Category: Naturopathic Medicine

A common question that integrative and holistically minded practices are often asked is whether or not functional medicine is covered by insurance. Functional medicine is a style of practice that typically includes extensive testing. See our post about the difference between integrative and functional medicine for an in-depth explanation. The business model of a functional medicine practice does not integrate well with the conventional insurance model. Functional medicine describes a way of treating dysfunction in the body and finding the underlying cause of disease. Emphasis is placed on knowing the patient and a highly personalized approach. It’s the opposite of the one size fits all, cookie-cutter medicine that is unfortunately very prevalent today in primary care. By treating the cause of disease, expensive procedures and prescriptions can sometimes be avoided.  Functional medicine is a more in-depth look into what is going on with the patient. Visits can be an hour or more and insurance will not cover this type of visit. What Health Issues Can Functional Medicine Treat?   The Divide Between the Functional Medicine Approach and Conventional Insurance Model Occasionally you may find a medical doctor who takes insurance and agrees to run a few tests through some of...

Functional medicine is a style of medicine that looks at the underlying causes of disease by performing detailed and personalized testing. It's a style of practice, not a treatment. While there’s nothing particularly unique about functional medicine, it’s highly targeted and personalized if done correctly. The goal of functional medicine is to find the underlying causes of disease, illness, and feeling unwell. Learn about the difference between functional medicine and integrative medicine in our recent post. For most conditions, functional medicine can help by fine-tuning the internal environment. This is done by optimizing metabolism, vitamin levels, and ruling out the presence of elevated environmental toxins. Tests such as blood, urine, saliva, stool, and genetics, are the underpinning of functional medicine. The functional medicine practitioner does not know what is wrong unless they test! When to See a Functional Medicine Doctor Seeing a functional medicine doctor is especially helpful when conventional medicine has not provided good answers. It’s also a good path when a diagnosis has been made, but the drugs prescribed caused too many side effects. By digging deeper, a variety of treatments including clinical nutrition and nutraceuticals can be applied therapeutically. Digging deeper means asking a lot of questions...

Most integrative doctors use the same types of tests as functional medicine doctors. In fact, a functional medicine doctor is really just utilizing a lot of testing and then treating what they find in the test results. Functional medicine is a style of medicine that looks at the underlying causes of disease by performing detailed and personalized testing. There are some differences though. One difference is that other providers such as chiropractors and acupuncturists may advertise themselves as functional medicine providers. In these cases, there can be a little less medical knowledge involved. Treatment would also focus mainly on supplements and herbs. In an integrative practice such as NatureMed, treatment can include clinical nutrition supplements and even prescriptions in some cases. The focus is on accurate diagnosis. Diagnosis Can Be Dependent on Experience A functional medicine doctor is going to use their wealth of knowledge to make a Western clinical diagnosis if possible. Naturopathic doctors will do the same thing because we are very well trained in Western medicine. Of course, a lot depends on the amount of training and years of practice. It would be possible for a chiropractor who has been practicing for 20 years in functional medicine...

(Updated 11/01/2022) Starting November 1, 2022, NatureMed Clinic will no longer require you to wear a mask in accordance with the CDC and Boulder County guidelines. We do ask all patients to continue to wear a mask if they are not vaccinated. Patients may request our care team to wear a mask when visiting our facility. NatureMed clinic is committed to the well-being of our patients. Some of our patients are more susceptible to viruses, including COVID-19. Please do not enter the clinic if: You have been exposed to someone with COVID Have symptoms of COVID Suspect COVID Have been traveling by air within the past two weeks How we are helping our patients: Our doctors are providing telemedicine visits Drive-up IV services are available Shipping supplements to your home We have staff available by phone to address your needs in terms of scheduling, questions, and requests. Reminder that existing patients can use online scheduling for telemedicine only through their patient portal. Please sign up for our newsletter and visit our Facebook page for more immediate information.

Want more energy? Turn to your mitochondria! Want to age more slowly? Turn to your mitochondria! Want to perform better? Turn to your mitochondria! Want to mend the damage you have caused to your body and brain? Turn to your mitochondria!   Yes, that's right, our mitochondria are the powerhouse of every cell in our body. It is the mitochondria that determine how your DNA is repaired. It is the mitochondria that produce energy in the form of ATP in the body. It is the mitochondria that we cannot live without. Preserving our mitochondria and optimizing their function is the true fountain of youth and life. I believe that attending to our mitochondrial health enhances hormone balance and response in women. What is Mitochondria? Mitochondria are organelles in our body that are actually descendants from bacteria. At some point in time, they found their way into the primordial eukaryotic cells and established a symbiotic relationship where they became the energy source of the body, while the body provides the organelle with substrate in which thrive and survive. The mitochondria takes the energy that we get from food and turns it into energy that the body cells can use to function....