Root Cause Revolution Podcast

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

Why Your Blood Sugar Can Look Normal and Your Metabolism Still Isn’t

“I had my labs done, and the doc says they are fine. I don’t feel fine.”

If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Fasting glucose and A1c tell you where your blood sugar landed. They don’t tell you how hard your body worked to get it there. Insulin resistance can build quietly for years while your glucose stays perfectly normal.

In this episode, Dr. Audrey walks through the physiology behind that gap, and why metabolic health is a signaling problem, not a willpower problem.

In this episode:

• Fasting glucose vs. fasting insulin, and what A1c can and can’t tell you
• Compensatory hyperinsulinemia: how your pancreas keeps glucose “normal” by working overtime
• Why insulin is a storage hormone, not just a blood sugar hormone
• Leptin resistance, ghrelin, GLP-1, and adiponectin: the hunger and satiety teeter-totter
• Why fat tissue is an active endocrine organ, and why visceral fat behaves differently
• How stressed fat cells drive chronic low-grade inflammation (metaflammation)
• What the research shows about waist size, metabolic health, and all-cause mortality
• The markers worth looking at beyond glucose
• Practical support: nutrition, protein, movement, sleep, circadian rhythm, and stress

Research mentioned:

• Tabák AG, et al. Whitehall II study. Lancet, 2009.
• Jayedi A, et al. Central fatness and risk of all-cause mortality. BMJ, 2020.
• O’Hearn M, et al. Trends in cardiometabolic health among U.S. adults. JACC, 2022.
• Weisberg SP, et al. Obesity is associated with macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue. J Clin Invest, 2003.

Want help connecting the dots?
Book a Root Cause Review We’ll go through your history, your symptoms, and any labs you already have, and you’ll leave with a personalized starter plan. No big specialty testing panel needed to get started.
👉 https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey

Next episode, Friday, November 13: The 5 Metabolic Numbers I Wish Every Woman Knew. Grab your last set of labs and bring them with you.

Have a question? Text the show, and I’ll answer listener questions at the end of the month.

Ratings and reviews are always appreciated, and they help other women find the show.

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical care. Please work with your healthcare provider before making changes to your health plan.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

Not everyone needs a parasite cleanse for everything happening in their body. In this episode, I explain why a cleanse might be part of the answer, but works best once your foundations are where they need to be. We cover the basics that get skipped, what drainage actually means, why repeating protocols can turn into symptom chasing, and when it does make sense to look at parasites specifically.

In this episode:

• Why parasites became the go-to explanation for every symptom
• The foundations to check first: nourishment, hydration, digestion, bowel regularity, sleep, stress, and recovery
• Drainage explained through your intestines, liver, kidneys, and lymph
• Why feeling better after a cleanse doesn’t tell you what helped, and why feeling worse isn’t automatically “die-off”
• The symptom patterns and exposures that call for parasite-specific testing
• Four questions to ask before you start any protocol

Resources:

• Book a Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 
• Listen to the October 9 episode on foundations and drainage: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1535428/episodes/19912311
• Cellcore  https://www.cellcore.com/pages/register-customer?code=cUbBJs73

This episode is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical care. If you have blood in your stool, fever, severe abdominal pain, signs of dehydration, or unexplained weight loss, contact your medical provider.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

5 Signs Your Immune System Is Overloaded and What to Do About It

Before you buy another immune supplement, what are you asking it to do?

Vitamin C, zinc, and elderberry can have a purpose. But if you’re frequently getting sick, struggling with digestive problems, or never quite recovering your energy, it’s worth looking at what keeps demanding more from your body and what support is missing.

In this episode, Audrey McLaughlin, Functional Health Practitioner with a background in nursing and a doctorate in Traditional Naturopathy, explores five patterns that deserve a closer look: physical signs of stress, unpredictable digestion, recurring illness, persistent inflammation, and fatigue.

You’ll learn how stress, nourishment, sleep, and recovery connect with immune function, plus practical ways to support yourself while addressing ongoing contributors. You don’t have to perfect your lifestyle before you can start feeling better.

In this episode:

• Stress that shows up physically: How the stress response can affect heart rate, blood pressure, and digestion, and why physical demands count alongside emotional stress.
• Digestive problems: Why meal timing, food tolerance, stress, and symptom history should guide your next step.
• Frequently catching illnesses: How to think about exposure, nutritional needs, vitamin C, vitamin D, and short-term zinc support.
• Persistent inflammation: Why more immune activity is not automatically the goal, and how everyday nourishment fits into support.
• Fatigue that keeps returning: Why meals, sleep quality, recovery capacity, and underlying causes need attention together.

We also discuss diaphragmatic breathing, outdoor time, targeted probiotics, and the different traditional uses of lemon balm, elderberry, and astragalus. Each tool should have an identifiable job, with realistic expectations and attention to whether it fits your situation.

A practical place to start

Choose the pattern you recognize most. Then choose one relevant supportive practice and one ongoing contributor to address alongside it. That might mean restoring regular meals while investigating persistent fatigue, or protecting sleep opportunity while reviewing nutritional needs.

Work with Audrey: Root Cause Review

Are you treating fatigue, digestive discomfort, recurring illness, and stress as separate problems?

A Root Cause Review brings your history, symptoms, daily routines, nutrition, and available labs together to help identify a personalized starting point. You’ll leave with a starter plan and clearer priorities for what to support and what may need further evaluation.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

In this episode, we’re looking at how a well-intentioned health routine can become disconnected from what your body actually needs. Daily fasting, extra cardio, and another supplement can all become habits you keep repeating without stopping to ask: Is this helping me?

We’ll also talk about the basics that can get overlooked while you’re busy researching your next protocol: sleep, stress, adequate nourishment, hydration, and recovery.

And if you’ve already addressed those foundations and still don’t feel well, we’ll explore why your symptoms deserve a closer look.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

Before you start another cleanse, let's talk about whether you're pooping, eating enough, and giving your body a chance to recover.

Those details matter. A protocol can add more restrictions and more supplements while leaving the reasons you feel lousy completely unaddressed.

In this episode, I'm walking you through three areas I look at first: drainage, ongoing inputs, and cellular energy. We'll use my Marble Run analogy to explore elimination priorities, look at nutrition, environment, and lifestyle, and get into why mitochondria belong in this conversation.

We'll also talk about what to do when a cleanse leaves you feeling worse. Headaches, nausea, diarrhea, or exhaustion deserve a closer look before they're labeled detox progress.

You'll leave with a practical way to observe your daily patterns and choose a manageable starting point.

In this episode

• What I mean by drainage, and the different roles of the bowel, liver and bile, kidneys, and lymphatic system.
• How the Marble Run analogy helps explain why I look at elimination before considering a cleanse.
• Why bowel comfort, straining, and changes in your usual pattern matter alongside frequency.
• How a long list of foods you avoid can hide gaps in what you're actually eating.
• How to approach environmental exposures with specific, useful actions.
• What mitochondria and ATP do, and why cellular work requires nourishment.
• Why feeling worse calls for reassessment, and when symptoms need medical attention.
• What to observe for several days before deciding what to change.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

You know inflammation matters. You may even suspect you’re inflamed. But do you know why your body keeps creating that response?

In this episode, Audrey walks through seven clues that may show up alongside persistent inflammation, including swelling and puffiness, scale fluctuations, body pain, skin issues, low vitamin D despite sun exposure, poor recovery, brain fog, and increased reactivity.

Then we go deeper into one particularly interesting pattern: low vitamin D despite plenty of appropriate sun exposure. You’ll learn how vitamin D is produced and processed, why acquisition may only be one part of the picture, and how thyroid, metabolic, lipid, and vitamin D markers can tell you more when you look at them together.

The question to take away from this episode:

What is your body responding to?

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

You went to be on time. Maybe you were even "out" for 8 hours. So why don't you feel rested? 

In this episode, Audrey explains what happens during normal sleep cycles, why sedation is not synonymous with restorative sleep, and how medications, supplements, alcohol, light exposure, caffeine, food, stress, and metabolic health may influence how you feel the following morning.

You will learn:

• What sleep architecture means and why it matters
• Why eight hours in bed may not equal eight hours of sleep
• How morning, midday, and evening light help regulate the circadian rhythm
• Why dimmer evenings are just as important as brighter days
• How caffeine can affect sleep even when you fall asleep easily
• Audrey’s updated Bulletproof Sleep Protocol
• How Audrey uses magnesium glycinate, melatonin, 5-HTP, calming herbs, and taurine
• What nighttime heat, hunger, or sudden alertness may reveal
• Why fatigue can persist even after sleep improves
• When lab patterns, nutrition, metabolic function, or total stress deserve a closer look

Download the Metabolic Scorecard:
https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Book a Root Cause Review:
https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey

Research and Sources

• [NHLBI: Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency](https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation)
• [CDC: About Sleep](https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html)
• [Effects of Light on Human Circadian Rhythms, Sleep, and Mood](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6751071/)
• [Late Wake Time Delays the Human Melatonin Rhythm](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3925652/)
• [Sleep Regularity and Mortality Risk](https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/47/1/zsad253/7280269)
• [The Role of Magnesium in Sleep Health: A Systematic Review](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35184264/)
• [Magnesium Bisglycinate and Poor Sleep: Randomized Controlled Trial](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40918053/)
• [5-HTP: Biological Pathways, Uses, and Safety Considerations](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33375373/)
• [Alcohol and the Sleeping Brain](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25307588/)

This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not diagnose or treat disease or replace individualized medical care. Do not discontinue prescription medication or combine supplements with medication without consulting an appropriate professional.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

What if your most accessible nervous-system reset required no equipment, app, supplement, or complicated routine?

In this episode of the Root Cause Revolution podcast, I’m teaching my favorite place to begin: diaphragmatic breathing. This simple breathing technique can help interrupt the immediate stress response and influence autonomic regulation, heart-rate variability, and how your body responds in the moment.

We’ll move beyond the vague instruction to “take a deep breath” and practice breathing in a way that encourages the abdomen and lower rib cage to expand without forcing an oversized breath or lifting the shoulders.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why diaphragmatic breathing is different from simply taking a big breath
• How shallow, upper-chest breathing can accompany a braced or stressed state
• How to use a comfortable four-count inhale and six-count exhale
• A beginning hand position for feeling abdominal and lower-rib movement
• An advanced technique using both hands to feel the rib cage expand laterally
• Why a longer exhale should feel relaxed rather than forced
• How to combine breathing with grounding and sensory awareness outside
• Why practicing while calm makes the technique easier to use during stress
• The important difference between an immediate nervous-system reset and addressing the root causes of chronic stress

A few minutes of slow breathing may help change your current physiological state, but it cannot correct under-fueling, mineral imbalance, poor sleep, blood-sugar instability, inflammation, overtraining, or an unsustainable workload.

If your body continually returns to a stressed or depleted state, a Root Cause Review can help you connect your symptoms, health history, nutrition, lifestyle, and available labs so you have clarity about what may be contributing and where to begin.

Research mentioned:

Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart-rate variability

Review of the psychophysiological effects of slow breathing

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

There is a particular kind of frustration that happens when you are doing most things right, but your body still seems less resilient than it used to be.

You are eating intentionally. You are exercising. You are taking magnesium. You are getting outside. Maybe your sleep is even improving.

And yet, you are slower to recover from workouts. Your brain feels tired. Your shoulders stay tense. You are waking up at odd hours, reaching for more caffeine, or feeling like ordinary life requires more effort than it should.

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.

Got a question? Send Audrey a Text and she will answer in an episode.

Gallbladder problems are about much more than gallstones. In this episode of the Root Cause Revolution Podcast, Audrey Christie explains what the gallbladder actually does, why bile matters for digestion and elimination, and why digestive symptoms can continue even after gallbladder removal.

You’ll learn how the liver produces bile, how the gallbladder stores and concentrates it, and why bile is important for fat digestion, absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K, intestinal function, hormone metabolite elimination, and metabolic signaling.

Audrey also breaks down lesser-discussed gallbladder and bile-related patterns, including sludge, poor gallbladder emptying, altered bile flow, post-cholecystectomy diarrhea, fat intolerance, pale or greasy stools, bloating, reflux, urgency, and right-sided abdominal discomfort.

The episode also explores why gallbladder dysfunction may be connected to a larger metabolic pattern involving insulin resistance, weight cycling, rapid weight loss, diet quality, liver health, and digestive dysfunction.

SEO keywords: gallbladder problems, gallbladder removal, bile flow, gallstones, gallbladder sludge, post cholecystectomy diarrhea, bile acid diarrhea, fat digestion, pale stool, greasy stool, insulin resistance, gallbladder symptoms, root cause health, functional nutrition

Support the show

Resources

DOWNLOAD YOUR METABOLIC SCORECARD -->

https://autoimmunerev.kartra.com/page/tag90

Schedule Root Cause Review: https://audreychristie.com/work-with-audrey 

Instagram: https://instagram.com/audrey_christie

 Disclaimer Audrey is not an MD or a DVM and has never claimed to be. Audrey is an MSN, RN and earned her doctorate in traditional naturopathy. She helps humans (and horses) support their body through anti-inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle modification. This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure any disease and is meant to work alongside your conventional medical team. It doesn't replace conventional medical care.