COMPENDIUM ON FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE - Flipbook - Page 68
Core Principles of Functional Medicine
Functional medicine operates on several core principles that
differentiate it from conventional approaches:
● Patient-centered care: The therapeutic partnership between
practitioner and patient is emphasized, with personalized
care plans based on individual history, genetics, and lifestyle.
● Systems biology orientation: Practitioners examine patterns
across interconnected systems rather than isolated
symptoms.
● Root-cause resolution: Functional medicine seeks to identify
and address the underlying drivers of dysfunction.
● Biochemical individuality: Each person is unique in genetic
makeup, environmental exposures, and lifestyle, requiring
personalized interventions.
● Health as vitality: Functional medicine defines health not as
the absence of disease, but as optimal functioning across
physical, mental, and emotional dimensions.
The Functional Medicine Matrix
The IFM developed the Functional Medicine Matrix to help
clinicians visually organize patient information and clinical
patterns. It includes the following key components:
● Antecedents, Triggers, and Mediators (ATMs): These are
upstream factors influencing the development of disease.
● The Timeline: A chronological mapping of a patient’s life and
health events.
● The Matrix Nodes: Functional categories including energy
production, detoxification, communication, assimilation,
transport, structural integrity, and defense & repair.
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