Dr. Lara Zakaria—pharmacist, nutritionist, and functional medicine practitioner—shares some of the advanced lab testing you can use to get higher-level data about your health to prevent and reverse disease.  

After struggling with health issues and working in a pharmacy watching people get sicker and more dependent on medications, Dr. Zakaria became passionate about holistic nutrition as a preventative solution. 

Through the lens of her personal journey with burnout and poor health, she stresses the importance of listening to signs that “things aren’t right” and the huge impact of better food and lifestyle choices.  

With a gift for using hilarious anecdotes to make dry medical issues entertaining, Dr. Zakaria will get you excited about microbiome stool testing and metabolic, lipid, and thyroid panels. You’ll learn how these tests help functional practitioners look at patterns (not just numbers) to detect risks earlier and optimize your health. 

If you’ve got autoimmune, metabolic, or allergic disease, or want to be in peak health and catch problems early, this episode is a must-listen. 

TESS’S TAKEAWAYS: 

• To approach your health holistically, work with a functional medical practitioner. 
• Nutrition education has a powerful effect on food culture. 
• Parents who encourage healthy living build a foundation of self-care. 
• Epigenetics (food and lifestyle choices) upgrades your genetic programming. 
• Track patterns, not just numbers, to prevent and reverse disease. 
• Advanced lab tests empower you to catch disease patterns earlier.  
• A microbiome stool test determines the balance of your gut and overall digestive function.  
• Advanced metabolic, lipid, and thyroid panels inform more personalized health responses. 

MEET DR. LARA ZAKARIA, PharmD MS CDN CNS IFMCP  

As a pharmacist, nutritionist, and professor of integrative medicine, Dr. Lara Zakaria is passionate about gut health and the prevention and reversal of metabolic, allergic, and autoimmune disease.  

Following 20 years in community pharmacy practice, watching patients get sicker and more dependent on medications, Lara developed a keen interest in functional medicine. Earning an MS in nutrition, she additionally qualified as a certified nutrition specialist and functional medicine practitioner.   

Dr. Zakaria’s clinical practice applies a multi-disciplinary approach, working one on one with patients. She also loves teaching as a faculty member at the Integrative Medicine program at George Washington University and as guest instructor in functional medicine at LECOM College of Pharmacy.  

Lara is committed to working with pharmacy professionals, nutritionists, clinicians, and other practitioners to amplify the message of personalized nutrition solutions. 

CONNECT WITH DR. LARA ZAKARIA 

Website: https://larazakaria.com/  

Thyroid Screening Guide: https://www.larazakaria.com/thyroid-guide/  

Eat The Rainbow Tracker: https://larazakaria.com/product/rainbow-challenge-tracker/ 

Consult with Lara: https://larazakaria.com/educational-consultations/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodiefarmacist  

Meet Tess Masters:  

Tess Masters is an actor, presenter, health coach, cook, and author of The Blender Girl, The Blender Girl Smoothies, and The Perfect Blend, published by Penguin Random House. She is also the creator of the Skinny60® health programs.     

Health tips and recipes by Tess have been featured in the LA Times, Washington Post, InStyle, Prevention, Shape, Glamour, Real Simple, Yoga Journal, Yahoo Health, Hallmark Channel, The Today Show, and many others.   

Tess’s magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and down-to-earth approach have made her a go-to personality for people of all dietary stripes who share her conviction that healthy living can be easy and fun. Get delicious recipes at TheBlenderGirl.com.  

Connect With Tess: 

Website: https://tessmasters.com/  

Podcast: https://ithastobeme.com/   

Health Programs: https://www.skinny60.com/

Recipes: https://www.theblendergirl.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theblendergirl/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblendergirl/  

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theblendergirl  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tessmasters/ 

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