Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
EP01: Surprising Reasons They Don’t Get Better: Key Clinical Insights for Practitioners
Most cases of recurring IBS aren’t about the gut bugs. They’re about what’s upstream and overlooked.
Why do so many patients feel better at first, only to end up right back where they started? Tracy Harrison shares the real reasons IBS, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic conditions often come roaring back. She highlights two patterns that get missed far too often: maldigestion caused by low pancreatic enzyme output (which is closely tied to blood sugar issues) and sluggish gut motility linked to subclinical hypothyroidism, vagus nerve dysfunction, or past trauma.
Tracy also breaks down how poor sleep and internal stress quietly derail healing, even when a patient’s lifestyle looks “healthy” from the outside. Is someone really sleeping well, or are they just used to feeling tired? Is their blood sugar problem coming from diet, or from the constant background noise of stress?
Tracy connects the dots between oral health, immune dysfunction, and metabolic disease, showing how inflammation in the mouth can ripple through the whole system. She explains why high-dose vitamin D can backfire, how common medications like ibuprofen or PPIs might be sabotaging progress, and what to watch for when a patient’s improvement stalls without a clear reason.
At the heart of it all is a question every practitioner needs to ask: Am I offering too much, too fast? Tracy reminds us that real change comes from partnership, not overwhelm. The smartest plan in the world won’t help if it leaves your patient behind.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Why IBS Often Recurs Despite Initial Improvements
03:20 Maldigestion, Dysmotility, and Blood Sugar Dysregulation
08:03 The Hidden Impact of Sleep and Stress on Immune and Gut Health
15:26 Overlooked Connections Between Oral Health and Metabolic Disease
17:50 The Role of Patient Engagement and Expectation-Setting in Lasting Outcomes
23:27 Risks of High-Dose Vitamin D and Common Supplement Pitfalls
26:30 Medication Use That May Be Stalling Patient Progress
Links
Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips
Learn more about SAFM's practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program
Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel
Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/
Comments (1)
To leave or reply to comments, please download free Podbean or
An exceptional presentation elucidating the myriad inter-connections at play in dysbiosis and related dysfuntions. The breadth of knowledge and clinical applications discussed is immediately compelling me to approach my client population through a different lens! How exciting to have gained so much through an introductory podcast! Much gratitude for your apparent passion and enthusiasm in bringing this information forward in such an easily accessible format! I look forward to devouring it all!
Tuesday Apr 01, 2025
To leave or reply to comments,
please download free Podbean App.