When I first meet with a new client, and they have a health complaint, they want help to feel better as quickly as possible.
They are looking for a quick fix!
And that is what conventional medicine has trained us to believe. That a ‘rapid resolution’’ to our pain is the best solution.
It’s tempting to look at our diagnosis or the most pressing symptom and search for a ‘’miracle’’ nutrient or protocol on Google.
Hair loss… must be a B vitamin deficiency, bloating… must be SIBO, Lupus… what is the latest and best protocol for this condition…
However, this approach rarely works.
Worse yet, it can add to your stress levels when, after spending lots and lots of money, you don’t get the outcome you are looking for.
We are complex
We are very complex individuals, and the root causes of our pain are unique.
What led each of us to the same symptom, test result, or diagnosis—whether it be psoriasis, Hashimoto’s, weight gain, fatigue, or joint pain — will be different.
We each have a different set of histories and life circumstances that culminate in something that has a similar name.
Think of it this way: How many recipes can you find for banana cake?
Our complex set of symptoms is as varied as those recipes. Everyone has a different set of “ingredients” that led to a result with the same name.
The most meaningful approach to achieving long-term health benefits is to start from the beginning.
Start at the beginning
To “make real, long-lasting changes,” we need to understand the impact of our health history and environmental exposures, know how the body works, and have a trusted and Functional framework for systematically uncovering more data.
This is the comprehensive process of Functional Medicine Nutrition — and it is the information that is discovered during this process, that informs the best steps of care.
It’s like building a house. You don’t do anything before you lay the foundation.
Although you might know what colour you want to paint your house, you don’t paint before you build the house itself. You don’t put in the kitchen before the floors are installed. You don’t put the second story on before the first.
Building the foundation isn’t the most fun, it can be hard work. Building back our health is the same.
To truly thrive, there are basic things that must be addressed first.
Things like nutrition and hydration, sleep and relaxation, exercise, and movement. And all these modifications are not based on a protocol in a book, but instead on the needs and capacity of the individual.
Importantly nutrition on its own is not enough. The role of digestion cannot be ignored in optimizing the absorption of key nutrients!
We need to start with the building blocks of health and develop our skills to succeed. We need to optimise our digestion. And check and correct basic physiological functions—like blood sugar balance and functional elimination.
Natural healing
That’s how we get to step up our healing potential and let our body do most of the work, without the reliance on medications and surgery.
For more information on your specific health condition and how Functional Medicine Nutrition can improve your health, book a free 20-minute discovery appointment with Dr. Shelley Cavezza, PhD
