Digital Social Hour – Episode #1892 (March 28, 2026) What Happens After a Tick Bite (Most People Miss This) | Dr Will Cole

Episode Overview

In this episode of Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly sits down with renowned functional medicine practitioner Dr. Will Cole, known for his bestsellers like Gut Feelings and Ketotarian. Their lively discussion centers on the current epidemic of autoimmune disorders, gut health, the impact of environmental toxins, and how medical orthodoxy is failing to keep pace with new health challenges. Dr. Cole shares actionable insights, critiques mainstream dietary guidelines, advocates for personalized health practices, and touches on health policy activism. The episode delivers both big-picture context and practical wellness tips in Dr. Cole’s engaging, accessible style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Explosion of Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

• Genetic vs. Epigenetic Mismatch
  • Dr. Cole explains, "Our genetics haven't changed in thousands of years. Our world has changed dramatically in a very finite period of time... There's an epigenetic genetic mismatch." (00:00, 04:58–05:31)
  • Explosion of chronic diseases is due to food/environment shifts, not genetic evolution.
• It's Not Just About Overt Digestive Issues
  • People with skin, mental health, hormonal issues, and other inflammation-driven problems often have underlying gut issues. (03:18–04:07)

2. The Central Role of Gut Health

• Gut-Brain Axis
  • "The gut and brain are actually formed from the same fetal tissue...inextricably linked for the rest of our life through what's known as the gut brain axis." (06:39)
  • 95% of serotonin, 50% of dopamine made in the gut; major impact on mood and brain health.
• Environmental Impact
  • Industrial agriculture, herbicides, pesticides, and soil degradation disrupt the soil microbiome, which in turn harms our gut microbiome. (06:39–08:11)
  • "If something's an herbicide and pesticide to the farming world, think of what that's doing to the gut microbiome." (07:30)

3. Navigating Food Quality and Making Practical Choices

• Buying Local & Regenerative Agriculture
  • Dr. Cole underscores the importance of knowing your farmer and supporting local regenerative agriculture, even over "organic" certification. (09:02)
  • "If you get to know them and know, yeah, these are the practices...go to the farmer's market, go and meet these people..." (09:02)
• Organic Critique
  • Organic standards aren’t perfect (runoff, thresholds, etc.), but still better than nothing for store-bought foods. (09:53–10:52)
  • "You can't be perfect. Like, stressing about this stuff isn't good for your health either." (09:57)

4. Stress, the Nervous System, and Day-to-Day Wellness

• Stress Management Practices
  • Dr. Cole recommends balancing physiological and mental/emotional support for stress (11:40).
  • "Pick something on the physiological side and something on the mental, emotional, spiritual side that you can do for yourself today." (11:40)
  • Dietary tip: Soups and stews (especially during stress) as a “siesta” for the gut. (12:06)
• Nervous System Tools
  • Devices like transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulators can strengthen the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) system. (13:07)
  • "Most people...our fight or flight response is very easily overactive...We need to bring in supporters of the parasympathetic." (13:32–14:23)

5. The Value of Targeted Supplementation

• Magnesium and D3 Essential
  • Most people (even those eating well) are magnesium and vitamin D deficient, due to both poor absorption and higher stress/nutrient expenditures. (14:34–15:46)
  • "Our brain is rich with these vitamin D receptor sites...when the body's stressed out, it's just utilizing more magnesium, vitamin D3 and B vitamins to just maintain homeostasis." (16:00–16:53)
• Forms Matter
  • Dr. Cole prefers magnesium glycinate or complex blends for better absorption, not citrate (unless for constipation specifically). (14:40–15:26)

6. Lab Testing & Medicine’s Shortcomings

• Mainstream Medicine Gaps
  • Modern doctors focus on matching meds to symptoms; rarely test for gut health or foundational nutrition. (18:48)
  • "The average doctor, medical doctor, that's conventionally trained would fail a basic nutrition test." (18:48–19:28)
• Testing for Gut Health
  • Comprehensive assessments include blood, stool, and sometimes saliva tests; majority of conventional checkups miss key gut/inflammation biomarkers. (17:07–17:58)

7. Systemic & Policy-Level Issues

• Dietary Guidelines Impact
  • U.S. guidelines demonize healthy fats, reinforce high carb/processed food; this influences hospital, military, prison, and school menus. (21:38–24:35)
  • "Since the Dietary Guidelines originally came out in the 1980s, the rate of obesity has gone up exponentially." (23:24)
• Calls for Policy Change
  • Dr. Cole advocates for closing additive loopholes, removing junk from SNAP, and encouraging transparent labeling—but emphasizes grassroots awareness as critical. (21:38–24:35)
  • Cites progress with the "MAHA" movement, involvement of figures like Secretary Kennedy and activist Vani Hari ("Food Babe"), and recent artificial dye bans. (24:40–26:51)

8. The Business of Sickness

• Pharma/Medical Industrial Complex
  • U.S. healthcare is the "most profitable thing in our society"—a sick patient is their best customer. (27:40–27:51)
  • Dr. Cole: "If I'm doing a good job with our telehealth patients, I become obsolete. I don't want a forever patient." (28:07)

9. Personal Philosophy

• Pragmatism Over Perfection
  • Dr. Cole often repeats: do the best you can, don’t stress about perfection, and empower yourself with knowledge and practical routines.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "We're not separate from nature. We're inextricably linked." – Dr. Will Cole [07:58]
• "Stress is a big one. I've been trying to figure out lately..." – Sean Kelly [10:52]
• "Our brain is rich with these vitamin D receptor sites. Our mood, so important, our nervous system, so important, our immune system, so important..." – Dr. Will Cole [16:00]
• "Mainstream institutions like the Cleveland Clinic have functional medicine centers now. They didn't have that 16 years ago when we got into this space." – Dr. Will Cole [19:52]
• "I want to get to the point where I'm empowering [patients], and then we can move on to the next person... But this sort of perpetual customer, this revolving door, it is how the system's set up. It is disease management." – Dr. Will Cole [28:07]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Gut-Brain Connection & Microbiome Science – [06:39 – 08:11]
• Local vs. Organic: How to Shop for Nourishing Food – [09:02 – 09:53]
• Stress, Nervous System & Daily Routines – [10:52 – 14:34]
• Supplementation for Modern Living – [14:34 – 17:03]
• Mainstream Medical Blind Spots + Testing Approaches – [17:07 – 19:28]
• Healthcare System and Policy Critique – [21:38 – 27:51]
• Closing Thoughts: Patient Empowerment – [28:07 – 28:36]

Tone and Style

Dr. Cole is optimistic but deeply pragmatic, using vivid analogies and scientific references. Sean Kelly keeps the pacing candid, curious, and relatable—often echoing listener questions or expressing personal resonance with the topic.

Conclusion

This episode offers a wide-ranging, approachable dialogue on where modern medicine falters and how taking charge of your gut, stress, and food environment can change your health trajectory. Dr. Cole’s message is empowering: perfection isn’t required, but awareness and incremental changes can radically improve your vitality in a world often at odds with your biology.