Evolution Of Medicine Podcast

Functional Forum Local Communities connect like-minded practitioners, enabling dialog, information sharing, interdisciplinary discussion, and community building for those who attend. In this episode we hear from a Functional Forum Community host and a loyal attendee. Kristen Brokaw, this week’s host, is the leader of Saint Louis’ local Forum Community, and founder of the St. Louis Institute for Integrative Medicine (SLIIM). Guest Grant Corsi is the Community Host of the Orange County Functional Forum Community.  He shares his story about what drove him to begin planning community events and what has made his community successful. Our second guest is Anthony Pasek, DC who has been attending St. Louis Forum Community events for at least seven years. He speaks to the value of his community, including professional camaraderie and collaboration. Listen to this short episode to learn: ·       Valuable tips for initiating community meetups ·       Why you should consider hosting your own local Community ·   

“Everyone needs a good coach in life,” according to our podcast guest this week. For this Business of Functional Medicine episode, Kristen Brokaw interviewed Coach Micheal Burt to explore his perspective on becoming and staying motivated. He applies the term prey drive—the instinctual motivation of certain animals to find, pursue and capture prey—to human behavior and motivation. Coach Burt began his career as a basketball coach and is now an author, speaker and professional coach for multiple industries. He has clients who are the most successful preventative doctors and functional health care providers in the country. Check out this full episode to take in empowering messages about: Every individuals’ potential to express a strong prey drive The parts of oneself that may need to be supported (body, mind, heart and spirit) How to foster motivation on a daily basis The importance of building and maintaining dynamic energy in business Business coaching for preventative and functional medicine p

On this episode of the podcast, James is joined by two doctors from the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM) to learn about their upcoming annual conference from June 1-3 in Orlando, FL. Aly Cohen, MD is an integrative rheumatologist who speaks about the importance of environmental medicine and why autoimmunity needs to be understood by providers across medical specialties. Dan Lukaczer, ND is the Director of Medical Education at IFM. He was previously Director of Clinical Research at the Metagenics Functional Medicine Research Center in Gig Harbor, WA, where he served as the principal investigator on various clinical trials on diet and nutrition. This event will be the first in-person IFM event since 2019 and will not be limited to any one topic or health issue. Instead, they offer an agenda featuring a wide range of subject matter. Consider registering for the IFM conference to learn more about: ·       Contaminants in drinking water—from artificial turf, fluoride and more ·       Data about environmen

This episode explores Kalibra, a new healthcare AI tool. It aggregates patient data from multiple sources and helps clinicians and patients alike prioritize health information based on functional and lifestyle medicine principles.  Our guest on this episode of the podcast, Ivan Vatchkov, the CEO of Kalibra, shares with us how Kalibra.ai performs diverse functions, including bringing together all patient data into one dynamic place. It digitizes, organizes and analyzes the many PDFs from health wearables and lab, gut microbiome, and functional medicine testing. Listen to the full conversation to:        Understand how you can simplify your practice management        Consider how data collection and analysis can streamline healthcare, especially in conventional medicine        Discover how lifestyle medicine principles were built into Kalibra        Explore the potential of AI health coaches as powerful tools to help patients make lifestyle changes        And much, much more The Evolution of Medici

Approximately one quarter (25%) of the United States population has non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Patients with this reversible condition have accumulated fat in their liver cells. Over time, this creates inflammation and if left unaddressed, will eventually lead to permanent scarring or cirrhosis of the liver. The condition is highly associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, and it is projected to become the leading cause of liver transplantation by 2030. Our guest on this episode of the podcast is Elizabeth Boham, MD. She is trained as both a medical doctor and nutritionist, teaches with the IFM and is the Medical Director for the UltraWellness Center.  She joins James to share: •            Which symptoms and test results are red flags for NAFLD •            That toxins and alcohol significantly impact liver health and metabolic syndrome •            How lifestyle and nutrition strategies will help patients with the condition   •            Resources and approaches tha

Nathan S. Bryan, PhD is an academic and entrepreneur who has focused his career on the study of nitric oxide for nearly 25 years. He joins the podcast to contribute to the Evolution of Medicine’s current focus on cardiovascular and endothelial health.   Nitric oxide production is foundational to overall health. Unfortunately, many contemporary environmental and lifestyle factors reduce or prevent nitric oxide production in the body. Suboptimal nitric oxide production is a factor in insulin resistance, cardiovascular issues, erectile dysfunction, long COVID and other post-viral syndromes, chronic fatigue, cognitive disorders, and more. Tune into this episode to learn about the many lifestyle and environmental factors that can impede or support the production of this important molecule. Some may even surprise you! Listen to the episode to learn more about: Nitric oxide’s role in cardiovascular, immune and nervous system function The gold standards for measuring functional nitric oxide production Jam

Dr. Patricia Restrepo is a Practice Accelerator alumna who joins the podcast to share her experience growing two businesses with the help of the Accelerator program. After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 14 years old, Dr. Restrepo pursued an education and career that allowed her to research natural solutions for weight management and diabetes. She was able to reverse her own diabetes, and now helps patients with similar diagnoses. Both of her businesses, one in Miami and the other in Mexico, help patients manage weight loss and diabetes.  Dr. Restrepo used what she learned in the Practice Accelerator program to establish a business model that allows her to allocate time according to her personal lifestyle goals: 20% of her time is spent in clinic with patients (including groups), 40% is spent on remote consultations, and 40% is spent on her own continuing education and developing medical education for her patient community.  Listen to this full episode from the Success Leaves Clues Series to learn

Yaa Boakye, CPT, RDN from the Practice Accelerator team joins James on this special episode to announce an upcoming resource that will help practitioners develop their businesses: the 90-Minute Private Practice Sprint. During this free webinar on February 17 at 8 p.m. PST/11 p.m. EST, James and Yaa will share practical, actionable, no-fluff guidelines to help practitioners set goals to grow their practices. Register for the Sprint here: https://goevomed.com/sprint  With her experience in marketing, personal training, nutrition and coaching healthcare providers, Yaa guides practitioners to develop the business side of their practices with efficiency and focus. As she explains in this podcast episode, building a successful practice requires knowledge of multiple domains, including understanding your target patient, having solid marketing strategies, utilizing technology systems to streamline day-to-day operations, and understanding how to successfully deliver patient education to maximize clinical results. Howe

Dr. Tom Guilliams, a longtime friend of the podcast, returns to share his experience researching and foraging for mushrooms. Dr. Guilliams also speaks about the difficulties of accurately identifying mushrooms due to inconsistent documentation and characterization across scientific resources. These inconsistencies present significant challenges for manufacturers developing medicinal mushroom products since the extracts and powders may not be reliably labeled. Therefore, manufacturers must be diligent in verifying the mushrooms they purchase. There may also be unintended differences between mushrooms grown commercially versus those foraged from their natural setting. Practitioners and patients should be aware that many marketing claims around consumer-facing mushroom products are likely unsubstantiated.  This episode honors this year’s theme of connection and builds upon what we recently learned from Dr. Zach Bush, who spoke about the role that environmental networks play in human health. Mushrooms are a liter

This is the first podcast episode of the 2023 year of connection. How can we employ connection to advance the functional and lifestyle medicine movement? One answer is that we must continue to leverage group care and community networks to support reconnection in the post-COVID era, improve patient outcomes and increase the awareness and accessibility of our movement. Our guest on this episode is an innovator and thought leader on health creation and chronic disease reversal. Zach Bush, MD teaches about the intersections between the environment and the individual by identifying the themes that connect diverse systems, such as microbiologic processes and macroeconomics. To him, the original human wound is a false belief that we are not all connected—to ourselves, nature and everyone around us. To be healthy—physically and mentally—is to be connected. In this episode, Dr. Bush and James explore the many repercussions of disconnection, from autoimmune disease to war, while also covering how connection can transfo

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. Gro

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

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

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 coachin

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. Downloa

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

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: Understanding Long Covid: a comprehensive presentation for health professionals ACE2 in Immun

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!

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: Your Health - Our Science UREX™ – The world’s most documented probiotics for women’s urogenital health Women's Health | The Probiotics Instit