The Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast

In this engaging discussion, holistic nutritionist Ali Shapiro delves into the emotional roots of eating patterns. With her background in functional medicine, Ali explains how food can serve as a stand-in for unmet needs of safety and belonging. She highlights four major emotional triggers—Tired, Anxiety, Inadequacy, and Loneliness—that drive our eating behaviors. Ali also emphasizes how black-and-white diet thinking keeps people stuck and advocates for a more compassionate, body-led approach to nutrition. Tune in for insights on recovery and reshaping our relationship with food.

Join Nicole Antes, a functional health practitioner and masterclass leader, as she shares invaluable strategies to thrive during the holiday season. Discover how to ditch the all-or-nothing mindset with her balanced approach to holiday treats. Learn about essential travel snacks, stress-relieving herbal teas, and the importance of setting boundaries for self-care. Nicole emphasizes the power of movement and daily routines to maintain energy and calm. Get ready to embrace joy while nurturing your health this holiday!

Discover which clean beauty tools actually deliver results, as Erin shares her go-to products and a few regrets. Dive into the shame-driven marketing plaguing the $6.3 trillion wellness industry and learn about the importance of foundational habits for skin health. Hear about her favorite gadgets, including a red light mask that helps with rosacea and a lymphatic brush for better facial drainage. Finally, get her top recommendations for tween skincare that is both affordable and clean.

Erin shares the turbulence behind her business growth and her pivotal decision to rebuild for sustainability. Discover how hiring an integrator reshaped her team dynamics and freed her for visionary work. She reveals insights from her new membership, designed to promote genuine healing through repetition and nervous system stability, moving away from quick fixes. Erin discusses the importance of protecting creative space and emphasizes that true transformation requires time and emotional safety for lasting results.

Explore the often-overlooked insights of routine blood work and why 'normal' results can miss vital health clues. Learn about key lab markers like fasting insulin and hemoglobin A1c that reveal early signs of metabolic dysfunction. Discover the importance of testing for thyroid antibodies to catch issues like Hashimoto’s well in advance. Erin dives into the significance of GGT for assessing oxidative stress and the role of nutrient tests like vitamin D and ferritin in evaluating overall wellness.

Pelvic floor health is often overlooked, yet symptoms like bloating and leaking are common. Chronic tension and shallow breathing can lock the pelvic floor into dysfunction, and kegels alone won’t fix the issue. Discover how diaphragmatic breathing is key to stability and muscle coordination. Erin shares her personal journey of recovery, offering practical techniques like yoga poses for pelvic floor release and actionable breathing exercises. Learn how stress, posture, and movement also influence pelvic health.

What if anxiety is your body's way of signaling a need for change? Discover how circadian rhythm disruptions and blood sugar imbalances can trigger feelings of panic. Hormonal shifts, such as low progesterone, amplify anxiety, while neuroinflammation creates a feedback loop of distress. Explore surprising links between lifestyle habits and emotional wellbeing, and learn how to decode these signals for a calmer life. Nutritional support and individualized plans may be key to breaking free from anxiety's grip.

What happens when your body forgets how to feel safe? In this episode, Erin is talking to Beatriz Victoria Albina, a Family Nurse Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, and author of End Emotional Outsourcing – to explore the link between codependency, perfectionism, and chronic stress. “Emotional outsourcing” develops as a survival strategy for safety, belonging, and worth, and it can leave us feeling completely disconnected from our bodies and unable to regulate our nervous systems.Bea explains how somatic awareness helps rebuild interoception, restore digestion, and rebalance the body’s stress response and HOW these patterns show up in everything from poor boundaries to physical symptoms like constipation and fatigue. If you’ve ever struggled with people-pleasing, burnout, or the pressure to hold it all together, this powerful framework will help you return home to yourself.In this episode:How emotional outsourcing shows up as “brilliant survival strategies” like perfectionism, people-pleasing, and codependencyWhy we jump away from imagined cobras as self-protection, and how somatic awareness can helpHow chronic stress rewires your nervous system and literally halts digestion (THIS could be why you feel constipated or constantly run down!)The rise of “therapy-speak” and rigid boundary-setting, and why it has left many of us disconnectedWhy you need to stop outsourcing your safety, worth, and validation and begin the lifelong work of self-sourcing your own power, clarity, and calmResources mentioned:Check out Beatriz’s book, End Emotional Outsourcing The Feminist Wellness PodcastFOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/383-beatriz-victoria-albina  Check out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | InstagramOrganifi supplement powder (save 20% on your order with code FUNK) OneSkin (Use code FUNK for 15% off your first purchase)Qualia Senolytic (get up to 50% off and an extra 15% off your first purchase with link + code FUNKS)Bon Charge (Use code FUNK to save 15%)

Could your gut be the missing piece of your skincare routine? If you’ve tried every serum, cleanser, and supplement under the sun but your skin still won’t cooperate, it might be time to look inward. Inflammation, imbalanced bacteria, and sluggish digestion can all show up on your face — and Erin and lead practitioner Rachel Heintz, MS, RDN are breaking down exactly how.Instead of masking symptoms with topicals or medications, they walk through how stool testing and targeted gut support can reveal what’s REALLY driving breakouts beneath the surface.Did you know low stomach acid, poor bile flow, and nutrient malabsorption can block your body’s ability to detox, process hormones, and maintain healthy skin? If you’ve been “doing everything right” without results, this episode connects the dots between your gut and the glow you’ve been working for.In this episode:How hidden inflammation and bacterial imbalances in your gut can fuel acne, even if your digestion seems fineThe single enzyme that can be THE missing link behind those stubborn hormonal breakoutsRoot cause healing, and why Accutane and birth control suppress breakouts without fixing the underlying imbalanceHow functional stool testing can get you real answers about your microbiome, nutrient absorption, and gut functionAn “inside out” approach to supporting the liver, gallbladder, and gut lining to get glowing skinResources mentioned:Apply to work with us 1:1 here!The Gut Panel is on sale for a limited timeFOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/382-skin-health Check out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | InstagramOrganifi supplement powder (save 20% on your order with code FUNK) LMNT Electrolyte Replenishing powder (Use code FUNK and get a free sample pack with any purchase!) OneSkin (Use code FUNK for 15% off your first purchase)Qualia Senolytic (get up to 50% off and an extra 15% off your first purchase with link + code FUNKS)Bon Charge (Use code FUNK to save 15%)

Explore the intriguing world of beta glucuronidase, a gut enzyme that can sabotage detoxification by allowing toxins and hormones to re-enter your system. Learn how low-fiber diets and constipation elevate its levels, leading to symptoms of estrogen dominance like bloating and mood swings. Discover short-term solutions, such as calcium D-glucarate, and the importance of long-term microbiome restoration. Erin emphasizes the need to harmonize gut, liver, and hormone health for effective detoxification strategies.