Functional Medicine Overview - Internal Healing & Wellness MD
Dr. Khan’s Approach to Functional Medicine
As the world hurdles forward in constant change, balance is all too often the price we pay for progress. Our personal balance is constantly disrupted and millions of people experience this as a lack of wellness. This can lead to suffering that is not always addressed or healed by an out of sync healthcare system. The lack of wellness affects every relationship we have; from self, to interpersonal relationships, to work relationships, to the ability to enjoy your life to the fullest. Too many of us rush through our days, unaware of the abundance of holistic solutions ready to help heal us. Holistic medicine and therapies -when combined with the best of traditional medicine - can provide you with very effective solutions to achieve an optimal sense of wellness and health. When we suffer from compromised wellness, we are eager to resort to quick fixes. Like bandaids, these temporary fixes do offer temporary relief, but patient is often left longing for something more, something deeper connection, a long term health care relationship. Well… not anymore. With a focus on patients’ long-term sense of wellness, Internal Healing and Wellness M.D, founded by Dr. Imran Khan MD, IFMCP, is determined to deliver Functional Medicine, utilizing an array of holistic approaches, cutting edge technology and traditional medicine to comprehensively address your health and wellness needs.
Dr. Khan’s Journey from traditional to Functional Medicine
Dr. Khan’s journey into Functional Medicine started during his Medical Residency when he discovered his interest in alternative health concepts. This new found interest sparked in him a desire to explore the world of alternative medicine and examine his own chronic health care questions through an alternative lense. He gradually noticed that people wanted to hear about this approach from a Medical Doctor, and that fed his vision to become a practitioner in the field of Functional Medicine. He certified through the Institute of Functional Medicine and became a certified Institute of Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner. From here Dr Khan created Internal Healing and Wellness MD.
What is Functional Medicine
Functional Medicine is a discipline in the medical field that investigates the basic clinical imbalances that underpin diverse illnesses and imbalances that may be precursors to disease. With this approach, we evaluate the patient’s condition by looking into his/her family history, lifestyle, mental and spiritual health in addition to conducting physical examinations and lab tests. The goal of Functional Medicine is to change the traditional disease-centered approach to one that is more patient-centered. Its mission is to improve the management of complex, chronic diseases by intervening on numerous levels in order to correct all imbalances and restore functionality and health to each patient. Functional Medicine, unlike Traditional Medicine, investigates the person being treated as a “whole”. There is no compartmentalizing of parts or ailments.
“To optimize function, Functional Medicine practitioners start with physiology, biochemistry and nutrigenomics, which examines the relationship between the types of food an individual consumes and their genetics,” says Dr. Khan
Functional Medicine focuses on identifying and treating the core causes of disease through a holistic understanding of the body as a single interconnected system rather than a collection of separate, independent organs to be treated in isolation and classified into discrete medical problems. Functional Medicine is not a divergent approach; it is in fact based on scientific data and principles that are foundational to modern Allopathic Medicine, merging research from numerous fields into highly comprehensive yet practical relevant models of illness causation and effective and long lasting care.
How different is Functional Medicine
The objective of Functional Medicine is to understand the deep rooted causes of complex or chronic diseases in order to develop effective treatment and prevention plans. This science-based, Functional Medicine approach to healthcare prioritizes patient-centered care and promotes awareness that health is a general state of vitality and wellbeing rather than just the absence of sickness. Functional Medicine practitioners analyze the intricate web of physiological, genetic and lifestyle interrelationships that result in illness. By using the most up-to-date medical practices, practitioners take into account the patient’s internal (mind, body, and spirit) and external (physical and social environment) variables that influence overall health and functioning. Functional Medicine combines traditional Western medical practices with what is sometimes referred to as "alternative" or "integrative" Medicine, emphasizing illness prevention through nutrition, diet, therapy and exercise. We conduct cutting-edge laboratory testing and all of the latest diagnostic techniques. We also prescribe drug or botanical medicine combinations, supplements, therapeutic diets, detoxification programs, and stress-management techniques
“While conventional medicine does a great job at treating acute and emergency medical situations, Functional Medicine is better suited toward chronic illness”, says Dr. Khan.
Functional Medicine is a very individualized and personalized approach to medicine with a focus on the root cause rather than symptomatology. According to Dr. Khan, "Functional Medicine is a very detailed one-to-one ratio, usually one doctor to one patient."
"Most of my patients have seen conventional doctors and didn't get effective treatment. They need someone to dig deeper and do a lot of investigative work.”
The core of our approach in Functional Medicine is that we care about your mental, emotional and spiritual state, because if you don’t address that core part of your life, other areas will also be affected. Our body’s systems are linked together in the web of life. The conventional reductionalist model of Allopathic medicine can often overlook these systems based interactions that play a major part in your Health and Wellness.
Dr. Khan’s Vision
“I have discovered an entire community of people who were asking the same things and Functional Medicine assists me in finding solutions to these questions for myself and for my patients.”
Dr. Khan’s vision is to recruit like-minded Medical Practitioners, such as Pediatricians, Adult Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Nurses and Medical Assistants to materialize his vision to create a Holistic Health Care Clinic utilizing a Direct Patient Care (DPC) model. That means no third party (insurance company) interfering with your Health care relationships. Dr Khan envisions the future Functional Medicine Health Care clinic - Holistic care in harmony with the best of Traditional Medicine, supported by Nutritionists, Physical therapists, Myofascial specialists, Life Coaches, Therapists (and more), to serve a communities core health and wellness needs.
“I think what needs to happen is that people stop looking for other people to give us solutions. The community is blessed, the community has talent and each one of you has something fantastic to offer. It's time that we just kind of start synergizing, putting it together, and I think it’s going to work out well.”
If you require prescription medications, they will be provided during this time or during focused Functional Medicine Televisits. Typical prescription medications prescribed are but not limited to: bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, such as thyroid hormone, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogen. We also use antimicrobials for gastrointestinal infections like parasites, fungus, SIBO, and dysbiosis. These antimicrobials may also prescribed for co-infections and Lyme disease. Other medications can be prescribed as appropriate
Imagine finding a holistic solution to issues like hormonal imbalances, digestive irregularities, Lyme disease, mold illness, chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS), food allergies, thyroid and adrenal imbalances, stress and anxiety, fertility complications and weight problems. Well imagine no more! Visit internalhealingandwellnessmd.com today and discover how we can collaborate to develop a health and wellness plan for you and your family. Together, by bridging western medicine and holistic medicine, we can build the best version of you!
Book Your Consultation Today
During your first 60-minute functional televisit, we will try to figure out what’s causing your current health problems. Contact us today at Internal Healing and Wellness MD in the Houston area and The Woodlands, we will make sure to provide you with a personalized functional medicine-based treatment plan so that you can begin working towards your goal of a better, healthier life.