Dr. Mashner and Syble Mashner are licensed to provide Pastoral Science and Medicine (PS&M) services by the Pastoral Medical Association as a functional medicine doctor. PS&M services are not state-licensed or regulated by the state and do not include the diagnosis or treatment of disease nor the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs or controlled substances. Our functional medicine services include recommendations that you can use as an individual patient-centered approach.
As Pastoral Medical Association (PMA) practitioners, we do not practice medicine. More specifically, as PMA practitioners, we do not examine, diagnose, treat, offer to treat, cure, or attempt to cure any physical or mental disease or disorder or any physical deformity or injury. And as PMA practitioners, we do not recommend or prescribe any medications or pharmaceutical drugs or recommend any change in dosage or use of legally prescribed medications or drugs.
Learn more about how pastoral science and functional medicine practitioners approach functional health here.
While we firmly believe in the benefits of chiropractic care, we do not provide chiropractic care as part of our pastoral functional medicine licensed services. As a functional medicine doctor, Dr. Mashner believes our functional medicine office should focus on functional medicine services. Chiropractic services licensed by the state of Alabama are available separately. Learn more about Dr. Mashner’s chiropractic practice here.
After over 25 years in practice, I have found that there are four ways patients typically attempt to address their health and nutritional needs. The first two approaches are typical of people inside and outside of our patient base. The second two are methods and procedures that we utilize in our clinic.
“We do not diagnose or treat specific chronic disease conditions”
Rather, we make holistic, nutritional, and lifestyle recommendations designed to support the entire body. We analyze the health history of our patients. Our patients can then choose to apply these personalized treatment plan recommendations and thereby support their body’s natural, God-given ability to heal from within:
- Probably the most common choice people make is to do nothing special. Their health goals are merely to survive without pain and discomfort. They just go about eating the normal standard American diet of fast food and high carb, high calorie, low nutrient meals, oblivious to its impact upon their body.
- The next most common way people attempt to meet their nutritional needs is to rely upon what they may read, what they may see on a TV commercial or the latest wonder product they hear about from their friends. They may even go a step further and include what they see on the Internet or get from “Dr. Google,” or they may rely upon the advice they get from the local sales staff at the neighborhood health food store. Unfortunately, these sources often give mixed messages in conflict with what their immune system really needs to get to the root cause of their problems. Relying upon such advice often results in wasted money, as the products used may be substandard and of questionable quality. When these products have been independently tested, it has been found that they often do not have the content their labels purport that they contain. This often results in frustration, no noticeable improvement in how they feel, and news reports that downplay the true effectiveness of quality nutritional support products. And chronic disease can go undiagnosed, as these results don’t find the root cause of the issues.
- A third way our patients can help support the body nutritionally is to become enrolled in our “Foundations” program. We apply Nutrition Response Testing (NRT) technology, protocols, and procedures with these patients. The body has numerous reflex points, such as acupuncture points, located along the surface of the skin. In NRT, we can use these points, along with noninvasive specific muscle testing procedures, to assess which body organs are under stress. We are then able to design and recommend a nutritional “Foundations” support program, which is a patient-specific approach designed to help the body deal with the stresses that have been identified and return the body to optimal health. We have been successfully using NRT protocols In the Natural Health Improvement portion of our clinic since 2007.
While highly effective, this process does have its limitations. It gives us what could be termed a “snapshot” of the body. Stress in the body’s organs and health challenges at that given moment in time are identified. However, because the “squeaky wheel gets the oil,” so to speak, chronic problems that have often taken years to develop may be masked. There may be accumulated toxins or delayed allergy responses that go unidentified. Additionally, the consequences of improper diet and toxic environmental influences will not disappear overnight. This is because true healing of underlying health issues takes time. So old habits and environmental inputs that may have contributed to the current condition may not be fully identified. If not addressed, the body’s condition may not improve as hoped, as we are not getting to the underlying causes with this functional medicine approach. This is why a personalized treatment plan is so important for patients to return to their optimal health.
- The fourth level of care is our “Premier” health coaching program under the umbrella of The Gut Authority. It is a personalized healthcare program that focuses on the identification of nutrition, diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors that can be modified to achieve overall health goals and lifelong wellness. This type of healthcare is clearly not traditional medicine but functional medicine. It is a program that requires commitment and is clearly not for everyone. Functional Nutrition (FN), sometimes referred to as functional medicine services, involve a partnership between the patient and the practitioner, with the goal of helping the patient identify the lifestyle steps which the patient can take to get back to feeling their best. Instead of trying to artificially manipulate symptoms of a disease or condition with medications, injections, or surgeries, functional medicine recognizes that the body can heal from within when interfering factors are removed, and appropriate raw materials are provided. It recognizes that each patient is unique. They each have their own set of genetics and biochemistry, which have been influenced by or may be at odds with the environment and lifestyle. Functional medicine seeks to restore balance to the body and the factors which alter genetics and biochemistry through appropriate interventions and recommendations to get to the root cause of any issues.
A Functional Medicine based partnership with The Gut Authority* will typically include the following components:
- A thorough and comprehensive health history.
- A review and evaluation of the individual patient’s Lifestyle and Environmental Factors.
- Functional Medicine Outcome-Based Laboratory Workups are designed to identify health-impacting factors such as nutritional deficiencies, toxic environmental exposures (ie, such things as chemicals, metals, and mold), food and environmental allergies, and more ……..(based on individual history).
- A recovery and improvement plan utilizing nutritional supplementation, diet, and lifestyle change.
- Education and Guidance so that, ultimately, patients take charge of their own wellness and become less dependent upon the doctor to maintain and improve their physical and emotional well-being.
*It is important to note that Functional Medicine (Functional Nutrition) and Pastoral Medicine are not the same as the traditional practice of medicine. Dr. Mashner is not an MD; he is a functional medicine doctor. He will not prescribe medications. He will evaluate your individual health and make functional medicine recommendations from a natural perspective. Any alterations or changes to your prescription medications should be made in conjunction with your prescribing physician.
More Info On Functional Nutrition & Pastoral Medicine Services
If you believe you have a ”leaky gut” or other health-related issues that might benefit from The Gut Authority’s Functional Medicine program, click the Schedule an Appointment button below. We look forward to helping you understand the underlying causes of your illness or disease with our individual functional medicine care approach.
