Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact

• Lackluster Case Results Even After You’ve Mastered FxMed Science? Here’s Why | E22

  So much of functional medicine celebrates the latest science, but how often does that knowledge actually change a patient’s life? Tracy Harrison invites us to look closer at the gap between information and transformation. Why do so many people collect new diagnoses, run more tests, or add another supplement yet still feel stuck? What gets in the way of real change, and how can practitioners guide patients through it?   In this episode, Tracy explores why lifestyle shifts are the real turning point in healing and how practitioners can become better partners in that process. She shares the simple power of telling a patient, “I believe you can get better,” the importance of setting clear and realistic expectations, and the hidden risks of overwhelming people with too many interventions at once. With stories and analogies, she points out how addressing root causes together, rather than chasing quick fixes, leads to lasting outcomes for both patient and practitioner.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Limits of Endless Labs and New Diagnoses 01:05 Optimizing Clinical Outcomes in Functional Medicine 05:15 Why Science Alone Cannot Heal Patients 07:34 From Knowledge to Action: Breaking the Cycle of Permanent Patients 09:49 Mastering the Art of Facilitating Lifestyle Change 16:56 Placebo, Nocebo, and the Biochemical Power of Practitioner Engagement 20:28 The Healing Impact of Saying “You Can Get Better” 23:59 Setting Realistic Expectations and Avoiding Quick Fixes 35:28 Rapid Relief: Building Patient Trust and Confidence 44:54 Defining the Emotional Why Behind Sustainable Change 49:38 The Three Thumbtacks Analogy for Root Cause Healing 52:10 Moving from the Drama Triangle to the Empowerment Triangle 59:18 Facilitating Change Without Burning Out   Links Take SAFM’s 10 CME course - the Essential Gut Deep Dive Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox  Learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training Subscribe to our YouTube channel Access daily quick tips on Facebook  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

  --------  

  1:04:34

  --------

  1:04:34
• The Antioxidant Trap: What We Often Get Wrong About Oxidative Stress | E21

  The antioxidant trap challenges the assumption that more supplements always mean better health. Tracy Harrison explains how oxidative stress, often seen as harmful, is also essential for normal physiology and for activating the body’s innate antioxidant defenses. She shows why hormesis, the right amount of stress in the right context, builds resilience, while too much can tip the body into harm.   Tracy challenges common myths, including the belief that compounds like curcumin or sulforaphane are antioxidants in themselves, when in fact they work as mild pro-oxidants that stimulate adaptive pathways. She also points to why whole foods, with their hundreds of synergistic phytonutrients, can never be fully replaced by capsules. Supplements have value in short-term, targeted use, but lasting health depends on diet diversity, lifestyle, and reducing hidden drivers of oxidative stress such as sleep apnea, food sensitivities, and blood sugar imbalance.   For practitioners, the takeaway is a more nuanced framework for clinical care. Oxidative stress is not simply something to eliminate but something to understand and work with. The key lies in knowing when to protect the body, when to challenge it, and how to identify the hidden imbalances that push patients into overload. When clinicians learn to see stress as both a risk and a tool, they can guide patients toward true resilience that extends beyond symptom management and into long-term vitality.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction to Oxidative Stress and Antioxidants 01:16 The Antioxidant Trap: Five Myths for Practitioners 05:06 Hormesis and the Body’s Antioxidant Pathways 06:45 Bioindividuality in Oxidative Stress and Health 10:18 Why Antioxidant Supplements Act as Pro-Oxidants 15:25 Why Supplements Can’t Replace a Poor Diet 20:22 Whole Foods vs Supplements in Clinical Practice 25:05 The Role of Minerals in Antioxidant Defense 29:19 Lifestyle and Hidden Drivers of Oxidative Stress 38:16 Blood Sugar and Redox Imbalance 43:06 Key Markers for Assessing Redox Balance   Links Take SAFM’s 10 CME course - the Essential Gut Deep Dive Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox  Learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training Subscribe to our YouTube channel Access daily quick tips on Facebook  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

  --------  

  51:57

  --------

  51:57
• Resolving the Functional Roots of Infertility | E20

  Infertility can be one of the most painful challenges a person faces, yet it’s often the body’s way of signaling that something deeper is out of balance. Could the struggle to conceive be pointing to hidden metabolic issues, hormone imbalances, or stress patterns that have been building for years?   Tracy Harrison looks at infertility through the lens of functional medicine and shares how five common but often overlooked imbalances can quietly undermine fertility. She talks about the early signs of insulin resistance that can interfere with ovulation, the impact of estrogen dominance driven by poor detoxification and everyday exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and the surprising ways gut health shapes reproductive outcomes. Tracy also examines how toxic load, oxidative stress, adrenal function, and subclinical thyroid issues can create an environment where conception and full-term pregnancy are harder to achieve.   For practitioners, this episode is a reminder to step back and consider the whole picture. Are we catching the subtle signs before they become bigger problems? Are we helping patients address the underlying conditions that set the stage for lasting reproductive health? Tracy offers insight and direction for identifying the true root causes and guiding patients toward solutions that support both conception and long-term well-being.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Infertility as a Multisystem Dysfunction 01:16 Insulin Resistance and Blood Sugar Imbalance 07:05 Estrogen Dominance and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 13:12 Gut Health’s Role in Fertility 17:01 Toxicity and Miscarriage Risk 22:29 Adrenal Thyroid Imbalance and Chronic Stress   Links Take SAFM’s 10 CME course - the Essential Gut Deep Dive Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox  Learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training Subscribe to our YouTube channel Access daily quick tips on Facebook  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

  --------  

  27:01

  --------

  27:01
• Hidden Hormone Dynamics Sabotaging Your Patient Outcomes (It’s Not Always Hashimoto’s) | E19

  Most thyroid labs look fine on paper, but your patient’s cells may be screaming for help you can’t see.   Tracy Harrison offers a wake-up call for healthcare practitioners: long-term healing can’t happen without addressing the hidden hormone dynamics that standard labs often miss. In this episode, she explores why persistent symptoms in chronically ill patients, especially post-pandemic, may be tied to unrecognized dysfunction in the adrenal-thyroid axis. These are the patients doing “everything right” yet still cycling through flare-ups, fatigue, and stalled progress. Tracy names what many clinicians sense but can’t always explain: a revolving door of disease driven by intracellular hypothyroid function, subclinical adrenal imbalances, and unresolved stress physiology.   At the core is one foundational principle – all healing is a parasympathetic activity. Tracy challenges practitioners to see beyond lab panels and protocols, reminding us that the nervous system listens to lived experience, not positive thinking. She connects the dots between sympathetic dominance, chronic inflammation, micronutrient deficiencies, estrogen excess, insulin resistance, and hormone conversion issues that derail recovery even when test results look perfect.   Through clear clinical insight, examples, and research-backed nuance, Tracy reframes how we evaluate thyroid and adrenal patterns in practice. This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen more deeply, and upgrade your lens on what healing truly requires. If you’ve been trained to trust the labs first, this conversation will change how you see everything.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Revolving Door of Chronic Illness 03:45 Healing Requires Parasympathetic Dominance 07:15 Intracellular Hypothyroid Function Explained 14:10 Nutrient Deficiencies Driving Thyroid Dysfunction 21:05 How Chronic Stress Suppresses Thyroid Function 28:15 Inflammation, Reverse T3, and Long COVID 39:55 Insulin Resistance and Thyroid Hormone Resistance 47:05 Running a Complete Thyroid Panel 54:05 Rethinking Thyroid Hormone Replacement 1:00:55 Hidden Physiological Stressors That Disrupt Healing   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

  --------  

  1:05:32

  --------

  1:05:32
• Perimenopause Nuances that Women Need Us to Master | E18

  Perimenopause isn’t a syndrome to treat. It’s a complex, shifting transition that most women in their 40s are already navigating, whether they realize it or not. For practitioners working in functional medicine, failing to recognize and address the nuances of this phase can mean missing the real root of your clients’ symptoms.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison lays out five critical practitioner blind spots that lead to frustration and subpar outcomes. She challenges the idea that a fixed protocol can support women through perimenopause, reminding us that the only constant in this life stage is change. Hormones don’t decline in a straight line. Progesterone drops early and steadily, while estrogen tends to spike and swing before it ever goes down. This hormonal chaos can trigger anxiety, insomnia, mood swings, migraines, and even histamine-related issues that are too often misdiagnosed or ignored.   Tracy explains how common symptoms such as poor sleep, bloating, mood instability, hot flashes are often driven by overlooked mechanisms like GABA depletion, serotonin fluctuations, or impaired histamine clearance. She breaks down why alcohol can sabotage sleep and worsen hot flashes, why estrogen dominance is more common than we think, and how mindset and chronic stress directly influence hormone symptoms through the nervous system.   This episode is a call to meet women where they are, not with a standard protocol, but with a dynamic, personalized approach that accounts for the biochemical, emotional, and environmental complexity of perimenopause. If you want to truly support midlife women, you need more than hormone labs and supplements. You need to understand the full picture, and be prepared to shift with it.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Understanding Perimenopause: A Natural Transition 05:02 Why Protocols Fail in Perimenopause Care 08:06 How Progesterone Drop Triggers Mood and Sleep Issues 11:22 Alcohol’s Hidden Role in Anxiety, Insomnia, and Hormone Disruption 12:29 The Overlooked Link Between Histamine and Perimenopause Symptoms 16:21 Estrogen Dominance in Early Perimenopause: What Practitioners Miss 21:48 The Estrogen-Serotonin Connection and Its Impact on Mood 26:10 What Really Causes Hot Flashes and Night Sweats 30:00 How Stress Hormones Worsen Perimenopause Symptoms 32:09 Why Mindset and Thought Patterns Matter in Symptom Management 33:45 Partnering with Patients Through Perimenopause   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

  --------  

  35:08

  --------

  35:08

More Health & Wellness podcasts

Trending Health & Wellness podcasts

About Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact

Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact: Podcasts in Family