[Written in partnership with RENN Asia Wellness, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice.
It’s been some time since Vulcan Post began collaborating with RENN Asia Wellness, a homegrown holistic wellness institution, to shed light on various aspects of complementary health.
Throughout all of these topics, one thing that is frequently brought up is nutritional functional medicine, also known as NFM.
You’ve likely heard of the saying “you are what you eat” before. That rhetoric might be a core part of NFM, but it’s a tad too simplistic to truly encapsulate it. So, here’s a closer look at what NFM is about.
Nutritional, functional, medicine
As its name suggests, NFM is about nutritional and functional medicine. Beyond that, it’s a root-cause, evidence-based approach to health and wellness.
More than just healthy foods, NFM combines nutritional science, herbal therapeutics, and clinical diagnostics to restore and regenerate organ or system function as well as to prevent chronic health diseases.
The idea is that by restoring or regenerating the organ or system, NFM can effectively reverse major chronic health disorders such as diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated uric acid, gut health, various hormonal imbalances, and much more.
Understandably, all this might sound kind of vague, as we’re used to conventional medicine, especially when it comes to disorders like the ones mentioned above.
To that end, RENN Asia Wellness’ founder Jonathan Chew shared that this is a field that, like conventional medicine, requires formal education.
“It is a specialised field requiring formal study and clinical training, as it involves diagnosis of health problems and therapeutic application of nutrients, not just diet advice (which is left to either dieticians or nutritionists),” he explained.
So if it’s not a diet, what is it?
More than a diet
Unlike conventional diet counselling, which often focuses on calorie balance and food groups, nutritional medicine prescribes evidence-based nutraceuticals and therapeutic diets to regenerate tissue, rebalance hormones, and reverse chronic diseases.
Nutraceutical is a term referring to the pharmaceutical effects from plant extracts, compounds, food products which have efficacy and therapeutic influence on clinical outcomes and patient care.
RENN Asia Wellness utilises a number of local foods such as guava (for vitamin C), moringa (for anti-inflammatory properties), pegaga (to support the skin and brain), turmeric (to help with liver detox), and ikan tenggiri (a source of healthy fats). Local, fresh, and functional is their motto, the founder said.
“It’s medicine, not just food advice,” he also emphasised.
“The teachings of NFM are designed to, firstly, reverse or restore the functions of ailing organs and build the body back to optimal health. In the long term, NFM believes that humans can age while maintaining youthful organs and be free of chronic diseases.”
Part of a larger plan
At RENN, treatments are usually part of a larger integrative plan.
NFM isn’t doled out on its own, but rather, usually combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), physiotherapy, or IV therapy to restore balance holistically.
Jonathan said, “NFM is a good combination with physio, which takes care of physical health and in combination with TCM, which works on principles that are not detected or covered by modern medicine such as meridian health and the Yin Yang energy balance of the whole body.”
The process of administering NFM works by first doing advanced functional diagnostics which involve blood tests, genetic profiling, and body composition scans. To better understand the client, detailed lifestyle interviews are also conducted.
Beyond that, the client might get a tongue and pulse analysis from the TCM physician, lab work by RENN’s medical team, and then personalised nutrition plans that synergise both.
“This integration ensures whole-person healing, and most importantly, we cover a wide aspect of health to ensure that the health disorder is dealt with from all angles.”
Jonathan concluded, “We bridge ancient wisdom and modern science.”
Supporting personal growths
At RENN Asia Wellness, following evidence-based teachings is a core pillar. So what sort of evidence do they have?
Jonathan shared that clients at RENN report improved energy, reduced medication dependency, better skin, normalised blood markers (e.g., HbA1c, cholesterol), menstrual regulation, weight loss, normalised blood pressure, improved heart function, and even improved fertility.
“Our approach actually helps people get better and rid them of the health disorder, not just manage symptoms (which is the role of medication),” he explained.
As he’s shared numerous times, RENN’s focus is not to just treat symptoms, but target root causes.
It’s natural to be sceptical about—after all, it’s healthy to question things, especially when it comes to medical things. Many kinds of complementary medicine lack awareness, certainly in comparison with conventional medicine. It’s important to do your research and gain literacy around these topics.
That said, RENN Asia Wellness does exactly that, dedicating itself to evidence-based, holistic treatments—with NFM being a core pillar of that.
- Learn more about RENN Asia Wellness here.
- Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.
Featured Image Credit: RENN Asia Wellness
