Functional Medicine Approach to Weight Loss And Obesity by COEM in Charleston SC

Obesity is one of the major problems for medical science today. Obesity is typically characterized by excessive body fat accumulation that increases the risk of health problems and triggers many physical and psychological problems, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and various other diseases. It may also cause low self-esteem and can reduce productivity.

A conventional approach to obesity considers it a chronic illness with a wide variety of potentially deadly consequences. Many traditional doctors lack the knowledge and time to treat obesity effectively. Seeing a patient for about just ten minutes is not enough to educate them about how to eat healthily. The human body is a complex system, and there cannot be a uniform diet plan for everyone. This makes opting for fad diets, and miracle cures potentially dangerous.

However, functional medicine takes a dramatically different approach to obesity. Here, the physician looks at the whole person and tries to determine the root cause behind his obesity. They take the hormonal, metabolic, environmental, and many other factors preventing that particular patient from losing weight.

While considering obesity, a functional medicine physician considers the fact that every patient is different. Therefore, they take the time to do detailed investigations on each patient, get to know them closely and comprehend why obesity became a problem for them. Then, they create a personalized protocol for that particular patient based on their preferences, budget, and specific needs. This takes more time and effort than the traditional method but is more effective than the conventional method.

The first thing to analyze is why you cannot keep your weight off. Once this is understood, you need to work with your functional medicine doctor to select the most appropriate treatment plan for you. As this is a complete approach to weight loss, you may need several appointments and advanced and standard labs. You may expect to spend between $300 to $1,500 for the weight loss treatment protocols along with a personalized functional medicine diet.

This is a complex question, as there may be more than one or two factors behind the difficulty of losing weight. Some major culprits are nutritional imbalances, gut microbe imbalances, inflammations, weak immune functions, and various environmental toxins.

The first thing you should do if you want to lose weight is to switch to a diet of clean, whole foods that your body can digest and avoid foods that you are sensitive or allergic to. This is because your body was designed to eat and digest real food, including vegetables, meats, fruits, etc., and not packaged foods.

Some people may not show the desired results even after switching to the clean, whole, anti-inflammatory diet. The main reason for this stubborn weight is underlying medical conditions such as underactive thyroid, chronic stress, toxic overload, and other hormonal imbalances.

If you are looking for an expert functional medicine doctor to know the best approach to shed some of your stubborn weight, call us or schedule an appointment with our expert doctors today. We serve patients from Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, North Charleston SC, Ladson SC, Hanahan SC, James Island SC, John’s Island SC, Daniel Island SC, all of South Carolina, Nationally, and Internationally. Patients routinely fly into Charleston to be evaluated by COEM and to enjoy this beautiful city which is a Condé Nast and Travel and Leisure Top Domestic and International Tourist Destination.