Heading into a new year, we all want to stay as healthy as possible — and some doctors believe that identifying and eliminating the issues that cause disease are critical actions to take, as opposed to treating and reacting to symptoms afterward.

Known as “functional medicine,” this alternative form of health care has drawn mixed reviews over the years.

Some claim it lacks scientific evidence and that the treatments aren’t standardized. Yet some studies — including one by Cleveland Clinic — have found that functional medicine was associated with improvements in health-related quality of life.

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Shilpa P. Saxena, M.D., chief medical officer of Forum Health in Tampa, Florida, shared with Fox News Digital the 10 functional health trends she expects will see growth in 2024.

Melanie Avalon, a health influencer, entrepreneur and biohacker based in Atlanta, Georgia, also weighed in on these emerging trends.

1. Preventative assessments

Identifying the earliest signs of disease or dysfunction, functional medicine doctors believe, is key to managing health imbalances, said Saxena.

“Whether it’s genomics, hormones, microbiome assessments or nutrition-oriented physical examination, better information leads to bigger transformation,” she told Fox News Digital.

The conventional medical system typically approaches disease and illness retroactively, often by prescribing drugs for conditions defined by an active barometer — such as medication for diabetes, statins for problematic cholesterol and chemotherapy for late-stage cancer, Avalon agreed.