Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact

• EP11: Big Insights Many Practitioners Miss in Lab Data

  Most lab results lie, unless you know how to read between the lines, accounting for context, cofactors, and the body’s adaptive responses.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison breaks down how even the most routine labs can mislead if practitioners don’t account for timing, stress, hydration, or recent supplement use. She introduces the concept of “lab-draw hygiene” and explains why educating patients on when and how to get tested is just as important as the tests themselves.   From biotin skewing thyroid panels to iron panels that contradict hemoglobin levels, Tracy offers strategies to avoid common clinical missteps. She warns against defaulting to medications like statins or iron supplements without fully understanding what the data reveals or conceals, and calls for routine use of expanded thyroid panels and insulin markers to catch hidden dysfunction early.   This episode is a reminder that lab values don’t exist in a vacuum, and truly impactful care requires asking the right questions before interpreting the numbers.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction 00:33 What Is Lab-Draw Hygiene? 03:26 How Stress and Fasting Habits Skew Results 07:12 Supplements That Interfere with Labs 08:06 Biotin and Thyroid Panel Accuracy 13:08 When Iron Supplementation Backfires 17:05 LDL, Statins, and Missed Thyroid Clues 23:24 The Link Between Vitamin D and Magnesium 28:22 Medications That Disrupt Nutrient Absorption 32:39 Why “Low” Lab Values Aren’t Always Good 41:00 Insulin Resistance Hidden in “Normal” Glucose 54:04 What to Include in an Annual Lab Panel   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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• EP10: Chronic Disease Dynamics We Often Miss

  Most chronic conditions linger or return because no one’s asking the right questions or looking in the right places.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison gets specific about why so many patients with autoimmune issues or recurrent health problems struggle to truly get better. She walks through four critical areas that are often missed in clinical practice and explains how each one can quietly block progress toward meaningful disease regression.   Is gut health playing a bigger role than you think? Tracy breaks down how digestion, microbiome diversity, and gut barrier function influence everything from mood and energy to inflammation and autoimmunity. Even patients with no digestive complaints may be stuck because of what’s happening in their gut.   From there, the focus shifts to nervous system balance. Why are so many people stuck in a state of sympathetic overdrive? And what are the ripple effects of that stress on healing, immune regulation, and long-term outcomes? Tracy shares specific ways to help patients return to a parasympathetic state, one where the body feels safe enough to recover.   Tracy also challenges the way most clinicians interpret lab data. Just because a number falls within the reference range doesn’t mean it’s serving the patient. What if a “normal” value is actually masking nutrient depletion, inflammation, or liver dysfunction? Tracy also makes a case for asking better questions during intake. So many patients are holding clues they don’t even know matter.   Whether you’re supporting someone with autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, or any pattern of recurrent illness, this episode offers a sharper lens and a better path forward.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Functional Medicine Overview 01:15 The Gut’s Role in Chronic Disease 03:03 Digestion and Nutrient Absorption 06:06 Microbiome Disruption and Antibiotics 09:00 Gut Barrier Function and Inflammation 17:00 Nervous System Imbalance and Stress 23:28 Vagus Nerve and Parasympathetic Healing 28:10 Long COVID and Immune Dysregulation 34:08 Rethinking Lab Data Interpretation 39:02 Nutrient Deficiencies Behind Lab Results 44:03 Ferritin, Iron, and Inflammation 48:00 Why Better Questions Change Outcomes 50:00 The Power of a Thorough Intake   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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• 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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