The Root of the Problem: How to Stop Chasing Symptoms and Start Healing

When dealing with chronic illness, it's easy to feel like you're fighting a battle on a hundred different fronts. You have a new diagnosis, a long list of symptoms, and a cabinet full of supplements and medications. But what if you could simplify the fight? What if all those symptoms were actually just branches stemming from just a few core roots?

This is the central idea behind 3 Roots, Many Branches, a concept from functional nutrition that can help you finally make sense of your health journey.

The "Branches" Are Your Symptoms

In our conventional healthcare system, we tend to treat each symptom, or "branch," as a separate issue. A headache is just a headache, joint pain is joint pain, and fatigue is fatigue. We go to different specialists for each problem, collecting diagnoses like allergies, migraines, or restless leg syndrome, and a new pill for each.

While getting a diagnosis can be validating, it’s not always the complete picture. The truth is, all these seemingly disconnected symptoms can be linked to the same underlying causes. By focusing on the roots instead of the branches, we can create lasting, sustainable change. This is particularly true for autoimmune diseases, which are the largest category of chronic illness, affecting an estimated 80 million Americans. Many of these conditions are hard to diagnose, and it takes an average of three years and at least four doctors before a patient receives an accurate diagnosis. This is often because the conventional model is built for acute care—for fixing a broken arm or an infection—not for the complex, chronic, and often "invisible" issues that affect multiple systems in the body.

The 3 Roots of Chronic Illness

According to this model, developed by Andrea Nakayama, most chronic conditions—from autoimmune diseases and allergies to chronic fatigue and digestive issues—can be traced back to three foundational root causes:

1. Genes and Epigenetics: You might think your genes are a fixed destiny, but that's not true! Epigenetics is the study of how your environment, lifestyle, and even your thoughts can turn genes on or off. This means that while you can't change your genetic code, you can influence how your genes express themselves. Your diet, movement, mindset, and environment all act as powerful signals to your body, telling your genes whether to promote health or disease. The impact of chronic stress is a powerful epigenetic signal. It can switch on genes that promote inflammation and disease, and switch off genes that support resilience and repair.

   
   

2. Inflammation: A certain amount of inflammation is a good thing; it's how your body heals. But when inflammation becomes chronic, it acts like a slow-burning fire, damaging tissues and leading to a host of problems. By identifying and clearing inflammatory triggers (like certain foods or environmental toxins), calming the body's inflammatory response, and supporting healthy immune function, we can put out the fire. Stress is a major driver of chronic inflammation, creating a constant state of "fight or flight" that keeps this fire burning. Our bodies can't tell the difference between a looming work deadline and a physical threat, so they respond with the same inflammatory cascade.

   
   

3. Digestion: Your gut is often called your "second brain" for good reason. It's home to your microbiome, a bustling community of trillions of bacteria. These microbes are so influential that they contain millions of genes—far more than you have in your entire body! A healthy gut is essential for everything from nutrient absorption and immune function to mood and hormone balance. When the microbial terrain is disrupted, it can trigger a cascade of issues throughout your entire body. This root is especially sensitive to stress, as the gut-brain connection means your digestive health is directly impacted by your emotional state. Chronic stress can alter your microbiome, leading to a vicious cycle of gut issues and increased anxiety.

A New Approach: Addressing the "Soil"

Traditional medicine often focuses on targeting the illness itself, chopping off the roots of the tree one by one. Functional nutrition, on the other hand, is about addressing the "soil" or the terrain in which the illness grew. By changing the environment, we create a landscape where wellness can flourish.

This approach is built on three core principles:

1. Everything is connected: We look at your body as a whole, interconnected system, understanding that seemingly disconnected symptoms—like anxiety, digestive issues, and skin outbreaks—can be linked.

   
   

2. We are all unique: There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Your unique history, genetics, and lifestyle mean that your path to wellness will be different from anyone else's.

   
   

3. All things matter: We consider the full picture—from the food you eat and the way you move your body to your stress levels and your sleep habits.

This isn't about finding one magical pill or a one-size-fits-all diet. It's about a personalized approach that recognizes your unique bio-individuality. Through health coaching, we work together to explore what your body needs to thrive, focusing on:

• Food: Not just what you eat, but the quality, quantity, timing, and diversity of your diet.

  
  

• Movement: Finding movement that supports your body without causing stress.

  
  

• Sleep: Prioritizing and improving the quality of your restorative rest.

  
  

• Environment: Reducing your exposure to toxins and stressors.

  
  

• Mindset: Managing stress and cultivating a positive outlook.

  
  

• Connection: Nurturing relationships and building a sense of belonging in your community.

  
  

• Mindfulness: Practicing presence and awareness to calm the nervous system.

  
  

Chronic illness doesn’t have to be a life sentence of just managing symptoms. By addressing the three roots—your genes, inflammation, and digestion—we can work toward real, lasting resolution.

Are you ready to stop chopping off branches and start tending to the roots? Let's connect and begin your personalized roadmap to wellness -> Schedule a Call

This blog post is inspired by the teachings of Andrea Nakayama and her Roadmap to Resolution framework. To learn more, you can explore the Functional Nutrition Alliance.

Sources

Nakayama, A. (n.d.). Roadmap to Resolution: Your Blueprint for Thriving in Practice by Addressing the Root Causes of Chronic Illness. Functional Nutrition Alliance.