Gig Harbor, WA — May 23, 2011 — Though chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are reducing our life expectancy, according to a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, they can be prevented, managed, and perhaps even reversed. Jeffrey Bland, PhD, has devoted his life to helping people realize optimal health by addressing the causes of impaired metabolism and physiology, then applying individualized responses. Bland has inspired many with his groundbreaking work in the fields of nutrition and nutrigenomics—the study of the effects of foods and food constituents on gene expression.
On the occasion of The Institute for Functional Medicine’s 2011 International Symposium, held April 28–30, 2011, in Bellevue, Washington, Jeffrey Bland, PhD was honored by receiving the Linus Pauling Functional Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award. He and his wife, Susan Bland, founded the Institute 20 years ago.
Functional Medicine offers an answer to the current epidemic of chronic disease, with its systems-based, science-driven approach to individualized medicine, focusing on underlying causes rather than simply treating symptoms. Considered the “Father of Functional Medicine,” Bland’s vision, brilliance, and leadership have inspired a worldwide community of clinicians, scientists, and educators to transform clinical practice and educational curricula.
Today’s new medicine offers a changing view of physiology, more like a patient-specific “dance of metabolism” where genetic expression can actually be changed by intervening in core functional processes in the body such as cellular metabolism, digestive function, detoxification, and oxidative stress. As function is regulated, illness can be modulated.
In Bland’s words, “We need to listen to the patient’s story and develop a response to it. The approach to complex syndromes may be much more profound than just trying to pound a round peg into a square hole to get a singular diagnosis.”
With a PhD in biochemistry, Bland became a prominent educator for the natural foods Industry, served as President of the Northwest Academy of Preventive Medicine, and helped establish Bastyr University of Natural Health Sciences in the Northwest. In 1981, he was invited by two-time Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling to become the Director of Nutritional Supplement Analysis at the Linus Pauling Institute in Palo Alto, California. In 1984, he introduced the concept of using foods to create biochemical change, and started HealthComm, Inc., to educate physicians and other licensed healthcare providers. Jeffrey and his wife, Susan, established The Institute for Functional Medicine in 1991 to educate clinicians about Functional Medicine. In 1993, he established the Natural Products Quality Assurance Alliance to develop the quality assurance document for the industry. Bland is the Chief Science Officer of Metagenics, the largest global nutraceutical and medical food company serving the fields of functional and integrative medicine.
His publications include four books on nutrition and health for the general public and six books for health professionals, including The Medical Applications of Clinical Nutrition. He is the principal author of more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers on nutritional biochemistry.
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