One of the reasons Functional Medicine is so transformative is that it recognizes disease does not occur in isolation. If one part of the body is compromised the entire body is thrown out of balance. SIBO, or small intestine bacterial overgrowth, is a great example of this. It rarely occurs on its own, and is often paired with a number of other issues, from neurological symptoms to migraines, arthritis, and more. When we focus on healing the gut in these instances, the entire body shifts for the better. This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy I’m joined by Dr. George Papanicolaou to talk about the Functional Medicine matrix as a framework for healing, as well as his own journey in overcoming a traumatic brain injury. 

Dr. Papanicolaou is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Abington Memorial Hospital. Over time as the healthcare system made it harder for patients to receive personal care, Dr. Papanicolaou decided a change was needed. He began training in Functional Medicine through the Institute of Functional Medicine. In 2015, he established Cornerstone Personal Health—a practice dedicated entirely to Functional Medicine. In August 2017, I invited Dr. Papanicolaou to join The UltraWellness Center and we’ve been successfully helping people together ever since. 

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Here are more of the details from our interview: 

-The 4 principles of osteopathic medicine and what attracted Dr. Papanicolaou to become a DO before he discovered Functional Medicine (6:05)

-Why prevention, as thought about it in conventional medicine, is really early detection (11:29)

-Treating SIBO and how the Functional Medicine Matrix is used to identify issues and create health (17:19)

-Leaky gut, why SIBO is rarely seen in patients by itself, and how to test for it (27:09)

-Patient cases in which Dr. Papanicolaou and I have treated gut issues (32:40)

-The reason why people get so-called “food babies” (36:29)

-The 5 R’s of Functional Medicine (40:10)

-Why Functional Medicine uses genetic and toxicity testing not regularly used in conventional medicine (48:33)

-Gluten as the trigger for autoimmune disease, how sugar and starch can cause hormonal issues, and Dr. Papanicolaou’s experience treating his teenage daughter’s fatigue (1:00:34)

-Dr. Papanicolaou’s personal experience with brain injury and how he healed himself (1:09:24)

Learn more about working with Dr. George Papanicolaou at The UltraWellness Center at https://www.ultrawellnesscenter.com/team-member/george-papanicolaou/. 

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