Healthspan & Functional Medicine
Healthspan?
We, of a certain age, have all grown up seeing our grandparents and now our own parents suffer. Aging seems cruel. It’s not just aches and pains, it’s serious. Loss of mobility. Expensive medications and their side effects. Endless, painful procedures and surgeries. Debilitating, chronic conditions. Dementia. Cancer. According to Harvard University’s David Sinclair, these are all related conditions that increase exponentially with aging, at least the way we know it. But what if we considered aging the real disease and those others as symptoms? What if we could slow down our rate of aging through methods suggested by the research of Sinclair or USC’s Valter Longo, so that we wouldn’t suffer unnecessarily during the last decades of our lives? There are changes we can make, starting today (!), that will improve how we age. The foods we eat, how often and with whom we eat, the amount and type of movement we engage in, how we limit stress, how well we sleep. These all have a powerful impact on how we age. We can age gracefully! Once we understand the mismatch between our current cultural habits and the ancient survival mechanisms built into our DNA, we can live, not just more years, but better, healthier years. That, is healthspan!
Why Functional Medicine?
If healthspan is about living free of chronic disease, then Functional Medicine is the remedy for those of us seeking to restore balance and find true health. Functional MDs and traditional MDs have the same basic medical training. The difference between the two approaches is that FM practitioners seek the root causes of disease asking why you have the symptoms you do, whereas traditional doctors are often specialists caught up in the what, that is, diagnosing and treating isolated, (seemingly) unrelated symptoms of a patient. The power of the FM approach is that the patient is seen as a whole person, and the various symptoms are viewed within a larger story of disease where the systems of the body are interrelated. A patient’s heart disease can be related to their gum disease and their gut issues and their work-related stress and their diet. A FM practitioner will take the time to connect the dots and work to restore balance in the entire body by creating the optimal conditions for the health of the whole person.
A pill for an ill?
A FM doctor may or may not use medications as part of the treatment plan whereas traditional doctors often reach for the prescription pad as a matter of course despite the possibility for serious side effects, limited benefits, and high costs. The problem is, if every symptom is treated as a separate issue, each with its own medication(s), the underlying problem(s) too often go unaddressed. When I was young I would help my grandfather with his medications. He had, quite literally, large handfuls of pills to take multiple times per day! The underlying problems of his diet and a lifetime of exposure to harmful chemicals were never addressed properly, but had they been, it could have saved him years of misery. The medications prolonged his life by decades, but the quality of his life, his healthspan, was greatly diminished. He suffered unnecessarily.
Why a coach?
FM practitioners take the time to
figure out how to restore health in the patient and there are often
lifestyle changes that play a key role in the story. For instance, your
doctor might recommend weight loss as part of the treatment plan for
your prediabetes, hypertension, and elevated LDL cholesterol.
Then, your dietician might put you on a specific diet. Now what? This is where coaching comes in! I’m here, as the coach, to help you navigate the ins and outs of that plan, to further fine tune it to you, the real person, and your specific needs. I’m here to help you stay on track, to develop strategies to overcome setbacks, to establish action steps that are realistic, to offer you accountability. I’m here to answer your questions. And, if you want advice or more information, I’ll help there too, by sharing what I know and by pointing you to trusted resources.
Can’t Afford a FM Doc?
Yes, FM practitioners can be expensive. Despite their value and long-term savings, they usually aren’t fully covered by insurance, especially government run programs. Working with a FM coach, while not a replacement for a practitioner, in combination with regular doctor’s visits that are covered by insurance can be a viable option. Even with the cost of a FM practitioner, the fees of working with a coach as a follow-up measure can be much less expensive than multiple visits with the doctor while still offering you full support throughout the process of recovery. Also, the possibility of participating in group coaching sessions can further reduce your financial burden.
Why Mike?
I’m a real person, just like you. I don’t come from a line of muscular, triathletes. Far from it! According to my DNA report, I am predisposed to being overweight and, for much of my life, I danced the floor between overweight and obese. I was following the steps that led directly to the chronic diseases suffered by my family: Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, dementia, cancer, Parkinson’s, stroke. Despite my family history, predisposition to overweight, my knee surgeries, hip, and back problems, I found my own way to optimal health. I’ve done the research. I’ve done the work. I’ve changed my story, and I’d consider it a privilege to listen to your story and to help you along your journey toward an improved healthspan.
Sarda?
The name refers to the people of Sardinia and the high concentration of centenarians living on the island. Along with Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece, and Loma Linda, California, it is one of the areas featured in The Blue Zones, the bestselling book by National Geographic Fellow, Dan Buettner, based on the research of Gianni Pes and Michel Poulain about why people in these regions lead such long and healthy lives. These elders and their stories are my inspiration!
