Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact

• EP09: Supplements: Missteps and Best Practices

  Most supplement mistakes happen when we forget to ask the simplest questions: Why this? Why now? And for how long?   In this episode, Tracy Harrison breaks down why even the most well-intentioned supplement plans can miss the mark. She explains the three core reasons to use supplements (relief, reversal, and maintenance), and how overlooking these distinctions can lead patients to stay on products long after they’ve served their purpose.   Tracy also unpacks the hidden consequences of common medications, like how statins and beta blockers drain CoQ10 or how birth control pills deplete vitamin B6, creating new issues that are often misunderstood or missed entirely. Are your patients feeling better because of what you recommended or despite it?   This episode is a call to slow down, think critically, and move beyond protocol checklists. Tracy shares practical ways to educate patients so they feel like partners, not bystanders, in their own care. If you’ve ever wondered how to improve outcomes without overcomplicating your practice, Tracy offers a smart, grounded place to start.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction to Supplement Use 01:16 Three Reasons to Use Supplements 02:11 The Power of Rapid Relief 05:24 Interventions to Reverse Disease 07:00 Educating Patients for Long-Term Success 09:06 Nutrient Depletions from Medications 12:09 Rethinking Maintenance Supplements 25:25 Beyond Protocols: The Devil in the Detail 27:01 Nutrient Interactions and Overlooked Risks 34:04 Post-COVID Supplement Challenges 42:09 Quercetin, Stress, and Individualized Care 47:02 5-HTP and SSRI Contraindications 50:47 Methylation and Common Misconceptions   Links Take SAFM's 10 CME course - the Essential Gut Deep Dive: https://schoolafm.com/gut-course Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips  Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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• EP08: “You Are What You Eat”? Think Again!

  Most people assume that eating healthy food is enough. But the real issue is often not what’s on the plate. It’s whether the body can actually use it.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison questions the idea that nutrition starts and ends with food choices. She breaks down why so many patients fail to thrive despite eating well and how digestion quietly plays a much bigger role than we give it credit for.   Tracy walks through four patient groups that often struggle with maldigestion: those with acid reflux, diabetes, hypothyroidism, and chronic aches and pains. Could common medications like PPIs or NSAIDs be interfering with nutrient absorption? Could sluggish bile flow or low enzyme output be blocking access to critical micronutrients? These are the kinds of questions she urges practitioners to ask more often.   Along the way, she explains why foundational functions—stomach acid, bile, enzyme activity, brush border integrity—deserve just as much attention as the more complex topics in functional medicine. Because when those basics are overlooked, even the best nutrition plans can fall flat.   This is a call to shift your focus back to the basics and to recognize that restoring digestive function may be the most powerful clinical move you can make.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction  01:03 The Importance of Micronutrition 02:18 The Role of Digestion in Nutrient Absorption 03:46 Focus on Digestion: Acid Reflux and GERD 07:01 Hypochlorhydria and Its Impact 10:02 Eating Hygiene and Its Importance 13:24 Diabetes and Digestive Enzyme Insufficiency 18:07 Hypothyroidism and Bile Function 22:22 Chronic Aches, Pains, and NSAIDs 26:07 The Interconnectedness of Health Issues   Links Take SAFM's 10 CME course - the Essential Gut Deep Dive: https://schoolafm.com/gut-course Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips  Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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• EP07: Root Causes of Disease in the Rx

  Medications your patients trust most may be the very ones quietly driving their disease.   How often do we stop to question the long-term impact of the most common prescriptions? Tracy Harrison takes a close look at the unintended consequences of medications like beta blockers, diuretics, antibiotics, and high-dose vitamin D. These are drugs patients often take for years, sometimes decades, without realizing they could be fueling nutrient depletion, sleep disruption, gut dysfunction, or immune imbalance.   What happens when a beta blocker meant to lower blood pressure also suppresses melatonin and CoQ10? Or when a prescribed vitamin D dose leaves someone more magnesium-deficient than before? Tracy connects the clinical dots and urges practitioners to think beyond the prescription pad. She makes the case for a more nuanced approach, one that questions assumptions, looks for root causes, and sees medications as tools, not permanent solutions.   If you’ve ever wondered why a patient plateaus despite doing “everything right,” this episode offers perspective that could shift your clinical lens.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 How Common Medications Can Drive Disease 02:17 Hypertension Drugs and Nutrient Depletion 05:08 The Hidden Cost of Beta Blockers 08:02 Diuretics, Electrolytes, and Blood Pressure 10:10 Vitamin D Dosing Mistakes and Magnesium Loss 13:03 Interactions Between Vitamins D, A, and K 16:08 Immunosuppressants and Autoimmune Progression 25:10 Antibiotics, Gut Health, and Immune Dysregulation 30:13 NSAIDs and Pain Relief at a Cost 34:45 Metformin and Silent B12 Deficiency   Links Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips  Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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• EP06: Weight Loss through the Functional Medicine Lens

  Weight gain isn’t always a result of overconsumption; it’s often the body’s natural response to imbalances that go undetected for years.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison breaks down four functional imbalances commonly at the root of overweight and obesity, starting with insulin resistance that often hides behind “normal” labs. How many patients are told they’re fine when their metabolism is anything but?   Tracy explains how stress, subclinical hypothyroidism, hormone disruption, and environmental toxins can all push the body to hold onto weight, even when someone is doing everything “right.” Could that daily fatigue or bloating be tied to something deeper?   This episode leaves practitioners with a challenge: stop chasing symptoms and start identifying the early signs of imbalance. Because when we address the real root causes, weight loss becomes a natural outcome, and patients finally feel seen, supported, and in control.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Four Functional Imbalances Behind Weight Gain   03:27 Hidden Early Stages of Insulin Resistance   12:06 Why Standard Labs Miss Metabolic Dysfunction   15:10 Gut Health and Its Role in Metabolism   18:12 The Clinical Cost of Over-Relying on GLP-1 Medications   26:06 Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Overlooked Thyroid Markers   38:06 Estrogen Dominance and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals   43:06 Adiposity, Hormone Synthesis, and Toxin Storage   48:00 Constipation, Retoxification, and Hormone Clearance   54:03 Sympathetic Dominance and Chronic Stress   52:00 Building Sustainable Weight Loss Through Root-Cause Care   Links Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips  Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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• EP05: Gut-Brain-Chronic Pain Connections

  Chronic pain isn’t just a nuisance. It’s often a gut-driven signal that something deeper is out of balance.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison takes a practical look at how gut health shapes our experience of pain. She questions the default approach of reaching for medications and instead encourages practitioners to ask: what’s really driving the discomfort? Pain isn’t random. It often points to deeper issues like inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, and microbial imbalances, all of which are rooted in the gut.   Tracy breaks down how over-the-counter drugs like NSAIDs can quietly erode the gut lining, interfere with nutrient absorption, and set off a chain reaction that worsens the very symptoms they’re meant to relieve. She also shares why it’s worth paying closer attention to factors like sleep apnea, chronic stress, and low-grade infections that keep the body in a state of physiological alarm, and make pain more intense.   The conversation turns toward the gut-brain connection, where neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA play a powerful role in pain perception. What happens when dysbiosis disrupts their production? How do nutrient shortfalls, especially in B12, magnesium, and tryptophan, shift the nervous system’s response to pain?   For practitioners, this is a clear reminder: if you’re not looking at gut health, you may be missing the source of your patient’s pain. Tracy lays out the case for why functional medicine must go beyond managing symptoms to uncovering the systems at play. It starts in the gut, and it can change everything.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Gut-Brain-Pain Connection 02:30 Why Reframing Pain Matters 03:50 How NSAIDs and Common Medications Affect Gut Health 08:30 The Impact of Physiological Stress on Pain Perception 11:00 Dysbiosis, Inflammation, and Neurotransmitter Imbalance 18:30 The Role of Digestion, Nutrient Absorption, and Deficiencies in Chronic Pain 34:00 Food Sensitivities, Immune Complexes, and Joint Pain 37:00 Serotonin, GABA, and the Gut’s Influence on the Nervous System 40:30 Why Gut Health Is Central to Functional Medicine and Long-Term Pain Relief   Links Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips  Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

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