Inside the Vibrant Longevity Summit 2025: An Honest Recap from The Functional Medicine Team at The Facility
- The Facility Denver
- Sep 30
- 26 min read
Returning from the Vibrant Longevity Summit outside Austin, we felt both energized by new science and grounded by an old truth: longevity still lives in the basics. The event had everything: high-profile speakers, cutting-edge labs, peptide vendors, and a room full of practitioners chasing better outcomes. Yet between the glossy presentations and the glass-bottled water, the most useful message was simple: diagnose biology, not disease. Real health change begins with people and their daily choices, not with a stack of tests. We loved being immersed in Hill Country conversations about epigenetics, mitochondrial resilience, and cardiovascular prevention, but we also left more convinced that consistent habits drive the biggest wins for most patients, especially those trying to cut through noise and take clear action.
Genes Aren't A Death Sentence
One highlight was the deep dive into polyphenols and epigenetic expression. Dr. Kara Fitzgerald mapped how plant compounds can nudge gene expression toward healthier trajectories, reframing “food as information” beyond buzzwords. She pressed into adaptogenic foods, methylation pathways, and how timing, variety, and synergy matter as much as dose. This wasn’t supplement-first thinking; it was systems biology applied to the grocery list. In parallel, four forward-thinking cardiologists shared prevention models that blend imaging, lipid subfractions, sleep, strength training, and nutrition into targeted plans. Their message echoed through the halls: you’re not your SNPs. Jack Wolfson emphasized that single nucleotide polymorphisms are variations, not verdicts, and identity shouldn’t calcify around a lab result. The practical takeaway is empowering: optimize inputs, measure what matters, and reserve advanced testing for real decision points.
We also re-examined our stance on peptides and NAD after thoughtful sessions and hallway debates. We’ve long favored safety and sourcing integrity over chasing the latest injectable. That said, legitimate compounding pharmacies and clearer use cases are improving access and reliability. We’ll continue using standbys like BPC-157, TB-500, KPV, glutathione, and GHK-Cu where indicated, while studying mitochondrial-targeted options such as SS-31 for oxidative stress and toxin-related tissue strain. On NAD, we remain cautious about high-dose infusions but see growing rationale for strategic support to resuscitate mitochondrial function during stressors. The key is context: does an intervention change the plan, speed recovery, or unlock adaptation a patient can’t reach with lifestyle alone? If not, it’s a distraction.
Not everything landed. A few talks drowned audiences in 20-plus page reports and slide decks better suited for a weekend retreat than a 30-minute slot. We watched the room’s energy fade when presentation styles leaned on antagonism or insider jargon rather than clarity and application. By contrast, Dr. Carrie Jones proved how powerful focus can be when she spent an entire session on just half a page: phase 1 estrogen metabolism. The details finally stuck because the scope matched the clock. That lesson mirrors clinical reality: when we start care with too many tests, we bury people in data they can’t use. We prefer a staged approach—listen deeply, fix fundamentals, run targeted panels that answer a specific question, and layer complexity as bottlenecks appear. It respects budgets, attention, and adaptation.
But, IS LONGEVITY SCIENCE FEASIBLE?!
We’re also mindful of equity. Many therapies highlighted—apheresis, premium peptide stacks, concierge protocols—are financially out of reach for most. Our patients are often in their 20s to 40s, motivated but navigating real-life tradeoffs: groceries, childcare, memberships, time. Our work is to translate longevity research into feasible steps—protein targets, strength and VO2 intervals, sunlight, sleep hygiene, fiber diversity, and stress skills—not to dangle elite interventions as a requirement for health. That’s why we came home recommitted to the unglamorous tasks: daily omega-3s, keeping vitamin D in range, lifting 2–3 days a week, moving zone 2, and protecting attention from the scroll. Mindset also surfaced again and again—healing asks for agency, compassion, and the courage to change the environment that made us unwell. Without that, protocols stall.
Basics over Biohacks.
If there’s a unifying thread from Austin, it’s this: use science to sharpen the basics, not to replace them. Measure what will change your plan. Choose foods that instruct longevity pathways. Build muscle and lungs you can rely on. Sleep like it’s therapy. Connect with people who make you better. Then, when you hit a plateau, add precision: a gut panel to explain symptoms, a hormone test to guide timing, a toxin screen when exposures are likely and progress stalls. The future of functional medicine isn’t louder; it’s smarter, kinder, and more human. We’ll keep exploring peptides, NAD, and next-gen testing, but we’ll keep asking the same question: does this help a real person do the right thing now?
Real health change begins with people and their daily choices, not with a stack of tests. Use science to sharpen the basics.
If you prefer content in audio format, check out Facilitated Episode 28 | Grip Strength, Gucci Loafers, and Glass Water Bottles: Inside the Vibrant Longevity Summit for discourse and receipts on our experience at the Vibrant Wellness Longevity Summit | Listen here
Key Takeaways
Basics Over Biohacks
Longevity isn’t only about cutting-edge therapies. Simple, consistent habits—strength training, protein, sleep, vitamin D, and omega-3 intake—still deliver the biggest wins.
Mindset Matters
Healing requires more than protocols. Shifting the environment and mindset that contributed to illness is often just as important as supplements, labs, or therapies.
Polyphenols + Epigenetics
Dr. Kara Fitzgerald highlighted how polyphenols (plant-based compounds) can influence gene expression and cellular health in ways far deeper than most people realize.
Functional Cardiology
Four forward-thinking cardiologists shared strategies that extend beyond standard care, emphasizing that genes (like SNPs) are not destiny—biology is adaptable.
Rethinking Testing
Comprehensive labs are valuable, but over-testing can overwhelm both patient and provider. Starting with history, symptoms, and foundational changes makes the data more meaningful.
NAD + Peptides
Newer therapies like NAD support and advanced peptides are exciting, but safety and quality control remain key. Evidence-based adoption is the goal—not hype.
Connection is Medicine
Conferences aren’t just about lectures. Some of the most valuable insights come from connecting with other providers, sharing real-world strategies, and building community.
Links & Resources
When we come back from a conference, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of new peptides, devices, and therapies. But the real question is always: what’s actually supported by science? Here are a few highlights we’re tracking more closely:
Polyphenols and Epigenetics
Research continues to show that plant compounds like polyphenols do more than act as antioxidants. They can influence gene expression and even the pace of biological aging. A recent randomized trial of the Green-MED diet (rich in green tea, walnuts, and other polyphenol sources) found participants showed slower biological aging over 18 months compared to controls (bmc medicine). Other pilot trials suggest that polyphenol-rich foods and supplements may impact immune function and DNA methylation clocks (frontiers). While much of this research is early, the message is clear: your food choices can “speak” to your genes.
NAD⁺ and Cellular Energy
NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is a molecule every cell needs to make energy and repair DNA. Levels naturally decline with age, which has sparked huge interest in NAD injections, precursors, and patches. A 2023 systematic review of clinical trials found NAD⁺ supplementation was generally safe and showed some promising effects (like improved insulin sensitivity and reduced fatigue) (Pubmed)—but big questions remain about long-term outcomes and product quality. Independent testing has even shown some NAD products on the market contain little or no active ingredient (suppco). For now, this is an exciting area to watch, but one we approach with caution.
Testing Philosophy
Labs are powerful tools—but only when used with context. Many conference speakers encouraged deeper and broader panels, but our philosophy hasn’t changed: start with the story, then layer in the science. Running three 25-page panels at once can overwhelm patients and dilute the most important foundation: nutrition, stress, sleep, movement. Over-testing without a clear purpose risks creating noise instead of clarity.
Mindset and Environment
Perhaps the most consistent theme across sessions was this: health is multifactorial. Healing doesn’t happen in the same environment or mindset that created illness. Stress, social connection, and daily habits literally change how your body responds at the cellular level. This is backed by decades of psychoneuroimmunology research showing how mental state influences inflammation and immune health. Translation? Your mind matters just as much as your mitochondria.
Episode Transcript | FACILITATED 28 "Grip Strength, Gucci Loafers, and Glass Water Bottles: Inside the Vibrant Longevity Summit"
Kate:
Well, we just got back from uh exciting conference in Austin, Texas, the Vibrant Longevity Summit. Is that what they called it? Yeah. Longevity Summit in Austin, Texas, hosted by Vibrant. And we’ve got some things to share.
Mitchell:
Yeah. One piece of exciting news our rep Andrea got named the MVP of her team.
Kate:
She deserves it.
Mitchell:
Yeah, you could look back about a month ago, we had her on the podcast, and she’s awesome, but it was fun to see her get rewarded for how much kick and butt she does with helping her clients out. So that was cool. Yeah, there was a I mean, it was a grabbing of things. I mean, I think there was about 700 providers there. A ton of brands that do interesting from sauna to peptide companies to nutraceuticals and nervous system balancing things. I tested my grip strength.
Kate:
Yeah, tell us what it was.
Mitchell:
No, you yours was elite for your I think mine was normal. Well, okay, the woman that did it before you, hers was like 13 kilograms, and yours was 31.
Kate:
There you go.
Mitchell:
Yeah. Mine was a little better than that, but I tried really hard.
Kate:
I know. You were he was so proud he came and got me out of a session to come and test mine. Mostly because he wanted to tell me what his was.
Mitchell:
Yeah. I did it a couple times, and then I think I strained my elbow. I was trying so hard, but yeah, pretty uh pretty impressed. I think hand size helps though. You know, that woman that went before you, she had the tiniest hands. Like you can barely grab that thing. But yeah, we should put a poll out. What do you think my hand grip strength was on my non-dominant right hand?
Kate:
I’ll let you know if anyone responds.
Mitchell:
Okay. I’m sure we’ll get dozens of dozens of people guessing that number. And it’s higher than you think, but it’s in kilograms, okay? Don’t make me do the math. Guess in kilograms.
Kate:
Okay. Okay. So what uh what did you like about the how about what did you not like about this weekend? I call it this weekend. It was Thursday, Friday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, but it feels like a weekend. I was there Saturday too.
Mitchell:
Okay. One of the talks I was looking most forward to was on Saturday. I think we should talk about some of the highs first. Okay. Yeah. I loved the place. We were up in hill country outside Austin, Texas. I mean, it was gorgeous. Um, the food was for the most part awesome. I agree. Yeah, great food. You know, talking a lot about, you know, are we getting 30 different types of vegetables every week? I was able to do that here. Oh, yeah. Those like mixes of zucchini and what did I have? Eggplant? I didn’t even know what it was. I had to ask you. Um, peppers, and oh my gosh, it was awesome. So many dairy-free and gluten-free options. I was able to have dessert every night and it was dairy-free. Awesome food. Something that was probably my highlight food-wise was I wanted to stop at Whole Foods Wednesday night, have the Uber stop at Whole Foods, but I got in a little late. And the Uber was like $120 from the airport to the hotel. So I was like, I’m not gonna ask him to stop at Whole Foods because I wanted to get some Mountain Valley Spring water. I was so worried about having to drink out of plastic all weekend. And we get there Thursday morning, all glass bottles.
Kate:
Yep. All glass eight-ounce bottles, tiny, tiny bottles of water.
Mitchell:
Was my bag clanging around with all the water bottles I have? Yeah, but it was I was so fired up about that. It sounds like something minor, but I was literally going to stop and buy my own water. I was so worried about drinking out of plastic for four days. Didn’t have to worry about that. Um, I think it’s cool to get together with that many health conscious people in one room.
Kate:
I agree. The I mean, that’s one of my highlights was just connecting with so many different providers, and I really like seeing how people are doing things differently, kind of pulling different ideas from different practices on structure and systems, of course, for me was really cool.
Mitchell:
Yeah, I mean, I took, you know, we typically think if we can go to a conference and get a few takeaways, uh you can’t possibly learn everything you need to learn in that weekend. What you do is you get nuggets. And I have a I had a notes going on my phone with all sorts of little nuggets to dive more into, specifically with feedback loops around cortisol and even just polyphenolic biochemistry. You know, we had that that doc um on Friday.
Kate:
Kara Fitzgerald. Oh my gosh, it was an amazing talk. My beef with it was the timing of it. It was late in the afternoon. We had just had a pretty heavy talk with Peter Attia, mentally heavy because of the mental gymnastics of trying to understand. Yeah, it was difficult.
Mitchell:
The sound. The sound was difficult. Um, so I feel like her talk would have been so much more effective earlier in the day. Whereas even if they had shifted and put Gabrielle Lyon in her spot, Gabrielle brought so much energy to her talk, I think it would have still been effective there. But Dr. Fitzgerald, I mean, she went so hard on polyphenols and epigenetic expression and even like adaptogenic foods beyond what we traditionally think of for adaptogens. And yeah, I just I felt bad because it was right after Peter Atia and half the room cleared out. And I was like, this is you know, Peter Attia had a like a fireside chat. Yeah, it was fine, but it wasn’t like it was if you listen to him, it was we kind of knew what he was saying.
Mitchell:
Dr. Fitzgerald taught, and so many people missed out on it. And I was like, man, we are they are missing gold. So I mean, one of the notes I just wrote is polyphenols exclamation point. Just read I have to go more into that. Um, I got to learn, I did a cardiovascular learning track, and I got to learn from four different cardiologists who are so unique in their own ways, but so forward thinking, and you know, they’ve stepped outside of the mainstream system, but they still practice, you know, like a functional medicine-based cardiology, and it was really inspiring because it I feel hopeful when there’s people like that, but I also felt pretty uh invigorated for the stuff that we’re able to do for people, and I you know, we always feel that way when we leave these things, is like, okay, we’re a lot farther along than we give ourselves credit for. You know, it’s always I focus so much on the things I’m struggling with with people and the the unique aspects of care that I find difficult. And I I I struggle to stop and reflect on all the things that we’re so successful with, connecting with people, simplifying, helping people grab low-hanging fruit, you know, put your feet in the grass, eat healthy food, you know, all these things that are so foundational that people miss out on because they want to reach for the next peptide or or you know sauna experience and things. And I mean, that was kind of reminding me this weekend, like we’re on the right track.
Kate:
Basics over biohacks.
Mitchell:
Yeah. I thought it was good to see how other providers are utilizing testing. Right. And that will I’ll talk more about that with one of my negatives. But a really good message from Dr. Jack Wolfson, who’s a cardiologist, he essentially said, Don’t carry your genetic SNPs as a badge of honor or excuse for your symptoms. We all have weird SNPs. These are, you know, genetic what if you will, polymorphisms, or some people call them defects. They’re not defects. And you know, in many ways, a lot of these SNPs could be viewed as a genetic advantage in certain times of human existence, and we need to learn to manage our biology without using our unique SNPs as some sort of crutch that we have to limp through life with. You know, and he just he made that so center point in his talk was we are perfect the way we are. We are not broken, we all have weird snips. You do not continue that forward as your life story. You are not your genes. Right? Your genes are not your destiny for the most for most things. That’s true. What else do you have? Are you out of your positives? No. Oh, go ahead.
Kate:
Um, okay, one of the positives I have is that it was a pretty packed schedule. I mean, I felt like there was no downtime from one to the next to the next, and it’s also my con because there was no downtime from one to the next to the next. So it felt like information just coming at you, coming at you, coming at you. And now I feel like we both needed a whole day of just okay, all of the stuff coming in now. Can we send can we break that down into the highlights? What do we want to dive deeper into? But there was no time for that.
Mitchell:
I mean, yeah, like 12-hour days. Yeah. Yeah, it was uh it was a yeah, it was a packed schedule. And what I liked is it was more about the connection and the information than a time schedule. Like how many we were late all day, not us, the schedule. And it wasn’t because they got started late, it was because they’re not cutting this, they’re not cutting Gabby Lyon off at 59 minutes, they’re letting her talk for 75. And what I liked is it took away from the time talking to vendors and stuff, which a lot of conferences focus so much on the vendors they’re sponsored. I really appreciated that it was more the focus of the content and the information.
And also, like, how cool is vibrant, like the stuff, the technology that they’re developing. Yes, right? Like, what are they? There’s a research lab, first and foremost. I mean, they the the stuff that’s coming out in the next year that’s accessible to us that aren’t in university settings or don’t have horrible diseases, the stuff coming out in the next year is awesome from genetic testing to toxicity and the panels that they develop are so unique. You know, they were talking about like sometimes the panel will take six more months to come out because new literature comes out about this one bone marker being so important. So let’s pause, let’s start to test it, and let’s see where that relates to hormone health or thyroid health. And they’re constantly thinking, how do I make this panel more robust?
Kate:
Yes. But then we get 22 to 25 page reports, panel reports. That is just so overwhelming for us to review with a patient, but certainly for a patient to look at this 25 pages of information. Even I’m really thinking about the hormone zoomer test is 24 pages, I I believe. It is so much information for someone to synthesize down into a 30-minute talk that it I feel like it got lost.
Mitchell:
Because you did the hormone track.
Kate:
So I did the hormone track, so they had four speakers with 30 minutes each. And so many of them, three out of four of them, tried to fit that whole test into their 30-minute talk. The absolutely best talk I felt like of the whole weekend for me was Dr. Carrie Jones. She focused on one, not even a whole page, one page out of the hormone zoomer, just the half half of that page where she only talked about phase one estrogen metabolism. It was amazing to go into that much detail about such a small section of it. And I really wish there would have been some communication ahead of time and a little bit more prompting to the speakers of hey, we want you to talk about hormones. Obviously, the hormone zoomer is our big focus, that test panel that we’re using. Can you look at this section? Can you look at this section instead of watering it down into let me try to fit 24 pages into 30 minutes?
Mitchell:
Yeah. It was funny because we would have, you know, big group meetings with Andrew Huberman and Peter Atia and Gabby Lyon and Rhonda Padrick, all these heavy hitters, but then we both specifically chose four different tracks. We each got to pick two tracks, and we did that so we could like you know learn more. And we would come back and like reconvene after every one. And I was always how I came back so fired up every time. I felt like I picked the best tracks. I the cardiovascular was amazing. I feel like I picked interesting tracks.
Kate:
I did hormones and I did gut health. Hormones, one out of four, amazing. Gut health, pretty good, but one of the talks focused on beta-glucaronidase, which is a gut marker, but specific to hormone health. So it was just so much hormone information, even though I was in a different track. Yeah, okay.
Mitchell:
One thing that I’m excited to learn more about these next few months, well, two things NAD and peptides. You know, we’ve been using certain peptides for a long time. We’re slowly getting our feet well with other ones as they become available. I’m typically slow to act on new technologies because I like safety over everything. And as I suspected, a lot of the companies producing peptides that say for research purposes only are probably fake. They might be contaminated. Um it’s not regulated. So I learned this weekend that you know there are certain compounding pharmacies that we should really feel good about. But I do think it’s time to step my game up and really start to understand the some foundational peptides. And we’ve been using copper GHK and BPC and TB500 and KPV and glutathione, and we’ve been using those, but now it’s time to really think about certain specific things, specifically like SS31, which I’m so excited to learn more about as it relates to chemical exposure, tissue uh resilience. But so that’s a big thing, and then NAD, I’ve always been kind of ignoring it because I know there’s not a ton of data as far as like injections being that helpful for most people. They come and go in the system and they’re really intolerable physically for people. But um, Dr. I think it was Gladden on Saturday. Man, it really made me realize like, no, there’s something here with NAD that I need to dive more into. Um, just as far as resuscitating mitochondria during times of oxidative stress. So that’s gonna be a project for me these next few months is NAD and then a few specific peptides.
Kate:
What else?
Mitchell:
Mindset. That’s what I wrote. Mindset is imperative for healing. This was so reinforced this weekend. You know, we always say you can’t get well in the environment you got sick in. You can’t get well with the mindset you got sick in. Healing is so multifactorial, it’s so complicated. Having your mind working on your mind around your the state of your body will make or break your future health. That was reinforced to me this weekend. How cool is it to see some of these like well-known scientists in person? It’s true. You know, some of my actionable takeaways. I am absolutely gonna take my omega-3 every single day. I’m going to stay on top of my vitamin D supplementation. It wasn’t enough for Mitchell to tell you Rhonda Patrick’s. It wasn’t even enough for me to see Rhonda Patrick talking about it on Instagram and know the information, but to have her like 20 feet away and stating it. I felt like she was talking right to me. Will not miss those anymore when it comes to longevity, brain health, cognition. Basics. All the basics. Uh I’m recommitting to strength training. Awesome. I had a workout yesterday. We talked about it this weekend. You said you’re gonna shoot for two to three days a week. Yeah, one out of three there. Awesome. Yeah, like that guy asked Rhonda about like, well, with all this stuff with protein and muscle building, but now VO2 Max, I like how she was pointing blank was like, you have to make time for both. Like, I’m not I’m not the one making this data up. If you want to be well for a longer amount of time, you need to find time. She’s like, don’t scroll on your phone for 30 minutes at night. Like, I like that it wasn’t like, well, here’s how we can hack that. It’s like, sorry. You know, what does Lane Norton always say? It’s like the success or results you see comes on the other side of the work that you’re avoiding doing, something like that, and it’s like, yeah, put the phone down and put your feet to the pavement. Like, get off your butt and go lift some weights. You need both. So that was good.
Kate:
That’s good.
Mitchell:
I was so looking forward to a Saturday talk on menopause. And I’m just gonna be honest, I was incredibly turned off by the style of presentation. I actually wrote, I’m not gonna say who it was, but it was a you know, a really well-known gynecologist, and I’ve read so much of her stuff. I was so looking forward to it. She had an hour. She really never got to the point during this talk because she spent about the first 45 minutes I was looking at my watch, mostly talking crap about men, male doctors, male researchers, etc. It was actually distracting. And considering as I look around, about half the doctors in the room were men. I I honestly found it a very poor way of trying to teach. Like, get to the point. We get it. I love helping women doing hormone transitions associated with menopause. And this doctor is this highly experienced gynecologist. I believe she had an opportunity to inspire people like me to dig deeper and make more connections regarding this menopausal transition, but instead, she promoted this really weird energy of antagonism. And I was so looking forward to it. And I walked away just disappointed.
Here’s what I believe people need more help. Men, women, whatever. Our world needs more compassion and care for all people. Bottom line. And the moment you pit us against them, or here’s the faults we had in the past, when you have one hour to teach and inspire, it was such an ineffective way of trying to get me to understand these concepts that I know you have to share because I’ve watched you on podcasts, I’ve read content you’ve written over the years, and I had that start as one of my most exciting hours of the weekend, and it was just it was whiny, it w it was just antagonistic. Is that fair to say?
Kate:
It’s fair to say. I wasn’t I wasn’t present for that one.
Mitchell:
It was just so such a turn off. You know, it’s like fine, spend the first few minutes, but it was literally, I think it was 48 after the hour when she started talking about hormones and stuff. Like, how many slides do I need to show like how women’s heart disease symptoms are different than men’s? And like great, that’s true. But like, okay, you’ve established your foundation, now let’s learn. And it just it wasn’t it.
Kate:
I had a a similar not get to the point experience in the gut health room with a provider who going into the talk, he knows he has 30 minutes. I’ll just let you get set. Sorry. It’s okay. Going into the talk, he knows he has 30 minutes. He showed up with 196 slides. Guess what? We didn’t get nearly through any of it. And his advice was, Well, the slides are here, go read it. So that was lackluster.
Mitchell:
Yeah, and back to the whole testing thing. I think this was a big point for me. I love testing, but I stand firmly behind my belief that overtesting is a real thing. If I want you to buy healthy food, get an air purifier, a gym membership, swap out your plastic food storage containers for glass, etc., then I don’t think I can expect most people to respond properly to me asking them to run a million tests during the initial investigation. And I stand behind this. History, presenting complaints, choices, etc. Even if we were to test all of the things that some of these providers recommend when we first meet you, we would still have questions. And besides, how can we actually patch up like a million holes in your biology in a week anyway? If we layer in testing deeper things, you know, based on the case, are we st are we stuck? Have we hit a roadblock? I think that’s when you can layer in more tests. You know, do you have unique goals like conception? There’s so many reasons, in my opinion. Don’t start this relationship with a patient and ask them to spend two to four thousand dollars in testing.
And that’s not me spending their money for them. It’s also the fact that, like we talked with a patient this morning, if we ran a gut zoomer, which we did, we found a parasite, we’re sending her to her GP to get an antibiotic, and we’ll be clearing up the rest. I believe she lives on a golf course. I believe there’s other layers, but how relevant is her total tox burden now if it changes as we treat the gut stuff, right? We will do the total tox burden. I love the test, but we’ll do it once we get through this gut stuff and see what’s left. Make sure we clear the parasite, balance out the microbiome, and then let’s move on.
Kate:
And of course, I’m worried about even just the time it takes to go through it and to convey to the patient the findings because maybe we are unique in that we want the patient to understand what it means. We don’t want them to just take our word for oh, this is what we’re gonna do because of this. We want them to understand, okay, this is going on, here’s what we’re gonna do about it, here’s what we expect to change, here’s why that matters for you, and here’s what you’re gonna notice about it. And here’s what we’ll look at next. And if we had two, three, four tests, these comprehensive panels that are 20 to 30 pages, there’s it’s just overwhelming.
Mitchell:
Yeah, and I can see that side of things where it’s about buy-in, but man, if if that’s what it requires to get someone to buy in, then maybe you gotta look at yourself as a practitioner. You know, who am I? Can I stand on my own merit and my own ability to see this person for who they are? Do I need a 200 pages of fancy lab information behind me in order to convince them that I can help them?
Kate:
And I was even thinking about it in the context of our process. So we meet with a patient for 60 minutes before we do any testing. Then we do the testing, then we meet again and review results and layer in more action steps. That first 60 minutes when we’re going through history and getting to know the patient, so many basic action steps come out of that. I worry that if we start with testing, those basics are gonna get so watered down. Those basics are foundational. So we could start with testing ha and immediately jump into a gut zoomer and start treating the gut. But if we don’t have well established that the patient is chewing their food and being mindful about their meals and not drinking liquids, uh whatever we do to support the gut is not going to be nearly as effective.
Mitchell:
Yeah, do you have undigested meat fiber because you truly need an enzyme or because you’re have no parasympathetic tone? Right. And let’s say this gut zoomer, probably the best gut test in the world, right? We love it, but it’s just time and place. Right. Just read one this morning, you know, so definitely into it. But yeah, I mean, and for us, I think we’re excited we’ll probably do some pretty deep testing the end of the year on ourselves. But that’s us. We’re nerds, and you know, I think we can work with that information, but for most people it’s just it’s too much.
Yeah, I also think that I know it was a longevity conference, but a lot of the therapies discussed are not feasible for most people, they’re so expensive. At times I felt like haves versus have nots. You know, I had this awesome high-energy doctor MD out of Miami, sharpsuit, Gucci Loafers, Dolce Angabana belt buckle. Great energy, you know, but he’s talking about I treat celebrities, I treat, and he wasn’t it wasn’t like a brag, but it was just like, you know what I love to help? Regular people. I love to help a 35-year-old who’s struggling to get pregnant after 15 years of birth control. I love to help a 60-year-old who’s stressed, empty nester, going through menopause transition. I like to help them get the basics in order.
And it did at times felt like the haves and the have nots. You know, a lot of people mention like plasma phoresis and plasma exchange as if it’s like a sustainable thing. Yeah, and so I just I found a clinic that does it. Every round of it, which you need a lot of rounds, every round is ten to fifteen thousand dollars, and you need multiple rounds of it. And it’s like, yeah, I would love to be able to do that, but again, I want you to buy some healthy food and get a gym membership. I don’t know if that’s where I’m going with things. I just I just felt like a lot of the suggestions, even certain peptides, you know, twelve hundred bucks an injection, they’re just not feasible for the vast majority of the people that I’m helping work with.
And again, to be frank, I like treating regular people. You know, touch the earth, eat better food, move your body, get a healthy relationship to your friends and to yourself, you know, get that low-hanging fruit first.
Kate:
I was explaining to one of the vendors, vendors, vendors, uh kind of our typical patient population, you know, being in their 20s and 30s and really just interested in general wellness and being frustrated by what they’re getting at their PCP, so looking outside the traditional insurance system and coming to see us. And she was a little taken aback that it wasn’t more complicated than that. But this is what we’re what we do well is people who just want a comprehensive view and understanding of hey, where is my health at right now when I’m in my 20s, 30s? We’re not really seeing the longevity population right now. And maybe that’ll Grow with us.
Mitchell:
Yeah, I mean, we are we are helping make sense of a confusing medical system. Absolutely. And that’s one of my values is to help meet people where they’re at and help push them forward through simple change and make connections. How are all these body systems related? And of course, toxins matter, of course, hormones matter. Of course, gut function matters. But if your choices are all out of whack, man, again, I don’t I don’t believe that it’s going to take thousands of dollars in testing in front of your face to change if you’re already coming to ask us for help. And then we’ll layer in the test as we go. You know, we like those people. We also like really complicated people, but a lot of these complicated people are not doing the little things consistently. Right. Right. We have that. I have that skill set. I can totally run through all these crazy, awesome, and we run them from time to time. Confusing tests, but again, it is foundation for most people is completely missed. They’re reaching for the sauna and the cold plunge and the peptides and the ketamine trips and all this stuff, and they’re not connecting with their family. That’s what I got.
Kate:
How about we went all the way to Austin, Texas, and some of the deepest connections we made were people back here in Colorado.
Mitchell:
Yeah. I made a couple of friends on the flight home. Mm-hmm. That you know, now I’ve been texting with the one gal. Turns out she’s friends with April, who works with us, which we didn’t know until hours into our awesome conversation on the flight home. And so that was a funny little connection. You know, she’s an OT and a health coach, and I think there’s not only collaboration, but also like community there. They invited me to go to their gym to work out. I’m a little insecure about that. But yeah, it was funny.
Kate:
And then we’re basically celebrities- we got recognized. Yeah, I forgot that. Nicole from GutWell, medical, she’s the nutritionist there, works with Dr. Sue Mitchell. I got to hear Dr. Sue give a talk in the gut, uh, in the gut track, learning track, and I really appreciated her talk, which I’ll give you some details on that one. But uh I enjoyed that Nicole came over. Do you guys work for the facility? Like, yeah. She’s like,
Mitchell:
Oh, you guys come, what did she say? Something like you guys come through really authentically on Instagram, which that felt good. And her boss, Dr. Mitchell, is an integrative uh gastroenterologist. Yeah. Left behind the the medical system, but still as that gastroenterologist. And it’s it’s good to have uh allies with such expertise in these areas to know that we can lean on and potentially collaborate with. Exactly. But that was that was funny. We were sitting in the big room that day and she came walking up to us. I’m like, uh, yeah. I follow you. Yeah, I was like, no kidding.
We were sitting there waiting for what Peter Attia to come on stage. I forgot. One day. That was cool. Yeah, made some great connections. Some good friends. I didn’t ride the mechanical bowl. No, and you didn’t sing karaoke, even though we should have made you. Yeah, sorry.
Mitchell:
Overall, super happy we went. I’m excited for next year. We’ve got if it’s my conference season. I’ve in a few weeks I’m going back to Minneapolis for my yearly NutriDyn, huge, you know, 500 to 1,000 doctors, Great Lakes Conference. I think I inspired my new friend to potentially go. I’ve got Quicksilver, uh, the annual national conference, start of November, which is going to be so much about immune challenges. I mean, I’m this is one of my favorite times of the year. Not only is it fall, it’s getting cooler. I love, I love fall football season and how it brings me back to coaching and things, but it’s also conference season for me. So a lot of travel coming up with lots of good education for me. Stay tuned.
Work with us at The Facility Functional Medicine:
If you’re curious about functional medicine and how it could work for you, we’d love to help. Book an initial consultation with our Denver-based clinic (we see patients locally and via telehealth) and take the first step toward a health journey that doesn’t stop with you.
Meet The Functional Medicine Team behind Facilitated:
Mitchell Rasmussen, DC, CFMP: Mitchell is a certified functional medicine practitioner with a doctorate in chiropractic at The Facility Functional Medicine Clinic in Denver, Colorado.
With lots of letters behind his name, he entered chiropractic with a clear goal: to practice Functional Medicine. His biggest passion is the immune system. He has focused his post-doctoral education on immunology and clinical applications for chronic diseases like Lyme, tick-borne pathogens, viral burden, and mold exposure.
About Kate Daugherty, MS, CNS: Kate is a certified nutrition specialist and functional nutritionist at The Facility Functional Medicine Clinic in Denver, Colorado.
She began her career journey in neuroscience, which seamlessly transitioned into human nutrition. Utilizing food as medicine to treat the mind-body connection is truly remarkable. Kate believes that our eating habits nourish our soul as profoundly as they do our body.
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