{"id":18230,"date":"2018-06-20T00:58:23","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T19:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/functionalnutritionlab.com\/blog\/?p=902"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:04:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:04:50","slug":"1-key-element-to-functional-nutrition-mastery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fxnutrition.com\/blog\/1-key-element-to-functional-nutrition-mastery","title":{"rendered":"1 key element to Functional Nutrition Mastery"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are a lot of things I don\u2019t know about you, but since you\u2019re here, reading this now, I do know this:<\/p>\n

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  1. You have a strong desire to help people feel better<\/li>\n
  2. You\u2019re interested in learning tools and techniques that will enable you achieve #1<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And you know\u2014either from your own health challenges, from working with others who are not feeling their best, or from your keen understanding of health and healing\u2014that one-size-never<\/em>-fits-all. That\u2019s why, we as practitioners who really want to serve the mission to help people feel better, need to continually hone in on clinical ways to honor the individuality of each client.<\/p>\n

    Bioindividuality is one of my favorite concepts. Not only do I love it in principle, but also in practice. This is because it\u2019s our guide to uncovering what\u2019s clinically necessary to achieve results.<\/p>\n

    Bioindividuality states that each person\u2019s physiology is as unique as their fingerprint, and that treatment plans need to pay heed to that in myriad ways.<\/p>\n

    The problem with bioindividuality comes in the application of the concept.<\/p>\n

    HOW can we as practitioners create tailored treatment plans that work<\/em> without burning ourselves out by re-inventing the wheel with each and every client or patient?<\/p>\n

    The answer, just like your client\u2019s health or dis-ease, is multifactorial.<\/p>\n

    There are 8 elements to Practitioner Mastery, which is more than I can share in one blog post, but I can give you the first key element!<\/p>\n

    Element #1 to Functional Nutrition Mastery<\/h2>\n

    As I shared in a recent post, the first step in the Art of Counseling is to assess<\/span><\/a>.<\/em> We cannot give sound bioindividual<\/em> advice if we don\u2019t have a clear understanding of the myriad factors that have contributed to the symptoms our client is coming to us with.<\/p>\n

    It makes logical sense that we need some hard data in order to move on to the second step\u2014recommend<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u2014with professional integrity.<\/p>\n

    But if all you do is collect data on your client\u2014which foods exacerbate her symptoms, what supplements she\u2019s tried in the past, what her menstrual cycle is like\u2014you\u2019re missing a crucial piece in the puzzle.<\/p>\n

    We also need what might be considered soft<\/em> data. Without it, our recommendations won\u2019t be bioindividual, they won\u2019t be Functional, and they likely won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

    So what is this soft<\/em> data?<\/p>\n

    Take a moment to think about the things that matter most<\/em> to you right now, and you\u2019ll begin to understand this mountain of misunderstood (and often dismissed) information.<\/p>\n

    This mountain is composed of things like family, home, love, spiritual and cultural connections, and your current circumstances (whatever has your attention and energy right now.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

    The 43-year-old woman with 3 kids who\u2019s going through a heart-wrenching divorce needs different care than the 17-year-old who\u2019s up at night worrying about whether he\u2019ll get into college.<\/p>\n

    The devout Hindu who keeps a strict vegetarian diet based on her religious beliefs won\u2019t listen with the same attentiveness as an omnivorous triathlete when you begin to tout the benefits of fermented cod liver oil.<\/p>\n

    The middle-aged man who\u2019s reduced his dietary intake to avoid painful GI symptoms isn\u2019t going to adhere to an elimination diet in the same way that a young woman preparing for her wedding day in 3 months will.<\/p>\n

    Bioindividuality is more than a list of statistics. And it\u2019s more than a detailed history. It\u2019s more, even, than a completed Functional Nutrition Matrix<\/a> and Timeline.<\/p>\n

    Who you\u2019re speaking to matters, at the deepest and most basic level.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Mastering this forgotten skill is truly one key element in becoming a Functional Nutrition Master. It\u2019s the foundation upon which all the other skills are built.<\/p>\n

    I call it Functional Empathy, because it\u2019s using empathy in a way that works.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Functional Empathy<\/h2>\n

    Functional Empathy doesn\u2019t cause you to feel your client\u2019s pain, or to end up fatigued at the end of the day. It doesn\u2019t cause you to give away your services or to get so emotionally involved in your client\u2019s case that you lose the objectivity you need to help her get better.<\/p>\n

    Instead, Functional Empathy uses a system that guides you to ask the critical questions that nobody has likely asked before.<\/em><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s a framework that reminds you to make inquiries in your client sessions such as:<\/p>\n