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In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Sabine Hazan, MD, a gastroenterologist, hepatologist, internal medicine specialist, and microbiome researcher whose work centers on the human gut microbiome and fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT. Dr. Hazan founded ProgenaBiome, a genetic sequencing research laboratory focused on understanding patterns within the microbiome, and she has spent decades working in clinical research. Her journey into microbiome science began through gastroenterology, biologic therapies, recurrent C. difficile, and a fundamental question: if changing the gut can change disease, what exactly are we changing? The conversation explores fecal microbiota transplantation, stool testing, Bifidobacteria, gut-brain signaling, autism, Alzheimer's disease, long COVID, Crohn's disease, probiotics, microbiome compatibility, and the challenge of studying a biological ecosystem that may be far more individualized than medicine once assumed. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Hazan repeatedly emphasizes that much of this work is still research in progress, and she frames several of her observations as hypotheses that need further replication rather than settled clinical conclusions. Key Topics Covered Why Dr. Hazan began studying the microbiomeHer background in gastroenterology and clinical trialsCrohn's disease and biologic therapiesFecal microbiota transplantationRecurrent C. difficileWhy microbiome testing needs validation and standardizationThe limitations of commercial stool testingCAP and CLIA laboratory standardsWhy FMT may require donor-recipient compatibilityWhy stool should not be treated like a one-size-fits-all productBifidobacteria and healthy agingBifidobacteria and immune functionThe gut-brain axisAutism and microbiome researchAlzheimer's disease and gut microbial patternsLong COVID and microbiome changesCrohn's disease and intestinal inflammationCalprotectin and mucosal healthProbiotics and product-label accuracyWhy “more treatment” is not always better for the microbiomeAntibiotics and microbial shiftsNutraceuticals and microbiome researchLight, sound, frequency, and environmental exposures as emerging research areasWhy microbiome restoration may take many monthsThe need for longitudinal testing and follow-up In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why Dr. Hazan believes the microbiome should be studied as an ecosystem rather than treated as a single supplement target ✅ How her early work with FMT made her question whether every donor sample is appropriate for every patient ✅ Why she believes microbiome compatibility may eventually matter in a way similar to blood-transfusion compatibility ✅ Why stool tests should be reproducible before clinicians base treatment decisions on them ✅ How Bifidobacteria became one of the central organisms in her research ✅ What she has observed in research involving autism, Alzheimer's disease, long COVID, Crohn's disease, and other conditions ✅ Why the gut-brain relationship may involve both loss of beneficial microbes and overgrowth of other organisms ✅ Why she cautions against repeatedly adding antibiotics, antifungals, probiotics, or other interventions without understanding what they are doing to the microbial ecosystem ✅ Why microbiome improvement may require long-term monitoring rather than one short intervention Resources & Links 🌐 Dr. Sabine Hazan: https://sabinehazanmd.com/ 🧬 ProgenaBiome: https://progenabiome.com/ 🔬 Microbiome Research Foundation: https://microbiomeresearchfoundation.org/ 📘 Let's Talk Sh!t By Dr. Sabine Hazan Dr. Hazan notes that ProgenaBiome's stool testing is conducted within research protocols and cautions that participants should not treat research sequencing results as direct treatment instructions. Connect With Dr. Sabine Hazan 🌐 Official Website: https://sabinehazanmd.com/ 🧬 Research & ProgenaBiome: https://progenabiome.com/ 🔬 Microbiome Research Foundation: https://microbiomeresearchfoundation.org/ Dr. Hazan also shares research updates through social platforms including X and Instagram. Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health solo minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his ongoing series asking: Why are you still sick? Why are you stuck? Why aren’t you healing the way you expected? This time, he focuses on a less-discussed source of inflammation: endotoxins, also known as lipopolysaccharides or LPS. Dr. Hartman explains that LPS comes from the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. These bacterial products can become relevant through environmental exposure, especially in damp or water-damaged buildings, but also through the gut when intestinal permeability allows bacterial components to interact more directly with the immune system. For people dealing with brain fog, bloating, autoimmune issues, SIBO, chronic inflammation, or lingering symptoms despite treating mold, Lyme disease, MCAS, and other conditions, Dr. Hartman suggests that endotoxin exposure may be another piece worth investigating. Key Topics Covered What endotoxins areLipopolysaccharide, or LPSGram-negative bacteriaEnvironmental endotoxin exposureWater-damaged buildingsActinomycetes and bacterial contaminationChronic Inflammatory Response SyndromeGut-derived endotoxinsIntestinal permeability and “leaky gut”SIBO and bacterial overgrowthImmune activationSystemic inflammatory responseBrain fog and neurological symptomsAutoimmune diseasePANS and PANDASMold and biotoxin illnessButyrate and gut healthActivated charcoal as a binder discussed in the episodeOral IgGBPC-157Testing for immune responses to endotoxinsWhy gut testing may reveal overlooked drivers of inflammation In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ What endotoxins are and where they come from ✅ Why Dr. Hartman distinguishes mold exposure from other components of water-damaged buildings ✅ How gram-negative bacteria can contribute LPS to the environment and the gastrointestinal tract ✅ Why intestinal permeability may allow bacterial products to interact with the immune system ✅ How endotoxin exposure may overlap with inflammatory symptoms such as brain fog, bloating, immune activation, and autoimmunity ✅ Why SIBO can involve more than gas and bloating ✅ How Dr. Hartman connects endotoxins with inflammatory pathways he first encountered in hospital medicine ✅ What testing approaches he considers when evaluating possible endotoxin-related immune activation ✅ Which supportive strategies he discusses for reducing exposure and addressing the gut Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ What if healthy aging is influenced not only by the number of birthdays you’ve celebrated, but also by the ecosystem living inside your gut? In this insightful episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Julia Malkowski, ND, DC, a naturopathic doctor, doctor of chiropractic medicine, and clinical educator at Doctor’s Data whose work focuses on the gut microbiome and functional diagnostics. Dr. Malkowski’s path into medicine began with a deeply personal experience. When her infant son developed a persistent skin rash, she sought answers beyond the explanations she had been given. She shares how seeing his skin improve after a dietary change redirected her career and inspired her to pursue naturopathic medicine. Today, that same curiosity shapes her work exploring “biome aging”—the idea that changes in the gut microbiome may offer insight into biological aging and health across the lifespan. Together, she and Dr. Hartman discuss microbiome diversity, inflammation, estrogen metabolism, perimenopause, menopause, GLP-1 medications, intestinal barrier function, and the influence of food and environmental exposures. The conversation ultimately returns to a practical message: supporting gut health begins with everyday foundations. From greens, beans, and berries to movement and time outdoors, Dr. Malkowski shares the habits she prioritizes before reaching for more complex interventions. Key Topics Covered The personal experience that led Dr. Julia Malkowski into naturopathic medicineWhat she means by “biome aging” and the gut’s biological clockMicrobiome diversity and changes across the lifespanGut health, inflammation, telomeres, and epigenetic aging clocksWhy perimenopause is an important transition in her approach to gut healthThe estrobolome, estrogen metabolism, and beta-glucuronidaseMenopause-associated changes in cholesterol and metabolic healthFiber as a foundation for feeding the gut microbiomeNaturally produced GLP-1 versus GLP-1 medicationsWhy nutrition quality still matters when appetite decreases on GLP-1 therapyFiber, polyphenols, and maintaining beneficial gut bacteriaKeystone microbes, including Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Faecalibacterium prausnitziiAkkermansia muciniphila and its role in the gut ecosystemShort-chain fatty acids and how microbes support one anotherWhat microbiome testing can reveal—and why repeat results need contextIntestinal permeability, zonulin, tight junctions, aging, and stressThe speakers’ clinical experiences and research questions involving peptidesQuestions about food additives, environmental exposures, and gut healthDr. Malkowski’s research comparing microbiome patterns across regionsEarly-life microbiome development, birth mode, and maternal influencesSimple food priorities: greens, beans, and berriesMovement, outdoor exposure, and social connectionVitamin D, turmeric, olive oil, and individualized probiotic considerationsGI360 stool testing and interpreting findings with a qualified clinician In This Episode, You Will Learn How her son’s health experience changed Dr. Malkowski’s career and approach to medicineWhat she means by a gut microbiome’s “age,” and why she pays attention to diversity rather than chronological age aloneHow she connects estrogen metabolism, microbial diversity, and intestinal barrier function when thinking about perimenopause and menopauseWhy she emphasizes feeding the microbiome with fiber and polyphenol-rich foods during a GLP-1 medication journey—not focusing only on protein or reduced appetiteHow thinking about the microbiome as an interconnected ecosystem changes the conversation about individual bacteria and probioticsWhy microbiome test results are a snapshot, and how diet and consistency matter when interpreting repeat testingWhy she considers intestinal barrier function and individual tolerance before assuming a probiotic is the right next stepHow greens, beans, berries, movement, and time outdoors fit into her practical approach to supporting gut healthWhat functional stool testing can contribute to a conversation with your clinician, and why results need to be considered alongside symptoms and medical history Resources & Links Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Connect With Dr. Julia Malkowski Professional Website – Doctor’s Data: doctorsdata.com Instagram: @drjuliamalkowski LinkedIn: Connect With Dr. Julia Malkowski Facebook: Dr. Julia Malkowski Modern Human Podcast – Instagram & Updates: @themodernhumanpodcast Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health solo minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues asking the question at the center of this series: Why are you still sick? Why are you stuck even after addressing Lyme disease, mold, MCAS, gut dysfunction, nervous-system dysregulation, and other potential drivers? This time, Dr. Hartman looks at something much more fundamental: Are you actually getting—and using—the nutrients your cells need? He explores thiamine, or vitamin B1, deficiency, including the possibility of milder functional deficiencies that may not resemble classic severe beriberi but could still overlap with symptoms such as fatigue, neurological complaints, dysautonomia, and POTS. He then expands the conversation to a larger concept: high-calorie malnutrition, where someone may consume plenty of calories while still being deficient in vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients required for normal cellular energy production. For Dr. Hartman, this raises another important possibility for people who have made progress but still feel stuck: What if part of the problem is not another disease—but a body that simply does not have enough of the raw materials it needs to function well? Key Topics Covered Why nutrient deficiencies may be overlooked in chronic illnessThiamine, or vitamin B1, deficiencyFunctional versus severe nutrient deficiencyWet and dry beriberiThiamine and neurological functionThiamine and cardiovascular functionDysautonomia and POTSChronic fatigue and fibromyalgiaMitochondrial dysfunctionCellular energy productionWhy some patients may respond to B1 supplementationThe concept of high-calorie malnutritionProcessed food and micronutrient densityB-vitamin deficienciesMagnesium and potassiumVitamin DOmega-3 fatty acidsMicronutrients and the Krebs cycleWhy calories alone do not equal nutritionFood fortification and nutrient loss from food processingIV vitamin C and the additional nutrients often included with itB-complex vitaminsNutrient testing in complex chronic illnessWhy rebuilding nutrient status may take timeReturning to foundational nutrition and real food In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why Dr. Hartman routinely evaluates thiamine and other nutrient levels in complex patients ✅ How vitamin B1 deficiency can affect the nervous system, cardiovascular system, and energy production ✅ Why some symptoms associated with POTS, dysautonomia, chronic fatigue, and neurological dysfunction may prompt him to consider nutrient status ✅ What Dr. Hartman means by high-calorie malnutrition ✅ How someone can eat plenty of food while still lacking essential vitamins and minerals ✅ Why heavily processed carbohydrates may increase metabolic demand while providing fewer of the micronutrients needed to process them ✅ Why mitochondria require multiple vitamins and minerals to efficiently produce cellular energy ✅ Why feeling better after a multivitamin, B-complex, or nutrient replacement may sometimes provide an important clue ✅ Why improving one nutrient may not be enough if several deficiencies are present ✅ Why Dr. Hartman keeps returning to the same foundational recommendation: eat real, nutrient-dense food Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ What if cancer is not simply an isolated enemy to attack, but also a signal to look more closely at the terrain in which disease developed? In this powerful episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Nasha Winters, ND, FABNO, L.Ac, Dipl.OM, a naturopathic doctor and Fellow of the American Board of Naturopathic Oncology whose work focuses on metabolic and integrative oncology. Dr. Winters’ interest in cancer is deeply personal. At just 19 years old, after years of unexplained health problems, she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer involving multiple areas of her body and was told she may have only months to live. That experience ultimately redirected her education, clinical career, and understanding of health. Pasted text(20261018-195841) More than three decades later, she shares how that diagnosis changed the way she thinks about cancer, trauma, metabolism, environmental exposures, mitochondria, hormones, and the relationship between a person's biography and biology. Key Topics Covered Dr. Nasha Winters’ stage IV ovarian cancer diagnosis at age 19Why her early symptoms were repeatedly attributed to existing diagnosesWhat changed when one physician recognized that something was differentHer prognosis and the moment she decided she wanted to understand cancer rather than simply “fight” itThe unexpected experiences she believes influenced her early survivalFasting and metabolic stress in cancerChildhood trauma and the Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACE, frameworkBig-T and little-T traumaEMDR and trauma processingPsychedelic experiences and confronting mortalityPsychoneuroimmunologyThe relationship between emotions, stress, nervous-system signaling, and physical healthCancer as a disease of the individual “terrain”Environmental exposures and the exposomeMitochondrial healthMetabolic dysfunction and cancerInsulin and growth signalingHormone metabolismIntegrative approaches to prostate cancerIntegrative considerations in breast cancerColon cancer and the rising burden of cancer in younger adultsWhy Dr. Winters believes patients should understand their individual terrainHow integrative oncology can work alongside conventional cancer careWhy patients may have more influence over their health than they realize In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ How Dr. Winters went from a 19-year-old pre-med student with advanced cancer to spending decades studying integrative and metabolic oncology ✅ Why finally having someone believe that “something is different” was an important moment in her diagnosis ✅ How childhood experiences and unresolved trauma became part of the way she understood her own illness ✅ Why she considers metabolic health, immune function, nervous-system regulation, environmental exposures, and emotional health together rather than viewing cancer through one pathway ✅ What she means when she talks about a person's “terrain” ✅ Why Dr. Winters evaluates factors such as insulin signaling, hormone metabolism, environmental burden, inflammation, and mitochondrial function ✅ How she approaches different cancer types through an individualized lens rather than assuming every person with the same diagnosis has the same underlying terrain ✅ Why she believes conventional oncology and integrative oncology do not need to exist in opposition ✅ How patients can begin learning about their own health patterns even before facing a cancer diagnosis Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Connect With Dr. Nasha Winters 🌐 Website: https://drnasha.com/ 🎙️ Podcast: Tend the Terrain Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health solo minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his ongoing series asking a deceptively simple question: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem stuck even after you’ve addressed so many other pieces? After years of working with patients dealing with mold illness, Lyme disease, autoimmune issues, gut dysfunction, SIBO, hormonal problems, brain fog, mast-cell activation, and other complex conditions, Dr. Hartman says one pattern increasingly stands out: the nervous system itself may remain dysregulated even after other contributors have been addressed. Pasted text This episode explores what he calls a nervous-system triad involving limbic-system dysregulation, mast-cell activation, and vagal dysfunction, along with trauma, multiple chemical sensitivity, the “cell danger response,” and why some patients paradoxically feel worse when given treatments that seem biochemically appropriate. Pasted text The central idea is not that chronic illness is “all in your head.” It is almost the opposite: your brain, nervous system, immune system, mitochondria, and stress-response pathways may all be communicating with one another—and sometimes the body has difficulty returning to a state that feels safe enough for recovery. Key Topics Covered Why nervous-system dysregulation may keep some chronically ill patients feeling stuckWhy “it’s all in your head” can be a damaging oversimplificationBig-T trauma, little-T trauma, and healthcare-related traumaLimbic-system hypervigilanceThe amygdala, memory, emotion, and threat perceptionMultiple Chemical Sensitivity and TILTMast Cell Activation Syndrome as part of the nervous-system pictureVagal dysfunction and autonomic regulationFight, flight, freeze, shutdown, and overwhelmPolyvagal concepts discussed in the episodeChronic stress and the body’s sense of safetyThe “cell danger response” frameworkMitochondria and inflammatory signalingWhy some patients feel worse from supplements or detoxification protocolsReactions to glutathione, methyl donors, and other treatments discussed in the episodeBrain retraining and nervous-system regulationEMDR, somatic therapy, parts work, breathwork, and tappingWhy trauma work may sometimes need to happen earlier in the healing processWhy foundational work involving stress, sleep, environment, and nervous-system regulation still matters In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why Dr. Hartman believes nervous-system dysregulation can remain even after mold, Lyme, gut, hormonal, or autoimmune contributors have been addressed ✅ How limbic hypervigilance may lower the threshold at which the body perceives something as threatening ✅ Why sensitivities to foods, fragrances, chemicals, detergents, supplements, or capsule ingredients may sometimes occur alongside nervous-system dysregulation ✅ How vagal dysfunction may influence patterns of shutdown, overwhelm, autonomic symptoms, and recovery ✅ Why trauma does not have to mean one catastrophic event ✅ How illness itself—and even difficult experiences within the healthcare system—can become physiologically stressful ✅ Why some patients can react poorly to treatments that appear “correct” on paper ✅ Why Dr. Hartman increasingly considers nervous-system work alongside detoxification, infection treatment, nutrition, and other functional-medicine strategies Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this deeply personal episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Efrat “Dr. E” LaMandre, a family nurse practitioner, PhD in Integrative Medicine, host of the Medical Disruptor podcast, and a leading voice on medical gaslighting. What begins as a conversation about why patients feel dismissed when their tests come back “normal” becomes something much more personal. Dr. E shares that she was recently diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer after months of back pain that she repeatedly minimized herself. The experience transformed her from a clinician who teaches patient advocacy into a patient navigating the healthcare system firsthand. Pasted text Together, Dr. Hartman and Dr. E explore a rarely discussed side of medical gaslighting: the ways patients can begin gaslighting themselves. We may apologize for taking a clinician’s time, downplay symptoms, assume normal tests mean nothing is wrong, or ignore the internal sense that something has changed. Their message is not to reject conventional medicine. It is to understand what each clinician can and cannot provide, continue investigating when symptoms persist, and build a healthcare team capable of looking at the whole picture. Key Topics Covered What medical gaslighting actually meansWhy normal laboratory results do not automatically mean a patient feels wellWhy patients may feel dismissed even by well-intentioned cliniciansPopulations most affected by medical gaslightingWhy women may be especially likely to minimize their symptomsFatigue, migrating pain, unusual sensations, and GI complaints that can be difficult to fit into conventional diagnostic categoriesThe habit of “pre-apologizing” before describing symptomsHow patients learn to become “good patients”Why people sometimes trust test results more than their own bodily experienceIntuition as a form of pattern recognitionThe importance of knowing when something is different from your normalWhy self-advocacy does not mean rejecting doctorsUnderstanding the limitations of individual medical specialtiesWhy conventional testing still mattersHow to build a multidisciplinary healthcare teamChoosing clinicians and researchers over unqualified health adviceAvoiding overwhelm when facing a complex diagnosisWhy healing plans may need to be implemented graduallyThe emotional and mental challenges of serious and chronic illnessHope, family, purpose, and continuing to move forward In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ What medical gaslighting can look like even when the clinician has good intentions ✅ Why being told “your tests are normal” should not automatically end the conversation when symptoms persist ✅ How patients can unknowingly participate in their own medical gaslighting by dismissing or minimizing what they feel ✅ Why Dr. E now tells patients to get concerning symptoms checked instead of talking themselves out of evaluation ✅ Why self-advocacy is not the same as being confrontational or distrustful of medicine ✅ How intuition can reflect years of subconscious pattern recognition ✅ Why every specialist has a particular role—and why complex health problems may require an entire team ✅ How to decide whose medical advice deserves your attention when everyone around you has an opinion ✅ Why you do not have to make every lifestyle or treatment change at once ✅ What becoming a patient taught Dr. E about exhaustion, uncertainty, hope, and the emotional burden of illness Connect With Dr. Efrat LaMandre 🌐 Website: https://www.drefratlamandre.com/ 🎙️ Medical Disruptor Podcast: https://www.drefratlamandre.com/e-podcasts Dr. E shares additional education and updates under Dr. Efrat LaMandre across her social platforms. Her official website describes the Medical Disruptor podcast as a show featuring credentialed clinicians who examine the limits of conventional care while exploring integrative solutions. Dr E. Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues exploring an important question: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem unable to get back into a healing state? This time, he focuses on dysautonomia and POTS—Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome—conditions involving dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system, which helps regulate processes such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, digestion, sleep, and the body's response to stress. Pasted text For some people, the signs are dramatic. For others, they can be subtle: feeling lightheaded when standing, experiencing a racing or pounding heart seemingly out of nowhere, waking suddenly at night, struggling with brain fog, cold hands and feet, unusual skin color changes, temperature intolerance, or simply feeling significantly better after fluids, electrolytes, compression, or time spent calming the nervous system. Pasted text Dr. Hartman explains why dysautonomia can easily become one more overlooked layer in complex chronic illness—and why identifying what originally disrupted the nervous system may be just as important as identifying POTS itself. Key Topics Covered What dysautonomia meansWhat POTS is and how it relates to dysautonomiaThe sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systemsLightheadedness and dizziness after standingHeart racing and unexplained palpitationsBrain fog and difficulty thinkingWaking at night with a racing heartCold hands and feetChanges in skin color and circulationProblems regulating body temperatureSleep, mood, hormonal, and gastrointestinal symptomsWhy mild dysautonomia may be overlookedFluids and electrolytesCompression garmentsNervous-system regulationDysautonomia after concussion or head injuryLong COVID and post-infectious dysautonomiaLyme disease and nervous-system dysfunctionHypermobility and POTSMast Cell Activation SyndromeAutoimmune and gastrointestinal overlapWhy the patient's history can guide treatmentThe NASA Lean TestPhysical examination findings Dr. Hartman considersWhy treating the underlying trigger matters In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why POTS is only one form within the broader category of dysautonomia ✅ How autonomic nervous-system dysfunction can affect much more than heart rate and blood pressure ✅ Why symptoms may sometimes resemble anxiety or panic ✅ Why someone can have significant autonomic symptoms without fitting a textbook presentation ✅ How POTS and dysautonomia may overlap with hypermobility, mast-cell activation, mold illness, Lyme disease, autoimmune issues, gut problems, and post-infectious conditions ✅ Why Dr. Hartman asks when the symptoms started and what happened around that time ✅ How concussion, illness, trauma, infection, or other physiological stressors may become part of the clinical timeline ✅ Why fluids, electrolytes, compression, strengthening, and nervous-system regulation may become part of an individualized approach ✅ How the NASA Lean Test can help collect heart-rate and blood-pressure information over time Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this special episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman shares the deeply personal story behind his journey from conventional family medicine into integrative and functional medicine—and why Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine exists today. The turning point began with his daughter, Anna. When Dr. Hartman and his wife began caring for Anna, who had cerebral palsy and significant medical needs, they quickly found themselves questioning recommendations from specialists. One of the earliest moments involved a recommendation for a feeding tube because Anna was considered extremely small on a standard growth chart. Dr. Hartman and his wife declined, believing there might be another path. Months later, they discovered a growth chart specifically for children with cerebral palsy—and Anna was right in the middle of the expected range. Pasted text That experience fundamentally changed how Dr. Hartman viewed expertise, medical decision-making, and the importance of looking at the right frame of reference for the individual patient. From there, his family continued exploring alternatives when standard medicine seemed to offer only procedures, medications, or surgery. Their search took them into nutrition, genetics, advanced gut testing, functional neurology, rehabilitation technologies, neuromodulation, and other approaches that were often being used elsewhere long before they became familiar in mainstream American medicine. Pasted text Today, Anna continues to make progress far beyond what her family was originally told to expect. Dr. Hartman shares how that experience shaped not only his life as a father but also his identity as a physician, researcher, and lifelong student of medicine. Pasted text Key Topics Covered How Dr. Hartman originally entered medicineThe difference between learning medicine and truly learning how to healHow adopting Anna changed his personal and professional lifeRaising a child with cerebral palsy and significant medical needsWhy his family began questioning specialist recommendationsAnna’s feeding-tube recommendation and the importance of the correct clinical reference pointWhy medical experts can sometimes be wrongMedical gaslighting and families with special-needs childrenLooking beyond one-size-fits-all treatmentWhy function mattered more than appearance in Anna’s careExploring nutrition, genetics, gut health, and functional neurologyTechnologies and therapies used in neurological rehabilitationWhy Dr. Hartman became increasingly interested in root-cause medicineHis transition from traditional family medicine into functional medicineThe role of clinical research in shaping his thinkingIFM, integrative medicine, functional medicine, and advanced trainingLearning about mold, CIRS, mast-cell activation, and hypermobilityHow his understanding of chronic illness evolved over timeWhy short conventional appointments were not enough for complex patientsThe creation of Richmond Integrative & Functional MedicineWhy complex patients need time, curiosity, and individualized careMoving the practice to a fully functional-medicine modelThe role of faith, family, persistence, and continuing educationDr. Hartman’s vision for the future of personalized medicine In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why caring for his daughter became the biggest turning point in Dr. Hartman’s medical career ✅ How using the wrong clinical reference point almost led Anna toward an unnecessary feeding tube ✅ Why Dr. Hartman began questioning the idea that specialists always have the complete answer ✅ How parenting children with complex health needs pushed him to investigate nutrition, genetics, neurology, and rehabilitation more deeply ✅ Why functional medicine appealed to him as a way of asking “Why?” rather than only treating the diagnosis ✅ How research helped him recognize that many “new” therapies are often built on decades of previous science ✅ Why conditions such as mold illness, mast-cell activation, hypermobility, and complex chronic illness required him to keep expanding his training ✅ Why he eventually realized complex patients needed much more than a 10- or 12-minute appointment ✅ How Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine grew from a personal family journey into a practice serving patients with complex chronic conditions Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues exploring the question at the center of this series: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem stuck even after addressing so many other pieces? This time, he turns to something that connects nearly every structure in the body but often receives far less attention: fascia and connective tissue. Dr. Hartman explains that fascia helps support organs, tissues, joints, nerves, and other structures throughout the body. For people with hypermobility, those tissues may be more lax or stretchy, which he believes can influence everything from joint stability and pain to nervous-system activation and complex chronic illness. Pasted text And hypermobility doesn't always mean someone can still perform obvious “double-jointed” tricks. Dr. Hartman explains that people who were very flexible when younger may become increasingly tight and painful as they age because the surrounding fascia can stiffen and develop areas of restriction—even while certain joints remain hypermobile. Pasted text Key Topics Covered Why fascia and connective tissue may be an overlooked part of chronic illnessWhat hypermobility actually meansWhy hypermobility is more than being “double-jointed”The relationship between fascia and the nervous systemWhy loose connective tissue may increase sensory input to the brainHypermobility as both a potential strength and vulnerabilityWhy hypermobile people may become tighter with ageFascia, pain, and nervous-system activationEhlers-Danlos syndrome versus the broader hypermobility spectrumThe Pentad Super Syndrome discussed by Dr. HartmanHypermobility and Mast Cell Activation SyndromeHypermobility and POTS/dysautonomiaGastrointestinal issues and connective tissueAutoimmune conditions and hypermobilityAssociations with ADHD, autism, OCD, and other neuropsychiatric conditions discussed in the episodeBruising, bleeding, joint instability, and sports injuriesNutrition and connective-tissue repairProtein and collagenVitamin C and collagen productionTrace minerals and connective-tissue healthBone broth, organ meats, and mineral-rich foodsWhy childhood flexibility history may matter in adultsThe Beighton score as a screening tool In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why connective tissue may deserve more attention when chronic symptoms aren't improving ✅ Why hypermobility affects more than just joints ✅ How Dr. Hartman connects fascia with sensory signaling and nervous-system activation ✅ Why someone can be hypermobile and still feel extremely stiff as an adult ✅ How hypermobility may overlap with POTS, dysautonomia, mast-cell activation, gastrointestinal problems, and autoimmune issues ✅ Why childhood flexibility can provide important clues even if you are no longer flexible today ✅ Why hypermobile athletes may sometimes experience repeated injuries despite being strong and highly trained ✅ Why Dr. Hartman pays particular attention to protein, collagen, vitamin C, and mineral status in hypermobile patients ✅ How the Beighton score can help identify physical signs associated with hypermobility Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman sits down with Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a leading psychologist, author, and educator, to discuss how parents and teachers can better support neurodivergent children. They explore the challenges these kids often face in traditional education systems—and why character, curiosity, and passion can matter more than grades. Dr. Capanna-Hodge highlights the value of hands-on learning, vocational training, and individualized education plans (IEPs) for fostering success. With warmth and expertise, she offers practical strategies for helping children regulate emotions, build resilience, and thrive despite stigma or misunderstanding. Through personal stories and evidence-based insights, this conversation encourages a shift toward inclusive, flexible, and strength-based approaches to learning. ✅ Show Highlights:Why traditional education can overlook neurodivergent kids’ strengthsThe role of character, curiosity, and passion in lifelong successHow vocational and hands-on learning opens doors for all learnersPractical emotional regulation strategies for childrenThe importance of early intervention and individualized education plans (IEPs)How stigma affects children’s confidence and opportunitiesBuilding inclusive environments at home and school 🎯 Some Questions We Explore:How can parents advocate for their neurodivergent child in school?What educational changes make the biggest difference for these students?How do emotional regulation skills support academic and social success?Why should we value vocational skills and creativity as much as grades?What can be done to reduce stigma in educational settings? 💡 In This Episode, You Will Learn:How to recognize and nurture a neurodivergent child’s unique strengthsActionable strategies to support focus, learning, and emotional well-beingWhy flexibility in teaching benefits all students—not just those with diagnosesHow to partner with schools to create effective IEPs and supportsResources to help parents and educators stay informed and empowered 🌐 Resources & Links:Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge – Official Website: drroseann.comDr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.comYouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch HereLinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 🎧 Closing Call to Action:👉 Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or advocate, this episode will help you see and support neurodivergent children in a new light. Subscribe to Made for Health and share this episode to spread awareness and foster more inclusive communities. Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series exploring one central question: Why are you still sick? Maybe you've gone from provider to provider. You've received pieces of the answer, tried different treatments, and improved somewhat—but your body still feels stuck. One condition Dr. Hartman believes can sometimes sit underneath that complicated picture is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, or MCAS. Mast cells are part of the immune system and are found throughout the body, including tissues associated with the skin, gastrointestinal tract, bladder, blood vessels, and nerves. Because of that widespread distribution, mast-cell activation can potentially produce symptoms across multiple systems rather than creating one simple or predictable symptom pattern. Dr. Hartman discusses symptoms such as rashes, hives, food and chemical sensitivities, reactions to supplements, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal problems, brain fog, and fatigue. He also explains why MCAS can overlap with conditions such as mold illness, Lyme disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, nervous-system dysregulation, and other complex chronic health problems. Key Topics Covered Why Mast Cell Activation Syndrome may be overlookedHow mast cells interact with the immune systemSkin symptoms, hives, and rashesFood, chemical, fragrance, and supplement sensitivitiesPalpitations and rapid heart rateDiarrhea, constipation, and gastrointestinal symptomsBrain fog and chronic fatigueWhy MCAS can resemble many other chronic illnessesMast cells and neurological symptomsInterstitial cystitis and other less obvious presentationsThe overlap between MCAS, Lyme disease, and mold exposureWhy some highly sensitive patients may need mast cells stabilized firstChallenges surrounding laboratory testing for mast-cell mediatorsHistamine, prostaglandin D2, and tryptase testing discussed in the episodeWhy sample handling may influence test resultsClinical criteria and treatment-response trialsIdentifying the trigger behind mast-cell activationStress and nervous-system activationFood and environmental chemical triggersMold and Lyme diseaseSIBO and gastrointestinal triggersHormonal shifts, menstrual cycles, and menopauseConcussion, infections, travel-related illness, COVID, and other possible triggering eventsWhy understanding when symptoms began can provide important clues In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why Mast Cell Activation Syndrome can produce symptoms throughout multiple body systems ✅ Why someone with MCAS may become unusually reactive to foods, chemicals, fragrances, or supplements ✅ How mast-cell activation may overlap with Lyme disease, mold exposure, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, and nervous-system symptoms ✅ Why laboratory testing for mast-cell mediators can sometimes be difficult ✅ Why Dr. Hartman also relies on clinical history, symptom patterns, and response to treatment when evaluating suspected mast-cell activation ✅ Why calming mast-cell symptoms may sometimes need to happen before aggressively addressing mold, Lyme, or another underlying trigger ✅ Why improving symptoms is not necessarily the same as identifying the root cause ✅ How stress, infections, environmental exposure, gut dysfunction, and hormonal changes may potentially trigger mast-cell activation ✅ Why asking “When did this begin?” can be one of the most useful questions in a complicated chronic illness case Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine 🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/ 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle 📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings new routines, new exposures, and new challenges for the whole family. Support your family this school year with targeted nutritional support designed with whole-person health in mind. Get 25% Off the Back-to-School Bundle In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes back Dr. Neil Nathan, a pioneer in integrative and functional medicine with more than five decades of medical experience. Dr. Nathan has spent much of his career working with the patients other practitioners struggled to understand—people living with complex chronic illness, mold toxicity, Lyme disease, multiple chemical sensitivities, chronic fatigue, and increasingly reactive nervous and immune systems. Their conversation centers on a question that both physicians encounter regularly: Why do some patients improve to a certain point and then stop getting better? For Dr. Nathan, the answer often requires looking beyond a single diagnosis or treatment protocol. A patient may have already addressed mold, Lyme disease, gut health, autoimmune issues, or nutritional deficiencies and still feel stuck. At that point, he believes healing may require exploring the neurological, emotional, energetic, and spiritual dimensions of illness alongside the physical ones. The discussion also dives into the growing population of highly sensitive patients—people who may react to light, sound, touch, fragrances, foods, supplements, medications, or electromagnetic exposures. Dr. Nathan explains why these reactions should not simply be dismissed as psychological and explores how the limbic system, vagal system, immune system, and mast cells can become interconnected in chronic illness. Key Topics CoveredWhy complex chronic illness appears increasingly difficult to treatWhat Dr. Nathan means by a “sensitive patient”Sensitivity to light, sound, touch, fragrances, foods, supplements, and environmental exposuresMold toxicity and Lyme disease in complex chronic illnessEnvironmental chemicals and the cumulative burden of exposureDr. Nathan’s clinical perspective on electromagnetic field sensitivityWhy some patients improve 50–60% and then become stuckEmotional, energetic, spiritual, and physical blockages to healingTrauma and neurological hypervigilanceBig-T trauma versus accumulated smaller stressorsThe limbic system and the brain’s threat-detection responseVagal dysfunction and autonomic nervous system symptomsPOTS, gastrointestinal symptoms, palpitations, and dysautonomiaMast Cell Activation SyndromeThe connection between the nervous and immune systemsMold, mast cells, and hypermobilityCranio-cervical instability and the “spiky-leaky” concept discussed in the episodeThiamine deficiency and mitochondrial functionVitamin B1 and autonomic nervous-system healthOxalates as a potential source of inflammationWhy dietary changes sometimes need to happen graduallySSRI and benzodiazepine withdrawal in sensitive patientsWhy medication tapering needs to be individualized and medically supervisedWhy Dr. Nathan refuses to use a one-size-fits-all mold-treatment algorithmThe importance of truly personalized medicine In This Episode, You Will Learn✅ Why Dr. Nathan believes some of today’s chronic illness patients are becoming increasingly sensitive and complex ✅ What distinguishes a sensitive patient from someone dealing with a single isolated condition ✅ Why mold, Lyme disease, environmental exposures, and immune dysfunction may overlap rather than exist as completely separate problems ✅ How trauma and chronic stress can contribute to a nervous system that remains hypervigilant long after the original stressor has passed ✅ Why the limbic system, vagal system, and mast cells may need to be addressed together in highly sensitive patients ✅ How autonomic dysfunction can contribute to symptoms involving digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, fatigue, and other body systems ✅ Why neurological sensitivity is different from simply labeling symptoms as psychological ✅ Why thiamine may deserve consideration when mitochondrial and autonomic function are impaired ✅ How oxalates can become another source of irritation and inflammation for certain individuals ✅ Why suddenly making major dietary changes may sometimes worsen symptoms in highly sensitive patients ✅ Why antidepressants and benzodiazepines should not be abruptly discontinued and why tapering needs to be individualized with the prescribing clinician ✅ Why the most sensitive patients often require treatment to move slower, not faster Resources & Links: 🌐 Dr. Aaron Hartman – Richmond Functional Medicine: richmondfunctionalmedicine.com 🌐 LinkedIn – Dr. Aaron Hartman: Connect Here 📺 YouTube – Richmond Functional Medicine: Watch Here 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season brings changing routines, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this Made for Health minisode, Dr. Aaron Hartman continues his series exploring an important question: Why are you still sick? Why does your body seem stuck even after you’ve tried so many things? This time, he turns his attention to Lyme disease—an infection that can present in different ways and may sometimes enter the differential diagnosis when people are dealing with persistent fatigue, body pain, migrating joint or muscle symptoms, neurological complaints, or other unexplained problems. Dr. Hartman shares examples from his clinical experience, including patients with symptoms such as chronic fatigue, widespread pain, Bell’s palsy, sciatica, and foot drop. His broader message is that when a patient’s symptoms do not fit neatly into the expected picture, clinicians may need to take another look at the history, exposure risk, symptom pattern, and appropriate testing rather than relying on one isolated result. He also discusses the challenges surrounding Lyme disease testing, including antibody testing, Western blot testing, immunoblot testing, and symptom-based clinical evaluation. Current CDC guidance recommends a two-step, FDA-cleared serologic testing process and notes that antibody tests can be falsely negative during the first several weeks after infection. IDSA guidelines also recognize that a classic erythema migrans rash can be diagnosed clinically without laboratory testing. Key Topics Covered Why Lyme disease may be considered when someone remains chronically unwellPersistent fatigue, body aches, and migrating painNeurological presentations discussed in the episodeLyme disease and Bell’s palsyDr. Hartman’s clinical experiences with unusual symptom patternsWhy timing matters with Lyme antibody testingStandard two-tier Lyme disease testingWestern blot and immunoblot testingThe limits of relying on a single laboratory resultThe importance of symptoms, history, and possible tick exposureDr. Hartman’s approach when clinical suspicion remains highThe MSIDS questionnaire discussed in the episodeWhy chronic illness may involve more than one contributing factorWhen a deeper evaluation may be appropriateContinuing the search for overlooked contributors when someone feels “stuck” In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why Dr. Hartman considers Lyme disease in some patients with persistent or unusual symptoms ✅ Why Lyme disease does not always present in exactly the same way ✅ How symptoms such as fatigue, migrating pain, and certain neurological complaints may prompt further evaluation ✅ Why the timing of antibody testing can affect results ✅ How standard Lyme testing generally uses a two-step serologic process ✅ Why Dr. Hartman emphasizes looking at the whole clinical picture, rather than interpreting one test result in isolation ✅ How he approaches situations in which symptoms and previous testing appear not to match ✅ Why finding Lyme disease does not necessarily mean it is the only factor affecting a person’s recovery Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine 🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/ 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle 📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents

🎒 Back-to-school season can bring changing routines, increased stress, new exposures, and added demands on the whole family. Support your family’s health this season with Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine’s Back-to-School 2026 resources. Back-to-School 2026: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/lp/back-to-school-2026/ In this episode of Made for Health, Dr. Aaron Hartman welcomes back Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a leading expert in emotional and behavioral dysregulation with more than 30 years of experience helping children and families. Their conversation explores what happens when the nervous system becomes chronically overwhelmed—and why addressing behavior alone may miss what is actually driving a child’s struggles. Dr. Roseann explains dysregulation as difficulty moving effectively between states of stress and calm. When the nervous system’s “stress cup” keeps filling without enough opportunities to release that stress, children and adults can remain chronically activated. That activation may show up through anxiety, emotional outbursts, attention difficulties, shutdowns, impulsivity, sleep problems, or other physical and mental health challenges. Dr. Hartman and Dr. Roseann also take a close look at screen time and device dysregulation. Rather than framing technology as inherently bad, Dr. Roseann emphasizes the importance of boundaries, especially because children can have difficulty disengaging once they are deeply absorbed in stimulating digital content. The conversation then moves into the heart of Dr. Roseann’s work: helping families regulate the nervous system first. Nutrition, gut health, magnesium, neurofeedback, PEMF, and other tools may all have a role, but she stresses that lasting change also requires consistent daily practices that help reduce nervous-system activation and create greater capacity for stress. Key Topics Covered What emotional and nervous-system dysregulation can look like in childrenWhy people can appear highly functional while living in chronic fight, flight, or freezeThe “stress cup” and why accumulated stress mattersADHD, anxiety, OCD, PANS/PANDAS, sensory challenges, and dysregulationDevice dysregulation and screen-time boundariesWhy smartphones and short-form content can be difficult for children to disengage fromWhy simply removing one physical stressor may not fully regulate the nervous systemNutrition, magnesium, gut health, mold, and nervous-system supportBig-T trauma, little-t trauma, and chronic everyday stressSympathetic nervous-system activationWhy consistency matters more than searching for one “magic” interventionBreathwork, somatic exercises, Tai Chi, prayer, art, and other daily regulation practicesNeurofeedback, PEMF, and brain-based toolsPolyvagal theory and vagus-nerve regulationWhy parents need to regulate themselves before helping a dysregulated childCo-dysregulation versus co-regulationGenerational patterns and emotional regulation within familiesThe CALMS Dysregulation Protocol®Regulation First Parenting®Dr. Roseann’s book, The Dysregulated Kid In This Episode, You Will Learn ✅ Why dysregulation is about the nervous system’s ability to move between stress and calm ✅ Why chronic stress can affect the nervous system even when there has not been one major traumatic event ✅ Why correcting behavior may be ineffective when a child is already highly dysregulated ✅ How technology and device use can add another layer of stimulation for children ✅ Why supplements or advanced therapies alone may not replace daily nervous-system regulation ✅ How simple practices such as breathwork, movement, art, prayer, Tai Chi, and somatic exercises can become part of a daily regulation routine ✅ Why parents’ nervous systems influence their children through verbal and nonverbal cues ✅ How families can shift from co-dysregulation to co-regulation ✅ Why Dr. Roseann believes parents need to stop personalizing a child’s dysregulated behavior ✅ How the CALMS Dysregulation Protocol® gives families a practical framework for responding differently Follow Dr. Aaron Hartman and Richmond Integrative & Functional Medicine 🌐 Website: https://richmondfunctionalmedicine.com/ 🎒 Back-to-School 2026: Back-to-School Bundle 📺 YouTube: @AaronHartmanMD Mentioned in this episode: 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents 25% Off Back to School Support for Parents Back to school asks a lot of parents, too. Support your body through the season with three physician-reviewed, foundation-first essentials: Twice Daily Multi, Quercetin + Nettles, and NAC. For a limited time, save 25% on the Back to School Support Bundle. Visit the link below ⬇️ Shop the Back to School Sale Back to School Support for Parents