Dr. med. Sophia Wachner is an internist and functional physician. She runs a practice for functional medicine, orthomolecular medicine and nutritional medicine and is a partner in the MoleQlarconsultation program.
The figures are worrying: in Germany, 40 percent of the total population currently suffer from one or more chronic diseases. Almost one in three of them live with these conditions for 20 years or longer (study by Stiftung Gesundheitswissen, 2021). This means that almost every second person in Germany is now affected.
The number of people suffering from complex, chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular or autoimmune diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis) and mental health problems continues to rise - not just in Germany, but globally. However, while other countries have a mediocre healthcare system, the German equivalent is one of the best in the world. This raises the legitimate question: how can this be? The answer is as simple as it is frightening:
Our way of life is less and less in line with what our human body actually needs.
Mismatch between body and environment
We are not designed to be stressed, surrounded by toxins, inflamed, infected, deficient in essential micronutrients and unrested. Yet we expect (also driven by our society) to be full of energy, to grow, to reproduce, to be slim, to feel good, to eat everything we want, to digest perfectly and to have great sex. A combination of desires that is a contradiction in terms.
All organisms on earth are adapted to a specific living environment. Maladaptation occurs when this environment changes dramatically and the organism does not have time to adapt. This mismatch between our genes and our modern life is the main reason why chronic diseases have become the huge problem they are today.
The conventional approach
The conventional approach of our healthcare system focuses on cure - i.e. the treatment of diseases and individual symptoms. Instead of promoting real health, conventional doctors simply diagnose a disease and try to suppress the symptoms (usually) with prescription drugs. These drugs rarely address the root cause of the problem. Instead, they often only suppress symptoms at the expense of vital bodily functions. In order to treat these unintended side effects, the medication is in turn extended. This results in a vicious cycle of medication for the rest of life without addressing the root of the disease.
The eternal prescription cycle
Let's take a quick look at an everyday example of conventional healthcare to illustrate this: a person with high blood pressure comes to the GP for a 10-minute appointment. The doctor measures her blood pressure and the patient then goes home with a prescription for a new medication. After that, she is on her own until her next appointment. At this appointment, she will probably only be given a follow-up prescription, perhaps even without seeing her GP at all. The causes of her complaints in terms of diet, lifestyle and environment would be completely ignored. And thus the opportunity to work with health advisors and other trained professionals to create an individualized treatment plan for their cardiovascular health that would not only alleviate the symptoms, but actually bring the longed-for cure.
The functional approach
Functional medicine takes this approach, which focuses on the cause of a disease rather than relying on drugs to suppress symptoms. It corrects the imbalance between our body and our environment through dietary and lifestyle interventions.
In short: functional medicine is our best weapon against chronic diseases.
It views the body as an interrelated 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 disease, pursuing a system-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.
Functional medicine for the 21st century
Functional medicine is an evolution of prevailing university medical practice that is much more responsive to the healthcare needs of the 21st century. Practitioners take time for their patients, listen to their story and examine the interactions between genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors that can influence health and disease. The aim is to empower the patient to take responsibility for their own health through a deep understanding of the complex interrelationships .
Acute care pointless for chronic diseases
The medicine practiced by most doctors is mainly focused on acute care, i.e. the diagnosis and treatment of injuries or illnesses that are of short duration and require urgent treatment. Anyone who has had appendicitis or suffered a broken leg, for example, can readily confirm this. Doctors act according to specific, prescribed guidelines and treat with drugs or surgery aimed at treating the immediate problem or symptom. Unfortunately, however, acute care medicine does not have the appropriate methods and tools to prevent and treat 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 that have a direct impact on the rise of chronic diseases in modern Western society are taken into account.
Only a few doctors work functionally
There is a large time gap between medical theory and medical practice. The time gap between the findings of the latest basic research and their integration into medical practice is enormous. In some cases up to 50 years, especially in the area of complex, chronic conditions. Most doctors are therefore not adequately trained to recognize the causes of such conditions and apply strategies such as diet, nutrition and exercise to ultimately treat and prevent them.
Holistic instead of symptomatic
Functional medicine deals with the development, prevention and treatment of complex, chronic diseases on the basis of patient-centered treatment. The focus of functional medicine is on promoting health in the form of optimal quality of life and vitality and not just striving for the absence of disease.
By listening to the patient and finding out their entire story, the doctor involves them in the treatment process and puts together a therapy concept that is tailored to the patient's individual needs. The result is an integrative, scientifically sound approach to health.
Functional medicine practitioners look "upstream" to consider the complex web of interactions in the patient's medical history, physiology and lifestyle that can trigger disease. Each patient's unique genetic predisposition is considered, as are internal (body, mind and spirit) 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. It focuses on prevention through diet and exercise, the use of advanced laboratory tests and other diagnostic techniques, and combinations of prescription drugs and/or herbal medicines, nutritional supplements, therapeutic diets, detoxification programs or stress management techniques.
Healing the system - rethinking medicine
Our society is spending more and more money on "healthcare", yet we have less and less health to show for it. Today's healthcare industry has largely resigned itself to the belief that managing or alleviating disease is the best we can do. Now, however, is the time to wake up and rethink medicine:
Good medicine that can provide real healing maximizes functional health and consequently minimizes disease by restoring human vitality, potential and balance. And that is precisely why functional medicine must be the approach that guides us into the future.
