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Does this article rely too heavily on SBM?

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I fully understand that the blog Science-Based Medicine is considered generally reliable, though not peer-reviewed. However currently 8 out of the 13 references (62%) (9 if you count External links) are from SBM, as are 14 of 22 inline citations (64%). I realize the FUTON bias makes it easy to immediately view and cite whatever diatribe du jour an esteemed researcher has decided to gripe about. My concerns are whether views of the SBM writers are granted disproportionate weight. SBM blogger David Gorksi is the only named attributed author in this article (named twice), which makes this resemble "Functional medicine from the view of Gorski". Considering WP:WEIGHT and WP:NPOV, out of everything ever written about functional medicine by reliable sources, does SBM and Gorski really comprise the majority views? Or to put it another way: is this article a neutral encyclopedic summary of Functional medicine, or a vehicle selectively broadcasting the views of SBM authors? I think a broader diversity of sources are needed. --Animalparty! (talk) 00:34, 5 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

And for those readying to beat me with a WP:PROFRINGE cudgel, let me point out that I would have similar questions with an article about rocks with >60% of citations being from the New York Times or the same geology magazine. I recognize the standing of this topic in broader medical consensus. I'm neither pro- nor anti-functional medicine, but critical examination of how heavily we cite and present a source is healthy. Here are some potential additional sources. --Animalparty! (talk) 03:05, 5 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]
  • Luke, Jesse W. (July 2017). "Functional medicine: New name, old ideas". Australasian Science. doi:10.3316/informit.268531139808641.
  • Khan, Wajid I. (2020). "The current evidence behind functional medicine" (PDF). University of British Columbia Medical Journal. 12 (1): 35–36.
  • Khayal, Inas S.; Farid, Amro M. (January 2017). "The Need for Systems Tools in the Practice of Clinical Medicine". Systems Engineering. 20 (1): 3–20. doi:10.1002/sys.21374.
Agreed, almost this entire post is referenced on David Gorski and Science Based Medicine. This is not a "consensus viewpoint" on the subject. The page says that Functional Medicine doctors treat and diagnose a number of disease entities found not to exist. OK, some of the conditioned purportedly identified and treated do not have mainstream acceptance, but the vast majority of what functional medicine doctors are diagnosing and treating are well known, established conditions like diabetes, obesity, depression, etc, and they are often being treated with healthy lifestyle interventions for which there is good data, but none of this is mentioned because nearly all sources cited having nothing but vitriol for functional medicine. Xitomatl (talk) 15:39, 20 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Yup, physical exercise and a healthy diet are good for health. But we did not need functional medicine to tell us that, that was already known and broadly accepted. Of course, that isn't quackery. Its quackery lies in what distinguishes it from mainstream medicine. Also, while dieting helps patients with diabetes, it can never heal them, so expecting to be healed from diabetes through dieting is vain hope, and even a scam, i.e. a felony. Also, while running or walking helps with depression, it isn't a silver bullet. Dieting helps those suffering from obesity, but according to prof. dr. Martijn B. Katan, one of the most cited scientists in the field of nutrition, long-term weight loss through dieting is less probable than long-term recovery from heroin addiction. So, yes, diet helps those with obesity, but in 80%-90% of the cases weight loss is only temporary, and then the subject comes back to their obesity weight. tgeorgescu (talk) 12:15, 9 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
"Expecting to be healed from diabetes through dieting is...a felony" is a pretty bizarre linguistic construction. 2603:7081:1603:A300:E091:E8CF:A13:50E7 (talk) 08:48, 29 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Meaning that people who pretend that diet heals diabetes are felons. tgeorgescu (talk) 03:19, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, @Animalpartyalmost every source comes from basically one organization. Gorski is an editor/writer at Science Based Medicine and so is Harriet Hall who wrote via skeptic.com, which is also referenced on this Functional Medicine page. Gorski even pops up in The Atlantic here: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/06/whats-eating-the-small-loud-band-of-alt-med-critics/240860/
Here are some of the other voices that could be referenced:
Dr. Mark Hyman, the leading proponent of functional medicine field, is covered in the New York Times because he advises the Clintons: Source: ​​https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/fashion/dr-mark-hyman-clintons-health.html
The Cleveland Clinic has a functional medicine practice.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/functional-medicine
The ACCME provides accreditation for functional medicine:
https://www.accme.org/find-cme-provider/institute-for-functional-medicine
This Stanford MD
https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/expert-voices/2022/09/14/expert-voices-functional-medicine-ms/
You can also do a Google search for functional medicine in any major city and you will probably find dozens of MDs who spent time and money to get additional training in this field. 96.241.32.156 (talk) 02:51, 19 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Animalparty @Xitomatl I agree that the article should be more neutral and represent different perspectives on functional medicine. This can be done in proportion to the mainstream view according to WP:DUE. This article also presents opinions as facts. In addition to the existing references, I would add the following sources.
•Beidelschies, M., Alejandro-Rodriguez, M., Guo, N., Postan, A., Jones, T., Bradley, E., Hyman, M., & Rothberg, M. B. (2021). Patient outcomes and costs associated with functional medicine-based care in a shared versus individual setting for patients with chronic conditions: a retrospective cohort study. BMJ Open, 11(4), e048294. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048294
•Beidelschies, M., Alejandro-Rodriguez, M., Ji, X., Lapin, B., Hanaway, P., & Rothberg, M. B. (2019). Association of the Functional Medicine Model of Care With Patient-Reported Health-Related Quality-of-Life Outcomes. JAMA network open, 2(10), e1914017. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.14017
•Beidelschies, M., Cella, D., Katzan, I., & D'Adamo, C. R. (2022). Patient-Reported Outcomes and the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System of Functional Medicine Care and Research. Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America, 33(3), 679–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2022.04.008
•Bland J. (2017). Defining Function in the Functional Medicine Model. Integrative medicine (Encinitas, Calif.), 16(1), 22–25. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312741/
•Bland J. S. (2022). Functional Medicine Past, Present, and Future. Integrative medicine, 21(2), 22–26. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9173848/
•Bland J. S. (2018). The Natural Roots of Functional Medicine. Integrative medicine, 17(1), 12–17. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6380987/
•Bland J. S. (2019). What is Evidence-Based Functional Medicine in the 21st Century?. Integrative Medicine, 18(3), 14–18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7217393/
•Droz, N., Hanaway, P., Hyman, M., Jin, Y., Beidelschies, M., & Husni, M. E. (2020). The impact of functional medicine on patient-reported outcomes in inflammatory arthritis: A retrospective study. PloS one, 15(10), e0240416. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240416
•Hanaway P. (2016). Form Follows Function: A Functional Medicine Overview. The Permanente journal, 20(4), 16–109. https://doi.org/10.7812/TPP/16-109
•Hickner J. (2022). Keeping an open mind about functional medicine. The Journal of Family Practice, 71(1), 6–7. https://doi.org/10.12788/jfp.0343
•Hyman, M., & Bradley, E. (2022). Food, Medicine, and Function: Food Is Medicine Part 1. Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America, 33(3), 553–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2022.04.001
•Hyman, M., & Bradley, E. (2022). Food, Medicine, and Function: Food is Medicine Part 2. Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America, 33(3), 571–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2022.04.002
•Orlando, F. A., Chang, K. L., & Estores, I. M. (2021). Functional medicine: Focusing on imbalances in core metabolic processes. The Journal of Family Practice, 70(10), 482–498. https://doi.org/10.12788/jfp.0307
•Simkin, D. R., & Arnold, L. E. (2023). Complementary and Integrative Medicine/Functional Medicine in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Disorders: Should It Be Taken Seriously?. Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America, 32(2), xiii–xxiv. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2022.09.001
•Strobel, T. M., Nguyen, C., Riggs, T., Horst, S. N., Motley, A., Upadhyaya, S., Campbell, S., Spring, E., Dalal, R. L., Scoville, E., Pabla, B., Schwartz, D. A., & Beaulieu, D. B. (2022). Functional Medicine Approach to Patient Care Improves Sleep, Fatigue, and Quality of Life in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Crohn's & colitis 360, 4(3), otac032. https://doi.org/10.1093/crocol/otac032 4whirledpeas (talk) 01:55, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@4whirledpeas: I don't want to give you false hope. In order to learn how the ball is played, please read WP:LUNATICS. tgeorgescu (talk) 02:15, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
That's a good start but:
Levivich (talk) 02:20, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm afraid "holistic approach" is empty verbiage, it is described at not even wrong. If you're seeking to define "holistic approach" scientifically (as in medical science): don't bother, it has no meaning at all. tgeorgescu (talk) 03:15, 27 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I also think that this article is too reliant on sources that have a bias against functional medicine. The books by functional medicine doctors that I have read are full of references citing clinical trials for nutritional approaches that they often take in their strategies of preventative medicine. It seems to me that Functional Medicine is evidence-based, unlike the field of "Integrated Medicine". 2600:1009:B11A:1DF0:2987:1DCC:E1DB:7031 (talk) 14:17, 20 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
WP:RS having anti-quackery bias are not only allowed, but even preferred, according to WP:PARITY.
If you had your own encyclopedia, you could choose your own balance between quackery and sources exposing quackery. Meanwhile you are here, so you have to obey our own WP:RULES, or you're out. tgeorgescu (talk) 20:40, 20 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Just plain wrong

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This article calls functional medicine a pseudoscience yet it has been adopted by The Cleveland Clinic. This article should be substantially revised as it stands it is narrative quackery 72.215.0.38 (talk) 21:43, 21 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

WP:RGW. NHS hospitals in UK offered a well-paid job to a Reiki therapist. Not because Reiki is effective, but because it is an easy way to soothe nervous patients. See https://www.nature.com/articles/526295a tgeorgescu (talk) 21:53, 21 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Major new source

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Could usefully be used to freshen this article:

Bon courage (talk) 03:29, 3 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

There's also some discussion about functional medicine in a new book that's accessible from the Wikipedia library, Mind the Science: Saving Your Mental Health from the Wellness Industry. ScienceFlyer (talk) 15:22, 3 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Education assignment: Biol4700 Interdisciplinary Applications of Biology

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This article is currently the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 6 January 2025 and 5 May 2025. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): SirSloth42069 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by SirSloth42069 (talk) 02:51, 26 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hugely biased

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This article is dramatically biased and appears to have been written by campaigners against alternative medicine. FM may well be hokum (I don't know), but some balance in the article woudld be very welcome. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C8:4006:FB00:A18E:7BD:DF4:822A (talk) 11:02, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Well, if you "don't know", not sure how you can say it is "hugely biased". You would need to know to be able to make that judgement. If you have a specific change in the article to suggest, please do so. Don't forget to include reliable sources. --McSly (talk) 15:03, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Is Skeptic (American magazine) reliable source in the lead? It seems like not MEDRS ? As well as Science-Based Medicine blog? I think it suitable for reception section, but for definition we need something more reliable Zemleroika11 (talk) 15:23, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Take a look at the previous discussions here and in the archives (link and search field at the top of the page.) They likely already cover your questions. --McSly (talk) 15:42, 11 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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