Functional Medicine Reality Podcast

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Episode Overview

Mold. It's one of those words that makes people freeze, panic, or reach for their wallet before they even know what they're dealing with.

In this episode of the Functional Medicine Reality Podcast, Dr. Mark Su sits down with Michael Schrantz, Indoor Environmental Professional (IEP) and founder of Environmental Analytics, for a real, unscripted conversation with an anonymous patient, r...

What if the knee pain you've been blaming on age is actually a statin side effect?

That's a question worth sitting with. And it's one of the reasons I wanted to do this episode, because I see this pattern in real people, in real conversations, all the time. Someone's been on a statin for a few years. They're moving less, feeling foggy, their joints ache. And when they bring it up, they're told it's just part of getting older.

It doesn't have to be that way.

In this episode, I walk you through...

I'll be upfront. I walked into my first encounter with Dr. Todd Watts as a full-on skeptic.

I'm an MD. I like data. I've literally told vendors at conference booths, hey, I'm not buying anything, fair warning. That's just who I am.

But I remember standing in that conference room years ago watching Todd present on parasites, a topic I had barely touched in fifteen years of conventional practice, and something just landed. I thought, that guy is solid. Something genuine is happening there. I didn't know much about him at all, but I trusted...

Hey friends, what if we stopped fighting over labels and actually started treating the mechanisms behind what's making people sick? That's the question driving today's conversation with Dr. Jessica Lasky-Su from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Here's the thing. Her team is working at the edge of some really fascinating science, genetics, epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics, antibody profiling. And what we dig into is how long COVID research, viral exposures, and autoimmunity all connect. This isn't just academic, right? This shift in thinking could change how we approach everything from chronic fatigue to neurodegeneration.

What does “I feel good” mean after years of chronic Lyme and a major surgery that reshapes your body and your identity? We sit down with Mary Jo to unpack a tender, determined third chapter: living well after treatment, navigating a post-hysterectomy reality, and rebuilding confidence without ignoring limits. The result is a rare blend of practical playbooks and soul-level honesty—how to budget energy to avoid push-crash, why anti-inflammatory eating clarifies symptoms fast, and where simple modalities like sauna and cold plunges fit when you’re ready to nudge good toward great.

Mary Jo walks us through...

In this episode, I sit down with Sebastian, a family friend and college student, for an open and thoughtful conversation about health, food, mental clarity, and the overwhelm of modern wellness information. This is a rare and refreshing look at how the younger generation is thinking about health and asking questions many adults never learned to ask.

Seb shares how his interest in lifting, performance, and nutrition gradually turned into something deeper. What started as a focus on strength and physique became an exploration of sleep, food quality, anxiety, gut health, and mental well-being. Along the way...

In this episode of the Functional Medicine Reality Podcast, I sit down again with my friend and colleague Mike Schrantz, an Indoor Environmental Professional I often call the “Doctor of Homes.” I’m the “Doctor of People,” and together we work at the intersection where sick buildings and sick bodies collide.

Today we step into a thorny topic that affects a lot of patients and a lot of practitioners: human mold testing, specifically urine mycotoxin testing.

If you have ever had a urine mycotoxin test, or if you have been told your resul...

One of the questions I am asked most often by patients is this:

“Don’t doctors get paid to prescribe medications?”

It is a fair question. And if you have ever left a medical visit feeling rushed, unheard, or confused about why a prescription was offered when you wanted to talk about lifestyle change, you are not alone.

The short answer, from my experience, is no. Doctors are not paid directly for writing prescriptions. I have never seen that arrangement in my own career. But the longer and more important answer is where things...

Hey friends. This is one of those foundational conversations that quietly shapes everything we do in healthcare, yet it’s rarely talked about outside medical training.

In this episode, I walk you through the concept of differential diagnosis, what it is, why it matters, and how overlooking it can delay healing or, in some cases, cause real harm.

Differential diagnosis simply means creating a thoughtful list of all the possible causes of a symptom before jumping to conclusions. It’s not about being overly technical. It’s about being thorough, humble, and clinically respon...

Welcome back to the Functional Medicine Reality Podcast. I'm Dr. Mark Su, and today we're pivoting from the chronic inflammation world into the longevity space. I'm here with Cooper Paul, a pulmonary hypertension specialist at a major academic hospital in Boston and a true longevity medicine enthusiast who's taught me an incredible amount over the last few years.

Here's the thing. We all know exercise is good for us. But what if I told you there's data showing that going from a low VO2 max to an elite VO2 max can decrease your risk of dying in...

Welcome back to the Functional Medicine Reality Podcast. I'm Dr. Mark Su, and this is part two of my conversation with Mary Jo Anderson. If you caught our first episode together, you know we covered the long, painful road to getting a Lyme disease diagnosis. Today we're diving into what happens after you finally have answers.

Here's the thing. Getting a diagnosis doesn't mean everything magically gets better overnight. Mary Jo's story is proof of that. And I think her willingness to share the messy, nonlinear reality of treatment is exactly what so many people need to...

Alright, so here's one I get asked constantly: Do I really need to throw out all my belongings if there's mold in my house?

If that question's been keeping you up at night, or if you're stuck wondering whether dealing with mold means going bankrupt and starting over, take a deep breath. This episode's for you.

I brought back Mike Schrantz, one of the most networked indoor environmental professionals in the country. He's what I call a "doctor of houses and buildings." And we got into the real, practical reality of what mold remediation actually...

Hey friends, this one's for both practitioners and patients who've been around the functional medicine world for a while.

Here's the thing. When you've been dealing with chronic symptoms for months or years, it's really easy to fall into patterns. You start assuming every flare-up is the same old story. SIBO acting up again. Mold toxicity. Food sensitivities.

But what if it's not?

I'm talking about the differential diagnostic list, which is just a fancy way of saying: all the possible things that could be causing your symptoms. And here's where it gets...

I’m Dr. Mark Su, a conventionally trained physician, functional medicine practitioner, and lifelong student of the why behind symptoms.

This podcast was born out of real-life questions, real patient stories, and a deep sense that the healthcare conversation needs more honesty, nuance, and humanity. Not perfection. Not dogma. Just reality.

In this kickoff episode, I share three confessions, a few pivotal stories from my clinical journey, and the deeper reason this podcast exists in the first place.

Three Confessions (Right Out of the Gate)