and improves on many facets of the existing healthcare system. From patient experience and treatment efficacy to doctor quality of life and overall cost-efficiency, the functional medicine model holds solutions to real problems in modern healthcare.

Benefits to Patients

Root Cause Resolution: Achieves disease reversal by addressing underlying issues, rather than simply managing ongoing symptoms.
Preventative Care: Cultivates optimal long-term health and promotes healthy aging through effective, proactive care.
Holistic Health: Enhances the well-being of body, mind, and spirit.
Collaborative Relationships: Fosters an empowering relationship with provider, ensuring patient feels heard and involved in their care.
Cutting-Edge Insights: Leverages the latest technology to provide advanced health solutions.
Cost Reduction: Lifestyle changes and preventative care contribute to lower overall healthcare costs for patients.

Benefits to Healthcare Providers

“We’ve seen the profound impact on practitioners who have rediscovered their passion for medicine and heard patients credit functional medicine for changing their lives.”
The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM)

Collaborative Model: Allows more time for in-depth patient interactions and enables the “detective work” of evidence-gathering and problem-solving.
Reduced Burnout: Increased human connection and focus on provider expertise lead to decreased burnout, as opposed to high-traffic, short-duration appointments.
Effective Practice: Individualized, patient-centered care enhances the quality of treatment doctors can provide.

Listen to our episode of Health Coach Talk with Brittany Andrejcin discussing collaborative healthcare:

Benefits to The Healthcare System

Efficiency: Resolving chronic illnesses rather than merely managing symptoms improves overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness, resulting in fewer sick patients.
Preventative Focus: A heightened emphasis on preventative care leads to a healthier population overall.
Burden Reduction: A holistic lifestyle approach alleviates the burden of chronic illness care on the system.

Functional medicine makes sense. There are so many reasons to adopt this model, and virtually everyone stands to gain from that switch.

Curious how you can make an impact on healthcare? Learn about functional medicine health coaching here.

Where Is Functional Medicine Practiced?

Functional medicine is a unified model that can be practiced in virtually any healthcare setting and applied within any medical specialty. As a result, patients can access functional medicine care across a diverse array of locations, from large hospitals to small private practices.

In the United States, several leading institutions offer functional medicine care, including:

Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine: A premier institution that practices a patient-centered, holistic approach to healthcare, focusing on identifying and addressing the root causes of chronic disease through personalized treatment plans.
Stanford Medicine Center for Integrative Medicine: Offers patient-centered care that combines functional medicine with holistic approaches such as acupuncture, nutrition, and mind-body medicine.
Northwestern Medicine Osher Center for Integrative Health: A national leader in integrative medicine, helping patients achieve optimal health through innovative, personalized care.
Jefferson Health’s Marcus Institute of Integrative Health: Provides integrative services with a focus on personalized care, blending functional medicine with conventional treatments to address chronic conditions.

If you’re interested in working with a functional medicine provider in your area, you’ll want to ensure they are trained and credentialed by IFM. IFM’s provider directory is a great place to start your search:

Find a functional medicine practitioner near you.

How Is Functional Medicine Different From Other Paradigms?

While conventional healthcare has been highly effective in addressing many medical crises and conditions, it is not the only approach to healthcare.

Throughout history, many healthcare paradigms have aimed to deliver effective care through a whole-person perspective that today we might refer to as “holistic” or “integrative”. Many of these models share common traits, philosophies, or practices with functional medicine, though they may differ in their specific treatments, evidence bases, and degree of mainstream acceptance and adoption.

Below, we’ve outlined several well-known whole-person and/or wellness-based approaches that differ from functional medicine, as well as links to organizations for further exploration.

Integrative medicine: An evidence-based, whole-person approach that emphasizes the relationship between practitioner and patient. It combines safe and effective complementary health practices with conventional medicine to achieve optimal health.Learn more from the Osher Center for Integrative Health at Northwestern University
Lifestyle medicine: An evidence-based medical specialty that uses prescribed therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Learn more from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine
Holistic medicine: Often used as a catch-all term for any approach that seeks to heal the whole person (body, mind, and spirit) rather than just parts of the physical body. Combines conventional practices with alternative therapies to promote healing and wellness. Practices vary in their research backing and evidence basis, and may or may not be provided by a credentialed professional. Learn more from the American Holistic Health Association
Naturopathy: A system of medicine that focuses on natural remedies and the body’s ability to heal itself, often including dietary recommendations, herbal medicine, and lifestyle counseling. The evidence base for naturopathic treatments varies widely, and practitioners may or may not be licensed or trained in accredited programs. Learn more from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Traditional Chinese medicine: Ancient Chinese healing practices emphasizing the relationship between the body, mind, spirit, and nature, combining physical and psychological approaches with herbal products to promote healing. Includes both evidence-based practices (including tai chi, acupuncture, and some herbal therapies) and other practices and supplements of meaningful traditional importance which may lack modern safety and efficacy validation. Learn more from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and the Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation
Ayurveda: An ancient holistic medical system originating in the Indian subcontinent, based in the belief that illness arises out of imbalances that can be corrected through treatments like herbal and dietary interventions, mind-body practices like yoga and meditation, and other types of interventions. Ayurveda has longstanding and valuable cultural significance, though rigorous studies into its safety and efficacy are limited. Learn more from the Cleveland Clinic and the National Ayurvedic Medical Association
Complementary and Alternative medicine: Umbrella terms that encompass diet and lifestyle interventions, natural remedies, mind-body practices, and bodywork as tools for healing. Typically, complementary medicine implies using these practices in addition to conventional healthcare, while alternative medicine uses them instead of conventional healthcare. Practices vary in their research backing and evidence basis, and may or may not be provided by a credentialed professional. Learn more from Cleveland Clinic

As health consciousness continues to rise, many individuals are exploring alternative paradigms to fill gaps left by conventional medicine. The evolution of these health models reflects the growing demand for solutions that prioritize holistic well-being and address the root causes of health issues.

Functional medicine combines many of the best elements from all these approaches, emphasizing research and evidence-based practices to improve patient outcomes holistically. By integrating the latest advancements in science with time-tested whole-person healing traditions, functional medicine stands as a promising framework for addressing the complex health challenges of modern society.

The Future of Functional Medicine

“The 21st century has already demonstrated itself to be an era of change for medicine and science. There is a new openness—to ideas, to a shift in perspectives, to a redefinition of evidence and the many ways it can be gathered.”
Dr. Jeffrey Bland

The future of functional medicine is full of promise. The movement continues to gain momentum as more healthcare providers integrate the functional medicine model in their practices. Patients and providers alike are spreading the word on social media and other platforms that a better approach to care exists. As of 2023, IFM has expanded its influence through initiatives with the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. military, and the Veterans Administration among others, while continuing to train doctors from around the world. These efforts are bringing functional medicine closer to the mainstream.

Functional medicine principles are also gaining traction within the conventional healthcare system. More patients are using their doctor’s appointments to self-advocate for their goals and needs, and many physicians are embracing a collaborative approach that puts patient well-being at the forefront. Across the healthcare landscape, patients, providers, and even insurers are recognizing the value of using interventions like functional medicine health coaching to address the root causes of chronic disease and promote long-term health.

Several key trends are shaping the future of functional medicine:

The microbiome’s role in digestion and systemic health continues to gain attention, with emerging research increasingly linking the gut to immune function, mood, and chronic disease.
The evolution of protein requirements across the lifespan, particularly as we age, is influencing dietary recommendations.
The benefits of fasting and its potential to promote cellular repair and longevity are generating research interest.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a powerful tool for enhancing diagnosis, advanced testing, and healthcare personalization, with numerous potential applications on the horizon.
Nutrition security—equitable access to whole, nutrient-dense foods—is becoming a public health priority. Addressing the disparities in food access, especially in under-resourced communities, is critical as we acknowledge the importance of the social determinants of health.

As healthcare systems slowly shift toward this integrative model, a new challenge is arising: how to translate functional medicine treatment plans, which are often centered on lifestyle and dietary changes, into sustainable, real-world results.

Functional medicine health coaches play a vital role in tackling this challenge. These behavior change experts guide patients in making and sustaining healthy lifestyle changes, acting as key allies on their journey to better health. Health coaches educate, collaborate, and celebrate each patient’s progress, helping to implement the doctor’s plan of care to ensure that patients feel better now and into the future.

Curious about how health coaches are supporting clients through functional medicine lifestyle changes?

Learn More