A recent article in the New York Times talks about something very interesting, more in the ideas that it brings up, than in the actual article itself. “Are Migraines Linked To a Heart Defect” says that even though most people believe that migraines are caused by a problem in the head, it may be totally possible that they are linked to patent foramen ovale, or a hole in the heart.

So, while the article itself is pretty interesting, and worth reading especially if you are older and suffer from migraines, it also brings up a much more important point, a point that stresses the importance of functional medicine without even meaning to. This point is that your problem is not always where you feel it.

Functional medicine works by finding the root cause of your problem and healing you from the inside, instead of just giving you a medicine to cure your symptoms and having your problem possibly get worse. As we can see just from the article’s headline, the problem you’re having may not benefit at all from the medication you are given to cure the symptoms. You can be given a headache medicine, one especially for migraines, and it can make you feel better, absolutely. But what if that problem really is with your heart. Then you aren’t going any further into examining why you are having the pain, and it can have a terrible effect in the future. But, if you looked a little deeper you can find that problem’s root cause, and see that it’s something not only common, but fixable. It’s important that you are an educated consumer when you go to the supermarket, and it’s also important that you are one when it comes to your body.

Learn more about what can be causing your problems. Visit a doctor who can try to find solutions to your problems and concerns, and don’t always settle on the pill that’s going to get rid of your symptoms. I am not saying that you shouldn’t use the medication to get rid of symptoms, but don’t stop there.