The Funk'tional Nutrition Podcast

On today’s show Erin sits down with Angelo Keely, the Co-founder and CEO of Kion, a supplement and functional food company dedicated to helping health and fitness enthusiasts live long, fun, active lives by providing clean, energy enhancing solutions. Angelo knows his stuff when it comes to protein intake, so this is exactly what this episode is all about - protein needs, different types of protei...

Proper muscle mass is foundational for a resilient body and healthy aging. Training to build muscle is a worthy endeavor–regardless of any body composition goals–and today’s episode explores why. In this conversation, Erin chats with Liz Wolfe about the interplay between muscle mass and nutrition, from blood sugar balance to glucose control; tips on protein, carb, and amino acid intake around work...

Words like “frequency” and “vibration” come up a lot in the wellness world, but what do they actually mean? Advancements in science are allowing us to now see the nano-sized interactions between our biology and the light, sound, and electricity around us. With this information, we’re just starting to understand the impact that the universe has on our very biology. In today’s episode, Erin sits dow...

Living happy, healthy, and fulfilled lives requires us to understand and be in touch with our inner wisdom. Yet most people are not taught how to access their intuition–instead, the message from society and the conventional healthcare system is often that you SHOULDN’T trust yourself. In today’s conversation, Erin gets into the whats, whys, and hows of intuition, and how it has proven time and tim...

Overcoming chronic pain requires an understanding of how different parts of the body (and the mind) influence each other in the healing process. Today’s podcast guest, Dr. Perry Nickelston, focuses on healing chronic pain and inflammation via the lymphatic and vascular systems. What this conversation emphasizes, however, is the fact that nothing heals in isolation.  Erin and Dr. Perry delve i...

When it comes to weight, body image, and our intentions surrounding it, women often receive messaging that promotes weight loss as salvation AND anti-diet messages that promote body acceptance as the only way. These black and white messages create fragmentation within ourselves and shame surrounding whichever direction we lean.  It’s not wrong to have a body image goal, but in order to achiev...

Setting healthy and appropriate boundaries is vital for our health–people who struggle to prioritize themselves have also been shown to fall ill most often. The question of how to set boundaries, however, may not be the right question to start with. Instead, what we need to unpack first is: why is boundary setting so hard? In today’s discussion with Annie Hopkins, a pelvic floor physical therapist...

A low FODMAP diet has become the sweetheart of diets in treating SIBO within the functional and conventional medicine world. However, as with any protocol implementation, one must be sure to ask, “what’s the end game here?”  In this episode, Erin unpacks the low FODMAP diet, what it is, how it helps to reduce symptoms of SIBO & IBS and why she very rarely implements it with her clients. E...

Our minds are one of the most powerful factors in healing–our thoughts and beliefs can make us well, and they can make us unwell. Understanding how your brain is hardwired and learning to believe in the possibility of change can be the key to accessing healing.  Today’s episode puts the tool of manifestation on the table to show what’s possible when healing the body. In this conversation, Eri...

Terms like “leaky gut” and “microbiome” are buzzwords in health these days–so much so that practitioners sometimes jump to prescribing a leaky gut protocol without understanding what’s going on in the whole body. This episode gives an overview of gut health from top to tail and explains where things can go wrong. There is a WEALTH of information in this discussion–Erin talks about autoimmunity, ho...

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 listenin...

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 gallbla...

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 wo...

Secretory IgA is the dominant antibody in our gut mucosal layer and acts as a “first line of defense” against pathogens. When Secretory IgA is low, it’s like the bouncer at the bar is gone. The lower the SIgA is, the more prone you are to acquiring infections AND the less likely you are to clear up existing infections in your gut. Today Erin covers Secretory IgA and why it’s so important when it c...

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 reall...

Food sensitivities are a growing problem—and the reasons behind it are complex. Unpacking food sensitivities is NOT a straightforward task, but today Erin helps make sense of all the moving parts. In this episode, Erin discusses food sensitivity testing, the differences between food allergies and food sensitivities, symptoms and signs you might have a food sensitivity, the science behind our body’...

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 invitat...

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 m...

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 m...

Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it can’t harm you. Herbs have the capacity to negatively alter our gut microbiome if they aren’t used properly, so it’s important to know the root cause before diving into herbal remedies for gut problems. And it’s especially important to seek professional help rather than self-diagnosing and treating with potentially harmful remedies. In this episode...

A lot of practitioners, especially those newer to functional medicine, put pressure on themselves to be all the things and know all the things–which can often lead to crippling self-doubt. The successful practitioner, on the other hand, is one who has a solid sense of self, works within their skill sets and strengths, and acknowledges their limitations.  Continuing last week’s conversation, E...

There’s no question that the conventional medicine system is tragically broken. We’re seeing a greater demand for another way, and functional practitioners are filling that need. But if you’re a newer practitioner, how do you get started growing your skillset and confidence, and do so in a way that is responsible to your clients? In the first episode of a 2-part conversation, Erin presents actiona...

Why do some functional medicine providers have waitlists and others don’t? A functional medicine approach at its core is a root cause resolution approach, and successful providers are those who have honed their skills at quickly identifying root causes and creating effective treatment plans. And while labs can help direct that treatment, being a functional provider is more than just ordering labs–...

Thyroid dysfunction affects approximately 28 million Americans–8 out of 10 of which are women. In fact, hypothyroid is so commonplace that Levothyroxine is consistently one of the top-prescribed drugs year after year. There are a lot of ways to support the thyroid before it gets to this point, so we have to ask ourselves WHY this issue is so common and how we can be proactive about achieving optim...

Today Erin is teaching you how to balance your hormones using the 5 key elements of hormone health – do these things and you WILL balance your hormones.  If you need more specificity, resources and support, then we invite you to join us in our final live round of Your Hormone Revival. Our lab testing will pinpoint specifically where you’re imbalanced so we can help resolve the root of your ho...