Dr. med. Sophia Wachner is an internist and functional medicine practitioner. She runs a practice for Functional Medicine, Orthomolecular Medicine, and Nutritional Medicine and is a partner in the MoleQlar-consulting program.
The numbers are alarming: Currently, 40 percent of the total population in Germany suffers from one or more chronic diseases. Almost one in three lives with these ailments for 20 years or longer (Study by the Health Knowledge Foundation, 2021). Thus, nearly every second resident of Germany is affected.
The number of people suffering from complex, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular or autoimmune diseases (for example, rheumatoid arthritis) and mental health issues continues to rise – not only in Germany but globally.While other countries have mediocre healthcare systems, the German counterpart is among the best in the world. This raises the legitimate question, how can this happen? The answer is as simple as it is frightening: Our way of living increasingly does not align with what our human body actually needs. Discrepancy between body and environment We are not designed to be stressed, surrounded by toxins, inflamed, infected, deficient in essential micronutrients, and unrested. Nevertheless, we expect (also driven by our society) to be full of energy, to grow, to reproduce, to be slim, to feel good, to eat whatever we want, to digest perfectly, and to have great sex. A desired combination that is a contradiction in itself.
All organisms on Earth are adapted to a specific living environment. A maladaptation occurs, when this environment changes dramatically and the organism has no time to adapt. This maladaptation between our genes and our modern life is the main reason why chronic diseases have become the enormous problem they are today.
The conventional approach
The conventional approach of our healthcare system focuses on curation – that is, the treatment of diseases and individual symptoms.Instead of promoting real health, conventional doctors simply diagnose a disease and try to suppress the symptoms (mostly) with prescription medications. These medications rarely address the actual cause of the problem. Instead, they often only suppress symptoms, and that at the expense of vital bodily functions. To treat these unintended side effects, the medication is again expanded. This creates a vicious cycle of medications for the rest of life, without addressing the root of the disease.
The eternal prescription cycle
To illustrate, let’s take a brief look at a common example of conventional healthcare: A person with high blood pressure comes in for a 10-minute appointment with the family doctor.This measures the blood pressure and afterwards the patient goes home with a prescription for a new medication. After that, she is left to her own devices until her next appointment. At this appointment, she will probably only receive a follow-up prescription, perhaps even without seeing the family doctor at all. The causes of her complaints regarding nutrition, lifestyle, and environment would be completely disregarded. And thus the opportunity to create an individual treatment plan for her cardiovascular health with health consultants and other trained professionals, which not only alleviates the complaints but actually brings the desired healing.
The functional approach
Functional medicine follows this path, which places the cause of a disease at the center, rather than relying on medications to suppress symptoms. It corrects the imbalance between our body and our environment through measures in the areas of nutrition and lifestyle.
In short: functional medicine is our best weapon against chronic diseases.
It views the body as an interconnected system, not as a collection of individual organs assigned to medical specialties. And functional medicine treats the whole system, not just the symptoms.It addresses the underlying causes of diseases, pursuing a systems-oriented approach that focuses on the interaction between the body system (metabolism, nutrition, routines, ...) and the environment, and involves both the patient and the treating physician in a therapeutic partnership. In functional medicine, the focus is on researching causes rather than combating symptoms. Functional Medicine for the 21st Century Functional medicine is an evolution of the prevailing university medical practice that better meets the needs of 21st-century healthcare.Practitioners take the time to listen to their patients' stories and examine the interactions between genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence health and disease. The goal is to empower patients to take responsibility for their own health through a deep understanding of the complex interrelationships. .
Acute care is pointless in chronic diseases
The medicine practiced by most doctors is mainly focused on acute care, i.e., on the diagnosis and treatment of injuries or illnesses that are short-term and need urgent treatment. Anyone who has, for example, had appendicitis or suffered a broken leg can confirm this gratefully.Doctors act according to specific, prescribed guidelines and treat with medications or surgeries aimed at addressing the immediate problem or symptom. Unfortunately, acute medicine does not have the appropriate methods and instruments for the prevention and treatment of complex, chronic diseases. In most cases, neither the unique genetic makeup of each individual nor factors such as exposure to environmental toxins and aspects of today's lifestyle, which have a direct impact on the increase of chronic diseases in modern Western society, are taken into account.
Only a few doctors work functionally
There is a significant time gap between medical theory and medical practice.The time span between the findings of the latest fundamental research and their integration into medical practice is enormous. Partially up to 50 years, especially in the area of complex, chronic diseases. Most doctors are therefore not adequately trained to recognize the causes of such diseases and to apply strategies such as nutrition, diet, and exercise to ultimately treat and prevent them.
Holistic instead of symptomatic
Functional medicine deals with the emergence, prevention, and treatment of complex, chronic diseases based on a patient-centered approach. The focus of functional medicine is to promote health in the form of optimal quality of life and vitality, rather than merely striving for the absence of disease.
By listening to the patient and learning their entire history, the doctor involves them in the treatment process and develops a therapy plan tailored to the individual needs of the patient. This creates an integrative, scientifically based health approach.
Functional medicine practitioners look "upstream" to consider the complex web of interactions in the patient's medical history, physiology, and lifestyle that can trigger diseases. The unique genetic predisposition of each patient is taken into account, as well as internal (body, mind, and soul) and external (physical and social environment) factors that affect overall function.
Innovative and traditional
Functional medicine integrates the best medical practices. It combines traditional Western medical therapies with what is sometimes referred to as "integrative" medicine. The focus is on prevention through nutrition and exercise, the use of state-of-the-art lab tests and other diagnostic techniques, as well as combinations of prescription medications and/or herbal remedies, dietary supplements, therapeutic diets, detox programs, or stress management techniques.
Healing the system – Rethinking medicine
Our society spends more and more money on "healthcare," yet we have less and less health to show for it.The current healthcare industry has largely resigned itself to the belief that managing or alleviating diseases is the best we can do. But now it is time to wake up and rethink medicine:
Good medicine that can offer real healing maximizes functional health and consequently minimizes diseases by restoring human vitality, potential, and balance. And that is exactly why functional medicine must be the approach that will accompany us into the future.
