Naturopathic Institute of Advanced Medicine

Integrative Medical Clinic

Understanding Modern Understanding Modern MedicineMedicine

www.advancedmedicine.cawww.advancedmedicine.ca

Health Care EfficacyHealth Care EfficacyWorld Health OrganizationWorld Health Organization

Health care Ratings Health care Ratings

Health care costs per person per yearHealth care costs per person per year

Japan 10Japan 10th th ($2514)($2514)

Saudi Arabia 27Saudi Arabia 27thth ($607) ($607)

Canada 30Canada 30thth ($3672)($3672) United States 37United States 37thth ($6714) ($6714)

For every 1$ spent on health care in North America 0.78$ is spent on For every 1$ spent on health care in North America 0.78$ is spent on chronic disease. Yet, the burden of chronic disease continues to rise.chronic disease. Yet, the burden of chronic disease continues to rise.

Why are our health care costs higher than other nations, yet our health care systems effectiveness is ranked lower?

Modern Medicine Modern Medicine

• Pharmaceutical medicinePharmaceutical medicine

– The fourth leading cause of death in North American is drugs

– 9 of 10 drugs are designed to treat the symptoms of disease and do not affect the progression of disease

– $1.63 is spent treating adverse drug reactions for each $1 spent on a drugJournal of the American Medical Journal of the American Medical

Association, 1998Association, 1998

Perhaps using drugs as the primary method of treatment is not the most effective way of treating chronic disease.

Experts recently in attendance at a US Experts recently in attendance at a US Senate Committee meeting agreed the Senate Committee meeting agreed the

rising tide of illness is due to the fact that rising tide of illness is due to the fact that the primary method of treatment, ie. the primary method of treatment, ie.

pharmaceuticals do not affect the cause or pharmaceuticals do not affect the cause or the progression of disease. the progression of disease.

Symptomatic treatment alone is not enough, we need to combine this with medicines able to affect the progression of the disease.

What does this say about our present state of health? Why are we witnessing the forecast ofa decline in life expectancy in the next generation in the face of being the most medicated society the world has ever seen?

N Engl J Medicine 2005; 352: March 17.

For the first time in human history, our children will not live longer than us, yet we are more medicated than ever before. Perhaps we need to start

reevaluating our current approached to health and the treatment of disease.

““Most people spend the first half of life acquiring wealth Most people spend the first half of life acquiring wealth at the expense of their health and then in the latter years, at the expense of their health and then in the latter years,

spend their spend their wealth trying to buy back their health” wealth trying to buy back their health”

Continual use of quick fixes for nagging symptoms may not be in our best interest. These subtle, often initially mild concerns may be early warning signs of things to come.

If we continue our current path, what will we see in future generations?!

"Those who think "Those who think they have no time they have no time for healthy eating for healthy eating will sooner or later will sooner or later have to find time for have to find time for illness." illness." - modified from : - modified from : Edward Stanley Edward Stanley (1826-1893) from (1826-1893) from The Conduct of LifeThe Conduct of Life

May. 26, 1930

http://www.topendsports.com/nutrition/quotes.htm

Health is simple. Remove what is obstructing normal function and add what is necessary to maintain and restore health. The longer we wait to start the

healing process, the more difficult the journey to recovery becomes.

The healing power of foodThe healing power of food

• “Molecular pathways involved in hormone action have been the target of a multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical research effort. However, many of these pathways may normally be under dietary regulation.” Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85 1169-70

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was right all along. He said “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” Food has shown be as powerful as drugs. How have we let

ourselves come so far from the truth?

“

Lifestyle diseases now constitute the major cause of chronicillness. We need to focus our attention on non-pharmacologicalmethods to manage these diseases that are safer and more cost effective than the procedures and therapeutics that are now being employed.

The National Institute of Health recognizes the immense body of evidence suggesting chronic disease may not be just a genetic problem. Instead it is understood

to be the result of an interaction of our genes with the diet, environment and lifestyle.

In complex chronic disease, there is often much more In complex chronic disease, there is often much more information buried in the story. Every patients journey is information buried in the story. Every patients journey is

unique.unique.

The answers to chronic disease lie hidden deep within our patients. The time necessary to unfold every patient’s journey to a state of ill health

must be understood, in order to make the patient well again.

““It is much more important to know what It is much more important to know what sort of person has a disease, than what sort sort of person has a disease, than what sort

of disease a person has”of disease a person has”

Sir William OslerSir William Osler

The diagnosis is a result or an outcome. We don’t wake up with disease. Details surrounding the diet, lifestyle and environment that lead up to

the disease is far more important.

A new model of careA new model of care

• ““There is a large gap between what There is a large gap between what physicians do for patients with physicians do for patients with chronic diseases and what should be chronic diseases and what should be done.”done.” JAMA 2005;293: 485-488

We cannot continue to treat patients with medicines designed to lock and control physiology; we must integrate with medicines capable of treating

the mechanisms of disease and influencing disease progression.

The Future of MedicineThe Future of Medicine

• ““the network concept reveals a the network concept reveals a number of surprising connections number of surprising connections amongst diseases, forcing us to amongst diseases, forcing us to rethink the way in which we classify rethink the way in which we classify and separate them.”and separate them.” N Engl J Med 2007;357(4);370-379N Engl J Med 2007;357(4);370-379

As more research emerges, we realize that the diagnosis is not the entire story. The refined view of patients with multiple, traditionally separate diseases is that

these may be different manifestations of similar underlying causes.

Functional medicine should not be viewed as alternative medicine, but as a bridge to a more

effective chronic-care model.

Functional medicine is the next paradigm shift in medicine. It is an integrativeapproach that unites conventional and alternative medicine forming the most

advanced, sophisticated and comprehensive health care system ever achieved.

Functional MedicineFunctional Medicine

A science-based personalized medical system A science-based personalized medical system that relieves suffering, treats the underlying that relieves suffering, treats the underlying

causes of disease and restores health causes of disease and restores health

The answer to the chronic disease epidemic.