Integrative, Alternative, Functional... Oh my! Which medical approach is right for you?
The Many Approaches to Medicine
So, you want to stop popping so many pills. Nice! Now that that's settled...
Where to go from here? There's holistic medicine, you're pretty sure of that. Although you're not sure where the "W" went in the start of that word, you like the idea that the Whole body might one day function in harmony.
Ok, that's a good start. But there's also something about integrative medicine. Which is not to be confused with alternative medicine or functional medicine or even complementary medicine. Best to just close your eyes and draw from the homeopathic hat at this point, right?
Not quite! With great power comes great responsibility, said either Spider-Man's Uncle Ben or 17th century philosopher Voltaire. Two credible sources, you must admit, and it is true that to transition from an allopathic to homeopathic approach to your health is indeed to gain great power and accept great responsibility. So no, you cannot just close your eyes and draw from the homeopathic hat. Caution is not disposable and you need not throw it to the wind. Instead, you seek to understand your options:
Holistic Medicine
Honors the whole being - mind, body and spirit - so that when duty calls and the trio needs to step up to the big stage, they look less like The Three Stooges and more like Destiny's Child. Holistic medicine is seen as more of a lens through which medical professionals can always look while practicing other forms of medicine. Such as...
Integrative Medicine
The union of conventional Western and complementary medicine (in many ways!). Lifestyle choices are written in permanent ink beneath the heading: Things That Really Matter, and the physician works together with patients to honor their complicated (yet beautiful!) collages of mind, body and soul. From there, they choose appropriate treatments.
Complementary Medicine
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), these are the non-mainstream medical practices you add to, ahem, complement the conventional stuff (the pills, operations, medications and all that jazz).
Alternative Medicine
Those same complementary practices... Only without all that conventional jazz. Now, because the practices are central instead of just trusty sidekicks, it's alternative.
Functional Medicine
The 21st century spin on conventional medicine, which includes teamwork between patient and doctor as they both use a systems-based approach to return the body to optimal function. If the disease were a plant, functional medicine would tend to the roots, rather than just snipping off the hopelessly symptomatic leaves.
And all of this stands beside...
Conventional/Allopathic Medicine
Which saves lives, but doesn't necessarily nourish them. It might scoop you, a delicate flower, from the menacing advances of a tractor, but it won't bother to inspect the soil in which it relocates you. Often this means you (the floral patient) find yourself in a brand new depleted spot.
How does FRESH Med work?
The FRESH Med team must confess to being slightly guilty of cherry picking. Meaning: A devouring of the latest scientific literature, plus a thorough consideration all the options, before a tossing of the best ingredients into one FRESH concoction. Stirred gently on low heat, the product of this medical recipe is a healthy lifestyle for the patient.
It's Dr. Graham: a Chef and Harvard trained physician, Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Integrative Medicine.
It's Julie Graham: a Certified Health Coach, Registered Yoga Teacher and Positive Psychology Practitioner with certifications in Meditation and Aromatherapy.
And it’s FRESH Med U: an e-learning course designed by Julie and Dr. Graham to guide you through the FRESH approach to health and wellness on your own time, with Gratitude, Grit and Grace.
The FRESH program examines all the above approaches to medicine with one major goal in mind: to find the best combination of all these options with you, the mix that will lift you to your optimal state of well being...
You're familiar with Synergy: The combined effects of two or more organisms to produce a greater result than each would achieve individually. That's what's FRESH!