Advanced Functional Medicine Australia
In Australia, Functional Medicine has emerged as the medical discipline to overcome chronic health problems in and address the underlying causes of disease.
Are you tired of feeling unwell? Has traditional medicine been unable to uncover the root of your ongoing illness? Do you have a persistent feeling that you should feel better than you do?
At Advanced Functional Medicine Australia, we believe everyone deserves to live their best life, with optimal physical and mental health.
We work with you to find solutions to your health issues that will change the way you live, for the better.
- We listen to you to understand the multiple facets of your health
- We use advanced diagnostic testing to uncover the root causes of your health issues
- We create an integrative, science-based plan that will target your underlying health problems and get you back on the road to good health
What is Functional Medicine in Australia?
Functional Medicine in Australia is an integrative, science-based approach to health care with a focus on patient-centred care. Australian Functional Medicine is an emerging field that is achieving excellent results through its integrative and holistic approach.
It provides alternative therapies by blending natural medicine and the latest scientific research to address the underlying causes of disease. Rather than just treating symptoms in isolation, which is often what conventional medicine will do, functional medicine practitioners work with patients to find the root cause of illness to balance body systems and return them to optimal health.
Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease. In this way, functional medicine supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual.
How can Advanced Functional Medicine help you?
Preventative health care services that address causes of illness and educate and empower patients to live healthier lives are the future. If we can shift from a society that puts its resources into treating the symptoms of disease to a society that considers the social, economic and environmental origins of health problems, we can make additional strides to live longer and better lives as a whole.
Our Functional Medicine practitioners in Australia treat the root cause of the patients health problems and utilise advanced functional testing to uncover imbalances in the patients biochemistry.
As Functional Medicine treats the body as a whole, Functional Medicine health practitioners treat a wide variety of health issues, conditions and disorders, viewing them as interconnected and culminating in symptoms that reduce the quality of life for the patient.
Functional Medicine health practitioners may treat a variety of issues simultaneously, to observe and influence the impact one condition may have on another. “A disease can have more than one imbalance that needs to be treated. For example, obesity can be the result of imbalances in inflammation, hormones, gut flora, genetics, diet and exercise or exposure to environmental toxins.
Similarly, one imbalance — such as inflammation — can cause many conditions. Functional Medicine studies these complexities and believes restoring balance is key to restoring health.”
What types of conditions and diseases does Advanced Functional Medicine treat?
The health issues Advanced Functional Medicine Australia identifies, diagnoses and treats include:
Musculoskeletal conditions
fibromyalgia, gout, arthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Mental health disorders
anxiety, panic attacks, ADD/ADHD, depression, eating disorders, cognitive decline, schizophrenia and chronic stress.
Skin disorders
acne, alopecia, dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea and urticaria.
Immune system disorders
autoimmune disorders such as hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s disease), hyperthyroidism (Grave’s disease), lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, food allergies and intolerances, herpes, glandular fever, tinnitus and other viral infections.
Gastrointestinal system disorders
Celiac disease, constipation, diarrhea, reflux, flatulence, gastritis, IBD (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease), gut dysbiosis, bacterial infections, food intolerances and parasites.
Nervous system disorders
Alzheimer’s disease/dementia, insomnia, headaches/migraines, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease.
Endocrine system disorders
diabetes, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, other thyroid conditions, hypoglycaemia and adrenal fatigue.
Women’s health issues
endometriosis, infertility, menopause, PCOS, pregnancy and PMS.
Men’s health issues
erectile dysfunction, infertility, prostatitis, testosterone decline and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Cardiovascular system conditions
anaemia, heart disease, hemochromatosis, hypertension, hypotension, oedema and varicose veins.
Liver and gall bladder issues
poor liver function and detoxification, alcoholic liver disease and non-alcoholic liver disease, gallstones and cirrhosis.
Metabolic dysregulation
metabolic syndrome and obesity.
Respiratory system conditions
allergic rhinitis, asthma and COPD.
Urinary system issues
kidney disease and urinary tract infections.
Clinic specialities of Advanced Functional Medicine Australia
What kind of Medical Testing will I undergo?
We offer a large range of the most comprehensive and advanced medical testing in Australia.
In order to detect the root causes of your health issues, we may perform tests that include:
The origins of Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine was invented by chemist Jeffrey and his wife Susan Bland. They founded the Institute for Functional Medicine in 1991 as a division of HealthComm.
Their vision was to bring emerging evidence and insights to clinical medicine that would enable it to move from the “drug-based model of fighting infectious diseases that worked so well in the 20th century to a systems-oriented, patient-focused clinical model designed to reverse the growing chronic disease epidemic”.
They understood that contemporary society’s most prevalent health issues are mostly caused by the interactions between genetics, lifestyle choices and environmental exposures. To treat them requires understanding these interactions and using that understanding to design appropriate treatments that are personalized to each individual.
“Like the creation of many new ideas, the Functional Medicine concept cannot be tracked to a well-defined business plan or an organized management structure. Rather, it emerged organically from conversations and collaborations, and then it continued to evolve due to the shared visions—and hard work—of many dedicated health professionals.”
- Jeffrey Bland
The emergence of Functional Medicine in Australia
Functional Medicine is a well-established discipline in the United States, originating from the work of pioneers such as Dr Jeffrey Bland and Dr Mark Hyman, with many qualified and experienced Functional Medicine Health Specialists practicing their work in the community. Many Americans regularly see a Functional Medicine practitioner.
In Australia, Functional Medicine is still in its infancy with fewer numbers of specialists practicing. But as more and more Australians find lasting relief from symptoms through Functional Medicine, its popularity is growing.
Advanced Functional Medicine was founded in Australia by Jarrod Cooper - ND, a Naturopathic Doctor with extensive functional medicine training from leading practitioners in the USA and worldwide. He is leading the way with advancements of functional medicine, clinically implementing worldwide best practices in Advanced Functional Medicine clinic's throughout Australia.
How is Functional Medicine different from conventional medicine?
“Conventional medicine isn’t really healthcare—it’s disease management. Rather than optimising wellness through preventive and restorative lifestyle strategies, it focuses on managing illness once it has already occurred, primarily by suppressing symptoms with prescription drugs.”
In Functional Medicine, the healthcare plan is personalized and unique and practitioners spend more time educating and counselling patients.
Unlike unqualified health coaches or those who earn quick online certificates, Functional Medicine practitioners are doctors or other medical professionals with university degree's that practice evidence-based health care using modern diagnostic testing. Ensure you seek a suitably qualified functional medicine practitioner in Australia.
Functional Medicine
- Health-oriented
- Collaborative, patient-centred model
- Biochemical individuality
- Cost-effective
- Relieves symptoms by addressing cause
- Preventative approach
- High-touch and high-tech
Conventional Medicine
- Disease-oriented
- Expert, doctor-centred model
- Everyone treated the same way
- Expensive
- Suppresses symptoms with drugs
- Early detection of disease
- High-tech
What are the core principles of Functional Medicine?
Functional Medicine practitioners are respectful of individual patient preferences, needs and values, ensuring patient values guide all clinical decision-making. This way, patients feel empowered to take ownership of their own healing. Patients who are active participants in the development of their therapeutic plan feel more in control of their own well-being and are therefore more likely to make lifestyle changes to improve their health and wellness.
We learn the history of our patients, listening to their stories and tailoring treatments that address the individual’s unique needs. We work to understand how their genetics and environments and lifestyle factors interact to impact their health. The unique genetic makeup of each patient is considered, along with both internal (mind, body, and spirit) and external (physical and social environment) factors that affect total functioning.
The five core principles of Functional Medicine are:
Organise an appointment with a Functional Medicine Practitioner
Why choose Advanced Functional Medicine?
Health is the foundation for everything we do.
At Advanced Functional Medicine, we believe that the body is a powerful tool that can overcome many obstacles with a little help.
Advanced Functional Medicine Australia is a fast-growing integrative medical centre that uses the Functional Medical Model to solve chronic, complex health problems.
We use the best available functional testing and assessment methods across multiple medical disciplines to assess our patient’s biochemistry.
We provide individualized and holistic treatment plans for each patient that in include diet and lifestyle recommendations that complement our targeted biochemistry balancing treatment protocols.
Our Functional Medicine program is designed to complement the body’s natural healing processes to help you overcome sickness, pain, dysfunction, and other medical conditions.
Phone 1800 11 22 36 or get in touch via the form below to find out more on how Functional Medicine can change your life for the better.