The Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast

This podcast episode discusses the buzzwords of gut health, including leaky gut and microbiome. It explores the impact of a modern lifestyle on gut health and highlights symptoms like weight gain, brain fog, and hormone imbalance. The episode also delves into the causes of leaky gut and provides tips for improving gut health and microbiome diversity.

Staying healthy while traveling doesn’t have to be a challenge–it just takes planning ahead and knowing some tips and tricks! Being in a different place and off your normal schedule can throw your system off-balance, but these hacks will help you stay happy and healthy while on the road.This episode responds to listener questions Erin received after returning from a week-long trip. After listening to this episode, you will come away with healthy snack ideas for the plane, the best supplements to bring while traveling and why, how to eat and drink on vacation without derailing your immune system, post-travel best practices, and more.Timestamps:(2:24) Erin’s go-to travel snacks (13:23) Key supplements for travel: what and why (28:35) Regulating the digestive system while traveling (38:02) Alcohol: what’s a balanced approach? (46:25) Sleep and health in a different environment (51:42) Post-travel lymphatic support FOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/256-healthy-travel-hacksCheck out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | Instagram 

When it comes to overall gut and hormonal health, the gallbladder is an unsung hero. It plays a crucial role not just in digestion and your ability to access nutrients in food, but also with detoxification and your hormone systems. Unfortunately early gallbladder issues are often missed in conventional treatment. While there are instances when gallbladder removal is necessary, removing the gallbladder typically doesn’t resolve the gallbladder issue. This is because it doesn’t address WHY the gallbladder issues arose in the first place. Today Erin packs an information-heavy episode all about the importance and roles of the gallbladder, bile production, and alerts you to some of the warning signs you may be having issues with your biliary tract. The purpose of sharing this is so you can not just take in this information and comprehend it, but to really take preventative measures BEFORE you get to the point of surgery.Head to our podcast search page to find episodes on any topic!Timestamps:(7:10) The gallbladder and its functions (12:42) Why gallbladder removal surgery may not resolve gallbladder problems (17:27) Symptoms of sludge and inefficient bile release (20:36) Why bile is so important (36:06) Factors that can increase risk of gallstones (38:53) How to support overall bile production FOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/255-gallbladder-bile-gut-hormonesCheck out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | Instagram 

From reproduction to physical well-being, pleasure, and partner connection, sex is a fundamental part of life–and yet, our society is so uncomfortable with the topic that productive conversations about sex are rare. As a result, many people (particularly women) end up with shame and confusion about their bodies, and questions about what’s “normal” go unasked or unanswered.Dr. Jolene Brighten’s work answers these questions. Dr. Jolene is an award-winning board-certified naturopathic endocrinologist, hormone expert, and author of the book Is This Normal. In this episode, Erin and Dr. Jolene discuss the origins of shame around sex and pleasure in our culture, answer common questions about odors, discharges, and pain, and explore the orgasm gap and what women can do both physically and with mindset to increase their experiences of pleasure. Head to our podcast search page to find episodes on any topic!Timestamps:(6:18) Why is there so much shame around sex? (19:49) Odors and discharges explained(23:45) The “orgasm gap” and the purpose of orgasms (35:38) How to explore pleasure around sex (38:00) Impact of cyclical hormones on female pleasure (48:13) Virginity as a societal construct FOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/254-sexual-health-pleasureDr. Jolene Brighten is a hormone expert, nutrition scientist, and thought leader in women’s medicine. She is board certified in naturopathic endocrinology and trained in clinical sexology. Check out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | Instagram 

Learn about the importance of Secretory IgA in gut health and its impact on preventing infections and food sensitivities. Discover techniques to support the immune system and reduce stress. Explore the use of supplements and probiotics to boost Secretory IgA levels. Get excited for the beta launch of the Manifest Your Health program for self-healing.

The bacterium Akkermansia Muciniphila comprises 1-3% of gut microbiota in healthy adults, and is considered a keystone microbe–some have even referred to it as the potential “holy grail” of improving metabolic diseases. Low levels of Akkermansia are often seen paired together with low levels of secretory IgA, and the reasons behind that demonstrate just how layered and complex our gut health really is.In today’s conversation, Erin unpacks the reasons why low levels of Akkermansia and SIgA are often seen together, from deficient mucus layers to overall low beneficial bacteria production; the impact of low Akkermansia and SIgA on immune reactions and food sensitivities; how bacteria cross-feed each other and why that’s important for microbiome ecology; and ways to increase Akkermansia to support overall metabolic health.Today, we’re also announcing the beta program launch of Manifest Your Health™! Learn more on our website at www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/manifest-your-health. Timestamps:(1:22) Manifest Your Health™ beta program launch announced (8:08) Link between Akkermansia & SIgA(14:37) How Akkermansia impacts mucus layer of the gut(17:31) Mucus, SIgA, dendritic cells, and food sensitivities(20:41) Bacteria cross-feeding in the gut(24:00) Ways to boost Akkermansia levelsFOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/252-akkermansia-gut-healthCheck out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | Instagram 

Unpacking the complexities of food sensitivities, including testing methods, symptoms, and hormone interactions. The downsides of restrictive healing diets are discussed, as well as the increase in food sensitivities today. The interplay of estrogen, cortisol, and dendritic cells is explored. The episode also addresses the pros and cons of food sensitivity testing and provides guidance on healing sensitivities to food.

If you’ve been following along with TFN the last couple weeks, you’ve heard about the external sh*tstorm that severely impacted our podcast listenership. Today, Erin shares the story of what happened and why, and the overwhelming support we received from the TFN community in response (thank you!!). This show goes into some of the lessons learned from the situation and how this moment is an invitation for a total energy revamp, both for the podcast as well as for you, the listener. Right now, there are cosmic shifts taking place that bring us all to a crossroads, in which we have the choice to step into our power and make decisions for the higher good. Erin talks through these shifts as they relate to the future of the podcast, and also shares the importance of working on the energy around the heart wall, why we need to plug into our own power rather than outsource for answers, and the heart medicine of allowing others to take care of us.Timestamps(4:02) Cosmic shifts and self-sourcing for answers(7:25) What happened to the podcast(14:58) Belief in your power and capacity to heal(19:45) Third chakra excess and what it looks like(21:38) Heart wall healing work (31:42) The future of The Funk’tional Nutrition PodcastFOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/250-heart-energy-expansionCheck out The Funk’tional Nutritionist: Website | Instagram 

A note from Erin: This week I shared on Instagram what's been going on with the podcast and I was really, really overwhelmed (in the best way possible) with the outpouring of support. I figured I should also share this with the rest of our community. In the grand scheme of all of the things going on in this world, this is a small problem, and I fully recognize that. But after reading through all my DMs, and hearing very personalized stories of how my podcast has quite literally changed lives, I don't want to downplay this, either. It's important that I continue to show up for this work...because the reality is that people need this help. Today’s minisode has the full story.

Can we take a root cause approach to healing depression? And is our current clinical psychiatry model supportive of finding a root cause? Just like with chronic physical illness, a common pattern in psychiatric medicine is to reach the diagnosis and then manage symptoms, rather than addressing the root issue. But what would it look like to get curious and ask why depression is there, and what it might be trying to tell us on a deeper, psychospiritual level? Join Erin for a conversation with Astrid Schmidt, LCSW-R, a Certified Gestalt Therapist and the creator of the Spiral Mapping™ Method, a creative healing approach designed to help folks master their core healing themes of this lifetime. This conversation digs into the effects of being labeled a “depressed person,” the invitation of depression, working with the inner child, and ultimately how to find *your* medicine. Please note that this is NOT medical advice or a condemnation of conventional psychiatry; rather, this episode is a big-picture conversation which intends to explore new ways of thinking about our health.Timestamps:(5:45) Introducing Astrid and Gestalt Therapy(12:42) “Organic depression” vs. “clinical depression”(19:25) What is the Self?(33:15) Depression as an initiation(38:35) What does your diagnosis feel like?(42:25) Spiral Mapping™ explainedFOR OUR FULL LIST OF LINKS + RESOURCES, HEAD TO: https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/podcast/249-healing-depression-holistically