Empowering You to Reclaim Your Health and Live the Full Life you Deserve!

Naturopathic Physicians vs. Functional Practitioners

I’ve got a bone to pick!  This bugs me just about every day but more lately because I’m seeing more practitioners call themselves “Functional” but then I’m not seeing real holistic healthcare.

“Functional” implies getting to the root of the problem rather than treating symptoms – BUT what I see is what I call “Green Allopathy” – treating symptoms with supplements instead of meds.
  
​​Almost like calling oneself “Functional” gives a license to market to you, draw you in but then send you out with an enormous bill and big bag of supplements and not often a good result long-term.

You hear me say it all of the time – you CANNOT supplement your way out of a cruddy lifestyle. PERIOD!

But what I’m seeing more each day is a lot of conventional (or not super qualified) practitioners take a few courses at Functional Medicine training programs, get a simple certification and then hang their shingle claiming to be a Functional Practitioner.

And then the consumer is seeing that and assuming they are holistic or that they really understand how to naturally treat the root cause.

This is my frustration!  I end up seeing a lot of these patients in my clinic who have seen some of these practitioners – from acupuncturists to chiropractors to conventional MDs  – these patients come to me very frustrated that these other practitioners “just don’t get it”.

For example – I heard from one 60 year old female client who went to a Functional MD and had a pap smear.  The MD then told her that she had vaginal atropy (that’s thinning of skin) and that she needs to be on Bio-identical hormones because of this.  This client is also super sensitive to medications and supplements. 

OK – let’s use our common sense here:  she is a 60 year old female who SHOULD have vaginal atrophy at her age!  This is not a medical condition!  This is MEDICALIZING a NORMAL STAGE of aging.  A post-menopausal woman WOULD naturally have vaginal atrophy – totally NORMAL (not just common).  We should never medically treat NORMAL! 

​(Now if she had vaginal dryness with intercourse then we can support her topically – but this was not the case.)

​She simply had a very normal, age-related change in her body that was not affecting her in any way that this doctor wanted to medicate and call it “functional” medicine!  Can you think of the downstream effects of adding estrogen to a highly sensitive individual?  I certainly can!

Do you get it?  To put this client on hormones (even bio-identical) is nothing close to holistic.  

I see this with Bio-identical hormones on a daily basis.  Many functional practitioners claim ALL women need Bio-identical hormones at all ages for anti-aging.  They are being trained in the top Functional Medicine programs in the country!

It’s back to ONE SIZE FITS ALL Medicine under the guise of “Functional”!

It doesn’t stop at hormones – I have seen clients who have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on supplements from practitioners and still feel crummy!

Of course they do – we haven’t changed the paradigm – we have just substituted meds with supplements.

I am super proud to be a Board-certified Naturopathic Physician for 18 years now!  I have been trained in the top Naturopathic medical school in the country.  I was in medical school for 5 years and took all of the classes you see in conventional medical school.  In addition, I was comprehensively trained in women’s health – including gynecology and obstetrics.  I sat for Board exams and passed with flying colors​.  In Naturopathic Medical school we eat, breathe, sleep holistic medicine – not just how to treat conditions with herbs and supplements.  Its a different paradigm all together on how we assess to truly understand where the body has gone wrong in it’s most foundational systems and work on correcting those!

Many people have lost faith in their medical providers (whether natural, functional, holistic or conventional).  People seek to find ways to build their systems up instead of rely on man-made medications to “keep them healthy”.  I have always and will always stand with you!​

I will continue to be your resource in keeping you and your family healthy no matter what comes our way!​​​​

xoxo

Dr. K

Interested in chatting with Dr. Kelley?  Call our office or schedule a visit below!  

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For many years and counting – so many people are getting diagnosed with “Depression”.

I covered this before but thought it was worth bringing up again.  Not only are so many practitioners labeling their patients but so many patients are “owning” their diagnosis without question. 

I get it – they feel it gives them an “answer” to why they don’t feel “right”. 

But is it the “answer” for most?

I am in no way saying there aren’t those that are “depressed” but what I AM saying is that not ALL people who get diagnosed with depression are depressed in the classic sense.  But honestly “classic depression” has been found predominately to be a disorder based in gut and hormones imbalance.

About 2 years ago we learned though a meta-analysis research study that there was NO correlation with depression and low serotonin levels and that taking anti-depressants (SSRIs) actually made serotonin even lower – SEE HERE.

If you go to your conventional (or even holistic) practitioner and report feeling “blah” or have a lack of zest for life then it is likely that you will walk out with the diagnosis of depression and some pills. 

But if the practitioner took a moment to really listen to (and HEAR) what this person is saying you would hear that there’s so much more at play than a simplistic “depression” diagnosis.

So, we must dig deeper always!

One of the first things I ask my clients who say they have been diagnosed or think they are depressed:  How is your energy?

99.5% of them respond “horrible”.

Then I ask – “If your energy was good then would you still feel down or depressed?” And almost all said they wouldn’t.

So, what does that tell us?  The issue isn’t depression – the issue is fatigue – physical and/or mental.

The new focus then becomes addressing fatigue.

There is also the possibility of grief at play.  Some that are depressed are dealing with grief and too many practitioners put a timeframe on grief.  There should never be a timeframe on grief.  And this can be addressed through so many different types of modalities.

So overall I find most depression diagnoses to be yet another way to lump people together that might share a certain set of superficial symptoms which allows practitioners to quickly “prescribe something”.

Then where might this fatigue be coming from/WHY is it present?

Some places to look:

  1. Thyroid Imbalances
  2. Poor Nutrition
  3. Inflammation
  4. Gluten Intolerance
  5. Fighting Infection/Parasite/Lyme, etc.
  6. Cancer
  7. Adrenal Burnout/Stress
  8. Sex Hormone Imbalances
  9. Genetic mutations

In other words – demand that your practitioner look for a deeper cause instead of simply medicating you for “Depression” (convention or holistic).

If your practitioner won’t search beyond the diagnosis of depression, then find a new one that will!

 

Never Give Up!

Dr. K

 

Return to main Blog page

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For many years and counting – so many people are getting diagnosed with “Depression”.

I covered this before but thought it was worth bringing up again.  Not only are so many practitioners labeling their patients but so many patients are “owning” their diagnosis without question. 

I get it – they feel it gives them an “answer” to why they don’t feel “right”. 

But is it the “answer” for most?

I am in no way saying there aren’t those that are “depressed” but what I AM saying is that not ALL people who get diagnosed with depression are depressed in the classic sense.  But honestly “classic depression” has been found predominately to be a disorder based in gut and hormones imbalance.

About 2 years ago we learned though a meta-analysis research study that there was NO correlation with depression and low serotonin levels and that taking anti-depressants (SSRIs) actually made serotonin even lower – SEE HERE.

If you go to your conventional (or even holistic) practitioner and report feeling “blah” or have a lack of zest for life then it is likely that you will walk out with the diagnosis of depression and some pills. 

But if the practitioner took a moment to really listen to (and HEAR) what this person is saying you would hear that there’s so much more at play than a simplistic “depression” diagnosis.

So, we must dig deeper always!

One of the first things I ask my clients who say they have been diagnosed or think they are depressed:  How is your energy?

99.5% of them respond “horrible”.

Then I ask – “If your energy was good then would you still feel down or depressed?” And almost all said they wouldn’t.

So, what does that tell us?  The issue isn’t depression – the issue is fatigue – physical and/or mental.

The new focus then becomes addressing fatigue.

There is also the possibility of grief at play.  Some that are depressed are dealing with grief and too many practitioners put a timeframe on grief.  There should never be a timeframe on grief.  And this can be addressed through so many different types of modalities.

So overall I find most depression diagnoses to be yet another way to lump people together that might share a certain set of superficial symptoms which allows practitioners to quickly “prescribe something”.

Then where might this fatigue be coming from/WHY is it present?

Some places to look:

  1. Thyroid Imbalances
  2. Poor Nutrition
  3. Inflammation
  4. Gluten Intolerance
  5. Fighting Infection/Parasite/Lyme, etc.
  6. Cancer
  7. Adrenal Burnout/Stress
  8. Sex Hormone Imbalances
  9. Genetic mutations

In other words – demand that your practitioner look for a deeper cause instead of simply medicating you for “Depression” (convention or holistic).

If your practitioner won’t search beyond the diagnosis of depression, then find a new one that will!

 

Never Give Up!

Dr. K

 

Return to main Blog page

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