What is Functional Nutrition?

 

A whole food diet rich in fruits, vegetables and minimal processed food is always a great foundation. However, some patients require more targeted interventions with specific foods in order to treat the underlying cause of their health issues.

Functional nutrition honors the fact that food is not only fuel for your body, but also an extremely useful tool to help us address the underlying cause of your condition. Let’s go back to Mrs. M’s story as an example. After 1-2 months of eliminating her food sensitivities, a functional medicine dietitian may want to use specific foods or supplements to further heal her gut. The dietitian may recommend certain anti-inflammatory foods, gut-healing compounds like glutamine or probiotics, or targeted supplements to replete any nutrient deficiencies found on her lab testing.

 

While functional nutrition honors the powerful nature of wholesome food, it also respects that there is more to health than what you eat. 

 

For instance, a functional medicine dietitian may ask you about your stress levels, sleeping habits, and overall environment. Not only do these factors play a huge role in your overall health, but they also have a bidirectional effect on your nutrition. For example, chronic stress can worsen IBS symptoms, like in Mrs. M’s case. Additionally, your sleep habits and stress levels all affect how nutrition is digested and absorbed in the body.  A functional medicine dietitian can help you establish a stress management routine to further reduce your symptoms. We may recommend various foods or nutritional supplements to help your body cope with the added stress as well.

With functional nutrition, we embrace your uniqueness and use it to tailor your individualized nutrition recommendations.   

In our functional medicine programs, you can work one on one with a functional dietitian and a functional medicine doctor in our signature program, our Root membership, we can use personalized lab testing, functional food as medicine, and lifestyle interventions to further your healing process. We work closely with you to find a nutrition plan that is realistic for your lifestyle, while also reducing unwanted symptoms and restoring balance in the body.

As always, we are rooting for you!