45: Dr. Jill Carnahan - Toxins, pathogens and inflammation: how our immune system, gut and brain interact to affect our mental health

Board Certified in Family Medicine and in Integrative Holistic Medicine, Dr. Jill Carnahan is a Functional Medicine expert known for her experience with gut health, immunity, and detoxification. In 2010 she founded the Flatiron Functional Medicine Practice, and in February 2023 will release her book Unexpected: Finding Resilience through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith. An inspirational survivor of breast cancer and Crohn's Disease, she has lived experience of how Functional Medicine can help you recover and thrive when faced with complex and chronic illness.

In this fascinating interview she discusses some  lesser known factors of poor mental health, explaining how a leaky gut, toxins, pathogens and environmental stressors can underlie depression, insomnia, cognitive decline, anxiety, ADHD, and even trauma response. Committed to treating the root causes of illness rather than just its symptoms, Dr. Carnahan explains the mechanism of immune system activation and dysfunction, and its interaction with nervous system dysfunction and mental health issues. She sheds light on the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology, which examines the impact of inflammatory toxins, pathogens and psychological factors on the immune system, nervous system and in turn our mental health; and gives us top tips on how we can detoxify and heal.