What Is Functional Medicine? – Dr. Eve Harmony

Dr. Harmony here! I often get asked what functional medicine is, and how I got started in the field of Naturopathic and Functional Medicine.As a teenager and college student, I had a constant sinus infection unless I was on antibiotics.

It started when the doctors gave me a round of antibiotics when I was 12, then again a year later, then six months later, then two months later, and then I was either on antibiotics or miserable. My immune system was shot by the destructive nature of these drugs. At the age of 20, after exhausting their options, the college campus doctors suggested I should look into having surgery on my sinuses. They had no other option after their strongest antibiotics didn’t work to get rid of the Superbugs that had taken up residence in my sinuses. I knew something wasn’t right, but I had no clue how to fix it, and neither did the doctors.

Then one day, a friend of mine suggested that I go see the local herbalist. I had never heard of an herbalist, but it resonated right away that they might have answers instead of dead ends, surgery, and more antibiotics.

  I walked into the little apothecary, filled wall to wall with jars of herbs on shelves, and I immediately felt a sense of comfort. The herbalist came out from the back room and spoke with me for a few minutes. I told her my sad story. She nodded sympathetically and started walking around the store pulling remedies off shelves. I left that day with a tincture she hand-mixed for me that contained a simple herbal remedy. She also gave me Vitamin C powder and detailed instructions about how to take as much of it as possible without upsetting my bowels. Her final instruction to me was to avoid dairy products. I practically lived on dairy products at the time, but I was willing to try anything, including giving up some of my favorite vices. After the first sip of the tincture, prepared as instructed, my blocked sinuses opened for the first time in a year without antibiotics! I kept sipping, and my sinuses cleared even more. I took my remaining doses that day and went to sleep, finally able to breathe and get a good night’s rest. Upon waking, I felt well for the first time in a year without antibiotics. I was sold. I started devouring anything and everything I could find about herbs, vitamins, and natural healing. Before long, I found a publication from a Naturopathic Doctor and read every issue of his magazine until I couldn’t deny the passion that was growing in my heart to share this knowledge with others. Midway through my undergraduate program, I changed my major from wildlife biology to premedical sciences and embarked on the journey that brought me to writing this post.

My decision to go to Naturopathic Medical School dismayed my highly practical family, with good reason. Back then, natural therapies weren’t as accepted or well-known as they are now. Since then, it’s been a wild ride of teaching and convincing patients with my presence and patience to trust me and try a new way. It has not been easy, but now-over 20 years later, the medicine of helping the body heal naturally is finally in fashion. From Bioidentical Hormones and peptides to Platelet-Rich Plasma and stem Cells, it seems everyone’s heard of and explored the new options available. These stand out in contrast to an archaic medical system that pushes symptom relief rather than true healing.

So what is Functional Medicine? In short, it’s the medicine of finding the cause of disease and removing that cause, while supporting the body to heal with the nutrients, plants, and lifestyles that nature intended for us. When we treat function, we work with the wisdom of the body to heal when given the right circumstances.

Functional medicine takes into account the fact that our bodies operate as a whole, with each part interacting and affecting the function of the whole. As a Naturopathic Doctor, I strive to first treat the cause, and second to deliver treatments that are as close to what nature intended as possible. Working at Eternity Health Partners allows me to use the most cutting-edge natural and functional treatments to promote wellness and healing for our patients and our community.

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MEET ELIZABETH BECKNER AND DAISHA ESCAMILLA

OUR CALIFORNIA LICENSED PHLEBOTOMISTS

Liz started doing personal blood draws after her son, Dashiell, was born with Zellwegers disease. His diagnosis required numerous blood draws and drug levels throughout his life. After sitting through long wait times at the labs followed by watching many different phlebotomists, many new to the job, struggle to find his veins, often poking him multiple times, as a seasoned phlebotomist, Liz decided to draw his blood at home and hand deliver it to the lab myself. Soon after she began doing personal touch blood draws so she can now offer that same personalized service to you.

Liz graduated from Pepperdine University with a degree in Biology in 1994. She moved to Santa Barbara and earned her phlebotomy certificate in 1995. Liz began working at St. Francis Medical Center in the Physical Therapy Department and quickly transferred to the Laboratory. Perfecting her venipuncture techniques on all floors of the hospital, including post-operative patients, pregnant women going into labor, sick or premature babies, and emergency room patrons, she then improved her patient care skills working for internal medicine doctors, one of whom was the Medical Director of Hospice and won Doctor of the Year. In 1999, Liz started working with a group of local retinal surgeons. Her primary job consisted of injecting dye into arm veins and photographing its flow through the patients retinal vessels. When patients are worried about their diagnosis or apprehensive about the procedure because of difficult veins, her quick, almost pain free needle stick and kind but professional bed side manner would put them at ease.

The various settings and patients Liz has encountered over the years have enabled her to become very skilled at finding the smallest and most fragile of vessels. Her specialities include infants and the elderly, diabetics of all ages, patients with rolling veins, on blood thinners or chemotherapy. She lives in downtown Santa Barbara, travels from Goleta to Carpintera and brings all the necessary supplies directly to you. All she needs from you is a lab request and your home or office becomes an instant draw station. Appointment times are very flexible, and she is friendly, reliable and punctual. Be kind to your arm and treat yourself to the luxury blood draw you deserve!!!

MEET MICHAEL BROOKINS; BS, CNMT, ABAAHP

Mike brings more than just a medical perspective to his clients; at the age of 14, he began an athletic career as a pole-vaulter that would end up taking him on an incredible journey over the next 13 years of his life. Throughout his athletic journey Mike was constantly working to find the ideal balance of fitness and proper nutrition in order to maximize his performances. Combined with his medical knowledge the years of athletic experience provide a unique and successful combination that serve to benefit his staff and clients.

“After I shifted the focus of my practice from Sports Medicine into Nuclear Medicine specifically Interventional Endocrinology. I found myself questioning our western medical paradigm…Here I was performing thyroid cancer and Hyperthyroidism treatments with harmful radical thyroid radioactive ablations which really made me take a hard look in the mirror and become more of a researcher to find safer and more effective options to better treat my clients. During my research I realized that there were very few, if any, medically directed programs focused towards achieving a “Healthier Lifestyle” rather than typical “Diet” fads.” A few years later after training and working with some of the worlds foremost Bio-identical Hormone Replacement specialists I became Board Certified in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. Sort of just found my passion and the answers I had been looking for with this new specialty finally after years of treating people with the Band-Aid “fix it when its broken” mentality instead of at the root cause.”

Mike has spent the last 10 years in Anti-Aging, Functional and Regenerative Medicine. He has trained over 120 physicians in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and consulting for their practices. Today his vision is a reality, and clients from all of the world come to benefit from the successful programs that have been established at Age Management Institute Santa Barbara. He firmly believes in educating the patient about the importance of good nutrition, hormone balance, stress management, and regular exercise is the key to aging well and having a high quality of life well into your golden years.