What Functional Medicine Really Is & What Happens at Your First Visit
with Dr. Julia Buchkina, MD, MPH · Functional Medicine, Upstream Functional Medicine, Iowa City
Tired for months, joints aching, stomach off, head foggy, and every test comes back "normal"? In this episode of the Top Providers Podcast, Joe Brown talks with Dr. Julia Buchkina, MD, MPH, a family medicine physician who practices functional medicine and the founder of Upstream Functional Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa. Dr. Buchkina earned her medical degree and master's in public health at the University of Iowa, trained in family medicine at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, and earned her functional medicine certification from the Institute for Functional Medicine. Dr. Buchkina covers what to look for in a functional medicine doctor and why being able to prescribe matters; green flags and red flags, like a one-size-fits-all protocol or a doctor who isn't open to new research; what functional medicine is (and isn't) in plain English; what happens at a first visit, from the intake paperwork to a two-hour conversation; what to do when your labs keep coming back normal but you still feel awful; the first food change she asks most patients to make (alcohol and sugar); why she avoids the word "diet," grocery shopping along the perimeter and working with a health coach; and why functional medicine is "slow medicine," not a quick fix. This episode is for general information and isn't a substitute for advice from your own doctor. Don't start, stop or change any medication or treatment without talking to the doctor who prescribed it.
- 0:00Functional medicine: getting to the root cause
- 0:39Welcome & meet Dr. Julia Buchkina
- 1:16What to look for in a functional medicine doctor
- 2:02Green flags & red flags
- 4:16What functional medicine is (and isn't)
- 5:53What happens at your first appointment
- 8:07When your labs keep coming back normal
- 9:39The first food change: alcohol & sugar
- 10:58Why she avoids the word "diet"
- 12:29Working with a health coach
- 14:18Why it's "slow medicine"
- 15:22Wrap-up
For general information, not a substitute for advice from your own doctor.
The guest
Booking details, hours and her full background live on her profile.
Clips from this episode
Under a minute each, cut straight from the interview.
Shorts0:36What functional medicine actually is
Her plain-English definition of functional medicine, and her answer to a common question: isn't that what all doctors are trying to do? General information, not medical advice.
Shorts0:30Green flag: no one-size-fits-all plan
Why the same diagnosis can have different causes in different people, and why she sees one plan for everyone as something to notice.
Shorts0:23Labs normal, but you still don't feel well?
She hears this often and calls it legitimately frustrating. How you feel is worth talking through with a doctor who listens, even when your results look fine.
Shorts0:43Why she avoids the word "diet"
Why she talks about a long-term nutrition plan instead of a short-term diet that feels like punishment.
Shorts0:28Not a quick fix
Why she calls functional medicine "slow medicine," and why she wants patients to know that before a first visit. Everyone is different.
Transcript
A reviewed transcript of this episode will appear here. Until then, the chapters above let you jump to each part of the conversation.