PHOENIX – A new kind of doctor is appearing in cities across the country.
Instead of treating symptoms or illness, functional medicine doctors focus on the patient and individual reasons behind the problems.
Comprehensive personal and health screenings are followed by adjustments in nutrition, activity, and lifestyle instead of drugs.
"I'm in perfect health according to the paperwork, what's wrong with me?" Jodi Allen asked her functional medicine doctor when her regular physician had no answers. It turns out her digestive system wasn't healthy. A food change is clearing things up.
"I stopped eating the gluten, and within three or four days, my pain in my rib cage was gone," Allen said.
Dr. Mark Menolascino, of Meno Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, spends a lot of time listening to find the cause of symptoms that could be rooted in many illnesses and may be misdiagnosed.
"The average doctor interrupts the patient within eleven seconds. The average visit lasts seven minutes. Our visits are an hour for a new person," Menolascino said.
His blood panel tests for over 300 markers, including five for thyroid and 27 cholesterol markers, instead of the usual four. The tests can detect lipoprotein "A", which causes inflammation and heart issues with women.
"It's a nasty small sticky particle with a nasty inflammatory tail on it. That's the big risk factor for women and the cholesterol drugs don't touch it," Menolascino said.
Adjusting food and adding supplements usually clears up problems in the gut, which Menolascino said are interconnected.
"We work as a partnership to look at your nutritional sensitivities, your nutritional deficiencies, what is it that works best for you. So, we develop this personalized nutrition plan, that's the core," he said.
Allen has noticed a big difference.
"I feel I'm so much better. I feel like I'm on the way. I have a couple of tweaks to do," Allen said.
Menolascino has clinics in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Fees for the typical three-month program covers testing and follow-up and are about $325, depending how in depth the panel goes.
Menolascino 's book, "Heart Solution for Women," discusses the connection between women's heart health and their overall health.