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Natural Awakenings Dallas -Fort Worth Metroplex Edition

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Functional Assessment Gives the Big Health Picture

Jan 03, 2012 05:10PM ● By Dr. Karen Goodwin

To most people, a quick definition of good health might encompass plenty of energy, an absence of symptoms and eating well or being athletic or in shape. While these obvious aspects are important, few of us think about replenishing our body’s reserves when our energy is high or processing food correctly so that nutrition gets to your cells. By neglecting these more subtle processes, we could miss harmful processes that have yet to show any symptoms.

To attain optimal health, it’s just as important to know what’s happening on the inside as it is to see the effects on the outside. Everything in the body is connected and works together as a whole. To understand the effects that all the different systems are having upon each other, a doctor might use what’s called a functional assessment.

Functional assessments can give us key information about how the body is working and why. For instance, weak adrenals or poor digestion can cause the same symptoms as thyroid dysfunction. Without functional assessment, treating a thyroid symptom could miss the real issue and never solve the problem.

A good functional assessment will look at the body as a whole, to determine which element is the culprit, instead of chasing a single symptom. A doctor that is well trained in using functional assessments may use questionnaires, lab work, thermography and an extensive knowledge of how the body works to get a clear picture of your current health and make recommendations on how it can be improved. Remember, you have to be healthy on the inside to be healthy on the outside.


For more information call Dr. Karen Goodwin at 214-295-9631 or visit WomensNaturalHealthCenter.com