The Institute of Functional Medicine defines Functional Medicine as a "systems biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. Each symptom or differential diagnosis may be one of many contributing to a person's illness". Functional medicine focuses on improving physiological function as a primary method of improving the health of patients with chronic disease. It is a science-based field that is grounded in the biochemistry of each individual's physiology and is patient-centered. It looks at health as a web-like interconnectedness between organ and endocrine systems which work synergistically like a finely tuned orchestra, rather than individual systems functioning autonomously and without any effect on each other.

This makes functional medicine a perfect complement to East Asian Medicine which is also a systems-based model. For example, functional medicine principles tell us that digestive problems can impact neurotransmitters, thereby influencing moods, feelings and memory; thyroid imbalances affect digestion, potentially leading to poor absorption, high cholesterol, and gallstone formation; immunological factors can promote cardiovascular disease; and dietary imbalances can lead to hormonal problems. Another example is that neurons need stimulation, glucose (blood sugar) and oxygen to survive, and, for this reason, people with chronic low blood sugar and those with insulin resistance or type-2 diabetes are more prone to memory problems. By addressing any of these conditions both with foods and supplements, the brain can be nutritionally supported and neurodegeneration significantly slowed.

When we carefully interpret a patient's health history from this perspective and review their blood work or other labwork such as GI panels or hormone panels, we can address health problems with East Asian Medicine methods as we have traditionally done, and also fine-tune imbalances by supporting physiology with nutrition and botanicals from a Western viewpoint. We have found that combining East and West makes treatment results more profound and longer-lasting.