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Functional Medicine
"Functional medicine could be
characterized, therefore, as upstream medicine or back-to-basics - back
to the patient's life story, back to the processes wherein disease
originates, and definitely back to the desire of health care
practitioners to make people well, not just manage symptoms".
-Edward Leyton, MD 2005
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Our Approach
Designed Clinical Nutrition
Traditional medicine consists of two key parts: a diagnosis (naming a
disease or syndrome) and treatment (drugs, surgery, etc.).
Our alternative approach is different. It also consists of two parts: an
analysis and a personalized health improvement program using Designed
Clinical Nutrition. We are not concerned so much with naming a health
problem as we are in pinpointing weaknesses in body functions that have
allowed a person to become ill. We don't take a "this pill for that
problem" approach. Instead, we focus on identifying body functions that
have become imbalanced and then design a program of diet, gradual
lifestyle change, whole food supplementation, herbs and homeopathic
remedies; the goal is to balance the body so that it can heal itself.
Restoring Health By Bringing the Body Into Balance
Traditional medicine focuses primarily on the elimination of symptoms
rather than the actual cause of a health problem. Drugs that lower
cholesterol or blood pressure, antacids, sleep medications and
antidepressants are all examples of this type of approach. In
emergencies or life threatening situations modern medicine is usually
the best way to go. Powerful drugs and modern surgery have done much to
improve the health of people throughout the world. But today most people
in America and many other industrial nations, die from chronic and
degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and
diabetes. Millions more suffer from sleep disorders, depression, skin
conditions, digestive problems, sexual dysfunction, fatigue, and other
problems. While drugs can affect the symptoms associated with these
conditions, they can not restore or build greater health. Drugs do not
make a person truly healthier. In addition drugs frequently cause
unwanted side effects and many surgeries are done when there are better
options available.
At our clinic we follow the Functional Medicine model of health. This
means that we design a treatment plan to restore the body to as near
normal function as possible by bringing all affected organs and systems
into proper functional balance. I believe that the body possesses an
innate "intelligence" that continually tries to move it towards a state
of balance and health. This natural mechanism can be blocked or
interfered with through poor diet, emotional stress, physical trauma,
environmental toxins and other factors. When this occurs, illness and
disease result. My approach is to restore and enhance this natural
mechanism to allow the body to heal itself.
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About Dr. Redd