This week on the podcast, Tara shares a story that so many of you will relate to. A woman in her early 50s came to me after spending hundreds of dollars on functional testing - the DUTCH hormone test and the GI MAP stool test - and you know what? They offered her no real answers. She was still exhausted. Still bloated. Still not sleeping. And still stuck with zero direction on what to do next. So what went wrong? In this Episode:

00:54 - Why a 51-year-old client came to Tara after getting no answers from standard functional testing (DUTCH + GI MAP).

02:11 - Why DUTCH testing can fall flat when hormone production has already declined - and why it's not useful for many women in menopause.

04:06 - The limits of the GI MAP when gut dysfunction is mild or metabolic - and why gut symptoms don't always mean gut damage.

05:22 - How this client's low energy, low mood, and low motivation pointed to hormone and thyroid depletion - not just gut dysfunction.

11:32 - Tara's approach: rebuilding from the bottom of the pyramid up - focusing first on nutrition, minerals, hormone/thyroid support.

14:10 - Final thoughts on test interpretation, why you don't always need more data, and how to assess your next steps strategically.

Other Episodes You May Enjoy:

EPS 45: My thoughts on the DUTCH test

EPS 91: Debunking common arguments for needing to run the DUTCH test

EPS 102: Why we don't test hormones in perimenopause

EPS 112: Why we stopped using the GI MAP in my practice & how we are approaching gut testing these days

EPS 131: Should we be concerned about estrogen metabolites?

Mentioned in this episode:

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