I just came back from the 2015 Annual International Conference by the Institute for Functional Medicine. And the focus this year was on the “Omics Revolution” – essentially the nitty-gritty details about the bioindividuality of every single one of us.
What was my big takeaway?
Aside from complicated biochemical pathways and the genetic polymorphisms that can throw them into a tailspin, as well as the ins and outs of the different types, numbers, and functions of the critters (bacteria, viruses, and archaea) that make-up our microbiome, here is the bottom line:
You are a snowflake.
That’s right.
There has never been and there will never be anyone else just like you.
Your story, your genetics, your microbiome are all unique!
And we have to honor that in medicine. The tendency in the conventional model is to look at disease from a broader population perspective, but you are you, and your life story, biochemistry, and microbiome are radically different from the person sitting next to you. That’s why one size fits all medicine doesn’t really fit anybody at all.
The beauty of functional medicine is that it takes into account all of the aspects that make you YOU!
As Dr. Seuss once said: “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”
And that’s the truth in all aspects of life and health.
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