What happens in the gut doesn’t stay there. It can quietly ignite inflammation, disrupt immune balance, impair cognition, and set off chronic conditions that leave practitioners chasing symptoms instead of causes.   In this episode, Tracy Harrison delivers a call to action for practitioners to look beyond surface-level symptoms and trace chronic dysfunction back to the digestive system. She breaks down the often-missed connections between low stomach acid, impaired enzyme activity, compromised bile flow, and damaged intestinal lining, and how each of these can block nutrient absorption, trigger systemic inflammation, and create a breeding ground for disease. From medication-induced gut damage to the misunderstood role of histamine overload, Tracy illustrates how even everyday interventions like NSAIDs and antibiotics can have far-reaching consequences for the brain, hormones, immune system, and more.   Through vivid metaphors and practitioner-tested insights, Tracy exposes the pitfalls of removing “problem” body parts without resolving the upstream dysfunctions that caused them. She urges practitioners to shift from managing symptoms to restoring core physiological balance, using functional medicine to address root causes and rebuild long-term resilience. This episode challenges conventional thinking and invites a deeper, more strategic approach to healing, one that begins in the gut and ripples outward into every system of the body.   Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Gut as the Root of Systemic Disease 01:42 Why “You Are What You Eat” Is Misleading 04:46 How Low Stomach Acid and Enzyme Deficiency Fuel Disease 07:09 Bile Flow, Estrogen, and Gallbladder Dysfunction 11:48 NSAIDs, Ibuprofen, and the Hidden Cost to Gut Health 14:05 Histamine Overload and the Brush Border Breakdown 18:30 Leaky Gut and Immune System Overexposure 23:15 Lipopolysaccharides and the Gut-Brain Axis 28:03 How Medications Disrupt Gut Integrity 32:50 The Rise of Food Sensitivities and Systemic Inflammation 38:28 Oral Health as the Starting Point of Gut Dysfunction 43:08 The Critical Role of Bile in Digestion and Immune Defense 47:45 Don’t Treat the Victim, Address the Root Cause   Links Take SAFM’s 10 CME course - the Essential Gut Deep Dive: https://schoolafm.com/gut-course Get weekly Clinical Tips in your inbox: https://schoolafm.com/clinical-tips  Learn more about SAFM’s practitioner training: https://schoolafm.com/our-program Subscribe to our Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@safmchannel Access daily quick tips on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AppliedFunctionalMedicine/  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm