

The Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast
Erin Holt
Holistic Health | Real Food Nutrition | Functional Medicine | Mind-Body
Honest and eye-opening conversations with functional nutritionist Erin Holt. Erin shares insight into hot topic nutrition, plus interviews with thought leaders in the functional medicine and wellness world. Get informed and empowered with this funky spin on mainstream health information.
Honest and eye-opening conversations with functional nutritionist Erin Holt. Erin shares insight into hot topic nutrition, plus interviews with thought leaders in the functional medicine and wellness world. Get informed and empowered with this funky spin on mainstream health information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 3, 2020 • 1h 28min
Why You Need to Stop Self-Treating Your Gut | Ep 81
This podcast discusses the dangers of self-treating gut issues with antibiotics and herbal products like grapefruit seed extract and oregano oil. It emphasizes the importance of consulting healthcare practitioners and not relying on natural remedies alone. The hosts share cautionary tales of self-diagnosis and the risks associated with muscle testing. They also highlight the role of lifestyle factors, stress management, and mindful eating in gut healing. The chapter on optimizing digestion explores the importance of diaphragmatic breathing and analyzes immune responses to gluten. Additionally, the podcast addresses assessing intestinal permeability and leaky gut, emphasizing the need for qualified clinicians and relevant stool tests.

Dec 19, 2019 • 1h 1min
Staying Healthy Through the Holidays | Ep 80
Today’s episode is all about staying healthy during the holiday season. We start with a mic check from Hattie, then dive into Instagram Food & Fitness Wars, setting healthy holiday boundaries, prevention for airplane travel, cold & Flu Prevention (new tips!), all about glutathione, food sources of glutathione and how to keep eating well while you’re traveling.In this episode:-Mic Check from Hattie-Instagram Food & Fitness Wars-Setting healthy holiday boundaries-Prevention for airplane travel-Cold & Flu Prevention: new tips-All about glutathione-Food sources of glutathione-Eating well while travelingCarb Compatibility Project™: https://www.erinholthealth.com/carb-compatibility-projectFind Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/

Dec 12, 2019 • 1h 1min
When You’re Scared to Stop Dieting: A Convo with Wellness Lately | Ep 79
I’m sitting down and talking with Bridget Shannon & Dana Barron of Wellness Lately. We get kind of fired up as we’re passionately talking about diet culture today - we do use some choice words in this episode so be sure to use ear muffs for the littles!In this episode:-Why dieting is NEVER the solution to your problems-How a restrictive mindset can lead to over-eating-What is a “normal eater”?-Is it food fear or fear of gaining weight?-Concrete ways to increase body confidence-The “lie” of dieting-Why they have a zero tolerance policy with before and after photos-Criticizing the culture vs. personal attack-Why Weight Watchers is problematic-Is your hunger really the problem?-Rebuilding trust with our bodies-How “wellness” has become co-opted by the diet industry-The fear of gaining weight-Why weight gain feels like a failure (and why it’s a lie)-Science behind why diets don’t work-Weight set point theoryGet more from Dana & Bridget: https://www.wellnesslately.com/https://www.wellnesslately.com/podcast/Erin on the 'gram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/

Dec 5, 2019 • 1h 11min
How to Eat for True Gut Health | Ep 78
We’re talking all about the gut in this episode: what the gut microbiome does, why the U.S. has the worst guts, factors that negatively influence our guts, all about antibiotic use, the best sleep schedule for your gut, common medications that impact the gut, a surprising fact about glyphosate/roundup, and why eating for a healthy gut goes WAY beyond probiotics and fermented foods. Tune in as I discuss this and many other topics as I answer all of your questions about the gut!In this episode:-Big announcements for 2020-What the gut microbiome does-Why the U.S. has the worst guts-Factors that negatively influence our guts-All about antibiotic use-The best sleep schedule for your gut-Common medications that impact the gut-A surprising fact about glyphosate/Roundup-Dietary Risk factors for dysbiosis-Is your healthy diet actually causing harm to your gut?-Why you can’t “reinoculate” your gut with probiotics-Why eating for a healthy gut goes WAY beyond probiotics and fermented foods-Specific foods that nurture and nourish the gut microbiome-All about prebiotics and resistant starchCarb Compatibility Project™ https://www.erinholthealth.com/carb-compatibility-projectFind Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/Fresh frozen red currants https://nwwildfoods.com/product/fresh-frozen-organic-red-currants/

Nov 21, 2019 • 1h 2min
Opting Out of Diet Culture & Cultivating Self Trust | Ep 77
Today I’m sitting down with Naomi Katz, who is an Intuitive Eating, body image, & self-trust coach for grown-ups who already know what’s best for their own bodies. She supports and hold space for folks who are ready to reject diet culture so they can reclaim their autonomy and consent over their mind, body, and life. If this sounds like you, you’ll want to listen as we cover topics like The Cult of Positivity, the fight for self compassion, and tools to start building self trust around food.In this episode:-How Intuitive Eating gets co-opted by diet culture-The Cult of Positivity-Body acceptance & neutrality-Why trying to love your body misses the point-The fight for self compassion-How to spot diet culture programming-Identifying nonverbal messaging-How to curate your life-Does fat phobia affect you?-When is it time to get support?-Tools to start building self trust around food-What to do when it feels scary and unsafe-Is it a food sensitivity or food fear?Find Naomi! https://www.happyshapes.co/https://www.instagram.com/happyshapesnaomi/Erin on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/

Nov 14, 2019 • 1h 14min
Constipation, Gut Health & Melatonin | Ep 76
Today I’m talking about the gut hormone connection, ideal bowel habits and asking the question - Are you constipated? I also discuss why we HAVE to avoid constipation, the sleep - poop connection, and some of my favorite supplements for constipation.In this episode:-Gut hormone connection-Ideal bowel habits-Are you constipated?-Why we HAVE to avoid constipation-Estrogen Detox-Underlying causes of constipation-Different types of fiber-Why a high fiber diet might cause constipation-Low carb diets + constipation-How to move to increase motility-The sleep - poop connection-New treatments for IBS?-Laxative use-Metamucil & Miralax-My favorite supplements for constipationJoin waitlist for early bird special for Your Hormone Revival™: https://www.erinholthealth.com/hormonesHang out with Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/

Nov 7, 2019 • 1h
Breathwork & Healing with Erin Telford | Ep 75
Erin Telford is a Breathwork facilitator, teacher trainer, intuitive guide and space holder. She began her healing career over a decade ago as an acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist and Reiki Master. Her work guides people to look within, open their hearts and heal their relationship with themselves. Tune in as we discuss how we hold trauma in the body, learning how to sit with yourself, the energetics of chronic illness, de-stigmatizing emotions, and more.In this episode:-How we hold trauma in the body-De-stigmatizing emotions-Breathwork as somatic release-On being an Empath-We we might feel others feelings-The problem with “Good Vibes Only’ culture-Learning how to sit with yourself-The connection between ayahuasca and breathwork-Erin getting weird-Thyroid disorders, teeth grinding and TMJ-The energetics of chronic illness-Women and self-expressionConnect with Erin Telford: https://www.instagram.com/erintelford__/https://erintelford.com/Connect with Erin Holt: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/https://www.thefunktionalnutritionist.com/

Oct 31, 2019 • 1h 13min
All About Cholesterol | Ep 74
In today’s episode we’re getting into all things cholesterol. Listen in as I answer all of your cholesterol questions, like: Is eating cholesterol a problem? What does cholesterol do in the body? What even IS cholesterol? Is sugar the real problem? What is the connection between gut health & heart disease?In this episode:-Is eating cholesterol a problem?-What Cholesterol does in the body-Problems with low cholesterol-Underlying Reasons for High Cholesterol-Hormones + Cholesterol-How to support healthy Cholesterol levels-Intervention for high LDL and Total cholesterol-Other markers for heart disease risk factors:-Root cause of cardiovascular disease-Is sugar the real problem?-Gut health + heart disease-Statins: the good, the bad, the uglyErin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/Fueled+Fit nutrition program: https://www.erinholthealth.com/programsWhy this nutritionist would never buy Isagenix Super Smoothie for my kid: https://www.erinholthealth.com/erin-holt-health-1/2019/10/15/why-i-would-never-buy-isagenix-isakids-super-smoothie-for-my-kidMeta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20071648Is the use of cholesterol in mortality risk algorithms in clinical guidelines valid? Ten years prospective data from the Norwegian HUNT 2 study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3303886/Serum cholesterol levels and in-hospital mortality in the elderly https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(03)00354-1/abstractLow serum cholesterol and external-cause mortality: Potential implications for research and surveillance https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022395608002525?cc%3DyPlasma cholesterol and depressive symptoms in older men https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0140673693925569High total cholesterol levels in late life associated with a reduced risk of dementia https://n.neurology.org/content/64/10/1689.abstractNutrition and Alzheimer's disease: The detrimental role of a high carbohydrate diet https://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/EJIM_PUBLISHED.pdfWomen’s cholesterol levels vary with phase of menstrual cycle https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/womens-cholesterol-levels-vary-phase-menstrual-cycleThe Questionable Role of Saturated and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Cardiovascular Disease https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895435698000183High cholesterol may protect against infections and atherosclerosis https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article/96/12/927/1533176Is atherosclerosis caused by high cholesterol? https://academic.oup.com/qjmed/article/95/6/397/1559536Lipopolysaccharide Is Transferred from High-Density to Low-Density Lipoproteins by Lipopolysaccharide-Binding Protein and Phospholipid Transfer Protein https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1087464/Low Density Lipoproteins Inhibit Endotoxin Activation of Monocytes https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/01.ATV.12.3.341Role of Helicobacter pylori infection in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4365310/

Oct 17, 2019 • 47min
Exercising for “Adrenal Fatigue” & Cortisol Dysregulation | Ep 72
Tune in as I discuss why I took a 2 month hiatus from podcasting, the main causes of stress in the body, the financial commitment of functional lab testing, why saying “just stress” does us a disservice, the symptoms of Cortisol dysregulation/HPA dysfunction/adrenal fatigue, problems with over-training and exercise Recommendations for high & low cortisol.In this episode:-Why I took a 2 month hiatus from podcasting-The Lizzo quote I used as my mantra-The main causes of stress in the body-Financial commitment of functional lab testing-Why saying “just stress” does us a disservice-Symptoms of Cortisol dysregulation/HPA dysfunction/adrenal fatigue-Problems with over-training-Exercise Recommendations for high & low cortisol-Low cortisol/Adrenal Fatigue recommendations:-How to recognize Signs of over-exercise-Tools for self assessmentPolar H7 Bluetooth Heart Rate Sensor & Fitness Tracker: https://amzn.to/2XsLA25Your Hormone Revival™ back February 2020: https://www.erinholthealth.com/hormonesFind Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/

Aug 15, 2019 • 46min
Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Naturopath Susie Garden | Ep 71
In today’s episode I’m sitting down with Susie Garden. Having worked in the ‘sickness’ model where illness is treated once it presents, she is convinced that the ‘wellness’ model is the most sustainable option moving forward. Preventing disease in our bodies with nutritious food, functional movement and connecting the body and mind, allows us to lead longer and happier lives. Today we’re talking all about IBS, and cover topics like: the criteria for diagnosing IBS, the gut-serotonin link, mind-body work for IBS, the power of a food mood journal.In this episode:-Criteria for diagnosing IBS-What does abnormal bowel function look like?-2 major drivers of IBS-The Gut-Serotonin Link-Foods & nutrients that support serotonin production-What your “worrier” disposition has to do with digestion-Probiotics & Prebiotics - good or bad?-Mind-Body work for IBS“It’s really important not to just muck around with probiotics.”-The power of a food mood journal-Helpful nutrients for IBSSusie Garden: https://www.susiegarden.com/Erin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/