Treating the Symptoms, Not the Cause

      Today, students being trained in medicine are learning in schools mostly funded by large pharmaceutical companies that have a vested interest in promoting the use of medicines to control rather than cure a disease. These young doctors in training are taught to treat the symptoms with the use of medicines rather than to search for the source of the problem which often leads to prescribing pills or potions that have side effects frequently as bad as the ailment they are supposed to treat.              Looking at the literature that comes along with modern medications can be a scary experience, especially when you get past the "how to use" portion of the document and get to the section covering side effects. I have personally read on some of the prescriptions that I have received over the years side effects includingcancer, heart attack, and death. So, if you take this "medicine" that is supposed to help you, it could kill you. Sadly, most people never read past "how to use." Unless your doctor practices Functional Medicine, you cannot expect anything different from a doctor currently in practice.
      Functional Medicine is where a health practitioner searches to find the source of the problem rather than simply addressing the symptoms. They will first seek natural means of alleviating the symptoms rather than writing a prescription for a medication. In other words, they will direct you to change your diet to correct your diabetes, arthritis, or stomach pains rather than having you take a pill or an injection, if you have not already past the point where that strategy will work. They will guide you with the knowledge to make whatever changes they want you to make. They will not hand you a prescription and shuttle you out the door. If your doctor does not practice functional medicine, I suggest you look for another.