Sam Raptopoulos

Sam Raptopoulos BSc., Dip. Ed., ( Uni of Adel), Dip. Clin. Nutr.,AACNEM., AIMA, A5M., FMU (U.S.). Graduated from Uni of Adelaide in 1978 with majors in pharmacology and physiology.

1974 - To satisfy his passion for health and exercise Sam opened a small training facility while still studying at University of Adelaide.

1979 - 1982  Employed by the SA Education Department as a high school teacher.

1982 - 1999   In 1982 Sam embarked on an ambitious plan to establish the largest most comprehensive health and fitness facility in Australia.  He converted a 2500 square metre disused biscuit factory into a modern state of the art facility. At its peak the centre had 8000 members and was patronised by Australian and overseas athletes and celebrities. Bon Jovi, Gloria Estefan, Kylie and Dannii Minogue, Jamie Drury, David Copperfield, Natalie Imbruglia to name a few.

1989 - Was the key contributor/co-founder, along with Dr. Fred Hatfield, in a consortium to establish a leading edge scientific health and fitness facility in Reseda, California called CRAFT (Consortium of Rehabilitation and Fitness Therapy). The project cost $1.5 million and was described in an article by The Los Angeles Times as the “most sophisticated training facility ever designed” (Feb 5, 1989).

1986  - 1998  President of IFBB International Federation of Body Builders in South Australia. During this period Sam travelled extensively to US which facilitated many engagements with professional bodybuilders to Australia.  Sam was sought after by many local and overseas athletes who were looking for an “edge” in their training. He consulted and trained Scott Reeves in 1996 for the Ironman Competition. Reeves went on to defeat the reigning Ironman champion, Trevor Hendy.  He was also one of the first individuals from Australia to personally train and consult athletes in the US, of note The Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno.

1990 - Established import business.  Imported health supplements and related products mainly from America and established a distribution business Australia wide.

 1996  - Received IFBB Diploma of Honour for his contribution to the sport of  body building in Australia.

1994 –present - Sam has spent the last sixteen years consolidating his business Integrated Health Services. He has studied extensively in the area of Functional Medicine and clinical health care and his qualifications include a Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Nutrition and a Post Graduate Diploma with the Australian College of Nutrition and Environmental Medicine(ACNEM).etc.( Refer above )\

1994 – opened IHS.  A fully integrated centre which focuses on preventative health care and wellness.  Its aim is to assess and identify early signs of disease and dysfunction and to contribute to the improvement of a person’s  physiological, cognitive /emotional and physical wellbeing using a functional medicine interpretation of clinical laboratory tests.

According to a functional medicine perspective, patient care presumes that each person is a unique individual with a singular genetic structure. Our purpose as functional medicine practitioners is to elicit and understand our patients’ uniqueness, including their experiences.
These experiences are the context of the complex processes where environment merges with their genetic inheritance. As we more fully understand the web-like relationships between environment and genetic responses, we can develop individual programs that reliably reflect the unique needs of our patients.

The individual—not the disease—is the target of treatment. Functional medicine views disease not as an enemy (not even as independent realities) with which to grapple, but as a manifestation of the breakdown of mechanisms that maintain control, resilience, and balance.

Dysfunction and disease are rarely organ-specific. Rather, they are an altered systemic physiological malfunction that requires an integrated model of therapeutic intervention.
Functional medicine focuses on the interaction between the host and his or her internal and external environment and the processes that can go awry in this relationship. Findings in molecular medicine research have caused a revolution based on the discovery that modifiers of gene expression are not only produced inside the body by different organs, they also exist as agents of change within the diet and environment.

The patient-centered biographic model is a key feature of functional medicine.