Welcome to the Monthly Roundup! Here's our chance to share some highlights from the past month: what we're treating, what we're learning, what we're eating. A quick review of the things we care about and how we're spending our time. Got an update you care about to share with us? We wanna know - hit reply and stay in touch! ✉️
What We're Treating
When asked, "Do you treat XYZ condition?" || Dr. Rasmussen's answer, "Are you a person?" -- The human behind any disease, diagnosis, syndrome, or label is so much more important to us than what we call it. Truly.
Here are some of the clinical highlights from this month:
🌙 PCOS vs FHA | A patient came to us with a label of PCOS based on polycystic ovarian morphology alone (seen on an ultrasound). Polycystic morphology ≠ PCOS. The distinction changes everything. Clinically, the picture fit functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA). We shifted away from "hormone balancing treatment" and towards fueling and recovery.
🚽 Medication-Induced Diarrhea | A patient developed persistent diarrhea after an anti-fungal was prescribed for a foot problem. The first step was identifying the medication as a driver. From there: pause the insult, stabilize hydration and electrolytes, support the gut lining, and rebuild gradually. Sometimes the intervention is simply removing what's causing harm.
💁♀️ Hormonal Acne (Not High Testosterone) | We met with a patient whose acne didn't respond to spironolactone. Why? Testosterone wasn't elevated. We shifted focus to insulin signaling, inflammation, and gut-skin connections instead of forcing an androgen-centric fix. Acne is a pattern problem, not a one-hormone problem.
🧬 Active Surveillance in Action | We’re celebrating a patient who chose active cancer surveillance rather than immediate intervention. Over the past year, his tumor volume decreased by ~50% with no formal conventional treatment. What did change: a highly intentional nutrition strategy, daily movement, and meaningful lifestyle structure. He credits his faith in God as a core source of commitment and grounding. Our role wasn’t to “treat cancer,” but to support the terrain while his oncology team monitored closely. This is what engaged, well-supported surveillance can look like.
Want to get some insight about your health?
Lab testing is only part of the picture. We spend time talking through your unique challenges, goals, and current choices to help develop a foundation of living well.
I’ve been spending time diving into peptides. Not just the hype, but the actual physiology: delivery systems, real-world use cases, and how protocols are structured (and where they fall apart). It’s been a good reminder that “new” tools still need old-school thinking: mechanism first, context always. The deeper I go, the harder it is to accept vague answers or protocol-by-Instagram. Clinical curiosity keeps the bar high.
Mitchell Rasmussen, DC, CFMP
I’ve been deep in the weeds with a chronic kidney disease case where weight gain is the goal but nutrition options are tightly restricted. Protein limits, potassium, phosphorus… It’s eye-opening how bad most “kidney-safe” options are from a taste standpoint. It honestly makes me want to start a medical foods company, because patients deserve options that work and don’t feel like punishment.
Kate Daugherty, MS, CNS
What We're Eating
We’ve been talking a lot about “boring meals” lately. Not sad meals, just meals that do their job. A certain percentage of the week built around nutrient targets, blood sugar stability, and consistency rather than novelty. When you zoom in, excellence is usually pretty boring: the same breakfast, the same lunch, the same foundations done well. The fun meals still matter, they just don’t carry the whole load. Mundane, repetitive, effective.
How to Make Boring Meals Work
Keep the template the same, vary the details. Oats + seeds + berries works whether it’s steel-cut or sprouted, chia or flax, blueberries or raspberries. The structure stays, the inputs rotate.
Change the format, not the food. Tinned fish can be straight from the can, gently warmed with olive oil and herbs, or tossed into a rice bowl. Same nutrients, different experience.
Build “default meals” you don’t have to think about. If decision fatigue is high, boring meals win by default.
Save creativity for timing, not frequency. One or two intentional, enjoyable meals (re:"fun" or "new recipes") per week hit differently when the rest is handled.
actual footage of Mitchell enjoying his boring meals
What We're Excited About
On a personal note, Mitchell’s bachelor party is coming up this month, and I’m genuinely excited for him. It feels like a meaningful marker on the way to getting married, and it’s been nice to pause and appreciate that season.
On the work side, we took a brief break from the FACILITATED podcast to recalibrate and get clear on what’s next. We’re easing back in now, feeling focused and refreshed. Sometimes a pause is exactly what allows the next phase to land well.
Kate Daugherty, MS, CNS + Dr. Mitchell Rasmussen, DC, CFMP