Evolution of Medicine Podcast

In this final episode of 2022, James reviews key topics from the year of growth and provides a sneak peek of what is to come in 2023, the year of connection.

The Evolution of Medicine community has experienced impressive growth and witnessed significant shifts in 2022. We learned about deprescribing to help patients escape the polypharmacy public health disaster. We have applied functional medicine principles to help patients who experience long COVID and other post-viral syndromes.

Increasingly, we are also seeing signs that the mainstream is moving in our direction, and we must position ourselves to be ready when more patients come our way. Functional medicine needs to scale up, in part to help address the mental health crisis that exploded during the COVID era. More patients are also seeking support from functional medicine providers for vaccine injuries, such as myocarditis.

Healthcare systems are now adopting functional medicine and building integrative care into their hospital and insurance systems. Group care is being delivered on a larger scale as well, which increases access to functional medicine.

While the Evolution of Medicine is apolitical, James also discusses how medicine has been impacted by the economic and political climates in the US and UK.

Listen to the full episode to hear more of James’ reflections about:

  • Long COVID, controversies regarding its prevalence and why our community is able to provide the best help for patients
  • Signs that mainstream medicine is moving in our direction
  • Censorship, authoritarianism and technology
  • The effects of the pandemic on mental health, especially for children
  • Upcoming 2023 initiatives well-worth anticipating 
Direct download: 20221223_Podcast_Year_in_Review_1.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

In this episode of the Business of Functional Medicine series, our guest, Erwin Raphael McManus, is a pastor, author, filmmaker and thought leader at the intersection of entrepreneurship, spirituality and psychology. He joins this podcast to share his model of communication archetypes called The 7 Frequencies and how understanding them can help practitioners work and communicate more effectively with patients.

Erwin also talks through the frequencies most often adopted by practitioners and offers insights on how to better support and motivate patients to get healthy before they get sick.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

  • Erwin’s thoughts on the theory of quantum entanglement
  • Descriptions of the frequencies, including the Challenger, Seer and Maven
  • How healthcare providers benefit from understanding their communication style
  • The importance of interpersonal relationships and interactions between patients and clinicians
  • And much more

Erwin McManus is also the host of The Genius Of podcast and the founder of McManus Gallery and Mosaic, a church movement based in the heart of Hollywood, CA. Visit his website to learn more about The 7 Frequencies along with his other work.

Direct download: 20221201_Podcast_PODCAST__Erwin_McManus_.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Dysautonomia is a condition where the nervous system becomes dysregulated, causing disruption in the functions of various organ systems. Common symptoms include fluctuations in blood pressure, fatigue and anxiety. The condition seems to be increasingly common in the post-COVID era, and conventional medicine is unable to resolve the causes of this condition for patients.

Shilpa P. Saxena, MD, an expert in cardiometabolic health and regular guest on the podcast, joins us to explore why functional medicine clinicians are uniquely positioned to support patients experiencing dysautonomia.

Listen to the full conversation to learn more about:

  • The importance of polyvagal theory for understanding dysautonomia 
  • How vagal tone impacts multiple organ systems
  • How to regulate and improve vagal tone
  • Functional medicine tools that help heal dysautonomia
Direct download: 20221201_Podcast_PODCAST_Shilpa_Saxena.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Sandra Scheinbaum, PhD is the founder and CEO of Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. As a leader in the field of integrative psychiatry, she joins James to speak about the advantages of leveraging a group coaching model for mental health services.

For many reasons—from the current shortage of licensed clinical psychologists to improved patient compliance—mental health group coaching offers compelling advantages. Patients often feel more comfortable being honest and open with coaches they can relate to more as peers. Because traditional therapy still carries a cultural stigma, shame is a common barrier that prevents people from seeking support. Coaches, on the other hand, can be more approachable and provide a friendly dynamic that builds trust with patients.

There is also a strong economic rationale behind practitioners adopting a coaching model: demand for mental health care is increasing, while the supply of licensed therapists is limited. Dr. Scheinbaum shares ample evidence of the benefits group coaching offers both patients and mental health practitioners. We also encourage more people who are interested in supporting their community to either employ coaches or consider becoming a coach via the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

  • The data on the effectiveness of health coaching
  • Conditions that often co-occur with mental health challenges
  • The downsides to patients over-identifying with mental health diagnoses
  • Issues with and opportunities for billing coaching sessions to insurance
Direct download: 20221129_Podcast_PODCAST_Sandra_Sheinbaum-Draft3_AUDIO.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:00am CDT

We are all familiar with functional medicine and perhaps even functional fitness, but have you heard of functional joy? Our guest for this podcast episode is Radha Agrawal, a successful entrepreneur and the author of the book Belong. Radha joins us to discuss her organization, Daybreaker, which spans 28 cities and five continents with a mission to foster joy and community.

Daybreaker’s very first events in 2013 were community dance meetups held early in the morning that aimed to replicate the positive aspects of nightlife while excluding alcohol. The scope of their work continues to expand nine years on, but dance is still their primary tool. Radha is now writing another book and developing a curriculum to teach clinicians and others to systematically foster joy in their communities. Community is a factor critical to chronic disease prevention and reversal, so we invited Radha to share her extensive experience with this powerful predictor of health outcomes often overlooked by healthcare institutions.

Download the episode to learn about:

  • Consciously building communities
  • How to foster joy for yourself and your patients
  • The importance of hospitality and designing welcoming spaces in medicine
  • The biochemistry of joy (D.O.S.E.)
  • And much more!

If this episode uplifts and inspires you, we encourage you to share it with your friends, colleagues and community.

EvoMed listeners have access to a 25% discount off the Dose membership with code "EVOMED."  http://dose.daybreaker.com?code=evomed

Direct download: 20221102_Podcast_AUDIO_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Patrick Holford is the author of 46 books on nutrition and lifestyle factors for wellness. He is also the founder of a charity, Food for the Brain Foundation, and the voluntary director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Project.

He joins James on this episode to showcase the foundation’s resources for reversing cognitive decline and preventing Alzheimer’s disease. They discussed targeted nutrition approaches and other tools available to patients and practitioners on the foundation’s website.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

  • Which nutrient deficiencies correlate with poorer cognitive function
  • How to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease through supplementation
  • The success rates of targeted nutrition therapy for reversing cognitive decline—and how nutrition therapy can be more successful than pharmaceuticals
  • Cognitive function data collected from 377,000 participants via the foundation's test

Discover more valuable resources on the Food for the Brain Foundation’s website, where you can also register for their virtual Masterclass on Alzheimer’s prevention. Registrants will have access to a recording if they cannot attend the live event on November 1, 2022.

Direct download: 20221025_Podcast_AUDIO_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

This episode features Leo Galland, MD, who outlines a systems biology approach to understanding and treating post-COVID syndrome.

Dr. Galland created the graphic below to model factors and biological repercussions of long COVID. In the interview, Dr. Galland walks us through each element in the web of long COVID.

During the pandemic, he also created and published two hour-long videos—one for patients and one for providers—containing research and recommendations on addressing long COVID. The information he shares is intended to empower and educate both health care providers and patients.

Download and listen to this episode to learn more about:

  • The deficiency that both contributes to and results from long COVID
  • Key information about what causes long covid
  • How to prevent severe infection and address symptoms
  • Downstream effects of viral damage that should be addressed by functional medicine providers

 

Episode assets:

Direct download: 20221019_Podcast_AUDIO_1.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Direct download: 20221012_Podcast_AUDIO_1.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Julie Funt is the CEO of Juliet Funt Group and author of A Minute to Think, which describes the importance of metaphoric white space in everyone’s regular schedule. Her firm provides efficiency training to change the way we work, making it more sane, more human, and a more positive experience for all. In this Business of Functional Medicine episode, Kristen Brokaw speaks with Juliet about how this concept applies to the medical field, and we learn from the author some practical habit adjustments that can create more productive “white space.”

Download and listen to the full conversation to learn more about:

  • Why we need white space to be creative, productive and decisive
  • Studies showing how small breaks improve performance
  • Why pushing harder does NOT always equal better results
  • Practical tips to conquer busyness and communicate efficiently
  • And much more!
Direct download: 20221214__Minute_to_Think__Podcast_VIDEO__MP3_.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Our guest in this episode, Greg Leyer, PhD, has an academic background in deadly pathogenic bacteria, such as botulism and other foodborne illnesses. Now, he focuses on healthy bacteria and joins James to discuss benefits of probiotics for the vaginal microbiome.

While gastrointestinal health is thought to depend on microbiome diversity, the vaginal cavity requires a more homogenous population of Lactobacillus species. By producing organic acids—mainly lactic acid—lactobacilli help maintain a pH below 4, which prevents bacterial vaginosis.

Listen to the full episode to learn more about:

  • How and why taking oral probiotics affects the vaginal microbiome
  • Forms of microbiome supplementation, like probiotics, spores and heat-inactivated bacteria
  • Efficacy of probiotic supplementation in different geographic locations and ethnicity

And check out Dr. Leyer’s ongoing work:

Direct download: 20220921_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 9:30am CDT

Dr. Shane Holland joins this week’s podcast to share his experience with the Practice Accelerator. Shane’s story is one we hear over and over amongst our Practice Accelerator participants. In this series, Success Leaves Clues, we celebrate alumni stories in conjunction with our current open enrollment period, running September through October 2022.

Shane began his career as a teacher and later became an emergency medicine physician, and he is currently transitioning into operating a functional medicine practice. Over the years, Shane has been interested in treating patients with chiropractic manipulation, herbs and supplements, and lifestyle adjustments. Still, he did not have access to a clear path toward building his own clinic around those strategies.  

As an emergency medicine physician, Dr. Holland observed that roughly 90% of his patients did not require emergency care and were using emergency services in lieu of primary care. The training he received from The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) provided him with greater clinical insights into preventative medicine to better serve his community, and the Practice Accelerator program then guided him through building his practice.  

Listen to the full episode to hear Dr. Holland’s story, including:

Direct download: 20220907_Podcast_AUDIO_v5_1.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 8:00am CDT

Dr. Tom Guilliams, our go-to expert for anything related to nutrition research, returns to the Evolution of Medicine podcast for the second part of our Controversies in Nutrition series. Dr. Guilliams has written several books on the therapeutic uses of nutritional supplements.

Our guest opens the discussion by rebutting attempts by major medical journals to discredit nutraceuticals. He breaks down the weaknesses of their research and arguments, along with how the studies are biased and unscientific. He also reviews the limitations of specific nutrient biomarkers, realistic expectations for improving methylation through folic acid supplementation, and how to assess optimal vitamin D levels in individuals who receive plentiful sun exposure.

Listen to this episode if you’re interested in:

  • Why treating based on genetic testing may or may not be beneficial
  • The significance of tracking homocysteine levels in patients
  • When to evaluate methionine levels
  • The NAC controversy between the FDA and Amazon
Direct download: 20220831_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Sandi and Steve Amoils are Medical Doctors who built a multi-disciplinary functional medicine clinic in Cincinnati, which includes chiropractors, energy healers, therapists and doctors. They talk about what first steps they took to work towards this vision, how they made their business work in a cash-based model, and why they partnered with a larger hospital system. Their clinic also runs an accredited fellowship integrative medicine program.

Download and listen to the full episode to learn more about:

  • Their insights on how they became successful
  • Increasing patient demand for functional healthcare
  • Building credibility for functional medicine
  • Why a large hospital system wants to run an integrative health clinic, and why the doctors singed onto that partnership
  • And much, much more!
Direct download: 20220817_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Dr. Shilpa P. Saxena adds to her series of Evolution of Medicine interviews with a discussion on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). With both personal and professional experience reversing the condition, she walks us through the functional medicine approach to treatment.

Dr. Saxena explains how insulin resistance often accompanies and must be addressed through the “matrix” of each patient’s overall health and lifestyle. Since PCOS is a clinical diagnosis, she also describes the signs practitioners should look out for in their patients and how to confirm the diagnosis with the aid of laboratory testing.

Developing a niche in PCOS can be a great opportunity for practitioners since it is so prevalent, affecting between 6-12% of women, and because functional medicine provides the most robust treatment approach for complex metabolic conditions. 

Listen to the full conversation to learn more about:

  • Tailoring treatments to patients with PCOS
  • Which supplements to utilize in a PCOS treatment protocol
  • Common root causes and co-conditions
  • The importance of securing Phase I and Phase II detox pathways
  • How group visits can be a powerful aid to treatment
Direct download: 20220810_Podcast_AUIDO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Michael Fishman is a top advisor on marketing and business growth, aiding successful health and wellness companies. He leads the Consumer Health Summit (CHS) annually, which is now in its 24th year, and acts as an angel investor for over 20 health and wellness businesses. With his expertise, he advises his clients on how to effectively formulate their brand messaging and ensure it is communicated consistently, from training team members to sharpening taglines and from online messaging to in-person trust. In this episode of the podcast, Michael shares with Kristen Brokaw the principles and psychology behind his guidance.

Tune in if you’d like to learn more about:

  • How and why you need to develop a powerful tagline
  • Avoiding overselling or “trying too hard” in online marketing
  • Ensuring that your message cannot be misunderstood by your audience
  • Why patients also need to feel understood—emotionally and intellectually
  • And much more!
Direct download: 20220727_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Functional medicine providers have the best tools and scientific understanding of topics like immunology, the microbiome and mitochondria. This constellation of knowledge and tools makes functional and integrative doctors optimally equipped to address osteoarthritis. Dr. Thomas Guilliams is an expert in nutrition research and immunology, and he has written several books on the therapeutic uses of nutritional supplements.

During this conversation, we hear about the gut-joint relationship and an expanded understanding of osteoarthritis. We also explore best practices for nutrition and supplementation alongside lifestyle modifications to resolve chronic conditions.

Listen in to learn more about:

  • The evolution of the scientific understanding of osteoarthritis
  • Issues with nutrition and supplementation research
  • Addressing autoinflammatory conditions (as differentiated from autoimmunity)
  • Guilliams’ take on the paleo dietary pattern
  • And much more!
Direct download: 20220720_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

Josh Gunn, PhD is the Chief Scientific Officer for Ethos Laboratories. Ethos began with the mission to incorporate more functional medicine principles into conventional care and to help patients gain access to the root causes of their pain. 

With a background in forensic toxicology, Dr. Gunn and the team have developed a new tool at Ethos called the Foundation Pain Index. The Pain Index is a biometric test designed to identify potential biochemical origins of patients’ chronic pain. The test results categorize health insights in a way that is actionable for all physicians, even if they are not trained in functional medicine. This personalized method also acknowledges that patient recovery often requires a multimodal approach, including lifestyle and community considerations.

Practitioners who run OAT tests or other labs may already have access to some of these data points, but uniquely, the Foundation Pain Index test is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans. This is especially important for chronic pain patients with a lower socioeconomic status because statistically they have been over-prescribed opioids.

The full conversation is densely packed with insights such as:

  • Socioeconomic factors are strong factors in opioid over prescription, misuse and abuse  
  • Why it is essential to bring elements of functional medicine into conventional care
  • How nutrient depletion may contribute to pain
  • An interdisciplinary approach is required to help patients with chronic pain
  • And much more
Direct download: 20220706_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 11:42am CDT

James interviews Michelle Simon, PhD, ND, president and CEO of the Institute for Natural Medicine (INM). Dr. Simon sees an increasing awareness that our current healthcare system is not delivering the results we need. She advocates for alternate solutions through her work with INM.

Some have argued that iatrogenic disease is the third-largest cause of death in America. Applying the Therapeutic Order, which is a guiding principle for naturopathic medicine, can reverse that trend. Naturopathic medicine combined with the group visit model has the potential to address most of the population’s health issues. It is an excellent option to improve healthcare on a large scale. 

Listen to the full conversation to learn about:

  • The Therapeutic Order: what it is and why its important
  • The reasons we need to change how we view primary care
  • A new residency program for naturopathic doctors
  • Projects that the Institute for Natural Medicine is working on
  • How lifestyle and naturopathic medicine prevent iatrogenic disease

This week’s podcast is a series of interviews with a handful of physicians who are involved with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). Dr. Luby is the Director of Medical Education Initiatives at IFM, which works to scale functional medicine and make it more accessible and easier to adopt into larger healthcare systems. The pandemic brought to light weaknesses in our healthcare system for which functional medicine offers solutions!

Dr. Penn is an infectious disease specialist and works in epidemiology and infection prevention at Nebraska Methodist Hospital. He has worked closely with Dr. Luby, and Dr. Penn is planning to implement more of the IFM’s principles into his healthcare system. Dr. Nancy Cutter and Sharon Williams are from the Veterans Affairs (VA) in New Jersey. They are also working towards integrating lifestyle medicine into their systems in part by utilizing group visits.

Listen to the full panel discussion to learn more about:

  • The benefits offered by functional medicine for the VA in New Jersey
  • The problems in our healthcare system, which functional medicine can help
  • How Nebraska Methodist Hospital has seen the IFM’s principles improve their COVID outcomes
  • And much, much more!

Our guest on this episode, Dr. Michael Ash, is a researcher who discusses lipid replacement therapy. The applications for this treatment include all fatigue related illnesses, including but not limited to environmental toxin exposure, Lyme disease and long COVID. Oxidative damage, which this therapy addresses, occurs in aging and all chronic and acute illness.

When the immune system is activated (e.g., after an infection), mitochondria can be damaged. The defective mitochondria become swollen and leak electrons, which results in the oxidation of membranes. Oral lipid replacement therapy is used to remove and replace damaged membranes. Listen to this episode to learn:

  • Mechanisms of action of inflammasomes
  • What causes danger signals in cells
  • Supplement dosing and sources of this nutrient through diet
  • Symptoms and consequences of poor membrane health
  • And much, much more!
Direct download: 20220525_Podcast_AUDIO_2.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 8:00am CDT

Dr. Mary Pardee, who specializes in fecal macrobiotic transplantation (FMT), explores how personal history with trauma (emotional or physical) often contributes to chronic disease, the necessity of physicians acknowledging their patients’ journey into disease, and the paramount importance of community during the healing process.

Highlights include:

  • Empaths are more susceptible to chronic illness
  • Connection, bonding and community are pillars of health
  • Why group medical visits are necessary to transform the future of medicine
  • And much, much more!
Direct download: 20220518_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

On this episode, we speak with Josiah Bartz from the Lifestyle Matrix Resource Center. The LMRC is driven by the same purpose as Evolution of Medicine and supports growth of lifestyle and functional medicine by providing clinicians with practical resources and tools to get their practices off and running.

The LMRC was born out of thousands of hours of speaking and working with functional medicine practitioners who want to start or build their practices but feel overwhelmed and in need of support or guidance. After years of developing a library of resources, the LMRC is now offering a membership to provide clinicians with ongoing, thorough and personalized practice management and clinician education support. Listen to learn more about:

  • The history of shared medical appointments or Group Visit Toolkits
  • Successful frameworks to empower patients
  • Features available to members of the LMRC
  • Business growth for functional medicine practices
  • And much, much more!
Direct download: 20220510_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 4:00am CDT

Penney Stringer, a family medicine physician, shares her journey into functional medicine and her experiences moving in and out of conventional medicine. Dr. Stringer shares anecdotes from her exceptionally successful HealCommunity group. Listen in to hear Dr. Stringer and James explore:

 

  • The power of community in medicine
  • How patients with chronic illness are underserved
  • The importance of group support for behavior change
  • And much, much more!
Direct download: 20220420_Podcast_AUDIO.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:00am CDT

Cheng Ruan, MD is a Functional Medicine practitioner who trains other physicians to work through insurance systems. He discusses value-based care and it’s current limitations, physician services that are currently billable to Medicare or insurance which are underutilized, how to foster a sense of empowerment with patients, rather than trying to be the “hero” as a physician. Listen to the full conversation to hear about:
  • How physician entrepreneurs should be thinking about scalable growth
  • Coaching concepts for physicians
  • Statements of guidance and focusing positive energy towards collaborative health care 
  • And much, much more!

 

Direct download: 20220413_Podcast_8.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:00am CDT

Chris McChesney is a behavior change expert who wrote The 4 Disciplines of Execution. His fascinating perspective offers practical tips about how to manage “The Whirlwind” of competing priorities and make meaningful strides towards focused goals. James dives into the business-oriented concepts exploring their applications in the Business of Functional Medicine series on the podcast.  Listen to the full episode for insights that will help you build your own practice, improve patient relationships and trust, and encourage positive behavior change.

Direct download: 20220323_Podcast_6.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:30am CDT

When we started Evolution of Medicine, we saw a theme emerging that conversations about evolution were going to be critical for understanding all the different ways in which medicine was evolving. With that in mind, who better to have on the podcast than two evolutionary biologists?

Direct download: 20220316_Podcast_2.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 3:39pm CDT

On this episode, we share an amazing story of four doctors from across the country brought together to form new friendships that transformed their businesses. Tune in as we hear from three chiropractors, Dr. Bill Hammer, Dr. Russell Sher and Dr. Todd Di Leo, and Tracy Jones, DO, as they share how they've moved toward their own practice vision in the last five years, how those visions differ dramatically, and how they've built strong connection and friendship, even though they've never met in person.

Direct download: 20220223_Podcast.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 4:55pm CDT

In this episode, we have Dr. David Perlmutter on to talk about his new book, Drop Acid. Dr. Perlmutter talks about how he chose this topic and the profound impact of restoring metabolic health and controlling uric acid with simple dietary and lifestyle tweaks.
Direct download: 20220216_Podcast_2.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 3:27pm CDT

This episode is part of our Success Leaves Clues Series and features Helen Perks, a nutritionist from the UK. She joined the Practice Accelerator in 2017, and as you listen to her story, you’ll hear just how valuable a supportive community of practitioners can be when building your practice.
Direct download: 20220201_Podcast.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 3:00pm CDT

On this episode, we talk about the changes in the 2022 coding, with guest, Sonda Kunzi. She runs Coding Advantage, and is a leading biller and understands the world of not just medical billing, but medical billing as it applies to the functional medicine community.
Direct download: 20220126_Podcast_v3.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 11:30am CDT

Every year, Evolution of Medicine picks a theme, and this year’s theme is Growth. And who better to kick off our year of growth than Dr. Mark Hyman? In this episode, we talk about the growth of the movement and the surprising places where functional medicine is really starting to take off.

Direct download: 2022019_Podcast_1.mp3
Category:health, alternative health -- posted at: 10:00am CDT

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