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Why finding the root cause changes everything
In this episode of the Stronger Bones Lifestyle Podcast, I sat down with Reed Davis, the founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition — and the person who trained me to run functional labs and look for root causes instead of just symptoms.
This conversation was especially meaningful to me because the work I do today helping women stop bone loss and improve their health started with what I learned from Reed back in 2014.
And the biggest lesson I learned from him was this:
You have to find the “why” behind dysfunction if you want to change your health.
When Your Labs Are “Normal” But You Don’t Feel Normal
So many women I work with tell me the same story.
They’ve been to multiple doctors.
They’ve had blood work done.
They’ve been told everything looks normal.
But they don’t feel normal.
They feel tired, inflamed, stressed, bloated, hormonal, or just not like themselves anymore.
And that’s where functional testing and root-cause thinking becomes so important. Because instead of just asking, What diagnosis do you have? we start asking:
Why is this happening in the first place?
The Body Doesn’t Break Down Overnight
One of the biggest things Reed and I discussed is that the body doesn’t suddenly become unhealthy overnight. What usually happens is a slow buildup of stressors over time.
These stressors can come from many places:
- Chronic stress
- Poor sleep
- Blood sugar swings
- Gut dysfunction
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Toxins and environmental exposure
- Hormonal imbalances
Individually, these may not seem like a big deal. But together, over time, they create what Reed calls metabolic chaos — when multiple systems in the body are out of balance and affecting each other.
And this is something I see all the time in women with osteoporosis and bone loss.
Bone Loss Is Not Just About Calcium
This is one of the biggest misconceptions in bone health.
Bone loss is not simply a calcium problem.
Bone is living tissue, and it responds to what is happening in your entire body — your hormones, your digestion, your stress levels, your inflammation, your metabolism, and your lifestyle.
If your gut isn’t absorbing nutrients, your bones suffer.
If your stress hormones are high, your bones suffer.
If inflammation is high, your bones suffer.
If your hormones are imbalanced, your bones suffer.
That’s why we have to look at the whole system.
Test, Don’t Guess
One of the most important things Reed always says is:
“Test, don’t guess.”
And I have seen this over and over again in my work.
When women actually run functional labs and see what’s happening inside their bodies, everything changes. Suddenly, it’s not guesswork anymore. We can see:
- Stress hormone patterns
- Gut health and digestion issues
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Inflammation
- Immune responses to foods
- Hormonal imbalances
And once you know what’s happening, you can create a plan that actually works.
My Takeaway
If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this episode, it’s this:
Your body is not breaking down randomly.
There is always a reason.
When we stop chasing symptoms and start looking for root causes, we can begin to support the body in a completely different way.
And when you support the body properly — through how you eat, how you move, how you sleep, and how you manage stress — the body has an incredible ability to heal and rebuild.
Including your bones.
And that is where real change begins.
Podcast Subscribe Links - Reversing Osteoporosis
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Oxalates, also known as oxalic acid, are naturally occurring compounds found in many plants, vegetables, and fruits. They are part of a plant’s defense mechanism against predators and can be found in high concentrations in foods like spinach, rhubarb, beets, nuts, chocolate, tea, and certain beans.
Regarding bone health, oxalates can bind to minerals such as calcium in the gut, forming calcium oxalate. This compound is not easily absorbed by the body, meaning the calcium that could have been utilized for bone strengthening is instead excreted. This process can potentially lead to lower calcium availability for bone health, which can be particularly concerning for individuals at risk of osteoporosis or other bone-related issues.
However, for most women, dietary oxalates do not pose a significant threat to bone health, especially if their diet is balanced with enough calcium and they do not have a history of kidney stones.
Your gut is crucial for stronger bones for several reasons:
- Nutrient Absorption: The gut is where most nutrient absorption occurs. For bones to be healthy and strong, they need a variety of nutrients, particularly calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin D. A healthy gut efficiently absorbs these essential nutrients from your diet and facilitates their transportation to the bones.
- Gut Microbiome and Bone Health: Research has shown that the gut microbiome (the community of bacteria living in your intestines) can influence bone density. Certain gut bacteria help in producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which have been shown to promote bone health. SCFAs can enhance the absorption of minerals necessary for bone strength and play a role in reducing inflammation, which can negatively affect bone health.
- Hormone Regulation: The gut helps regulate hormones that are involved in bone metabolism, including insulin, thyroid hormones, and sex hormones like estrogen. For example, estrogen is vital for bone density, and gut health can influence estrogen levels through the enterohepatic circulation, where estrogens are processed in the liver and intestines.
- Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation, which can stem from poor gut health, is linked to many conditions that compromise bone strength, such as osteoporosis. A healthy gut helps to reduce systemic inflammation, protecting bones from inflammatory damage.
- Immune System Modulation: The majority of the immune system is located in the gut. An imbalance in the immune system can lead to autoimmune conditions, some of which affect the bones. Maintaining gut health helps to ensure the immune system works correctly, protecting against autoimmune reactions that could impact bone health.
In essence, maintaining a healthy gut contributes significantly to stronger bones by ensuring the effective absorption of vital nutrients, regulating hormones, reducing inflammation, and supporting a healthy immune system. Therefore, a diet rich in bone-healthy nutrients, prebiotics, and probiotics, along with lifestyle factors that promote gut health, is key to maintaining strong bones.