Types of conditions

How do you feel?

Tired? Bloated? Thirsty? Depressed? Low sex drive? Anxious? Joint aches and pains? Overweight?
Your symptoms might seem unimportant and disconnected from each other, but there is a reason for everything and we want to know what that reason is!

A functional assessment is the best method to establish the true cause of your condition.
A treatment plan, targeted to relieve your specific symptoms or reverse your medical condition, will be discussed in detail at your consult with Dr Grant.

What to expect at your first meeting

We’ll discuss your life history. Sometimes we go back to when you were in your mother's womb! We explore the way you are currently feeling and attempt to understand the path you have walked to get to where you are now.

Your consultation will include:

Functional medicine assessment
Personalised lifestyle consultation
Decision on appropriate path going forward
Decision on tests needed
Collection of samples (at our premises, where possible)

What to expect at your follow-up

You’ll receive a detailed summary of your history, we’ll prioritise your problems and you will be given a thorough explanation of your results.

Your consultation will include:

Root cause differential diagnosis
(fancy term for, “What I think could be the problem”)
Lab results review
Personalised plan of action
Supplements, nutrients, hormones and/or prescription medication

Autoimmune Mental health Gut health Hormonal Thyroid

Autoimmune disease

An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a normal body part. Nearly any body part can be involved.

Autoimmune conditions have exploded to epidemic proportions over the last few decades, affecting millions of people worldwide. Today there are close to 100 recognised autoimmune diseases and an additional 40 disease processes that have an autoimmune component.

Living with an autoimmune disease can be a lonely experience. Many people wait years to find out why they’re sick and once they’re finally diagnosed, they receive few options from their doctor.

Functional medicine can shed light and provide sustainable, natural solutions to put autoimmune conditions into remission, so you can enjoy a healthy, vibrant life again.

Mental health problems (or conditions that masquerade as brain disease)

The brain is the control centre of the body. It controls thoughts, memory, speech, and movement. It regulates the function of many organs. When the brain is healthy, it works quickly and automatically. However, when problems occur, the results can be devastating.

Many people suffer silently with some sort of anxiety-related disorder. Shockingly, the use of anti-depressants doubled from 1995 to 2005 and now, they’re the most prescribed drugs on the market. There’s also been a substantial increase in attention-deficit drug consumption over the past 30 years.

Functional medicine is concerned with finding the underlying root dysfunctions that give rise to chronic brain problems. Brain fog is lifted, memory is sharpened, depression and anxiety are reversed when you restore health naturally through functional medicine.

Gut health disorders

Your gut is home to trillions of beneficial bacteria. This highly sophisticated gastrointestinal system is where 80% of your immune system resides. The body’s “feel-good” hormone, serotonin, is found both in your gut and your brain. It’s no wonder your gut is referred to as the “second brain” in scientific literature.

The gut-brain axis is linked to depression, anxiety, autism and other brain problems.

Functional medicine provides a method for re-balancing the body's underlying physiological systems. It seeks to address lifestyle inadequacies that contribute to a host of illnesses. When the systems are optimised and obstacles removed, the body can get on with the business of keeping you alive and well, for a long and fulfilled life. Hopefully, free of chemical intervention and surgery.

Hormonal problems

The use of the contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapies in women has resulted in many young women struggling with their weight, energy and libido.

Hormonal problems can be a lifelong struggle for millions of people. Crash and fad diets or trying the next magic product can go on for years with little or no success. The inability to overcome hormonal problems can be deflating and discouraging with no end in sight.

Chronic fatigue syndrome alone affects more than a million South Africans, which is more than multiple sclerosis, lupus and many forms of cancer. Diabetes can shorten life spans by up to 10 years and research estimates that by the year 2020, 50% of all Americans will be at risk of developing diabetes.

Functional medicine realises that everyone is designed differently. Everybody has a unique hormone “fingerprint” - understanding and restoring this can be life-changing, to say the least. By pinpointing your exact hormonal imbalance and finding the underlying factors that changed them, you can very effectively reverse the imbalance. Then watch and be amazed at how many components of your mental and physical health problems stemmed from this one factor.

Thyroid disease

Research states that 1 in 8 women will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime. We know that as many as 30% of people with a true thyroid problem WILL TEST NORMAL and will be dismissed by their doctors without further testing.

If you struggle with weight gain, permanent tiredness, cold hands and feet, energy dips in the day, brain fog, irritability, depression, hair loss, brittle nails, low iron, gut disorders or poor motivation; then your thyroid isn't working normally!

We do up to 9 different tests on your thyroid and then sometimes challenge it as well, to understand what is going on with it. The complex relationship between your adrenal glands, ovaries/testicles and thyroid, make a simple diagnosis almost impossible.

The thyroid gland is responsible for making thyroid hormones, which control the metabolism of all cells in your body. These hormones regulate the speed at which your body uses the fuel that is consumed, in particular carbohydrates and fat. This helps control your body’s temperature and fat percentage.

Functional medicine can help. Depending on the symptoms, blood test and physical examination, Dr Grant will decide on a combination of thyroid hormones or therapies that can cure what looks like a primary thyroid problem. He uses synthetic as well as compounded, natural thyroid treatments to obtain optimal function, without risking any other associated systems that depend on your thyroid function.