Functional medicine is a systematic, biology-based approach that focuses on identifying and addressing the root cause of disease. We do our best to determine how and why illness occurs. We diagnose and help restore health by addressing the underlying root cause. Hippocrates knew centuries ago that food causes as well as cures diseases. Functional nutrition and physical activity are a large component of a patient’s well-being. Modern medicine focuses on managing chronic disease with medications (pharmaceuticals). Despite all the research, pharmaceuticals have not sufficiently altered the negative trajectory of diseases like diabetes and heart disease that are constantly on the rise. In contrast, treating a disease with lifestyle medicine actually halts its progression. The core components of lifestyle medicine are good nutrition, regular physical activity, stress reduction, and restorative sleep patterns.