Flow might not be something you measure on a lab panel, but when it’s blocked, your patients feel it.

Tracy Harrison unpacks seven places where flow gets disrupted in the body, often in ways that go unnoticed in clinical care. What happens when oxygen doesn’t circulate well because of poor posture or undiagnosed sleep apnea? Could chronic symptoms trace back to something as basic as hydration, or a lymphatic system that isn’t moving waste effectively? Tracy walks through the quiet impact of circadian misalignment, synthetic hormone use, and even tight clothing that impairs detox and digestion. And she makes the case for taking joy seriously, not as a bonus, but as a core element of physiological health. Could mindset, laughter, and forgiveness be just as important as nutrition and supplements?

This episode is a reminder to look beyond protocols and ask what might be getting in the way of the body’s natural flow and its capacity to heal.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Flow in Health

01:14 The Importance of Oxygenation

03:42 Subclinical Anemia and Oxygen Flow

04:47 Hydration: The Overlooked Blockage

06:46 The Role of Lymph in Circulation

08:55 Circadian Rhythms and Health

10:35 Hormonal Flow in Women’s Health

18:08 Physical Blockages and Detoxification

21:34 The Flow of Joy and Emotional Health

25:35 Embracing Flow for Vitality

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

Most detox advice does more harm than good unless you understand how toxicity really works in the body.

Tracy Harrison takes on one of the most misunderstood topics in functional medicine: why detox protocols often backfire, especially in patients with chronic illness. Should detox ever be the first step in care? What happens when you mobilize years of stored toxins without first making sure the body can handle it?

This episode challenges the common urge to “cleanse” as a quick fix and instead offers a deeper look at how biotransformation actually works. Tracy walks through the difference between acute exposure and chronic overload, the risks of aggressive detox, and the science behind supporting phase two detox pathways from a place of strength. She also highlights the toxins hiding in plain sight, from dryer sheets to personal care products, and the role of nutrient depletion in keeping patients stuck.

For practitioners who want to move past protocol-driven care and into true partnership with their patients, this episode is a reminder: real change happens when people understand what’s happening in their body and feel confident enough to do something about it.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Missteps in Detox Protocols

01:05 Chronic Toxic Overload vs. Acute Exposure

04:10 Safe and Targeted Detoxification

06:08 Why the Body Stores Toxins

09:02 Detoxing from a Place of Strength

12:04 Weight Loss and Mobilized Toxins

18:11 Dose-Response Myths and Toxic Synergy

21:05 Everyday Sources of Toxic Exposure

25:06 Transdermal Absorption and Beauty Products

30:06 Individual Toxin Overload and Nutrient Needs

34:08 Hormonal and Cellular Damage from Toxins

36:06 Helping Patients Understand and Commit

43:02 Glutathione, COVID, and Detox Capacity

46:04 Personalized Support for Long COVID

54:01 Early Life Exposure and Toxic Burden

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

Most patients think losing their gallbladder solved the problem. Functional medicine practitioners know it was only the first clue.

Tracy Harrison takes a closer look at what’s actually driving gallbladder dysfunction, and why removing the organ doesn’t remove the risk. Too often, upstream issues go unaddressed, allowing the same hidden dynamics to continue affecting the body. She walks through six of the most common contributors to hepatic biliary congestion: estrogenic overload, metabolic dysfunction, subclinical hypothyroidism, dehydration, toxic burden, and GLP-1 agonist medications. These factors can thicken bile, impair flow, and quietly disrupt other systems long after the gallbladder is gone.

You’ll hear strategies for identifying these patterns early, plus a case study that shows how easy it is to miss them, especially when the patient doesn’t fit the usual mold. For clinicians, this episode is a reminder that gallbladder disease is rarely an isolated issue and that upstream thinking is what leads to real progress.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 The Gallbladder Crisis

01:18 What Causes Hepatic Biliary Congestion

03:04 Why the Gallbladder Isn’t Optional

03:46 Estrogenic Overload and Hormone Imbalance

08:36 Metabolic Dysfunction and Fatty Liver

12:34 Dehydration as an Overlooked Factor

14:42 Subclinical Hypothyroidism and Bile Flow

18:19 Toxic Burden and Everyday Chemical Exposure

20:32 GLP-1 Agonists and Gallbladder Risk

24:02 Case Study: Gallbladder Risk in a Young Male Patient

27:04 Why We Still Need Bile (and Gallbladders)

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

Most autoimmune protocols fail because they chase symptoms while the real problem simmers quietly underneath.

Tracy Harrison offers an honest take on what’s often missing from autoimmune care. What if the immune system isn’t broken at all, but just responding exactly as it was designed to, in a world it no longer recognizes? This episode challenges the idea that symptom relief is the same as healing and urges practitioners to look further upstream.

Tracy makes the case for mindset as a starting point. Before tossing out protocols or supplements, are we helping patients believe that change is possible? Are we preparing them for the discipline and patience required to truly shift their health trajectory? Using the thumbtack analogy, she illustrates why single interventions rarely work, and why lasting progress comes from building habits that stick.

Tracy also unpacks the problem with focusing only on the tissue under attack. When autoimmune disease shows up in one place, how long before it shows up somewhere else? She explains why polyautoimmunity is common and why protocols must be tailored, not templated.

This episode is a reminder for practitioners that clinical knowledge is only part of the equation. Sustainable results require education, empathy, and a clear-eyed view of what healing really takes.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Understanding Autoimmune Disease Through Functional Medicine

01:04 Challenging Myths About the Immune System

09:18 Why Protocols Fail Without Personalization

12:24 Patience, Discipline, and the Thumbtack Analogy

21:31 The Practitioner’s Role in Patient Belief and Behavior

29:30 Gluten, Molecular Mimicry, and Cross-Reactivity

35:00 NF-kappa B, Lifestyle Stressors, and Immune Priming

38:02 Preventing Flares Through Long-Term Support

44:05 The Four-Legged Stool of Autoimmunity

49:05 Gut Integrity, Gallbladder Function, and Clinical Precision

Links

Learn more about SAFM’s accredited practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program

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

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

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

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

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

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