Are all naturopaths trained in functional medicine? No, although naturopathy is a holistic approach, naturopaths are not functional medicine practitioners. Functional medicine practitioners undertake additional training in functional medicine through the Institute of Functional Medicine. They take an evidence-based approach to systematically assess an individual’s health parameters whilst still understanding that everyone is unique. They look for the cause of the cause of the cause – on in other words – the initial imbalance that lead to the illness, symptom or condition.

Naturopaths also take a holistic view on health but vary greatly in their level of education and training making it difficult to state their exact skills. Most naturopaths want to regulated by the government, but currently this is not the case. Most naturopaths are trained in multiple modalities including nutrition and herbal medicine, however a naturopath is not always evidence-based and may or may not have a structured plan on how to assess each client thoroughly and individually.

Jasmin has training as both a functional medicine practitioner and naturopath and utilised aspects of both in her treatment and assessment. She has a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Functional Medicine and is also a Certified Practitioner with the Institute of Functional Medicine.