Functional Medicine is an approach to healthcare that focuses on understanding and addressing the root causes of illness, rather than just managing symptoms. It seeks to identify and address the underlying imbalances or dysfunctions in the body’s systems to promote optimal health.

Conventional medicine tends to follow a reductionist approach where systems are considered in isolation of each other, for example: you will see an endocrinologist for hormonal imbalances and a gastroenterologist for digestive imbalances. Often not much consideration is given to the possible connection between these two. 

By contrast, Functional Medicine uses a systems biology approach where there is an understanding that all body systems are interconnected and impact each other and imbalances in one area (e.g. hormones) may not be separate from imbalances in another area (e.g. digestion).

Conventional medicine can be incredibly beneficial when it comes to acute care, for example, accidents, emergencies or acute infections. However, many people who experience a chronic condition, such as CFS, are often let down by conventional medicine because it lacks the framework and understanding to grasp the multifaceted complexity of the illness and the personalisation of support that is required. 

Functional Medicine and Naturopathy are related in that they both emphasise a holistic approach to healthcare. There are many similarities between the Functional Medicine approach and Naturopathic approach. For example both approaches:

• Consider the whole person e.g. mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing
• Work towards addressing the root cause of illness and see the body as a network of different systems that interact with each other
• May harness natural approaches to support health such as diet and lifestyle changes, herbs and supplements

When working with a Functional Medicine Practitioner compared to a Naturopath, there may be discrepancies in overall philosophy and the types of approaches used. However, these discrepancies may depend more so on the practitioner, their training and years of experience in the field over and above the disciplines themselves. 

In addition to a Functional Medicine Practitioner and Naturopath, other practitioners who may hold similar philosophies and values include:

• Nutritional Therapists
• Nutritionists
• Integrative Medicine Practitioners

The terms Nutritionist or Nutritional Therapist are not legally regulated terms which means that anyone can call themselves a Nutritionist or a Nutritional Therapist, whether they have a Masters Degree or they have done a 12 week online course. However, there are regulatory bodies such as the British Association of Nutritional Therapists (BANT) and Complementary Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) which will only accept members with a certain standard of qualification. Therefore, if you are considering working with a practitioner of any kind I recommend that you ask for their qualifications, whether they are a member of an appropriate regulatory body, years of experience and experience with the condition with which you present and up to date insurance. 

To make things even more complicated, Nutritionists and Nutritional Therapists can also train in Naturopathy and Functional Medicine. 

My personal experience completing my Functional Medicine Training after completing my Masters Degree in Personalised Nutrition and Honours Degree in Nutritional Therapy was that there was a lot of overlap between the two trainings and I was very grateful for the depth of knowledge that I had already acquired from my previous degrees. 

Functional Medicine is based on four important principles:

This framework is invaluable when it comes to working with CFS patients because there is often no one single root cause. Rather, there are a cluster of imbalances that have developed over time, sometimes even decades, which eventually lead to an inability to cope. 

Many of the clients that we work with have had ongoing health niggles for a long period of time. They may have a high stress lifestyle, history of concussion or brain injury is common, poorly managed autoimmunity or anaemia, poor diet or blood sugar imbalances and digestive issues. Often, but not always, something happens which is the straw that breaks the camel’s back; an emotional trauma, a viral infection, a vaccine, food poisoning or living in a mouldy home. 

Our role is to connect the dots and help the person understand how everything is linked and from here we can create a roadmap to recovery. 

Although every case of CFS can be unique, in practise we generally find that there are two main types of clients:

The first are those that are often in the early stages of their journey. They may feel very up and down, like nothing is helping them, two steps forward and two steps backward. These people often need stabilising, in which case blood sugar management, nervous system support, good pacing and sleep hygeine are the most effective tools. We work a lot on blood sugar balance with almost all our clients and generally find eating more protein, fats and fibre and less carbohydrate helps our clients feel more stable. 

The second are those that have the basics in place but they have hit a plateau and are no longer seeing progress. Often in this case there can be underlying infections that need to be addressed. We’ve had a lot of success with our clients working on digestive issues, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), eliminating parasites, candida or mould colonisation. Many people who experience chronic fatigue have a high need for antioxidants. Post-exertional malaise can occur when the body is overwhelmed by oxidative stress. Supporting the body’s antioxidant systems is another thing that we see work really well, especially when clients are ready to expand their exercise capacity. 

Functional Testing differs from the tests your regular General Practitioner will run because they are not diagnostic. In other words, Functional Medicine labs aim to identify imbalance, instead of disease. Because of this, it can be useful in particular for those who have “normal” blood work but still feel very unwell. 

In our practice we use a combination of traditional bloodwork lab tests and Functional Testing. Our preference is to start off with a basic blood screen as this, alongside a thorough case history, can help advise the client on what, if any, further testing is required. 

Most of our clients will do 1-2 tests, those with a bigger budget may do more. Tests that we find most useful in clinical practise are:

• Comprehensive Stool Testing
• Urine Organic Acids and Mycotoxin Testing (for those who we suspect have mould illness)
• Cyrex Array 5 for Autoimmunity 

Tests can range between £300-£600 which isn’t always accessible, especially when being unwell has impacted your ability to work. Testing can help with decision making and directing support strategies but I would also add that we can get a lot of useful information from a comprehensive blood test and starting with basics like eating enough protein, balancing blood sugar, proper pacing and nervous system support. 

Very often we have clients who come to us and they’ve spent a fortune on testing and expensive supplements  but they have completely overlooked these foundations. We are a big advocate for not neglecting the basics!

When I became unwell I was already trained in Functional Medicine as a Functional Medicine Nutritional Therapist. However, there is a lot to be said for experience within a specific niche and although I had been practising for 10 years, I didn’t have experience working with chronic fatigue syndrome specifically. 

I hired a Functional Medicine Practitioner to support me on my journey and this combined with my own research and trial and error is what eventually helped me to recover. Although I noticed positive changes very quickly in some respects, it did take time because there were certain things that were missed for several years, specifically mould illness. 

The things that helped me the most on a personal level were:

• Addressing blood sugar balance, a ketogenic diet and fasting
• Addressing digestive issues and nutrient deficiencies due to malabsorption
• Supporting the liver and gallbladder 
• Detoxing mould mycotoxins and dealing with ongoing colonisation
• Learning to pace properly
• Supporting my nervous system

However, if I was to write a list like this for one of my clients, it may look very different because each case is different. 

Watch Anna’s recovery story

Experiencing CFS was one of the lowest points of my life and yet, philosophically, I am grateful for the opportunity to overcome this challenge because it has guided me in my life’s work and purpose. 

I am now committed to giving others the support that I wish I had received when my whole world came crashing down. 

I have a comprehensive blog and podcast where you can dive deeper into topics that feel relevant to you or just start at the beginning and work your way through!

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