Epigenetics has been one of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine. This suggests that our behaviour can influence which of our genes are turned on or off. It is your lifestyle or your genes that determines your health? What you eat, how you move, rest, along with your thoughts, and all regulate your genes. You can turn on genes that create health or disease.
For the first time in Ireland the global leaders in functional medicine education, the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM ), is coming to the Galway Bay Hotel on November 3 and 4.
Irish based nutritional therapist Maev Creaven will be organising this year’s conference. Her aim is to influence and inspire Irish leaders in both the community and in healthcare to significantly improve our national health statistics. Last year Maev successfully organised a similar conference and a masterclass with a full attendance and won the confidence of IFM which has led to the second annual Lifestyle and Functional Medicine Conference.
Attendees travelled to Ireland from over 10 different countries for the 2016 conferences.
The FMC’s mission is to educate healthcare students and practitioners in the science of functional and integrative medicine principles for preventative measures of chronic diseases. However, the conference also provides many trading opportunities for businesses supplying to this sector and through sponsorship which aids the organisation costs. As the conference will take place in Galway this year, local shops, restaurants and business can expect a significant increase in trade over the conference period.
The first annual Functional Medicine Conference was held in Dublin with some 246 delegates. A masterclass organised by FMC with the main speaker, director of medical education, IFM Kristi Hughes, ND was fully booked with 105 delegates. Sponsors were all very impressed and commented: “Both the conference and masterclass were extremely well attended by the best of the professionals. The energy and excitement at the events was infectious. The speakers were well respected leaders and run with the utmost professionalism.”
This year’s conference promises to be bigger and better as world renowned medical speakers from the UK, USA, and Ireland will feature at the conference including Dr Bob Rountree, Dr Mark Menolascino, Dr Aseem Malhotra, and Ireland’s own vascular surgeon Sherif Sultan to name just a few. There are more than 300 attendees expected on the Friday session on November 3 which is open to members of the public and offers an introduction to functional medicine principles and includes a panel discussion with world class experts.
More than 250 practitioners and students are estimated to attend on the training day, to include nutrition, healthcare, and medical professionals. The conference offers clinical training in Ireland for registered nutritional and medical professionals focusing on lifestyle and functional medicine principles.
More than 15 per cent of attendees will include medically trained professionals, GPs, nurses, dentists, and pharmacists, and 75 per cent will be nutritional professionals, qualified nutritional therapists and dieticians.
The Functional Medicine Conference offers a multi-disciplinary faculty of expert clinicians and thought leaders and is proud to announce its educational partnership with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM ). The 2017 conference will explore the functional medicine approach to heart disease and cholesterol, brain function, cognitive decline, and much more.
Functional medicine is a personalised, systems-oriented, model that empowers patients and practitioners to achieve the highest expression of health by working in collaboration to address the underlying causes of disease. Functional medicine does not replace medical training but enhances it.
The primary drivers of the chronic disease epidemic are the daily interactions of an individual’s genetics, environment, and lifestyle choices. Functional nutrition also emphasises the importance of high quality foods and phytonutrient diversity to address clinical imbalances and move individuals toward the highest expression of health.
After attending the FMC conference the majority of overseas attendees stated that they would come back to the conference in Ireland — comments included “It was highly relevant to my practice,” and “Every speaker was of excellent quality, brilliant presentations and delivered with humour.”
With 14 sponsors confirmed, the conference is also expected to drive business at off peak times every year as it will create a profile for the Galway area and distinguishes the Wild Atlantic Way brand which will encourage visitors to return to this charming city of culture.
For more information and ticket sales visit www.fmcireland.com
