<p>Over the years, we have spoken with scores of healthcare experts about chronic illness. Many of them attribute the problems to inflammation, which is after all a natural response to infection or injury. But not everyone has a system for locating and addressing the source of the inflammation. If you want to treat the cause, not just the symptoms of your disease, you might want to consider functional medicine.</p> <p><em>At The People’s Pharmacy, we strive to bring you up to date, rigorously researched insights and conversations about health, medicine, wellness and health policies and health systems. While these conversations intend to offer insight and perspective, the content is provided solely for informational and educational purposes. Please consult your healthcare provider before making any changes to your medical care or treatment.</em></p> <h2>How You Can Listen:</h2> <p>You could listen through your local public radio station or get the live stream at 7 am EST on Saturday, May 30, 2026, through your computer or smart phone (<a href="https://www.wunc.org">wunc.org</a>).  <a href="https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/find-a-radio-station">Here is a link</a> so you can find which stations carry our broadcast. If you can’t listen to the broadcast, you may wish to hear the podcast later. You can subscribe through your favorite podcast provider, download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of the page, or listen to the stream on this post starting on June 1, 2026.</p> <h2>What Is Functional Medicine?</h2> <p>Many people have heard of integrative medicine. We asked our guest, Dr. Susan Payrovi, how this differs from functional medicine. (She practices both.) According to Dr. Payrovi, while both approaches embrace lifestyle therapies, integrative medicine may focus on individual organ systems, just as conventional medicine does. Functional medicine, on the other hand, is more likely to focus on how the body works. What functional systems are involved when a person experiences fatigue, for example? If there is a problem with the way the body produces energy, how could that be resolved?</p> <p>If you are dealing with a problem caused by underlying inflammation, you could prescribe a potent anti-inflammatory or even a medicine that counteracts the immune system’s response to danger by blocking interleukins, for example. Or you could search upstream for the disturbance that is causing the immune system to overreact. Going upstream to find the cause is the functional medicine approach.</p> <h2>Sending the Body Safety Signals</h2> <p>If inflammation is a response to a danger signal, how can we let the immune system know that the body is safe? Lifestyle therapies offer some powerful interventions, even though they may sound very ordinary. Getting adequate sleep can make a huge difference for the immune system and lower inflammation dramatically. Stress management is another potent non-pharmaceutical approach. Consuming a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods or even medicinal herbs could also contribute to a sense of safety and reduced inflammation.</p> <h2>The Silo Problem of Modern Medicine</h2> <p>We have spoken with many people who have struggled with a disease that manifests in multiple symptoms. They end up seeing a variety of specialists who don’t seem to communicate with each other. NO tool manages every condition. Too often, specialists pay attention only to the specific organ that they are assigned, and as a result, nobody puts the big picture together for a long time. The hope is that functional medicine would do a much better job for such patients, including those whose suffering has an emotional, psychological or spiritual aspect.</p> <h2>Functional Medicine and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome</h2> <p>One example where patients are demanding more of their medical care is chronic fatigue syndrome. Conventional medicine has a notoriously difficult time treating such patients. Coaching patients on small but important lifestyle changes is one approach that functional medicine can offer. Pacing and learning to prioritize are vital skills for such patients. Dr. Payrovi learned a lot about the value of such approaches in dealing with her own illness, multiple sclerosis.</p> <h2>Finding a Functional Medicine Practitioner</h2> <p>People looking for a functional medicine practitioner can consult the Institute for Functional Medicine. The organization lists practitioners on its website, <a href="https://www.ifm.org">ifm.org</a>. So does the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, <a href="https://aihm.org">aihm.org</a>.</p> <h2>This Week&#8217;s Guest</h2> <p>Susan Payrovi, MD, is a physician practicing Integrative and Functional Medicine at Stanford’s Center for Integrative Medicine. Dr. Payrovi is board certified in Anesthesiology, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, as well as Integrative Medicine. She has additional training in Functional Medicine and acupuncture.<br /> <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/susan-payrovi">https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/susan-payrovi</a>. Her website is <a href="https://www.drsusanpayrovi.com/">drsusanpayrovi.com</a>.</p> <div id="attachment_140110" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-140110" class="size-full wp-image-140110" src="https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot.jpg" alt="Dr. Susan Payrovi, Stanford University Center for Integrative Medicine" width="500" height="500" srcset="https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot-300x300.jpg 300w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/4GQb6pEz-Payrovi_headshot-150x150.jpg 150w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot-420x420.jpg 420w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot-290x290.jpg 290w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot-200x200.jpg 200w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/4GQb6pEz-Payrovi_headshot-120x120.jpg 120w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot-240x240.jpg 240w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot-360x360.jpg 360w, https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/peoplespharmacy/Payrovi_headshot.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /><p id="caption-attachment-140110" class="wp-caption-text">Susan Payrovi, MD</p></div> <h2>Listen to the Podcast</h2> <p>The podcast of this program will be available Monday, June 1, 2026, after broadcast on May 30. You can stream the show from this site and download the podcast for free.</p> <p>Download the <a href="https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/store/radio-shows/show-1474-treating-the-cause-not-just-the-symptoms-with-functional-medicine">mp3</a>, or listen to the podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peoples-pharmacy/id268003768">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4fRFa83kT7XUZQAaT6sYid">Spotify</a>.</p>