In traditional medicine, a doctor diagnoses your disease and prescribes a pill for you – a pill you might take for the rest of your life. Instead, as a functional medicine practitioner, I ask Why? Why do you have symptoms, how is any disease developing, and what is at the root of your problem? Functional medicine uses advanced testing methods to identify which of your pathways aren’t functioning correctly and creates a roadmap to treat you more effectively. By shifting to a patient-centered approach instead of the disease-based focus of western medicine, functional medicine considers you as a whole, not simply an isolated set of symptoms.
Questions & Causes
If you are considering seeing a functional medicine practitioner, here are 2 questions I would suggest you ask yourself:
- Do I suffer from infections, toxins, stress, or a poor diet?
- Do I have any unmet individual need that requires correcting to improve my function, such as sleep, movement, nutrition, water, social connection, purpose or meaning?
As a Los Angeles health coach and functional medicine practitioner, I will help you consider five root causes of dis-ease:
- Poor Diet (nutritional deficiencies, toxicity)
- Stress (emotional or physical)
- Toxins (elemental, synthetic, biological)
- Intolerances and Allergens (chemicals, dust, mold, pollen, food)
- Microbes (yeast, bacteria, parasites, worms, etc.)
Personalized Functional Medicine Benefits
A functional medicine approach challenges the traditional western medicine model, as we shift from labeling and treating a diagnosis to true disease prevention and living with optimal health. While integrative health coaching in LA, I can provide functional tests that assist my clients to live better. Functional testing shows us what’s going on in our bodies before a diagnostic lab uncovers a full-blown disease. It can show us where your body is malfunctioning and how we should correct any patterns of ill-health.
Functional lab testing lets me give my clients genuinely personalized healthcare. As a practitioner, I examine your unique health history, lifestyle, and environment so we can identify underlying factors that can restore your good health.
Understanding Your Unique Functional Requirements
Despite having similar symptoms, our bodies are all unique and symptoms’ underlying causes differ. For example, three people who struggle with acne may have very different reasons for their outbreaks. For one person, viral or bacterial gut infection could be to blame. The second person may be suffering from poor liver function and hormone clearance. For the third, symptoms could be caused due to insufficient thyroid function, poor blood sugar regulation, or a diet chock full of inflammatory foods. Functional lab testing allows you to actually see all of these factors so you can stop spinning your wheels seeking answers and relief. Making an investment in functional testing will allow you to overcome persistent health problems and symptoms. You will be able to prevent disease and learn how to live better by supporting your body.
Functional Lab Tests
One functional lab test I often use with clients is a full panel gut health test that indicates good bacterial makeup, potentially bad bacteria, parasitic infections, dysbiosis, fungal issues, and immune activity. Did you know that your gut comprises 80% of your immune system? That’s why addressing imbalances and infections is essential to finding answers and achieving health. Other functional labs include measuring your food sensitivity levels and whether your cells are actively using vitamins and nutrients; exploring your mood and metabolism to understand where you need to support areas of weakness; and discovering your hormone levels, including your cortisol stress hormones and how well they metabolize, as well as your testosterone, your estrogen and its metabolites, melatonin, and DHEA.
Pairing these three comprehensive functional medicine tests with your health history, symptoms, and personal habits can give you significant insights into ways your body operates and the things you need to do to achieve peak functioning. In functional medicine YOU are the focus – not your diagnosis. Instead of waiting until things get bad enough for a lifetime of pills, it’s about helping you get well now.
Ranges of Functional Medicine Testing
My personal health coach, LA clients benefit from a wide range of functional testing, depending on their needs. These include:
Health Coach, Manhattan Beach
If you are seeking:
- Functional medicine, Los Angeles
- Nutrition coach, Los Angeles
- Remote health coach, LA
- Online fitness coaching in LA
Derek Opperman of LifeUp Health Coaching offers competent, compassionate care. Whether you live outside of Los Angeles and are interested in online integrative health coaching or you live in the Hollywood, LA area and have been seeking a “health coach near me,” we invite you to reach out. Derek can help you to meet all of your personal wellness goals.
