In the first part of this episode, I share a deeply personal and very emotional story.

It's the story of my younger son, Louis, and what happened to him as a small child when he was put on medication following a (wrong) diagnosis of a chronic bowel condition. He suffered for years because of a misguided attempt to fix a symptom whilst ignoring the cause. It’s a story of not only physical suffering but also of emotional trauma - and it very much drives my mission now as a Functional Medicine Health Coach.

The second part of the episode is an extract from a conversation I was privileged to have with a visionary, pioneering doctor. Dr Mark Hyman is the person who first inspired me to take up the role I have now - and who continues to inspire me.

Dr Hyman explains the radical difference between functional medicine and conventional medicine. Rather than focusing on symptoms, functional medicine tackles the root cause of a condition and is remarkably effective at curing "incurable/life-long" conditions that conventional medicine gives up on.

As Dr Hyman explains, using a functional medicine approach to reverse complex, chronic conditions may sound like a miracle. But, as he spells out, it’s not a miracle. It's science.

For just one of countless life-transforming examples, here's how functional medicine reversed a young woman's multiple sclerosis (as featured very recently on NBC's Today Programme).

https://www.today.com/video/what-is-functional-medicine-inside-the-growing-health-trend-135040581616

We also talk about the fundamental role that food plays in health; how the food industry has actively manipulated people away from real food; and the importance of supporting people to make (and sustain) the vital lifestyle changes they need to recover.

Dr Hyman is a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine. He is the founder and director of The UltraWellness Center, Senior Advisor for the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, a fourteentime New York Times best-selling author and Board President for Clinical Affairs for The Institute for Functional Medicine. He is the host of one of the leading health podcasts, The Doctor’s Farmacy. Dr. Hyman is a regular medical contributor to several television shows and networks, including CBS, This Morning, Today, Good Morning America, The View and CNN. He is also an advisor and guest co-host on The Dr. Oz Show.

You can find out more about Dr Hyman’s work here: https://drhyman.com/

You can learn more about functional medicine here: https://www.ifm.org/

Connect with me by joining my Wellness Unwrapped community - a welcoming Facebook group where we share thoughts, tips and inspiration.

Join here: www.Facebook.com/groups/wellnessunwrapped

You can also find me here and sign up to my mailing list:

https://peppermintwellness.co.uk/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/PeppermintWellness

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/peppermintwellness/

For more on health coaches:

https://functionalmedicinecoaching.org/

https://www.ukhealthcoaches.com/

Midlife Illuminated

Midlife Illuminated