WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL MEDICINEntegrative or functional medicine brings together conventional medicine with safe and effective complimentary medicine. It emphasises the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and the use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals and disciplines to achieve healing and optimal health. In Functional Medicine every patient’s needs are looked at individually. The symptoms are not treated in isolation, as is often the case with conventional medicine. Often the cause of the disease is an underlying imbalance or dysfunction of bodily systems. Functional Medicine aims to dig deeper to reveal the true cause of the patient’s health problems. Long term relief cannot be achieved by merely treating the symptoms of ailment, the underlying root cause has to be identified.