Dr. Priti Nanda Sibal opened the Indian Association of Functional Medicine Conference 2023 with a warm welcome, framing functional medicine as the future of conventional/allopathic care in India. She highlighted the exponential growth of the conference—from 250 attendees three years ago to over 1,100 this year—signaling a rising national interest. Dr. Sibal announced domestic training milestones, noting Vidyaan Academy’s 128 graduates and Autoimmunity Care’s upcoming batch, emphasizing the shift from reliance on international programs to homegrown education. She shared a patient story about “Anjali,” illustrating how a root‑cause, personalized approach transformed chronic illness into health and empowerment. Citing ICMR 2021 data, she underscored the massive burden of non‑communicable diseases (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, dyslipidemia) in India, calling for a massive expansion of trained practitioners. Gratitude was expressed to a long list of sponsors and the organizing team, acknowledging their essential role. The address concluded with an invitation to learn, network, and collectively advance functional medicine to improve health outcomes globally.
Chapters
Journey of thousand miles begins with a few steps, and I think in India, in functional medicine, we have taken some really amazing few steps toward this magical journey. Good morning everyone, and a very, very warm welcome to everyone who is gathered here. It's an honor to have each one of you Join us today from various parts of the country and the world. We are here to embark on a journey of discovery, innovation, and shared learning in the field of functional medicine, which I call future conventional or allopathy medicine. Functional medicine, with its unique approach to individualized treatment and a focus on root cause resolution is more relevant today than ever before. I think in the post-COVID era, if anything can give us hope, it is this science of root cause-based medicine, functional medicine. As we face unprecedented health challenges globally, principles of functional medicine offer hope and new avenues for healing and wellness. This conference is a testament to growing interest and commitment in India to embrace and advance functional medicine. I am so excited and happy to share that 3 years back in this conference, Dr. Ashwini, Dr. Ruhi, Dr. Musa, and me, we were counting numbers and we had 250 registrations and we were extremely happy. Last year in our second conference, 600 people joined us, and this year, I think 4 months back, we kept ourselves a target of 1,000 people joining this conference. I know Dr. Ashwini, me, Dr. Musa, Dr. Rui were like, let's try it, but we were very confident that we have support of such amazing members here who are passionate about functional medicine, that I am so happy to announce that we have 1,100+ registrations in this conference. I think we all should clap and applaud, not because we've done something great, but because this wave is catching up. And if this wave is catching up, we are in the right space. Thank you, Dr. Rudy, for clapping loudly for all of us. Thank you very much. So we look forward to a very, very engaging, enlightening experience full of stimulating discussions which will make your mind go, you know, open up networking opportunities offline and after the conference, and groundbreaking presentations that will enrich our understanding and practice of functional medicine. I don't— I see Dr. Stephanus here. Thank you, Dr. Stephanus, for taking out your time and being here today to share your wealth of knowledge with us. I am sure you will also go back with the same feeling which we have of proud that India is really catching up, and I am very confident very soon we are going to be the leaders in this space, right? IFCON 2023 marks a very significant milestone in field of functional medicine education in India. This year we are extremely proud to announce that Vidyaan Academy has trained 128 students in collaboration with Indian Association of Functional Medicine in the last year. Autoimmunity Care has trained 9 students and 6 more enrollments we already have for our next batch which starts on 15th of December 2023. And I promise you guys, this is just the beginning. This development is not just a triumph for the students, but a vital step forward for the entire field. For too long, those seeking education like me and all of us who are here had to rely on international organizations. But now we are thrilled to offer an in-house opportunity that addresses the growing need and scope within this field. This initiative by IFM and with all IFM members paves the way for a more accessible and comprehensive educational experience in functional medicine right here at our homes. Let's celebrate this achievement at IFM CON 2023 and look forward to the bright future of healthcare education. I don't only want that we Indians join these programs. I am really looking forward to be the course where recommendations happen for everybody globally, and I am sure we will make this happen. Before we dive into our enriching sessions, I want to share a brief story that resonates with the spirit of functional medicine. There was a young name named Anjali. I really wanted to name this girl Preeti because everybody will resonate with this story, who suffered from chronic health issues that significantly impacted her life. Despite visiting numerous healthcare professionals and trying various treatments, she found no relief. Her journey seemed endless, filled with confusion, frustration, and lots of agony. And then she discovered functional medicine. It was a turning point in her life. For the first time, a healthcare practitioner looked at her as a whole person, not just a set of symptoms. They delved deep into her lifestyle, her diet, and even her emotional well-being. Instead of a quick fix, they offered a comprehensive, personalized plan. And it— I'm sure all of us will agree, It wasn't an overnight miracle, but over time, Anjali's health transformed. She regained her energy, her symptoms subsided, and she felt a sense of control over her health for the first time in many years. This journey was just not about treating an illness. It was about discovering a new way of living, or a new life for Anjali. Anjali's story is a testament to the power of functional medicine, an approach that just doesn't ask what's wrong but also finds out why this wrong is happening and how can we make it right sustainably. As we gather here today, let's keep Anjali's story in our minds as reminder of the profound impact we all can have on people's lives when we look deeper and aim to heal holistically. The burden of non-communicable diseases in India is significant and is rising. Study by ICMR 2021 estimated 101 million people in India had diabetes, 136 million were pre-diabetic, 315 million suffered from hypertension, Additionally, 254 million were found to have generalized obesity, 351 abdominal obesity, 213 million hypercholesterolemia, and 185 million had high LDL cholesterol. These findings highlight the substantial impact of lifestyle diseases, but it also tells us we need lakhs and lakhs and lakhs of doctors and health coaches and educated people so that these numbers don't grow, stabilize first, and start decreasing. We are immensely grateful to our sponsors for their generous support, without which we would not have been able to be here. So I think a big clap and thank you and gratitude for all these sponsors: Vita One Autoimmunity Care, Functional Medicine Diagnostics, TrexGen, Origins Nutra, Biotrex, Live Bio, Autoimmunity Care, Dr. Nita's Wellbeing Center, Shivalika, Live Safe, and everybody— Live Bio— and everybody else who has helped us. Sanazo India, Nanosoma, Samarka, thank you very much, all of you. Your contributions have been instrumental in making IFCON 2023 a reality. It is through your support that we are able to bring together leading minds, foster innovative discussions, and promote groundbreaking research in functional medicine. Your belief in our mission and your willingness to invest in it have not only enabled this, enabled this event, but also fueled the continued growth and development of our community. We extend our heartfelt thanks and loads of gratitude for your invaluable partnership and look forward to continuing this journey together towards a healthier, more informed world and India. Thank you from all of us at IAFCON 2023 to all our sponsors without which this day we would not have seen. Once again, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the delegates speakers, sponsors, and organizers who've made this event possible. A special thanks to that lovely team which has been working extensively for the last 3 months to make this happen, and I'm sure for the next week or so they will not get even time to sleep. So thank you very much for the team who is taking care of everything from behind. Let's make the most of this wonderful opportunity to learn, to connect, and to grow together in our quest and passion to transform healthcare through the power of root-caused medicine, functional medicine. Over to you. Thank you very much, everybody, and I am as excited as all of you are to see what plethora of knowledge opens up and how I can help my patients better Monday morning. Thank you, all the best.
Thank you so much, Dr. Preeti. Thank you. And, uh, I'm the host for your conference, that is IFM IL10 Conference 2023. My name is Dr. Darishma Sheikh. I'm a functional medicine practitioner as well. So let us start with
