Functional medicine is everywhere right now, but what does it actually mean? And is it really about finding the root cause of your symptoms, or has it become another way to sell you a bunch of supplements?

In this episode of Becca Babbles, I'm breaking down what functional medicine actually is, how it differs from simply chasing symptoms, and why understanding your health story matters.

As a chiropractor with a master's in functional nutrition, I'm sharing my perspective on looking beyond individual symptoms to explore the bigger picture of health. We'll talk about how your genetics, environment, lifestyle, and past experiences may influence your health over time, along with the role of the Functional Medicine Matrix, antecedents, triggers, and mediators.

We'll also discuss why lab testing and supplements can be useful tools without being the answer to everything, how to recognize patterns in your health, and why small, realistic lifestyle changes can be a great place to start.

Most importantly, this is a conversation about getting curious about your health without feeling like you need to do everything perfectly or chase every new wellness trend.

Because understanding your health shouldn't leave you more confused. It should help you ask better questions, make informed decisions, and find a path forward that makes sense for you.

So grab your tea or coffee, get comfortable, and let's babble!

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding your personal health concerns.

Connect with Becca

• Instagram: @dr.beccaannwellness
• Email: beccababblespodcast@gmail.com

Don't forget to leave a 5-star rating and review! It helps grow the show so that I can help more people learn and grow!

Fitness is supposed to support your life, not swallow it whole.

Have you ever felt guilty for missing a workout, felt like you had to follow the latest fitness routine on social media, or started tying your worth to how your body looked or how much you could accomplish in the gym?

In this episode, I am talking about how fitness became a huge part of my identity and how that mindset followed me from high school basketball into chiropractic school, internships, traveling, and the busyness of everyday life.

I am sharing what I have learned about the difference between being committed to fitness and letting fitness consume you. More workouts, more steps, more intensity, and more discipline do not automatically mean you are becoming healthier.

Instead, sometimes getting healthier means learning how to fuel your body, prioritize recovery, adjust your workouts, and recognize that you cannot operate at full capacity in every area of your life at the same time.

I am talking about redefining progress, letting go of the pressure to constantly do more, and learning how to make fitness fit into the season of life I am actually living.

00:00 Why fitness should not take over your life

00:53 When workouts became tied to identity and self worth

04:33 How chiropractic school challenged my fitness habits

08:16 Rethinking progress, recovery, and fueling my body

13:10 Making room for school, work, relationships, and everything else in life

17:31 Learning to adapt my workouts during internship and travel

28:10 Why maintenance can still be progress

32:28 Accepting that I cannot do everything at full capacity

35:11 My personal definition of health and fitness

37:40 Using fitness to support the life I actually want to live

40:26 Questions to reflect on after listening

If fitness has started to feel like a full time job, this conversation is your reminder that movement can change with the season you are in.

Your routine does not have to look like anyone else’s. You do not have to earn your food, make every workout count, or constantly chase the next level of fitness.

Fitness should give you more freedom to live your life, not take you away from it.

Connect with Dr. Becca DC

• Instagram: @dr.beccaannwellness
• Email: beccababblespodcast@gmail.com
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Don't forget to leave a 5-star rating and review! It helps grow the show so that I can help more people learn and grow!

This show is for educational and entertainment purposes only. This is not a replacement for diagnosis or treatment.

Healthy aging doesn't start at menopause...it starts with the choices you make today.

When most people think about preparing for menopause, they picture hormone therapy, hot flashes, or supplements. But what if the foundation for a healthier menopause is built decades before those symptoms ever begin?

In this episode of Becca Babbles Podcast, I shares one of the biggest takeaways from her graduate research in Functional Nutrition, a question that completely changed the way she thinks about women's health:

Could the way we fuel (or under-fuel) our bodies during our reproductive years influence how we experience menopause later in life?

Drawing from the latest research on low energy availability (LEA), Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), and the Minnesota Starvation Experiment, I explores why healthy aging is about much more than calories or the number on the scale. She explains how nutrition, movement, stress, sleep, and muscle mass work together to build what she calls physiological resilience. The body's ability to adapt to life's biggest transitions.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why healthy aging begins long before menopause.
• What low energy availability is and why it affects far more than your menstrual cycle.
• How chronic under-fueling can impact your hormones, metabolism, bones, muscle, mood, and overall health.
• What the Minnesota Starvation Experiment teaches us about the body's response to prolonged energy deficiency.
• Why building muscle, eating enough, prioritizing quality sleep, and supporting your body with nutrient-dense foods may be some of the best investments you can make for your future health.

Whether you're in your 20s, 30s, 40s, or already navigating menopause, this episode will encourage you to stop asking, "How do I survive aging?" and start asking, "How do I prepare for it?"

Because the choices you make today are helping build the body you'll live in for decades to come.

Connect with Becca

• Instagram: @dr.beccaannwellness
• Email: beccababblespodcast@gmail.com

Don't forget to leave a 5-star rating and review! It helps grow the show so that I can help more people learn and grow!

This show is for educational and entertainment purposes only. This is not a replacement for diagnosis or treatment.

Mentioned Resources

• #119 Mindset, Minerals & Hormones with Amanda Montalvo RD
• Rooted In Resilience Podcast
• Kate Deering