The Health Detective Podcast by Functional Diagnostic Nutrition

If you have lived with acid reflux, heartburn, bloating, or stomach pain that will not go away, even after PPIs, elimination diets, and round after round of doctor visits, this conversation is for you.

For over five years, Jessica Washington cycled through the ER, a PPI, a SIBO label, and increasingly restrictive diets, with no real answers. Her H. pylori test even came back negative, something that happens far more often than most people are told. Everything changed when she ran functional labs with a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition practitioner and finally saw what was driving her symptoms.

Host Michele Scarlet and Jessica, now an FDN practitioner and founder of The Gut Healing Ninja, get into:

Why upper-gut symptoms like reflux and gastritis often start outside the stomach

Why a negative H. pylori test does not always mean you are in the clear

What a GI Map reveals that standard testing misses

The gut-brain connection and the invisible weight of managing symptoms daily

How addressing root causes gave Jessica her health, energy, and family back

Find Jessica, The Gut Healing Ninja:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theguthealingninja
Website: https://theguthealingninja.com

FDN grads and trainees, this one is for you. Ready to turn your certification into a practice that actually fills up? Our Business Builder Challenge kicks off July 13th, built to give you the structure, accountability, and momentum to start landing clients. Want in? Registration Opens Soon!

This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine.

Is Functional Medicine truly addressing the root causes of Chronic Illness or has it started falling into the same symptom-focused patterns as conventional healthcare?

In this episode of the Health Detective Podcast, Michele Scarlet sits down with Reed Davis, founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN), to explore the philosophy, principles, and clinical framework that have helped thousands of practitioners and clients uncover the hidden stressors behind chronic health challenges.

Drawing on nearly three decades of experience, Reed shares how FDN was created to focus on Root Cause Healing rather than diagnoses, symptoms, or condition-specific protocols. He explains why so many people continue to struggle with Gut Health issues, Hormone Imbalance, Burnout, Brain Fog, Anxiety, fatigue, and other chronic symptoms despite being told their labs are “normal.”

Together, Michele and Reed discuss the concept of Metabolic Chaos, the limitations of both conventional and Functional Medicine models, and why lasting Health Transformation requires looking at the whole person rather than isolated symptoms.

You’ll learn:

What Metabolic Chaos really means and why it matters

Why hidden stressors are often the true drivers of chronic symptoms

How Functional Lab Testing helps identify healing opportunities

The FDN D.R.E.S.S. framework: Diet, Rest, Exercise, Stress Reduction, and Supplementation

Why supplements should support not replace the foundations of health

Reed’s perspective on peptides, biohacking, detox protocols, and wellness trends

The role of Natural Healing, Functional Wellness, and Holistic Health in long-term outcomes

Why practitioners must focus on healing principles rather than chasing symptoms

Reed also shares how FDN evolved into a global Practitioner Training program and why Health Coaches, Functional Health Practitioners, alternative medicine practitioners, and wellness professionals are increasingly seeking a more comprehensive approach to helping clients achieve better outcomes.

Whether you're working to improve your own health or exploring a future as an FDN Practitioner, this episode offers a powerful look at the framework, mindset, and healing principles that continue to define Functional Diagnostic Nutrition.

If you're passionate about Functional Health, Root Cause Health, Practitioner Education, Functional Diagnostics, and helping people create lasting change, this conversation is one you won’t want to miss.

Most FDN trainees believe they need to wait until they graduate before they can start getting clients. According to Jenn Malecha, that's one of the biggest mistakes new practitioners make.

In this episode of the Health Detective Podcast, Michele Scarlet sits down with Jenn Malecha to reveal how FDN Practitioners, Health Coaches, and Functional Health Practitioners can begin building a client waitlist long before certification is complete.

One of the most common fears among new practitioners is not knowing where their first clients will come from. Jenn breaks down a practical, step-by-step approach to building visibility, creating trust, and generating interest while you're still working through your Practitioner Training. Rather than waiting until graduation, she explains how your own health journey, Functional Lab Testing experience, and personal transformation can become powerful tools for connection and client acquisition.

Together, Michele and Jenn discuss how to naturally attract future clients through authentic conversations, referral relationships, community connections, and genuine enthusiasm for the work. They also explain why sales doesn't have to feel pushy or uncomfortable, and how discovery calls can help turn curiosity into committed clients.

In this episode, you'll discover:

How to build a client waitlist before certification

Why most new practitioners wait too long to start marketing themselves

How FDN Practitioners can use their own transformation story to build trust

The difference between a client waitlist and an email list

Simple ways to track potential clients without complicated software

How referral partners can help grow your practice

Why visibility and connection matter more than perfection

The role of discovery calls, enrollment conversations, and client acquisition

How to confidently transition from certification into practice

Whether you're an FDN Practitioner, Health Coach, wellness entrepreneur, or someone preparing to launch a Functional Health practice, this episode offers actionable business strategies to help you gain momentum, attract your first clients, and build a thriving practice before you even graduate.

Join Jenn at FDN's Summer Open House Event June 1-30

👉Learn Business Framework to get clients on repeat
👉Learn Clinical Framework to get client RESULTS
👉Get $1750 off the course PLUS $1800 in bonuses like business coaching!

Click the link below for more info!

http://fdntraining.com/soh26

Michele Scarlet sits down with RN, Nurse Practitioner, and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner Connie Wade for an honest conversation about what 25 years inside the emergency room taught her about the limits of conventional medicine, why her own doctor told her she was not "sick enough" to treat, and how she finally healed the symptoms she had been "swiping away" for years.

In this powerful Health Detective Podcast episode, Connie shares her personal journey through psoriasis, debilitating joint pain at 48, chronic reflux, daily ibuprofen use, estrogen dominance, heavy painful periods, more than 20 years of night shift, H. pylori, an overwhelmed liver and gallbladder, food sensitivities to her favorite foods, and a depleted gut microbiome. Together, Michele and Connie unpack how functional lab testing gave Connie the vindication she had been looking for, why she healed in three months once she addressed the root causes, and why she chose to keep working in the ER while building her functional health practice on the side.

This episode dives deep into:

Why her doctor said "she wasn't sick enough" and sent her home with ibuprofen

The functional labs that finally explained her symptoms after years of being dismissed

How 20 plus years of night shift flatlined her cortisol and disrupted her hormones

H. pylori, food sensitivities, and the gut findings that changed everything

Why psoriasis, joint pain, and heavy periods are not just "normal aging"

The reframe that helped Connie cut gluten, sugar, and dairy without feeling deprived

Why so many nurses are leaving bedside nursing and the third option most do not consider

How to build a functional nursing side practice without leaving your license or your job

Why going all in or all out of conventional medicine limits your reach as a clinician

The four simple daily practices Connie recommends to every patient

How to ask your family for support when you start your healing journey

Michele and Connie also discuss why the body is constantly trying to send messages, why most of us swipe them away for years, and why functional lab testing catches dysfunction long before conventional labs ever turn "abnormal."

If you are a woman struggling with joint pain, psoriasis, hormone imbalance, or symptoms your doctor keeps dismissing, or you are a nurse, NP, or clinician quietly exploring functional medicine as a career path, this episode will change how you view your body and what is possible.

🔥 JOIN THE SUMMER OPEN HOUSE Are you a nurse, NP, or clinician curious about functional health? Join the FREE Functional Health Summit, June 1 to 30. A full month of clinical and business training to help you build a thriving functional health practice. 👉http://fdntraining.com/soh26

🌐 FIND CONNIE: http://WadeWellness.org 

⚠️ DISCLAIMER This content is for education only and is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes.

You've cleaned up your diet. You're taking the supplements. You've run the labs. You've done the protocols. And you're still tired, bloated, anxious, and burnt out, wondering what the heck you're missing.

If that's you, this episode is the one.

Michele Scarlet sits down with Sarah Ball, founder of Hormone Goddess and creator of the Hormone Goddess Method, for a vulnerable, story-driven conversation about burnout, cellular energy, and what's really going on for high-functioning women who feel like they're doing everything right and still not getting results.

Sarah shares her own healing journey for the first time on a podcast. From years of misdiagnoses (Hashimoto's, PCOS, IBS, fatty liver), a 4-year missing period, and a parasite protocol that landed her with a small bowel obstruction and 6 weeks without a single bowel movement, to discovering that the missing piece wasn't more supplements or another kill protocol. It was voltage.

In this episode, we cover:

Why you can still feel exhausted even when your labs look "fine"

What cellular energy (voltage) actually is and why mitochondria matter

How the order of your protocols matters more than the protocols themselves

Why kill protocols backfire when your body is in survival mode

The drainage funnel and why opening it changes everything

Masculine vs. feminine energy in healing & business

Why a 20-step morning routine isn't the answer (and what actually is)

Real client stories: reversing autoimmune diagnoses, conceiving after IVF, losing weight, getting off meds

Whether you're an FDN practitioner, health coach, or a woman who's tired of being tired despite doing all the "right things," this conversation will completely reframe how you think about healing.

🎤 JOIN SARAH AT SUMMER OPEN HOUSE 2026: Sarah is the keynote speaker for SOH 2026, presenting The Nervous System of Success live on June 30th. She'll walk you through the psychology of scaling to 6 figures without sacrificing your health, how she built her brand without depending on social media, and the most underrated profit growth strategy every FDN needs to know.

👉 Register free: http://fdntraining.com/soh26

Connect with Sarah Ball: 🌐 hormonegoddess.com 📷 Instagram: @thehormonegoddess 

⚠️ MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: The information shared in this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health regimen, starting any new protocol, or addressing a medical condition. The opinions expressed by the host and guest are their own and do not constitute professional medical recommendations.