This blog is the one closest to my heart — because it’s been an immense learning curve for me.

As a Nutritional Therapist and Functional Medicine practitioner, I place science, lab tests, physiology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in the highest esteem. I’ll admit, in the past, when hearing other therapists talk of doshas, energetics and constitutions, my sceptic’s eyes would roll. I saw constitution questionnaires as akin to the quizzes in Just Seventeen—a bit of fun, but not practical. I was drawn to evidence, clarity, and explanations that made sense.

But then I came across a brilliant PhD called Sam Yanuck, while studying one of his deeply academic courses on immunology. After long, technical explanations of a pathology, his solutions were often surprisingly simple—and invariably included a herb or several. My curiosity was sparked.

At first, I was still thinking in medical terms: a pill for an ill, a herb for a symptom. I wanted to match the herb to the condition, full stop. But I’ve come to understand that herbs don’t just act—they interact, and that depends entirely on the person they’re given to. 

Ancient medical systems from all over the world—developed in isolation from one another—each discovered a similar truth: that health, and the loss of it, is deeply tied to the individual's energetic nature.

From Ayurveda’s doshas, to the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), to the Four Temperaments of Ancient Greece, these systems offer us a lens through which to view people, symptoms, and medicines. And while the terminology may differ, the foundation is simple and practical:

• Is something hot or cold?
• Warming or cooling?
• Drying or moistening?
• Heavy or light?

It’s not mystical—it’s observational. We all know the angry man with a quick temper and inflammatory conditions is hot. The snotty baby is wet. The ageing woman with paper-thin skin is dry. Likewise we know that chilli is hot, ginger too. Turmeric warms, but is also dry. Cucumber cools. Summer is hot and dry, winter is cold and damp.

We know this.

And we also know that balancing like with unlike can restore harmony.

Each system leads to similar practical outcomes, but my personal preference is Ayurveda.

In Ayurvedic though, it is simplified yet further into the three constitutions – everyone has a unique makeup called their Prakriti—which is present from birth and somewhat aligns with modern ideas of genetics. And yet Ayurveda also recognises that how we’re expressing right now, called their Vikriti, might not match that deeper constitutional blueprint.

Life, diet, stress, seasons, and environment all shift our state of balance. Much like in functional medicine these can happen unintentionally resulting in symptoms, or we can use them intentionally to rebalance and correct symptoms. True health comes when Prakriti and Vikriti are aligned—when we return to the version of ourselves that feels most at ease.

These systems aren’t anti-science. They’re older than science.

Yes, some of the anatomical terms (particularly in TCM) might feel off to modern eyes, this was simply because they were coined before such intense anatomical knowledge was available. But when we understand them as metaphor, not mistake, we realise how deeply attuned these traditions were to the human body.

And when used well, constitution and energetics help us personalise treatment right away. Often, balancing the individual's energetics has a more profound effect than giving a generic herb for a textbook diagnosis.

For me personally, this has been illuminating. A symptom that years of functional medicine hadn’t resolved has finally shifted—not through another supplement or test, but by correcting a doshic imbalance with herbs and lifestyle changes that suit me.

Here’s how this looks in practice:

• If you feel anxious, dry, cold, and overstimulated—we don’t just calm the mind. We also warm and moisten the body.
• If you feel sluggish, heavy, apathetic, congested—I’ll bring some fire back to your belly. Literally and metaphorically. Drying, lightening, stimulating herbs and foods.
• If you feel hot, inflamed, and irritable—your fire needs tending, not extinguishing. We cool, soften, and moisten with care.

It’s about matching the medicine, the food, the lifestyle, and even the season to the person—not just the symptom.

Studying with Anne McIntyre on her Ayurvedic apprenticeship has helped me bridge what I know from functional medicine and nutrition with something deeper—something that holds the individual close to heart. This way of working isn’t fixed or prescriptive. It’s intuitive, flexible, and deeply personal.

I’ve stopped feeling like I need to choose between functional medicine and ancient wisdom. The truth is, they’re beautifully complementary. We can use them side by side—to help people feel more balanced, more like themselves, and more well.