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MONTHLY ROUNDUP

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! ✉️

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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:

• 🤰 Rethinking Fertility Tracking | One of the most useful tools we incorporated this month was the Mira fertility monitor. Instead of guessing where a patient was in her cycle, we could actually watch hormone patterns evolve day by day. That context gave us far more confidence than a single snapshot from bloodwork alone. It's not a replacement for comprehensive testing, but in the right patient, it's an incredibly helpful complement.
• 🧩 The Diagnosis Isn't the Destination | Several patients this month reminded us that a diagnosis is a starting point, not an explanation. Whether it's IBS, PCOS, reflux, or chronic fatigue, the label describes what is happening, but rarely explains why. Our job is to keep asking better questions until the biology starts making sense.
• 🧬 BRCA1: Focusing on What We Can Influence | We met with a woman carrying a BRCA1 mutation who wanted to know how to optimize her health before disease ever develops. We can't change her genetics, but we can help shape the metabolic environment those genes live in. Nutrition, body composition, blood sugar regulation, inflammation, nutrient status, sleep, and movement all become meaningful levers. Functional medicine isn't about eliminating genetic risk. It's about maximizing the biology you can control.
• 👃 The Sinuses Deserve More Attention | We've spent more time recently thinking about the nasal microbiome, especially in patients with chronic sinus symptoms, mold exposure, or persistent inflammatory conditions. The gut isn't the only microbial ecosystem that influences health. While we're still learning about this space, evaluating the sinus environment can sometimes provide another piece of the puzzle when symptoms refuse to resolve.

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. The New Patient Process →

What We're Learning

I'm learning far more than I ever expected while building my first home (ok, I'm not actually building it; but you know..). What began as selecting finishes has turned into a crash course in water filtration options, ventilation, building materials, moisture control, and even the importance of lot grading. It’s been a good reminder that our environment shapes our health in countless ways, many of which are completely invisible until you start paying attention.

I've been diving deeper into environmental toxins. A recent toxin panel showed urine metabolites of pesticides that have been banned in the U.S. for decades. It left me with more questions than answers. How are these exposures still occurring? How long do these chemicals persist in our environment? And when we find these metabolites, are we measuring exposure... or evidence that the body is effectively detoxifying?

What We're Eating

​Dr. April Dominick planned the sweetest surprise for Kate's Birthday Lunch!

When she asked what I wanted to do for lunch, I replied "the usual is fine". The usual = some form of tinned fish. She pulled out all-the-stops for a BYO TINNED FISH BUFFET! 😊 April curated an incredible spread, I simply showed up with my favorite tin of mackerel. Check it out:

In dichotomy, Mitchell has been on a bit of a processed food bender. We're talking Little Debbie's. Frozen pizza. Cane's chicken. Whole Foods Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (iykyk).

Ever since the wedding *festivities*, it has been surprisingly hard to get back to the eating patterns that make him FEEL GOOD (mentally and physically). The highly palatably convenience foods have had a strong pull.

I share this not to call out or shame Mitchell, but to make a broader point: WE HAVE THE SAME HUMAN EXPERIENCE AS EVERYONE ELSE. Just because we know better doesn't automatically make those choices easy.

And if anything, navigating these seasons ourselves makes us more empathetic clinicians. We don't expect perfection from our patients because we don't expect it from ourselves. We focus on noticing when we're off course and finding our way back.

What We're Excited About

First up is the Denver Yoga Summit September 11-13 at Chatfield Farms, where Mitchell will be giving a talk titled Yoga as Primary Care. He'll be teaching how movement, breath, and nervous system regulation are foundational pieces of healthcare rather than simply complementary practices. If you'll be in the area, we'd love to see you there. You can grab tickets here [use code PRIMARY30 for a discount]!

We're also excited to spend an evening at Red Rocks alongside several of our telehealth clients who are flying in from the East Coast. One of the unexpected perks of practicing virtually is occasionally getting to meet people in person after working together from afar. Those moments always remind us how small the world really is. 🎵 🎟️ Role Model: September 16!

catch you next month! love + gratitude. always. ​ ​ ​