Functional Medicine

Conveniently located to serve the areas of Gilbert and Arizona

Functional medicine is healthcare’s next great frontier.

Wellness 1st Integrative Medical Center is your premier destination for cutting-edge healthcare through Functional Medicine, Alternative Medicine, or Holistic Medicine in AZ. Our team of dedicated Functional Medicine doctors/ providers in Gilbert, AZ, is committed to revolutionizing your approach to wellness.  We focus on Thyroiditis, Hypothyroid, Hyperthyroid, Autoimmunities such as Hashimoto’s, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Chrohn’s, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriasis, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), Parkinson’s, Dimentia, Alzheimer’s, Neurological issues, Hormonal Imbalances, Gut issues such as Constipation, Diarrhea, etc. Having successfully treated and helped patients for almost 30 years, we welcome your health issues and look forward to getting you better.  

Discover the Power of Functional Medicine in Arizona with Wellness 1st. Book your appointment with us now!

The highly experienced physicians at Wellness 1st Integrative Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona, practice functional medicine. Functional medicine is a unique modality because it focuses on the root cause of health issues. We consider you as a whole person rather than a mere collection of symptoms. This approach means that you’ll heal from the inside out so you can enjoy better whole-body health for the long-term.

Book your appointment through the online portal or call the office to schedule your visit today.

About Functional Medicine

In functional medicine, the goal is to discover the origin of disease, illness and poor health. We treat these issues at their root cause. The functional medicine team at Wellness 1st Integrative Medical Center always considers your whole-body health first.

Instead of sending you to a dozen specialists for different internal issues, your functional medicine team views your body as an integrated system.

The functional medicine approach emphasizes balance first. Once you’re in a healthy and balanced place, with all organs functioning at their peak, your functional medicine doctor prescribes specific remedies and medications, if needed.

Check out our blog to learn more about our many life-changing treatments at Wellness 1st.

Choose Functional Medicine in Gilbert, AZ 

Our Functional Medicine doctors in Arizona are at the forefront of this revolutionary healthcare model with 30 years of experience. Functional Medicine in Arizona combines the best holistic/ alternative medicine with innovative therapies, emphasizing the importance of a balanced and optimized body function. <

 Key Highlights of Our Functional Medicine Services: 

  1. Comprehensive Patient-Centric Approach: Our Functional Medicine doctor in Gilbert, AZ, prioritizes understanding your unique health history, genetic makeup, and lifestyle to create a personalized treatment plan tailored just for you.
  2. Cutting-Edge Diagnostic Tools: We identify imbalances in your body’s systems utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic tools that allow us to address the underlying causes, providing long-term solutions rather than temporary relief. 
  3. Nutritional Guidance: Functional Medicine in Arizona emphasizes the critical role of nutrition in achieving optimal health. Our experts provide tailored detoxification, food sensitivity testing to help with specific customized nutritional guidance to support your body’s natural healing processes.  Specific nutritional supplementation is used to address and support the function of the organs that are not functioning optimally. )

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How Is Functional Medicine Different from Conventional Medicine?

Many conventional medical doctors treat the patient as a collection of individual organs without looking at the whole body, as functional medicine doctors do. For example, in the case of Back Pain, a conventional medicine doctor might prescribe pain pills. Unfortunately, that only masks the pain, providing temporary relief, but the symptoms will return in a matter of hours. Your functional medicine doctor really delves into the reasons for your back pain. This means extensive testing to learn how and why it started.

With the results of your tests, your functional medicine doctor works with you to correct body imbalances naturally through diet, behavior modification and other all-natural means. When you correct a health problem using the functional medicine approach, it is usually a long-lasting correction rather than a temporary solution.

Your Personal Consultation at Wellness 1st

We offer a free 15-minute consultation for all who are interested in learning more about the amazing benefits of functional medicine. Our informational videos are just the beginning of your journey of discovery. Contact us to learn more. Call (480) 304-5152 to start a conversation that could change your life for the better.

Treatments

Functional medicine offers many comprehensive treatments, including all of the following:

  • Whole-body detox
  • Nutritional counseling
  • Dietary adjustments to avoid food sensitivities
  • Natural hormone balancing
  • Hormone balancing through biocompatible hormone injections and pellets
  • Physical therapy and other prescribed exercises
  • Plant-based supplements to support physiology

Functional medicine treatments can help you to overcome Neurological Problems, leaky gut, Hormonal Imbalance, Chronic Pain, thyroid problems, autoimmunity issues and diabetes.

Many Wellness 1st Integrative Medical Center patients start their functional medicine treatment because they’re dealing with a specific issue like Type 2 diabetes. These patients just want to leave all of the pills behind them.

Your Wellness 1st care provider will use the Functional Medicine Matrix to help devise your course of treatment.

The matrix is designed to organize the seemingly disparate features of your lifestyle and circumstances into a single story. From that story, we will be better able to establish which clinical imbalances are contributing to your illness. Then we can begin planning how best to address them.

The Functional Medicine Matrix

  • Antecedents – factors, genetic or acquired, that predispose an individual to an illness or pattern of disease
  • Triggering Events – factors that provoke the symptoms of illness
  • Mediators – external factors that contribute to ongoing pathological changes and dysfunctional responses

Type 2 Diabetes

Traditional type 2 diabetes remedies are concerned with controlling glycemic indices in the blood. Conventional medicine accomplishes this by deploying a battery of drugs. At Wellness 1st, we feel that this approach misses the entire point. Our Diabetes Treatment Regimen provides more than just the appearance of wellness. We reverse this debilitating disease by actually treating its complex of causes.

A study published in the medical journal Diabetes Care found that vision impairment in diabetes patients has been increasing steadily, despite mainstream medicine’s focus on glycemic control. Singling out symptoms, as conventional medicine does, is only effective insofar as the symptom itself is concerned. Evidently, it may miss other important factors at work within the disease.[1]

At Wellness 1st, we believe that by promoting the holistic needs of the patient, we leave them better equipped to avoid diabetes’ attendant complications. That’s because every chronic illness is the result of an interconnected web of related factors. So, too, is lasting wellness.

Can Type 2 Diabetes Be Cured Naturally?

Diabetes can be reversed with the philosophy of functional medicine. In our approach, food is medicine. Up to 75% of patients are able to normalize their A1c and blood sugar numbers as a result of treatment. Our all-natural therapy has helped many type 2 diabetes sufferers to come off prescription drugs and enjoy a freer, fuller life.

Thyroid Disease

Thyroid disease is severely underdiagnosed—up to 60% of all sufferers don’t even know they have it! This is because the “disease management” lens of patient care too often fails to see the underlying causes of multifold hormonal disorders. At Wellness 1st, our process begins with trying to suss out the illness’s origins. We seek the foundational factors behind Thyroid Disease and treat the illness at its source.

The key to treating thyroid disease is treating the imbalances that are causing it, rather than its myriad symptoms.

The thyroid gland is located in the neck. It produces triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) hormones which help regulate the metabolism and the cardiovascular system. In hypothyroidism, the body does not produce enough thyroid hormones. This may lead to symptoms which include chronic fatigue, depression and rapid weight gain, among others. Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which the body produces too many thyroid hormones, leading to heart palpitations, insomnia and Graves’ disease.

What Are the Underlying Causes of Thyroid Disease?   

Thyroid disorders are caused by nutritional deficiency and autoimmune disease. To address these issues, your Wellness 1st care provider will find the right mix of prescriptive dietary adjustments, lifestyle changes and nutritional supplements to promote a healthy hormonal balance that is unique to you. Your treatment may include a detoxification of your liver, gut, and other organs. Fixing your leaky gut is critical. Eliminating the foods that mimic the destruction of your thyroid organ is also imperative. You may also be advised to seek regular sun exposure to protect against autoimmune disease. Additionally, specific supplements such as iodine, selenium and vitamin D supplements may be necessary.

Autoimmune Conditions

There are a whole range of Autoimmune Conditions that may seem unrelated to one another, according to more limited views of medicine. In functional medicine, however, we look for the underlying causes and connections between seemingly disparate disorders to treat the whole patient, not just the disease.

Common Autoimmune Disorders

  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Low Thyroid
  • Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • Endometriosis
  • Osteoporosis

Can You Reverse an Autoimmune Disease?

Yes; however, there are no cures for autoimmunity yet. Functional medicine recognizes that an interrelated network of living systems support the body. The body may exhibit a multitude of symptoms and disorders in response to a single cause. Autoimmune conditions may be the result of poor detoxification, food sensitivities or a leaky gut.[2] The root cause could be some factor connected to all of these. At Wellness 1st, we get to the bottom of your symptoms and treat the cause. This may require detoxification, nutritional counseling, hormonal balance or some combination of these. The most beneficial mix of treatments is tailor-made for each patient.

How Much Does Functional Medicine Cost in Gilbert, Arizona?

Your health is priceless. Functional medicine is a real value when stacked up against the costs of conventional medicine. Wellness 1st offers relief from chronic illness by treating its root causes, rather than simply masking symptoms. The lively endorsements from our peppy patients speak for themselves. View their stories and see if any ring true for you. Contact us to learn more. Call (480) 304-5152 to speak with one of our courteous staff.

Your cost depends on a variety of factors, which will be discovered and discussed at your consultation with one of our functional medicine practitioners.

FAQ

What exactly is functional medicine?

Functional medicine is a new model for understanding and treating illness. It is a methodology that does not focus its healing remedies on treating the symptoms of a disorder, as traditional medicine does. It is a systemic, biology-based approach that supports the physiology of the underlying causes of a disorder. Practitioners of functional medicine develop an individual, integrative course of treatment for each patient to address their illness holistically. Treatment plans are devised using the Functional Medicine Matrix. The Matrix considers the Antecedents to a particular sickness, its Triggering Events and any Mediators contributing to its continued pathology. The journey to a healthier you can take anywhere from a month to a year, depending on the specifics and severity of your health problems. You can be assured that the functional medicine practitioners at Wellness 1st Integrative Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona will work with you closely. We will hold your hand and keep you accountable during your personalized health care program. Our practitioners are very knowledgeable, courteous and supportive in your path to better health.

What is the difference between integrative and functional medicine?

Functional Medicine is a type of integrative medicine that aims to support and bring a balance to the root causes of an illness. Functional medicine employs a personalized approach to patient care by first identifying which clinical imbalances might leave one susceptible to a disease. Your diagnosis is also determined by factors that may have triggered the illness’ onset and what circumstances continue to sustain it. Integrative medicine generally describes a method of healthcare that combines conventional medicine and holistic techniques. Functional medicine is a discrete discipline with its own practices and protocol that distinguish it from other integrative avenues of care.

Experience Functional Medicine Excellence in Arizona 

Wellness 1st is your gateway to a healthier, more vibrant life. Our commitment to Functional Medicine in Arizona sets us apart, ensuring you receive the care you deserve.

If you’re seeking Functional Medicine in Gilbert, AZ, that goes beyond the ordinary, contact Wellness 1st  today.

References 

  1. Leasher, J. L., Bourne, R. R., Flaxman, S. R., Jonas, J. B., Keeffe, J., Naidoo, K., … Taylor, H. R. (2016). Global Estimates on the Number of People Blind or Visually Impaired by Diabetic Retinopathy: A Meta-analysis From 1990 to 2010. Diabetes Care, 39(9), 1643–1649. doi: 10.2337/dc15-2171
  2. Allen, J., Montalto, M., Lovejoy, J., & Weber, W. (2011). Detoxification in Naturopathic Medicine: A Survey. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 17(12), 1175–1180. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0572