
Hosted by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo · EN

The conversation around seed oils is confusing. Some claim they are toxic, while others insist omega-6 fats are harmless. The truth lies elsewhere. The important factors are what the oil contains, how it is processed, and the metabolic health of the person consuming it.In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo cuts through the confusion, unpacking: fatty acid balance, omega-6 to omega-3 ratios, oxidation, cell membrane signaling, inflammation, insulin resistance, and practical strategies to navigate modern dietary fats. If you work with clients who struggle with inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, or cardiovascular risk, this episode will help you move from dogma to clinical precision.What’s Inside This Episode:Why “seed oils” is a misleading categoryHow refined oils differ from whole seedsThe metabolic consequences of excess omega-6The role of oxidation and processing in health outcomesHow fatty acid balance influences inflammation and insulin signalingWhy individual metabolic health changes oil toleranceKey questions practitioners should ask before recommending oilsA framework for evaluating oils without fear or hypeResources and Links:Download the Full Transcript hereDownload our FREE Beyond Protocols: A Practitioner's Guide to Root-Cause Pattern Recognition to learn how to identify underlying patterns, connect symptoms with root-cause mechanisms, and make more strategic clinical decisions. Access the Genetic Pathway Mapping Workshop Replay to learn a clinical framework for identifying genetic patterns and applying targeted epigenetic strategies. Approximately 2 hours of training.Join the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results. Check out other podcast episodes here

You’ve increased estrogen.You’ve supported the gut.You’ve cleaned up the protocol.And… she’s still dealing with dryness. recurrent UTIs., and discomfort that keeps coming back.At some point, it stops being a hormone conversation.When labs look “fine” and symptoms persist, adding more support doesn’t fix the problem. It just exposes it.In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie sits down with Dr. Anna Cabeca to look at a pattern that gets missed in conventional and functional care: the vaginal microbiome.This is NOT a side topic but a primary driver.They walk through what happens when Lactobacillus balance is disrupted, why vaginal pH shifts matter more than most practitioners realize, and how these changes can create symptoms that look hormonal but don’t respond to hormone-based approaches.You’ll start to see why some cases don’t resolve…and what to look at next when they don’t.What’s Inside This Episode?Normal estrogen… but persistent drynessWhy UTIs keep coming backWhen pH—not hormones—is the issueThe key Lactobacillus strains that matterHow antibiotics and HRT disrupt the ecosystemUrgency and leakage that aren’t a bladder problemThe link to fertility, aging, and tissue healthWhy systemic protocols fail when the issue is localResources and LinksDownload the Full TranscriptDownload our FREE Metabolic Health Guide here. Join the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results. Check out other podcast episodes hereDr Anna’s Resources and LinksDr Anna’s Website: https://drannacabeca.comCheck out Dr Anna’s productsFind her on Social Media FacebookYouTube: The Girlfriend Doctor: TikTokPodcast Labs & Testing Mentioned in This EpisodeThese tools go beyond traditional testing (HPV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, trichomonas) and help assess overall vaginal microbiome balance, including beneficial Lactobacillus species.MDL (Medical Diagnostic Laboratories) - Vaginal testing that includes both pathogenic organisms and beneficial bacteriaBiomeFX Vaginal Microbiome Kit - Advanced microbiome analysis to assess vaginal bacterial balanceTiny Health Vaginal Microbiome Test - At-home testing option for evaluating vaginal microbial healthGuest BioAnna Cabeca, DO, OBGYN, FACOG, is best selling author of The Hormone Fix and Keto-Green 16 and MenuPause. Dr. Anna is triple-board certified and a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She holds special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. She lectures frequently on those topics and shares the secret behind the ebb and flow of intimacy as she demystifies the fascinating hormonal changes over time. She will help you discover how the “love hormone”, Oxytocin can breathe life into your relationship, and how Cortisol can take it away - and how the delicate balancing act of those hormones can reignite your libido and support a healthy relationship, most importantly the one you have with yourself.She is sassy, blunt, speaks from the heart and has a wonderful sense of humor, and this is why we call her The Girlfriend Doctor, because everyone needs a friend like her! She has personally developed natural products to help women balance hormones and thrive through menopause including the highly acclaimed Julva® cream for the vulva and MightyMaca® Plus, a powerful superfood blend. She lives in Dallas with her daughters, horses and dogs.

What happens when food elimination starts making things worse?You remove the obvious triggers. You follow the labs and the genetics. The plan becomes more precise.Yet… the client becomes more reactive, the range of tolerated foods narrows, and overall resilience declines.This is not a lack of effort. It is a pattern.Food sensitivity reflects the state of the system, not just the food. When stress, blood sugar instability, microbiome disruption, or inflammation are present, even a well-designed approach can backfire.Layer genetics on top without context, and each variant becomes a reason for further restriction.At that point, the question is no longer what to remove. It is whether the system can tolerate anything at all.In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie explains why this occurs and how to shift from progressive elimination to restoring resilience.What’s Inside This Episode?When food elimination increases reactivityWhy “safe foods” stop being toleratedAllergy vs intolerance vs sensitivity and why it mattersWhy food reactions reflect system stressHow genetics gets misapplied as restrictionThe hidden cost of over-restrictionThe role of cortisol in worsening sensitivityThe question to ask before removing another foodHow to rebuild resilience and expand the dietResources and Links:Download the full transcript here.Download our FREE Guide to Using Genetic Testing to Optimize Patient OutcomesAccess the Genetic Pathway Mapping Workshop Replay to learn a clinical framework for identifying genetic patterns and applying targeted epigenetic strategies. Approximately 2 hours of training.Join the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results.Check out other podcast episodes here

You’ve seen cases where everything appears to line up, yet nothing changes.The labs are acceptable.The genetics make sense.The plan is solid, and progress stalls.At that point, most practitioners begin adjusting. When a case stalls like this, the issue is rarely the intervention itself.It is the timing.Genetics suggests what may be needed.Labs show where the system is under strain.Symptoms reflect how the body is compensating.When these are not interpreted together, support is often introduced into a system that is not ready to respond.In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie breaks down metabolic readiness and how to determine when the body can actually use what you are introducing.If your cases look correct on paper but fail to move clinically, this is the shift.What’s Inside This Episode?Why your “right” call can stall a caseThe risk of acting on data too quicklyWhen fixing one marker worsens the systemWhy insulin is the problem you’re not prioritizingThe unintended consequences of pushing methylationWhat low ferritin is costing youHow genetics can point you in the wrong directionWhen more intervention creates more imbalanceThe difference between correction and overcorrectionThe question that tells you to wait, not actResources and Links:Download the full transcriptDownload our FREE Guide to Using Genetic Testing to Optimize Patient OutcomesAccess the Genetic Pathway Mapping Workshop Replay to learn a clinical framework for identifying genetic patterns and applying targeted epigenetic strategies. Approximately 2 hours of training.Join the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results.Check out other podcast episodes here

What’s Inside This Episode?Why oxytocin is more than a “love hormone”• The hidden link between oxytocin and digestion, gut motility, and metabolism• How oxytocin influences blood sugar and pancreatic function• Why environmental toxins disrupt oxytocin more than other hormones• The connection between oxytocin, mood, bonding, and emotional resilience• How hormone imbalances contribute to disconnection and chronic illness• The truth about hormone replacement and long-standing misconceptions• Practical ways to support oxytocin naturally and clinicallyResources and Links:Download the full transcript hereDownload our FREE Metabolic Health Guide here.Join the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results.Check out other podcast episodes hereGuest Resources and LinksCheck out Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson’s Website: https://drlindseyberkson.comSocial Media:Find Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson on FacebookFind Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson on Instagram Books & Resources:Oxytocin MedicineHormones: Vilified to Vindicated Everything Hormones (CME Course) Membership & Ongoing Learning:Membership – https://drlindseyberkson.com/membershipAgile Thinking Substack – https://drlindseyberkson.substack.com/Guest BioDr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson: Where Audacity Meets ScienceAs a Distinguished Hormone Scholar from the highly praised Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, Dr. Berkson worked shoulder-to-shoulder with pioneering scientists who discovered the first hormone receptors. Her breakthrough book, Hormone Deception (McGraw-Hill 2002,Awakened Medicine Press 2016), earned her this prestigious invitation, as she exposed the public health emergency of environmental toxins assaulting our hormones and provided the original guidelines for reducing exposure.Her impact on medical literature continues to grow. Dr. Berkson’s book Healthy Digestion the Natural Way (Wiley & Sons, 2000) was the first gut, nutrition, and mindfulness book to sell over 1 million copies. Her work Sexy Brain (Awakened Medicine Press 2017) further explored endocrine disruption and gender-bending, while her latest book, Oxytocin Medicine, reveals how the “hormone of connection, empathy and calm” is under attack – and what we can do about it.

You’ve seen this before. A genetic report comes back loaded with red SNPs. MTHFR. APOE. COMT, and suddenly everything feels more complicated. More supplements. More restrictions. More second-guessing.That creates overwhelm.In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie breaks down how to actually use genetics in practice without turning it into a list of problems to fix. SNPs aren’t diagnoses, and they don’t tell you what to do on their own.What matters is how those variants show up in the body.You’ll learn how to step back, look at pathways instead of individual SNPs, and connect genetics with labs, symptoms, and physiology, so your decisions actually make sense.If genetic testing has ever made things harder instead of clearer, this will change how you approach it.What’s Inside This Episode?• Why genetic testing often creates overwhelm instead of clarity • The problem with focusing on individual SNPs like MTHFR and APOE • Why SNPs are variants, not diagnoses or mutations • The shift from “red flags” to pathway-based thinking • How to integrate genetics with labs, symptoms, and physiology • What to look at instead of reacting to every variant • How to prioritize interventions using systems thinking • Why sequencing matters more than stacking protocolsResources and Links:Download the full transcript hereDownload our FREE Smart Supplementation MatrixJoin the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results. Check out our other podcast episodes here

HPV gets treated like a life sentence, and the conversation usually stops at fear, procedures, or a vaccine that does not fully protect. In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie talks with women’s health expert Dr. Doni Wilson about what actually drives HPV persistence, why most women are told “there’s nothing you can do,” and how a terrain-based approach helps the body clear high-risk HPV and stay negative long term.You’ll learn what to look for beyond exposure, how the vaginal microbiome, hormones, blood sugar, nutrient status, toxins, and chronic stress shape susceptibility, and which overlooked lab clues can point to the real problem, before it becomes a crisis.What’s Inside This Episode?The question most HPV conversations never askWhy eliminating a virus isn’t the same as eliminating riskThe early signals and lab clues that matter before abnormal cells appearThe missing piece in cervical cancer prevention most women never hearHow understanding the why changes everythingResources and Links:Download the full transcript here. Download our FREE Free Guide to Supporting a Healthy and Balanced Immune SystemJoin the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results. Check out other podcast episodes hereGuest Resources and Links Dr. Doni Wilson’s website: doctordoni.com Get Dr Doni’s Free Training for Healthcare PractitionersFind Dr Doni on Facebook: @drdoniwilsonInstagram: @drdoniwilsonTwitter: @glutenfreedocTickTok: @drdoniwildonYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@DoniWilsonNDGuest BioDr. Doni Wilson is a powerhouse naturopathic doctor, professional midwife, clinical nutritionist, best-selling author of Master Your Stress, Reset Your Health, and an internationally renowned speaker and thought leader in women’s health. For over 25 years, she has been on the cutting edge of health care, helping women to transform their health naturally. As the creator of the Stress Recovery Protocol®, developed through her own journey overcoming chronic migraines, Dr. Doni has helped thousands of patients break free from health challenges and become resilient to stress. A true advocate for women’s health, she is dedicated to empowering others to take control of their healing, drawing awareness to the profound impact of stress and trauma on the body.You can find her blog, podcast How Humans Heal, and transformational programs at DoctorDoni.com.

If you’ve practiced long enough, you’ve seen this. Labs come back “normal,” and yet… the person in front of you clearly isn’t. Fatigue. Brain fog. Anxiety. Metabolic dysfunction. All of these are dismissed, because the numbers fall inside a reference range.Reference ranges are statistical. They are not optimal.In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie walks through how to interpret labs in context by looking at patterns, physiology, and functional markers instead of reacting to isolated numbers.This is the missing layer between data and clinical results.What’s Inside This Episode?• Why “normal” labs can still reflect dysfunction• The difference between lab sufficiency and functional sufficiency• How to read patterns instead of isolated markers• Early signs of methylation strain most practitioners miss• When serum markers mislead you• How to think through a hierarchy before supplementing• When advanced testing adds clarity—and when it doesn’tResources and Links:Download the full transcript hereDownload our FREE Smart Supplementation MatrixJoin the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results.Check out our other podcast episodes here

Activated forms. Methylated forms. Chelated minerals. The supplement world often implies that newer or “activated” means better, but does it?In this episode, Dr. Ritamarie continues the supplementation conversation, this time through the lens of genetics, enzyme efficiency, and precision forms. She breaks down when activated nutrients truly matter, when they don’t, and why choosing the wrong form can stall progress just as much as choosing the wrong supplement.You’ll also learn how excipients, binders, and delivery systems can influence tolerance and outcomes, especially in sensitive people.If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re using the right form or just following a trend, this episode will help you think more precisely and prescribe more effectively.What’s Inside This Episode?• Activated forms: when they matter and when they don’t• Genetic variants: how they affect enzyme efficiency (not just deficiency)• Bottlenecks: why the limiting step, not the nutrient, guides decisions• Functional deficiency: when labs look normal but pathways aren’t• Absorption vs activation: why form doesn’t fix every problem• Excipients: what’s really in the capsule and when it matters• Delivery systems: powders, capsules, liquids, and what to consider• Overcorrection: how “more” and “activated” can create new imbalancesResources and Links:Download the full transcript hereDownload our FREE Smart Supplementation MatrixJoin the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community supportVisit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing results.Check out our other podcast episodes here

You run the labs and a nutrient comes back low. What’s your first move?For many practitioners, the reflex is simple: replace it. But we’re living in the most over-supplemented era in history. People are taking magnesium for sleep, B12 for energy, iron for fatigue, adaptogens for stress, creatine for cognition without asking the most important question.Why is it low in the first place?That question is the difference between protocol prescribing and real clinical thinking. A deficiency isn’t a diagnosis but a clue. Until we understand the mechanism behind that clue, we’re reacting and not practicing true healthcare.What’s Inside This Episode?• Low nutrients: why they’re a clue, not a diagnosis• Six hidden drivers: the real causes of many deficiencies• Absorption problems: why adding more often fails• Activation issues: when nutrients can’t convert to active forms• Cellular transport: the overlooked signaling problem• Increased demand: how stress, toxins, and inflammation drain nutrients• Functional deficiency: when labs look normal but cells aren’t• Supplement decisions: when they help and when they miss the root causeResources and Links:Download the full transcript hereDownload our FREE Smart Supplementation MatrixJoin the Next-Level Health Practitioner Facebook group here for free resources and community support.Visit INEMethod.com for advanced health practitioner training and tools to elevate your clinical skills and grow your practice by getting life-changing resultsCheck out other podcast episodes here