MY JOURNEY or FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE MEETS AYURVEDA
I started my formal relationship with medicine 1996 when/as I entered a medical university in a city in Central Russia (Ufa). After 5 years of studies I was lucky to get a scholarship for scientific research in a renowned medical school in Germany, Charité, Berlin. This research was a clinical trial evaluating therapeutics effects on metformin (the drug used for type 2 diabetes) on obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). As we know, metformin reduces blood sugar levels and this mechanism helps balancing sexual hormones as well. Now we know, there is a strong connection between different hormonal systems in the body but 20 years ago this work was quite pioneering. By the way, the trial was successful and a few patients could even conceive.
After my graduation, I was trained in internal medicine at a leading hospital in Frankfurt. I loved my job but the methods of the modern medicine to treat patients as well the results of those treatments were not satisfying to me. Chronic illnesses could not be cured, only the symptoms could be covered with “a pill for every ill”. Patients got life extensions thanks to with expensive technologies, but their life quality was rather miserable.
I looked for alternatives and as I always had a keen interest in alternative medicine, I studied Ayurveda. An ancient system of medicine originating about 5000 years in India but its principles are applicable in our day and age. It shows us ways for a long and healthy life. Regardless of which part of the planet we live on, we all thrive on health, balance and happiness. What I really love about Ayurveda is that every person is being seen and treated as unique.
After moving to Sri Lanka in 2012 I had the great opportunity to learn from senior ayurvedic doctors over the next four years. That was the time for me to also get deeper into yoga practice and to become a certified yoga teacher at Institute for Human Excellence in Colombo.
In parallel, I came across functional medicine and was inspired by talks and articles of some of its leading proponents. The golden rule is to look for a root cause of disease, which sounds so logical and obvious. This makes it possible to move away from taking pills over years or decades, by finding the root cause(s), by building the puzzle of symptoms, complains and lab tests together.
Sure, I had to know more about this approach which I then studied at the Institute for Functional Medicine in Hannover, Germany.
In my work I integrate ancient wisdom with modern knowledge since both systems complement one another. I create a focus on treatment and prevention through diet, lifestyle, physical and breathing exercises; use of the latest laboratory testing and other diagnostic techniques; and prescribe combinations of drugs and/or botanical medicines, supplements, therapeutic diets, detoxification programs, or stress-management techniques.
My consultations are available in English, German and Russian.
Dr. Elena Steinheim Credentials:
Medical Doctor (MD) Faculty of Medicine at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Doctorate in Medicine (Dr. med) – Humboldt University of Berlin – Charité, Faculty of Medicine
Ayurveda Medical Consultant – Steuernagel Academy for Ayurveda, Germany & Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda Foundation, Kerala, India
Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner (IFMCP) – Institute for Functional Medicine, Hannover, Germany
Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor – Institute for Human Excellence, Colombo, Sri Lanka