Wellness is used to mean a healthy balance of the mind-body and spirit that results in an overall feelingof well-being.
Wellness has also been defined in the context of alternative medicine; a method of functioning which is oriented toward maximizing the potential of which the individual is capable. It requires that the individual maintain a continual balance and purposeful direction within the environment where he is functioning.
Functional medicine has been described as the medicine of the future.
Today, many alternative medicine practitioners use a functional medicine approach that includes the following:
Patient uniqueness: Each individual is unique. This uniqueness includes voluntary activities, such as decision-making, personality development, and emotional response, and involuntary activities like metabolism of nutrients, cellular processing of information, and communication among the body's organ systems.
Patient-centered approach: Functional medicine practitioners use a patient-centered approach to support wellness.
Preventive care: Optimal health is not just the absence of disease. Even the most minor symptoms can foreshadow more serious conditions later in life.
Through changes in lifestyle, environment, and nutrition, functional medicine professionals rely on their knowledge of key physiological, genetic, and biochemical processes for establishing an innovative form of total patient wellness through the diversity of interests.
