There are numerous reasons why functional medicine is gaining popularity in our culture. Current medical practise focuses on acute care (or ill care), the diagnosis and treatment of disease or trauma, and urgent issues such as broken bones and appendicitis. Medicine is not concerned with the health of the human body, but rather with curing disease. In modern society, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of chronic disease diagnoses. These ailments include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental illness, cancer, and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Acute care medical techniques are incapable of treating or preventing chronic diseases. This is often due to the fact that it does not take into consideration the individual's unique makeup or external circumstances that could be playing a role, especially in an environment, which exposes us all to toxins. In addition to playing the main role in overall health, holistic weight loss may have a direct impact on the increase of chronic illness in Western civilization.