Functional Medicine Conventional Medicine Human Nutrition and Human Physiology

I have scant interest in human nutrition. However, I have a profound interest in human physiology. I leave concepts around human nutrition to nutritionists and dietitians — those who devote their lives, rightly so, to coaching others on how to eat well. I know how to eat well, and I believe the impact of diet on human health is profound. But my interests have always been in physiology and biochemistry: what's behind human nutrition, moving the needle forward or back in terms of health and disease, by testing physiological mechanisms and fixing them using natural treatments that work with the body, not against it — to improve human physiology, not impede it. And after treatments are completed, in the long run, maintaining these corrections with diet and lifestyle.

Through 28 years of clinical experience, I've also found that most — but not all — human diseases and ills have their foundations in defects in human physiology, brought on by poor diet, intense stress, or bad luck (genetic issues). As I come to the final chapters in my career, I am even more fascinated by human physiology than ever before.

Why Physiology Matters More Than We Admit

I find the understanding of protein assembly, fatty acid production, and how we process individual nutrients — from tryptophan to ALA — to be of utmost importance in the proper treatment of most common health complaints. Heart disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue, autoimmune conditions, depression, anxiety, and even most forms of cancer have their underlying cause in the realm of aberrant human physiology. We can test and correct most of these physiological defects only if we understand human physiology.

Knowing that tryptophan is the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of all protein except collagen is absolutely essential knowledge for the treatment of any health condition where the body needs to repair. (Read: all health conditions.) Knowing how to test for tryptophan levels, and how to correct issues with protein synthesis, is essential knowledge for any healthcare practitioner.

Knowing that fatty acids comprise every cell membrane, and that their balance determines cell membrane fluidity — and thus cell function — is basic human physiology 101. Yet knowing how to test and correct for these fatty acids is almost secret knowledge, acquired by only a few. Understanding how to appropriately dose tryptophan remains a mystery to most. And yet every practitioner treats conditions caused by low amino acids or low fatty acids. This makes little sense.

"That's Why They Call It Medicine"

I understand that "medicine" and "medical doctor" imply a heavy tilt toward treatment with medications. My early mentor, Jay Cohn, MD, responded to my youthful and somewhat desperate inquiry as to why MDs prescribe so many drugs with a simple line: "That's why they call it medicine!"

The realization that in our current era "doctor" generally equates to "MD," which in turn generally equates to "prescribes drugs," is one part of the human physiology puzzle. Infections treated with antibiotics — that makes sense if your life is hanging in the balance. Suicidal depression treated with antipsychotics and antidepressants — that makes sense too, if your life is hanging in the balance.

However, treating heart disease, diabetes, chronic fatigue, and autoimmune conditions with a 100% prescription-drug-oriented approach denies the reality of human physiology, which is determined by human nutrition. There are no drug deficiencies. There are hundreds of key nutritional deficiencies that create the diseases of modern times.

A Shift Underway in Medicine

When I look at the field of conventional medicine, I've seen a profound transition over the past 30 years — from complete derision to partial acceptance of using clinical nutrition to solve chronic health problems. I now see hundreds, if not thousands, of MDs coming into the field of functional medicine each year, eager to learn about human physiology and the functional medicine treatments that are primarily based on biochemistry, mixed in with a little bit of human compassion, empathy, and listening skills.

I look forward to the next 28 years, as I believe functional medicine will take its place alongside conventional medicine as one of the go-to solutions for many common health complaints.

Until then, to quote one of my teachers, Dr. Robert Rountree: "Broccoli, broccoli, broccoli!"

Eat well and prosper.