Episodes
Published 03/20/24
James Maskell’s guest on this episode is Dr. Elisa Song, a holistic pediatrician whose mission is to educate clinicians and parents alike about environmental toxicity in children and how to help children thrive by improving their health. She has written books, organized conferences and is passionate about addressing environmental toxicity.   In this episode, she discusses several sources of toxins in children and the importance of toning the vagus nerve as a strategy to improve children's...
Published 03/20/24
Guest: Zak Holdsworth, CEO of Hint Health In this Business of Functional Medicine episode, we hear from Zak Holdsworth, a leader in the health technology industry and the CEO and cofounder of Hint Health. Hint Health supports the direct primary care (DPC) movement and aims to provide affordable, high-quality health care by offering a successful alternative to the traditional fee-for-service model. Zak Holdsworth’s company offers technology solutions for DPC clinics, including...
Published 03/13/24
In this episode, Dr. Tom Guilliams rejoins the podcast to explore the complexities and misconceptions surrounding botanical medicine and how clinicians can maximize the therapeutic effects of herbs. We learn from Dr. Guilliams that clinicians using herbs should consider the role of the microbiome in terms of absorption and activation of botanical compounds. He explains that because absorption varies from person to person, a personalized approach is needed for optimal outcomes. Dr....
Published 02/21/24
In this podcast episode, James Maskell interviews Dr. Navaz Habib about the importance of the vagus nerve in healing and overall health. Dr. Habib explains that the vagus nerve plays a critical role in shifting the body from a sympathetic (fight or flight) state to a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state, which is necessary for healing. He emphasizes the importance of creating a safe and supportive environment for patients to feel connected and reduce stress. Dr. Habib also discusses the...
Published 02/14/24
James Maskell’s guest on this episode is Jeffrey Morrison, MD, whose clinical approach is to use nutrition to prevent or reverse degenerative and chronic disease. In both his clinical practice and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, he considers detoxification as a critical foundation to health. During this conversation, Dr. Morrison emphasizes that toxins in the environment are a major cause of disease and that our bodies are not...
Published 01/31/24
In this episode, James interviews Dr. Bryce Appelbaum, a neuro-optometrist. For the first time ever on the podcast, we learn about the field of functional optometry, including how it differs from traditional optometry. Dr. Appelbaum discusses the importance of vision for overall health and how vision problems can impact learning, behavior and daily life. His framework is shaped by his childhood experience with overcoming visual problems through vision therapy. He is passionate about his...
Published 01/24/24
James’ guest on this episode is Dr. Andrew Weil, the founder and leader of a fellowship program for integrative medicine through the University of Arizona. In this role and others, he has significant influence on future generations of integrative medicine practitioners. In this conversation, Dr. Weil discusses the current state of integrative medicine and his vision for the future. Integrative medicine is becoming more mainstream in the United States, with many medical schools teaching...
Published 01/17/24
In this episode, Dr. Joan Rosenberg discusses her book, 90 Seconds to A Life You Love, and the concept of living life by design. Many believe their circumstances dictate their lives; our guest asserts that one can design their life by having a vision or big goals and working towards them despite the circumstances. Dr. Rosenberg shares the importance of paying attention to how thoughts and feelings are expressed and managing emotional states effectively. She introduces the concept of the...
Published 12/27/23
In this episode, Dr. Mollie James shares her experiences during and after the pandemic. She transitioned from being a critical care physician in an ICU to providing functional and integrative medicine primary care services.   Dr. James previously had a career in surgical and critical care, which ended because she spoke publicly about providing early COVID treatments and did not receive a vaccine because she has natural immunity. She was put under investigation by a medical board for 18...
Published 12/20/23
Peter Kozlowski, MD is a functional medicine physician based in Chicago, Illinois. In this episode, we discussed the importance of detoxification and gut health in his practice. He emphasizes the need to address the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of health because they play a significant role in detoxification. Dr. Kozlowski recommends focusing on the basics of detox, such as sleep, hydration, bowel movements, and sweating, before considering more advanced testing and treatments....
Published 12/13/23
 This episode’s guest is Dr. Michelle Thompson, the medical director of the Lifestyle Medicine Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). This conversation explores how Dr. Thompson is bringing lifestyle and integrative medicine into major health systems. She began her journey practicing integrative medicine but leveraged the six pillars of lifestyle medicine to bridge the gap with conventional medicine. This hybrid path allowed her to excel at practicing in...
Published 11/29/23
Dr. Joe Pizzorno, a prominent naturopathic doctor and Board Chair at the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), joins James to discuss the unifying factors among the many channels of health medicine, which include acupuncture, naturopathic, functional, integrative, chiropractic, and Ayurvedic medicine. This conversation addresses foundational aspects of health, such as nutrition and lifestyle, that support optimal mitochondrial function for vitality. Dr. Pizzorno also shared the need for...
Published 11/01/23
ummary  Our guest, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Scott Mann is a former U.S. Army Green Beret, and he now shares his skills and experience as a storyteller, speaker, actor, playwright and leadership trainer. During this podcast episode, he joined Kristen Brokaw, our host for the Business of Functional Medicine quarterly series, to discuss the importance of emotional recovery and human connection for clinicians so they can combat burnout and build trust with patients. Scott Mann's...
Published 10/25/23
In this podcast episode, James Maskell speaks with Swathi Rao, PA-C. She is the owner of Be Well Family Care in Indianapolis, and she was featured in James’ book, The Community Cure, to showcase her successful implementation of group visits. We explored the clinical applications of vitamin K2, which range from musculoskeletal and immune health to aesthetics and longevity. Swathi also shared how her knowledge on vitamin K2 nutrient therapy has developed throughout her career, how to...
Published 10/18/23
Our podcast guest, Michael Mabry, DO, works in a fully capitated medical group in Johnson City, Tennessee. Capitation is a fee-per-patient model, which tends to promote health by incentivizing preventative medicine, chronic disease reversal and helping patients maintain their health.  Implementing group medical visits has allowed Dr. Mabry’s practice to improve patient outcomes and increase the local community’s access to lifestyle medicine. In his group visits, patients who have similar...
Published 10/11/23
This week’s podcast guest is Jonathan Jones, PhD, a plant polyphenols researcher and the Chief Scientific Officer at Monteloeder, a company that provides innovative, scientifically researched botanical ingredients by assessing the botanicals’ components, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities, and mechanisms of action. They developed a product called metabolaid®, which contains a standardized ratio of Hibiscus sabdariffa extract and lemon verbena extract to deliver active compounds,...
Published 09/27/23
Zandra Palma, MD practices what she calls “sub-diagnostic analysis and disease reversal,” which is primarily environmental medicine with a touch of functional medicine. Environmental medicine, according to our guest, looks for elegant solutions to chronic health conditions. This often means removing environmental toxins that trigger mitochondrial dysfunction.  Common environmental toxins include heavy metals, pesticides, plastics like BPA, and biotoxins like Lyme and mold—among many others....
Published 09/20/23
Our guest for this episode is Zeev E. Neuwirth, MD, an advocate for transforming healthcare delivery. He is a healthcare executive with over 15 years of clinical practice in internal medicine and another 15 years in clinical operations, quality improvement, care redesign and population health. Dr. Neuwirth is also a digital health industry advisor, podcast host and author. His most recent book released in September 2023 is called Beyond The Walls: Megatrends, Movements and Market...
Published 09/06/23
On this episode, Jon D. Kaiser, MD taught us about the mitochondrial health and chronic disease connection. Dr. Kaiser is a mitochondrial specialist with over thirty years of clinical and research experience in applying functional medicine approaches to treat complex medical conditions, including HIV/AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia and long COVID. Dr. Kaiser began his career as an HIV/AIDS specialist in San Francisco at the height of the HIV epidemic. He found that...
Published 08/23/23
This week, we address a hot and controversial topic in medicine: weight loss pharmaceuticals.  Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptides (GIP) agonists are gaining popularity for their use in treating type 2 diabetes and, in some cases, obesity. These medications stimulate insulin secretion and are shown to increase weight loss and improve blood pressure. However, significant gastrointestinal and other rare but concerning side effects make these...
Published 08/16/23
Molly Maloof, MD joins the Evolution of Medicine podcast to discuss a shared vision: connection as a critical pillar of healthcare. Dr. Maloof recently authored and released a book called The Spark Factor, which teaches readers how to personalize biohacking strategies for better energy and health. Dr. Maloof wrote portions of the book to fill the information gaps in biohacking for women, but 80% of its content is also applicable to men. If you listen to this short yet powerful episode,...
Published 08/02/23
Dan Strause is the president and CEO of Hometown Pharmacy, which is a network of 70 independent functional pharmacies across Wisconsin and Upper Michigan that deliver patient-focused care. The Hometown Pharmacy group seeks to connect prescribing clinicians with pharmacists to collaborate and achieve the goal of moving patients from pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals to food. They see a critical need for pharmacists to reconnect and work with prescribing clinicians, especially to mitigate or...
Published 07/26/23
Our guest this week on the podcast is Robert Pearl, MD, a lifestyle medicine champion and leader. He is the former CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (1999-2017), the largest United States medical group, and the former president of The Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group (2009-2017). In those two roles, he led 10,000 physicians and 38,000 staff. Currently, he cohosts a podcast and is an author, clinical professor, contributor to Forbes, and speaker. In this podcast episode, we discussed...
Published 07/19/23
Izabella Wentz, PharmD is an author and pharmacist who previously spoke on the Functional Forum and specializes in helping patients overcome thyroid dysfunction. In this episode, she joins James to talk about her personal journey with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis after years of debilitating symptoms. Her most recent book, Adrenal Transformation Protocol, was released on April 18, 2023. The book focuses on resetting the body’s stress response through targeted safety signals, and it features...
Published 07/05/23