Dr. Paul Deglmann
Meghan Feir Walker
Have you tried countless new diets, gone to various specialists, and still haven’t found relief? This is a common problem we see at Restorative Health Solutions. Many of our patients suffer from digestive issues and other health ailments for years before coming to see us and receiving the relief they need.
To help our patients get on the path toward healing, we make various health assessments, conduct thorough testing, and create a personalized functional nutrition plan. But how does functional nutrition differ from conventional nutrition advice, and what is involved with this functional nutrition approach? Keep reading to learn how we incorporate this important area into our protocols.
What is functional nutrition?
Functional nutrition is a holistic approach focused on food and nutrition that also incorporates lifestyle factors, genetics, underlying conditions, and other factors to help identify the root causes of health issues. Following this approach, we focus on eating a diet full of organic (when possible), high-quality, nutrient-dense, whole foods rich in phytonutrients and discourage eating highly processed, high-sugar foods.
This more personalized and holistic approach can help identify the root causes of health issues by considering an individual’s genetics, lifestyle, nutrient status, and environment. Everyone has unique needs, problems, and habits, which is why this “one-size-fits-one” approach is so important and effective.
Difference between functional nutrition and conventional nutrition
Conventional nutrition has almost always followed a one-size-fits-all approach and has changed throughout the decades. From demonizing eggs and healthy fats to glorifying grains, the standard American diet and its conventional nutrition guidelines have often led people astray. The off-balance food pyramid is a good example of this.
For years, Americans were told to consume 6-11 servings of cereal, pasta, bread, rice, and other grain products, making it the biggest food pyramid category. This led to greater inflammation in the general public, especially because of the chemicals used on these crops.
Conventional nutrition primarily focuses on meeting basic dietary requirements and managing symptoms through standardized recommendations, making overgeneralizations far too often.
Core components of functional nutrition
The core components of function nutrition include following these guidelines:
- Assessing health history, current conditions, environmental exposures, stress levels, current diet, and the amount of regular physical activity
- Utilizing various tests based on functional standards to discover and address nutritional deficiencies, imbalances, allergies, sensitivities, and more
- Developing a personalized diet plan based on the individual’s health status, goals, and test results
- Incorporating whole, unprocessed foods that are rich in phytonutrients
Benefits of functional nutrition
The benefits of implementing functional nutrition into your lifestyle are vast and provide a strong foundation for health. Some of these benefits include:
- Management of well-being through tailored nutrition
- Enhancement of cognitive function and mental well-being
- Support for digestive wellness and the gut microbiome
- Strengthening of immune function and inflammation management
Eating a whole foods diet rich in phytonutrients can promote balance within the microbiome, a cornerstone of your health.
Your microbiome has a huge effect on your overall health. Known as your second brain, your gut is responsible for producing a large portion of your neurotransmitters. Your neurotransmitter levels can affect your mood and brain function, and if your microbiome is off, so is the production of these important communicators.
Your microbiome also makes up the majority of your immune system. Approximately 70 to 80% of your immune system resides in your gut, and a vast majority of your immune system comes from your microbiome.
The more research is done on the microbiome’s immense impact on the body, the more we realize the significance of keeping it balanced and healthy.
Correcting nutritional deficiencies can also provide the body with the right amount of nutrients to promote optimal function at the cellular level and throughout all systems of the body.
Eventually, for better or worse, your diet, environment, and lifestyle choices will influence and shape your microbiome and nutrition levels as well.
Implementing functional nutrition in daily life
Before jumping in and making assumptions, it’s important to evaluate your current diet and lifestyle and test for food sensitivities, allergies, and gut issues.
Current diet
By food journaling for a week, we can get a better idea of how balanced your diet is. It is important to evaluate this before we make any personalized recommendations.
Current health conditions
Do you currently have active infections, health conditions, food allergies, food sensitivities, SIBO, MCAS, or other health conditions? We need to know. After going through your symptoms and health history, we may conduct testing to better understand what your body may be fighting.
Stress
When it comes to your lifestyle, stress levels could be a factor in poor digestion. For this reason, we assess your stress levels and current coping habits before offering stress-management strategies.
Toxins
It’s also important to consider your environmental toxins. Are you regularly exposed to mold, mycotoxins, pesticides, herbicides, harsh cleaning chemicals, and other toxins? Harmful chemicals can completely alter the endocrine system, disrupting your microbiome and organ function. These toxins can also lead to weight gain, among many other health problems.
Physical activity/exercise
Getting enough regular physical activity or exercise is important for weight management, overall health, and digestion. It can be hard for many people to get enough physical activity in their day because of their jobs or health conditions, but even a little can go a long way. For example, going for a 10-minute walk after eating a meal can help balance blood sugar levels.
Sleep quality
Everyone knows sleep is important, but most people aren’t getting the quality, restful sleep they need for their bodies to function optimally. Whether this is due to bad habits, such as watching TV, staring at a laptop or phone screen before bed, eating meals too late, not getting enough daily activity, and eating too much sugar or caffeine, or it’s caused by underlying health problems, we want to understand why you aren’t getting the restful sleep you need.
After making these assessments, we will then provide education on how you can transition your diet and lifestyle.
Functional nutrition at Restorative Health Solutions
If you have felt disheartened after trying multiple diets, doctors, specialists, and clinics, you’re not alone. However, there are answers and you can start feeling better.
Functional nutrition is just one aspect of how we practice functional medicine at Restorative Health Solutions. However, it’s an important piece of the puzzle and is a big part of our personalized patient protocols.
In addition to the functional nutrition concepts for diet, we commonly test for food allergies and sensitivities to gain even more clarity and further individualize the diet.
After gaining knowledge of the patient’s current diet, health, and habits and getting the food allergy and food sensitivity test results back, we make specific dietary suggestions and provide resources to make the transition easier.
Take the next step toward better health
Take control of your gut health and nutrition with guidance from Dr. Paul at Restorative Health Solutions.
Schedule your consultation today to explore how functional nutrition and testing can unlock personalized insights for a healthier, more balanced life.
We hope this article helps you in your quest for answers and relief. Consult with your healthcare practitioner to find out what steps are right for you.
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