A house needs a solid foundation for the frame, roof and flooring to stand strong. The same is true for the human body. Through foundational medicine—an approach that starts with detailed lab work and detoxification to address health issues and restore cellular function within the body—practitioners can offer patients the missing piece toward good health.

Dr. Thomas Wachtmann of Link Chiropractic Clinic has taken a foundational approach to wellness for the past four years. While identifying the root causes of ailments is central to both foundational and functional/integrative medicine, foundational approaches take a critical first step that functional medicine can sometimes miss.

“It’s about thinking backward and first addressing what is causing dysfunction at the foundational level,” he explains. “It gets back to the basics of health by stimulating the processes in the body for cellular energy and detoxification.”

If cells are not producing enough energy or are toxic from heavy metals or parasites, vitamins or supplements won’t help patients get better because the issues are still present. “A practitioner might give a patient with osteoporosis calcium supplements to address the calcium deficiency, which makes sense and may help a little, but the results will be limited because other things like gut dysfunction are causing the deficiency. The patient is not absorbing calcium effectively,” Wachtmann details.

Antacids may calm the digestive system, but they also neutralize the good acids that help the body absorb essential minerals. Foundational medicine’s “think backward” approach focuses on what deficiencies are causing indigestion.

Wachtmann uses detailed lab work to detect gut dysfunction. Thorough stool analysis can identify a parasitic infection, bad bacteria or candida that prevents the body from properly absorbing nutrients. Lab work also detects environmental toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides or herbicide levels that impair the body’s ability to function.

He uses chiropractic adjustments, massage, spinal decompression therapy, neurotransmitter balancing, dietary recommendations and gut reconditioning protocols to support cellular rejuvenation by increasing adenosine triphosphate, the source of energy used and stored at the cellular level.

“Energizing the cells helps them do what they are supposed to do. This, in turn, will open drainage pathways to help the body detox, get rid of ‘junk’ in the body, and clean major organs like the liver and the kidneys to remove toxins from the cells,” Wachtmann notes. He adds that addressing foundational issues often resolves many health problems without the need for additional functional approaches like supplements. “Or if you detoxify the body and it’s working as well as it can, sometimes there are still functional issues to address, but it will be more targeted. It’s a more efficient way to get better, and you won’t have to take as many supplements to be healthy.”

While foundational medicine can help patients regain health, Wachtmann says it’s also an invaluable tool for health maintenance. “To be truly healthy, you need to start with a good foundation, otherwise you’re just chasing symptoms with certain herbs or vitamins. They will make you feel a little better, but you’ll still have that foundational issue holding you back. It’s a step that many practitioners are missing, but it’s important.”