Naturopathic / Functional Medicine
Functional medicine takes a holistic approach to restoring and
maintaining vibrant health – seeking to understand and resolve chronic
symptoms from the inside out, rather than merely masking signs and symptoms with expensive prescription meds. This scientifically-backed approach recognizes that for optimal function, we need to treat the body as an interconnected system of organs that need to operate in perfect
harmony. This is the heart of Naturopathic Medicine
Why Is Functional Medicine So Powerful?
At Denver Naturopathic Clinic, we believe that health is wealth… and that everyone deserves vibrant health. Unfortunately, the conventional medical system wasn’t designed for creating & maintaining vibrant health… it was born out of the need for acute care interventions (think fractures, car accidents, and the like).
In a time where chronic wellness issues threaten to bankrupt millions of families and entire countries, we need an altogether different approach that cost-effectively addresses the underlying factors that create disease… without expensive and toxic prescription drugs that merely mask symptoms.
This new approach is called functional medicine.
In fact, it’s actually not entirely new… it’s how medicine was practiced 4000 years ago. In fact, it’s what the entire Naturopathic Medical training is based on. While functional medicine is a new term in medical lingo, and while many conventional providers are obtaining additional “functional medicine training,” functional medicine really is Naturopathic Medicine.
What’s new is that we have brought advanced lab testing and a keen systems-biology approach to medicine – which is short for looking at the body as a system of interconnected organs that need to play in perfect sync to function optimally. That’s what coined the term “Functional Medicine” because ultimately, it’s about restoring proper function to all the body’s systems.
That’s exactly how we approach your body with functional medicine… it’s not about what to do when your body is broken, it’s about maintaining proper health in the first place and preventing the body from breaking down.
Key Aspects Of Functional Medicine
Caring for your health properly is so much more than just the basics of eating right and exercising. With current medical research, we have discovered that the body is a complex collection of organs and systems and even bacterial colonies (the microbiome) that greatly impact each other.
While the standard of care hasn’t quite “caught up” yet with most of the current science, conventional doctors and “specialists” are still treating parts of the body separately – without taking into account the fact that all these areas greatly impact each other.
When you are healthy, they work together like a symphony in perfect harmony – and you have vibrant health. But when one of these systems is off-balance, the whole symphony is out of tune! When you need a “tune-up” so to speak, not only do you need to look at areas that aren’t working right… but also whether the rest of your body is in balance.
Sadly, most patients instead receive medications to treat symptoms associated with a body part that “isn’t working” – when all too often, it’s a systemic issue that needs to be treated in a completely different way.
In addition, the conventional medical approach also doesn’t consider that each person is born with unique health needs: Based on their genetic factors, the environment they were born into, what kinds of bacteria populate their gut, as well as what they are exposed to as they grow – each person’s body has a very unique health profile which means they need an equally unique healing protocol.
It’s no wonder people go from doctor to doctor and never find the answers to their illness!
Conventional medicine is missing the mark when it comes to effectively treating many chronic illnesses caused by aging, environment and diet, hormonal imbalances, and food sensitivities because they try to treat symptoms with medication.
In fact, we find with our patients that while they may share the same symptoms, they frequently suffer from very different imbalances!
That’s why at Denver Naturopathic Clinic, we follow a modern Naturopathic functional medicine approach that is uniquely equipped to resolve chronic wellness issues once and for all… without requiring lifelong dependence on toxic or expensive prescription drugs. It incorporates advanced functional lab testing and relies on current nutritional science to help you rebalance and finally heal.
This in-depth approach is the only successful way of treating chronic disorders because most chronic illnesses have many causes, brought on by modern lifestyle choices.
Instead of simply addressing different symptoms across separate areas, Naturopathic functional medicine seeks to treat the underlying root cause – all while looking at lifestyle factors such as diet, environment, emotional health, and mindset. These are the very things that usually bring on the illness patients are seeking to heal.
At Denver Naturopathic Clinic, our functional medicine programs are a more comprehensive form of care (along with health coaching) to help patients learn lifelong skills on how to upgrade their lifestyle – so they don’t remain stuck on the “chronic illness hamster wheel”.
Here are just some of the things we focus on in our program:
- We prioritize quality over quantity with our patients. We will only make a medical diagnosis after listening carefully to a patient’s medical history, reviewing testing, looking at lifestyle factors that are materially contributing to their illnesses, and making personalized recommendations based on each patient’s unique situation.
- Assessment, natural healing, and prevention are prioritized over wait-and-see treatment approaches.
- The most modern and advanced medical equipment available is used like Deep Tissue Laser Therapy, along with natural forms of healing like upgrading your diet and providing physician-quality healing herbs or supplements, providing better results with fewer or no side effects.
- Patients are taught how to take a more active role in their own health and will learn up-to-date nutritional science & lifestyle modifications that can boost their health and overall wellness for a lifetime.
- Instead of relying on being prescribed medications again and again for temporary relief, functionally-focused Naturopathic Doctor Kelsey Asplin and her team at Denver Naturopathic Clinic diagnose problems holistically and arm patients with the modern tools for healthy living
Conditions Treated
Since the founding of her practice, Dr. Kelsey Asplin and her team have helped patients heal from life-altering conditions such as:
- Digestive Disorders (GERD, heartburn, IBS, SIBO, Dysbiosis Crohn’s, Colitis)
- Autoimmune Conditions (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Psoriasis, Multiple
Sclerosis, Hashimoto’s and Grave’s Disease, Celiac’s, Crohn’s, and Ulcerative Colitis) - Hormonal Imbalances (Feeling “tired & wired”, Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, PCOS, PMS, Hot Flashes, Painful Periods, Mood Swings)
- Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity & Dyslipidemia
- Energy Issues, Stress & Chronic Pain (Chronic Fatigue, Adrenal Issues, Fibromyalgia, etc.)
- Cognitive Issues (SCI/MCI, “Brain Fog”, Memory Issues, Neurotransmitter
imbalances, etc)
Your Next Best Steps
Unlike conventional insurance-based medicine, we carefully evaluate a patient’s case before we agree to take them on as a client.
This is in the best interest of both you and our team because we want to ensure we can truly help you restore vibrant health.
To get started, sign up for a free discovery consult with a member of our team, so we can evaluate whether partnering with Denver Naturopathic Clinic is the best next step for you.