The Connections Warren-Watchung Edition Apr/May 2025

HEALTH & WELLNESS

PAGE 61

HEALTH HOTLINE Functional Medicine Addressing Disease at its Core By Dr. Vince Sferra, DC DIBCN CCN

Regain your Health and Restore your Strength for Life! At NMR, the reasons for your health concerns will be comprehensively assessed and a care plan designed to address all aspects of your condition. Care plans may include: • Hormonal and Metabolic Optimization • Acupuncture • Physical Therapy • Occupational Therapy • Chiropractic • Onero for Osteoporosis • Biofeedback Therapy • Shock Wave Therapy (EPAT) • Nutrition Counseling • Functional Medicine • Medical Weight Loss

unctional Medicine (FM) has de veloped over the past couple of decades as an approach in medicine that goes beyond a dis ease-oriented, symptoms-based approach to patient care. Realizing that there are always mechanisms that drive the disease process, FM seeks to uncover the underlying process es that contribute to and create dysfunctions, conditions, and potential disease. This includes chronic diseases such as diabetes and arterio sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Celiac, and autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s). It also includes many gastrointestinal syndromes such as IBS, SIBO, gastritis, and GERD. These diseases, as well as cognitive decline syndromes (dementia in its early stages) and other neurologic disorders such as MS, and even some cancers, are almost always preceded by a lengthy period of declining function and health in one or more body systems. For most of us, these syndromes and conditions are the result of life-long interactions with our envi ronment, lifestyle, and genetics (newly termed, your ‘exposome’). Ideally, functional medicine is utilized by a skilled FM doctor to identify and ameliorate dysfunctions in the physiology and biochemistry of the human body as a pri mary method of improving patient health, op timally before an actual diagnosis of a disease. F unctional Medicine (FM) has de

chosen foods. These are some of the most com mon drivers of disease and dysfunction. The FM model of patient care requires extensive investigation utilizing diagnostic tools such as blood work and imaging, physical examina tion, comprehensive health history and system review questionnaires, toxic exposure assess ment, status of one’s stress and its management, sleep patterns, and genetic predispositions. A functional medicine doctor recognizes that each patient represents a unique, complex, and interwoven web of interac tions that create the terrain for health or disease. Once these individual drivers of disease are identified in a patient, the FM doctor makes recommendations for diet and nutrition, and provides natural therapeutic interventions, which are lifestyle based in most cases. The goal is to eliminate the driving forces of any imbalance and fortify the body’s efforts to re build and heal. If we only treat the symptoms, these factors will continue to be drivers for imbalance and lead to further advancement of dysfunction and disease. The functional med icine approach is not only ideal for disease prevention but also to arrest, and possibly even reverse, the progression of chronic disease. Functional medicine is a process-oriented approach to healthcare. A patient in the func tional medicine model is not a passive entity, but rather an integral team player in the quest to regain health and become strong again. This healthcare model meets a deep need for not only optimizing individual health but also for raising the health of our communities. Ready to learn more about your weight loss program options? Schedule a Complimentary Consultation with Natural Medicine & Reha bilitation’s experienced healthcare providers. Together, we’ll explore all your weight loss op tions and create a plan tailored to your unique needs. Your journey to a healthier, happier you starts here! Visit us at www.nmrnj.com or 399 Campus Drive, Suite 110, Somerset, NJ. Call our office at 908-252-0242.

Call our center at 908-252-0242 for a complimentary consultation to see how NMR can assist you in reaching your health and wellness goals. NMRNJ.com | (908) 252-0242 | 399 Campus Drive, Somerset Dr.Vince Sferra , DC DIBCN Founder of Natural Medicine and Rehabilitation

A functional medicine doctor recognizes that each patient represents a unique, complex, and interwoven web of interactions that create the terrain for health or disease (again: your ex posome). With this approach, we assess core clinical imbalances, fundamental physiological processes, environmental inputs, and genetic predispositions in a highly individualized, pa tient-care model. Examples of core clinical imbalances include blood sugar dysregulation, digestive system imbalances, chronic un-tempered stress re sponses, inactive lifestyle, toxic burden, sleep problems, poor diet, insufficient nutrient sta tus, or immune hypersensitivities to regularly

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