Functional Medicine
At Little Flower, our trusted healthcare professionals aim to restore and maintain your health. Functional medicine is an approach to health that addresses the root cause of disease so aligns perfectly with the Little Flower model. Our providers have taken courses from the Institute of Functional Medicine and that training enables us to offer patient-centered, science-based evaluations of factors that may be causing illness, including diet and nutrition, environmental toxins, and lifestyle choices. Sometimes functional medicine uses symptoms to guide treatment and other times specialized lab tests are ordered. An LFFM provider and patient will decide together whether labs are needed, since sometimes trial of a beneficial treatment with no adverse effects can be more cost effective than labs, especially specialized labs.
Functional medicine looks at the health of the gut, the digestive track.
Bacteria live on the skin, in the nose and ears and most of all, in the gut. The human digestive track has bacteria called probiotics. Having the right strains of probiotics is actually an important part of health and the wrong strains can lead to disease. We first get these bacteria from our mother, by swallowing amniotic fluid in the womb. If mom didn’t have healthy bacteria, neither will baby. More bacteria are acquired during the birth process, with different strains depending on whether birth was vaginal or by Cesarean. For the first four months of life breastmilk has special sugars (human milk oligosaccharides) to feed the bacteria in the gut. Formula does not have these sugars and formula can change the type of bacteria which grow. Other factors impact the bacteria including the use of antibiotics, stress and lack of sleep. Research is finding more and more physical and mental conditions linked to having the wrong mix of bacteria in the gut.
Probiotics are prescribed as part of functional medicine treatment and in our office are often used for breast infections, colic, reflux, and more. Other vitamins and supplements can also be an important part of the approach. Our office carries products by Seeking Health and Ortho Molecular Products. Ortho Molecular supplements are made with the highest quality raw ingredients and are provided exclusively through healthcare providers. In addition to carrying them in office, we do ship our products and soon will be offering easy ordering through an online store.
Request an Appointment
To request a NaProTechnology appointment, the first step is to be charting the Creighton Model. After charting at least 1 full cycle or month, you are ready for a NaPro Technology consult. If you have already been trained to chart using the Creighton method, please call the office to request your appointment or fill out this form.
Creighton Classes
All women (whether married, single, struggling with reproductive issues, or just taking control of their fertility) are encouraged to learn more about the Creighton Model. These classes can start as soon as menstruation starts, so girls as young as 13 are easily taught to chart.
The Creighton Model is a powerful tool to understand your body, get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, or simply maintain your gynecological health. Our office is currently referring clients for Creighton Model teaching to an outside Fertility Care Practitioner. Give our office a call if you need a referral. If you do not live near the office, you can visit this site to find a practitioner near you. In the St. Louis area, click here to search the Archdiocese of St. Louis website for Introductory Fertility Care sessions.
