FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE & FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION- What is it?

Functional Medicine determines how and why a condition/symptom occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease. The functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and their Doctor to work together to address the underlying causes of disease and promote optimal wellness. It requires a detailed understanding of each patient’s history, lifestyle, and biochemical factors and leverages that data to customize personal treatment plans that lead to improved patient outcomes.

Functional medicine is often described as 21st-century medicine. It is a science-based approach that looks at the function of the body’s systems and how they interact with one another rather than naming a disease and just giving a pill. The basic tenet of functional medicine is that each person is biochemically unique and, therefore, no one treatment or diet is suitable for everyone. Functional medicine does not look at each individual named disease in a silo. Instead, functional medicine digs deeper to find the common link between them.  

Conversely, conventional medicine views people in terms of their disease – a “one-size-fits-all” model. It focuses on naming a disease, sending you to a specialist, and giving a pill for that disease rather than trying to help you prevent chronic illness in the first place. The truth is everyone is different, and that “one-size-fits-all” approach doesn’t work.

Why is the Functional Medicine Approach so Important?

Aside from the shortcomings inherent in conventional medicine’s approach, several trends are creating a perfect storm of crisis in the healthcare industry. The prevalence of chronic illness is rising, as are the costs. This predicament is highly profitable for many big industries, so it’s not in their best interest to find a solution to these problems. Make no mistake — access to conventional medicine for urgent care and surgical procedures is critical. As a Chiropractic Physician, I would not treat injuries from a car wreck with a change in diet, and I would never recommend forgoing treating a life-threatening infection with antibiotics! However, I’ve seen another side to chronic illness as a functional medicine Chiropractic physician. I’ve helped thousands of people take back control of their health using a holistic Chiropractic and functional medicine approach. By addressing root causes, rather than just symptoms, Doctor Garvey often finds many conditions that result from one cause, or likewise, one condition that has many different causes. As a result, functional medicine’s personalized treatment targets the specific manifestations of disease in each individual so you can live the life you want.

Dr. Christine Garvey, DC fell in love with Functional Medicine after personally overcoming gut infections and witnessing first hand the healing power of functional medicine, advanced lab testing and root cause approach. Her expertise over the last two + decades has been in the realm of allergies, digestive, respiratory, dermatological, immune health and hormone disorders. She enjoys working one on one, in person at her Allergy Breakthrough office in downtown Clinton, NJ at 49 Main Street, overlooking Clinton’s iconic waterfalls, the Red Mill and Hunterdon Museum. Dr. Garvey’s humble childhood drove her to be able to be ensure everyone has access to great healthcare. The ability to access affordable and comprehensive functional medicine and nutrition at a fraction of the price of many Functional Medicine practices brings her great joy.

She also offers virtual services including functional medicine and nutrition, functional neurology, PSYCH-K and Chiropractic rehabilitation programs. Her holistic health center has won “New Jersey’s Favorite Kids Doc” title by NJ Family magazine every year she has been in practice. She has national recognition in CA as a Functional Medicine Practitioner at Walnut Creek’s Best Wellness Center. Dr. Garvey is licensed in several states and works with clients directly and virtually in PA, CA, NJ. She was raised and born in NJ, graduated from Rowan University and graduated Chiropractic school in California and lived and practiced in SF Bay Area for 22 years. She is overjoyed to be serving her community of family and friends in her beautiful home state of NJ.

Everyone who works with Dr. Garvey comments about how passionate she is about making sure you are living your best life. People say they “finally feel that they have truly been heard, never rushed and they love her energy, compassion and deep care for her patients. She is dedicated to patient-centered care and enjoys making easy to follow recommendations for what makes the most sense for that particular person. Just making better health choices is often easy, when you know why, and it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it’s often made out be sometimes.

She easily explains what is going on so people actually understand, so they may realize their best health and live a joyful life! She truly is honored and humbled meeting and offering everything she is able to help patients experience true freedom, optimal function and overall the best well-being. She especially loves working with kids and teens because she knows she’s supporting the prevention of possible decades of suffering that she experienced since she was only 2 years old. She realized the importance of health, structure, diet, lifestyle and beliefs, when overcoming her own health obstacles. She saw what a difference it made in her life, as well as the lives of those around her.

Dr. Garvey is an established and very well respected Chiropractic Physician for the last 22 years and LOVES specializing in Functional Medicine and Nutrition, Advanced Allergy Therapeutics, Neuro-Vagal Balancing, (MRT) Muscle Response Testing, (NRT) Nutrition Response Testing and PSYCH-K. She has achieved high honors, cum laude in every school, and achieved national recognition in her holistic approach to heath, finding and treating the root cause of a health problem, not merely just the symptoms. Doctor and healthcare providers from many specialists refer their patients and clients to Dr. Garvey knowing they are in the most caring and competent hands. Dr. Garvey’s holistic, functional and root-cause approach is based on the fact that all parts of the body are connected and affect each other; therefore, treating the body as “whole” is the most effective way to achieve lasting results; this is the holistic approach of Dr. Garvey. She takes a systems-based approach to health and looks at the whole person and ask why something is happening to find the root cause. Her goals are to work with patients to promote optimal health and vitality, rather than just simply working towards the absence of disease. Also to help you enjoy your life to the fullest and to live your highest expression of yourself. She wants everyone to live without unnecessarily suffering with unwanted symptoms and conditions of the body, mind and spirit.