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Research in Functional Medicine
While there is abundant research in the basic sciences and in the various aspects of the core imbalances that make up Functional Medicine and UltraWellness (see the 7 Keys to UltraWellness), there are not enough studies that prove, that as a whole approach, as a new model for diagnosis and treatment, that Functional Medicine is more effective or cost-effective than traditional care.
The experience of thousands of doctors treating tens of thousands of patients using this approach has been dramatic and convincing for the patients who recover and the doctors who practice this way.
But it is NOT enough for conventional doctors to change the way they practice, or for insurance companies or the government to cover this type of care. This must change.
The only way is through well-designed, well-funded studies from the best institutions.
That is why I created the Functional Medicine Research and Practice Advisory Group, which is helping to lead, shape and promote research in Functional Medicine.
And it is why I am collaborating with Harvard Medical School to develop a research program in Functional Medicine.
Our first study has been funded and is under way through the Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at the Osher Institute at Harvard Medical School (www.osher.hms.harvard.edu). It is a survey of Functional Medicine practitioners that will help establish the field – who they are, what they do, what diseases they treat, what treatments are used, the effectiveness rates and so on.
Two other studies are in the planning stages – one using the model of Functional medicine to treat a chronic disease that does not respond well to conventional care, and which has a high burden of suffering and cost to society.
The other is a collaboration with David Ludwig, MD, PhD, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and a leading obesity researcher who has published over 70 scientific articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet and more. We will test the Functional Medicine approach to obesity – a gargantuan problem both in the amount of disease and suffering that results and the costs to our society.
Unfortunately, the National Institutes of Health tends not to fund studies of this type, and drug companies obviously are pouring billions in another direction.
For a few hundred thousand to a million dollars, these studies can be funded and help change medicine forever.
At the same time you support your health by purchasing the best quality nutritional supplements, you can also participate in changing medicine through supporting research.