Send us a text
Dr. Tracy McCarthy pulls back the curtain on one of medicine's most overlooked connections: how the food on your plate directly affects your brain chemistry, mood, and overall health. Drawing from her nearly two decades of experience, this revolutionary functional medicine physician shares why she left traditional psychiatry behind after discovering that the standard pharmaceutical approach wasn't addressing why her patients were sick in the first place.
What happens when our bodies remain stuck in fight-or-flight mode? Dr. McCarthy reveals how chronic stress fundamentally disrupts our ability to digest food, eliminate toxins, and repair damaged tissues—creating a cascade of health problems that no pill can fully address. She explains why slow breathing isn't just a relaxation technique but a physiological switch that activates healing.
The conversation takes a fascinating dive into the inflammatory effects of processed foods, particularly those containing industrial seed oils. Dr. McCarthy explains how the imbalance between pro-inflammatory omega-6 and anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats is like "driving with the accelerator pushed to the floor without any brakes"—a vivid explanation of why so many Americans struggle with chronic inflammation and mood disorders.
From practical food swaps to specific supplements that support brain health, this episode delivers actionable advice for anyone looking to improve their wellbeing. Dr. McCarthy shares personal insights about cooking for her family while maintaining health standards, proving that functional medicine isn't just theoretical—it's meant to be lived in the real world where convenience matters.
Whether you're struggling with anxiety, digestive issues, or simply want to optimize your health, this conversation offers a roadmap for addressing root causes rather than just managing symptoms. Ready to transform your understanding of food as medicine? This episode might be the most important health information you hear this year.
Resources:
Dr. Tracy’s website: https://www.drtracymccarthy.com/
The Ultimate Time Audit & Productivity System (Freebie)
Grab it here: TIME AUDIT WORKBOOK
How to Hire Your First VA for $27
Get it now: GROWTH CHEATSHEET
Discover Your WHY – Free 5-Day Workshop
Sign up for free here: DISCOVER YOUR WHY
The Mom Balance Playbook (Freebie for Managing the Mayhem)
Download here: MOM BALANCE PLAYBOOK
Hire a VA or start your VA business here: https://camillewalker.co/
5-Minute Meditations for Kids Podcast
Listen & subscribe here: APPLE SPOTIFY
Top 100 Mompreneur Podcasts: https://podcast.feedspot.com/mompreneur_podcasts/
Connect with Dr. Tracy:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/DrTracyMcCarthy/
IG:
When we're in that fight orflight state, we don't digest.
When we're in that fight orflight state, we don't repair
organs, like we're in just acrisis mode and it's not a time
for rebuilding.
Camille (00:20):
So you want to make an
impact.
You're thinking about startinga business, sharing your voice.
How do women do it that handlemotherhood, family and still
chase after those dreams?
We'll listen each week as wedive into the stories of women
(00:42):
who know this is Call Me CEO.
Welcome back everyone to CallMe CEO.
This is your host, camilleWalker, and here we celebrate
women building businesses thatare helping everyone to live
healthier, longer lives, and notjust longer, but ones we can
actually enjoy.
And that's why functionalmedicine is key to finding what
it is that you need right now tofeel better.
(01:03):
And the mind-body connectionalso connects with our digestion
.
And so today we are going to bespeaking with an expert, Dr
Tracy McCarthy, who is the ownerof the Dr Tracy McCarthy
Functional Medicine Center, andI love that it's named after her
.
That's powerful and wonderful.
She does have a team that workswith her, but her focus is to
(01:25):
really help people to understandhow what we eat can be
medicinal for preventativemedicine, that we can actually
be healthy with the choices thatwe're making with our food.
So, Dr Tracy, thank you so muchfor being with us today.
Thank you for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here Now.
What do you like to be called?
(01:45):
Dr McCarthy, Dr Tracy, Dr TracyMcCarthy, what is your
preference?
Dr. Tracy (01:50):
I'm usually Dr
McCarthy to my patients.
That's coming from theallopathic medical world.
That's what we usually go byAwesome.
Camille (01:57):
So you've been doing
this for nearly 20 years and I
feel like, especially in America, where our food is not packaged
the best because it is sopackaged and preserved, what is
the number one pitfall thatyou've seen people slip into
understanding this world ofnutrition all the way back
(02:24):
actually to people not realizingthat what they're putting in
their body multiple times a dayhas a tremendous impact on not
just their body but their brain.
Dr. Tracy (02:30):
There's just a real
disconnect there of not
realizing that these are huge,powerful levers that we can
actually use to our advantage,and if we're not aware of it,
they can really be hurting us.
Camille (02:40):
Yeah, I mean, that's
foundational and I would love to
hear, before we get into thenuts and bolts of it all how did
you get into this side ofmedicine?
What was it that attracted youto this and made this your
life's journey?
Dr. Tracy (02:56):
Yeah, cause I didn't
start off where I am now, that's
for sure.
So when I went to medicalschool I was very excited to
learn what's going on inpeople's bodies, what goes wrong
when they're sick, how do wehelp them.
And I really love the scienceof all of that.
And it was pretty satisfying atfirst learning physiology and
the pathophysiology, but as mytraining progressed it became
(03:16):
more and more focused onmatching the sort of the pattern
of symptoms to a diagnosis, ofcourse, and then matching that
to a pharmaceutical treatment.
And I was always left askingwell, why, why did they get this
illness or why did they havethese symptoms?
And often there weren't answersand that was sort of
unsatisfying.
And then fast forward in mypsychiatry residency.
(03:39):
You know treating people withmedications and also therapy.
Therapy's great, but medicationoften left people with side
effects or partially treatedsymptoms.
Often they were on multiplemedications and still not
feeling great.
And you know they'd be asking,geez, do I need to take this
medication for the rest of mylife?
And just you know you could seethe limitations.
(04:01):
And at the same time as I wasgetting frustrated with my
limited toolbox, I was fortunateto see the research on chronic
inflammation and all the thingsit's connected to, and I found
all kinds of research that Ihadn't actually learned in
medical school and it was reallyeyeopening to me and actually
kind of enraging at first to mebecause I had really naively
(04:21):
thought I was going to learneverything I needed to know in
medical school to help people.
Now I laugh at that but I meanI learned wonderful things but
it's not the whole story.
So I began to experiment withmy own nutrition and lifestyle
changes because in the researchyou could see that these are the
things that really impactinflammation.
So I started to feel reallygood and, you know, different
(04:44):
little nagging symptoms aregoing away.
And then I began to hear moreand more stories about people
with, for example, autoimmuneconditions that were putting
symptoms into remission, and youknow really dramatic stories.
And so I really began to wonderdoes this work in psychiatry?
At first I didn't see anyexamples of this, but eventually
I did and I you know now Iunderstand after years of doing
(05:07):
this that we really recognizethat kind of anything can cause
anything and that it's it'sartificial these different silos
we have of, like psychiatryversus gastroenterology versus
cardiology.
When you're looking at a rootcause, systems-based approach.
You know, different people havedifferent vulnerabilities and
they, their symptoms, are goingto show up differently, even
(05:28):
with the same triggers fromperson to person.
So I was able to go discoverthe Institute for Functional
Medicine that actually trainsphysicians in this approach and,
did my training, realized Ineeded to open a private
practice if I was actually goingto do this kind of work,
because I was at that timeworking in an inpatient
psychiatry hospital where Icouldn't affect you know what
(05:52):
they were eating or influencethe kinds of things I wanted to
influence.
So so I began my practice, whichis a whole nother journey
because I was not, I didn't knowhow to do that, how to be in
business and started to workwith people, first on their
nutrition and then on theirdigestion, and then work on
reducing toxins and then addingin balancing hormones, and at
(06:13):
every step of the way just sawbetter and better results.
And the best part is just howempowered people feel and how
they can then be in the driver'sseat and really affect their
health.
So that's brought me to where Iam now, where I just I'm so
fortunate I get to work withgreat patients and really
partner with them and see thesewonderful outcomes that I didn't
(06:34):
get to experience before.
Camille (06:37):
I have so many
questions and first off, I want
to say thank you for taking thatambitious leap of doing your
own thing, because I feel like,the more I learn from people who
have been in medical school,there's so much to learn and you
all work so hard and yet thereis gaps of hormone education or
(06:58):
functional wellness like this,and so thank you for doing that.
It's gosh.
It's must've been a really long, long journey to get here.
I would love to hear openingyour own private practice.
What were some of the biggesthurdles for you to make that a
reality?
Dr. Tracy (07:16):
Well, you know, it's
probably a good thing.
I didn't know what I didn'tknow I wouldn't go back and
change anything.
I'm really, really glad forevery step of the journey, but I
think I would have beenoverwhelmed if I'd realized all
the pieces I was going to needto learn.
But yeah, I think you know partof it is this kind of medicine
is very different.
It are everyone is used to themodel of my insurance pays and
(07:39):
if it doesn't come, not going tobuy insurance, I don't do it.
And but, chris, that's all builton this pharmaceutical system
with like 10 minute doctorvisits and that's not how you do
the detective work of findingroot causes.
You have to take time withpeople and you're doing things
that insurance isn't covering.
So you know I had to realizethat for a business where people
(08:00):
are going to have to investtheir funds funds that actually
involves like marketing andpatient education and helping
people know what's possible.
But that that's all been.
You know I've been figuring itout the whole time and and that
involves a lot of education andpublic talks.
And you know there's just thatwas probably the biggest first
part of the hurdles.
(08:21):
There's been many, manylearning lessons along the way,
but it's all been worth it,that's for sure.
Camille (08:27):
Okay, well, I have,
selfishly, questions that come
to mind for my own family andfor many people that I talk to,
but I know that there's a lot ofrelation to the mind body
connection.
The book, the body keeps thescore.
If you're having a chronicillness or symptoms creeping up,
what is the first thing thatyou suggest someone does to
(08:51):
start to unravel the knot thatthey're in?
What do we do and what are somesteps that we can do to figure
out what's going on?
Dr. Tracy (09:00):
Yeah, great question.
Well, you referenced the BodyKeeps the Score and I think that
piece of it is really important, that my gut connection, my
body connection I'm thinkingspecifically about the gut.
Right now, the state of yournervous system has an enormous
impact on all your physicalhealth.
We don't actually detoxify whenwe're in that fight or flight
state, we don't digest.
(09:21):
When we're in that fight orflight state, we don't repair
organs, like we're in just acrisis mode and it's not a time
for rebuilding.
So if we're just living in thatstate due to trauma or stress,
that has to be addressed.
Otherwise you, you know you cantake all the supplements in the
world and take eat really greatfood, but your results are
(09:41):
going to be limited.
So I think you know, justbecoming aware of stress,
becoming aware of past issuesthat maybe are still alive for
you, that would benefit fromworking with someone on that.
That's very worthwhile.
Camille (09:54):
So that's that first,
and you mean therapy when you're
saying working with someone.
Yeah, there's all kinds of waysthat can look some some form of
emotional regulation.
Dr. Tracy (10:04):
Exactly, whether it's
psychotherapy, of which there
are many types, whether it'slike a somatic experiencing
therapy or trauma-informed yogaor there's a lot of ways.
And I think you have to find thethings that work for you and
experiment some, and that's fine.
And then there's all thesetools for regulating your
nervous system right, startingwith simply slow, deep breaths.
(10:25):
That's huge, you know.
Taking time to take a walk, youknow outside and getting the
sunlight and being exposed tonature these things are actually
really big.
But getting aware of the roleof the nervous system and
attending to that is reallyimportant.
Camille (10:41):
I amen.
I think that medicine rightthere, fresh air, nature,
breathing those are all thingswe have access to and I think we
forget how powerful they are,that it really can make such a
difference.
Dr. Tracy (10:53):
Yeah, they're
actually very, very important.
I mean, I think I didn'tunderstand.
You know, when people say takea deep breath and it'll help you
relax, it never felt real to meuntil I understood.
Oh, when you take a deep breath, you're actually turning on
your parasympathetic nervoussystem and that's that rest and
digest state.
That's the opposite of thesympathetic nervous system,
which is the fight or flight.
It's an actual physiologicswitch you're turning on, and
(11:17):
after that it started to reallymake sense.
Okay, we can manipulate ournervous system state and we want
to.
We want to not be living infight or flight.
Camille (11:27):
Amen, yeah, let's talk
about that a little bit.
So let's, let's assume that weare now in a place where we're
taking care of theparasympathetic things we can
control, whether that's throughyoga, therapy, nature, whatever
the thing is now turning thedial over to our nutrition.
What is a good place to startthere?
Dr. Tracy (11:49):
Well, first of all,
it's all about baby steps.
So again, it's about seeingwhere are you at right now.
It's big things that people areconsuming on a you know,
everyday basis that are reallydriving a lot of our health
issues are just processed foodswith bad oils and lots of sugar
and refined carbohydrates.
I mean, it really just boilsdown to that they are.
(12:11):
That's the biggest lever we'vegot.
So you know, for example, ifyou're a big soda consumer, you
might want to start withreplacing the soda.
Just don't worry about the foodyet, Just work on getting the
soda out and putting in somelike sparkling water, so maybe
with lemon or something to makeit a little more interesting for
you.
Um, if it's, you know, you'reeating fast food all the time.
(12:32):
Starting to find some healthiersubstitutions that are still
easy enough to do, but startingwith one thing at a time and not
overwhelming yourself, nottrying to overhaul your whole
diet at once.
That's not going to work andit's not going to stick and it's
going to be too much, but onestep at a time and then, when
that's an easy habit, you do thenext thing, but focusing on
removing that, that, um, thoseprocessed carbs and those
(12:54):
processed foods.
The thing is they're justreally inflammatory triggers in
everybody's body, and that'sbecause those, those processed
oils and I'm talking about, likecorn oil and peanut oil and
soybean oil and these oils thatare um, from generally from
grains or, like I said, soybeansthey contain a lot of omega-6
fats that are very fragile andthey get oxidized, and omega-6
(13:18):
fats, even when they're notoxidized, are pro-inflammatory.
They're actually a trigger toturn on our immune system and
rev up our reactions to things,and that's that's how they're
supposed to be.
There's also omega-3s you'veprobably heard of that's in fish
oil and in things like salmon.
That's the anti-inflammatorysignal, so these are supposed to
(13:39):
be in balance in the body.
I describe it as like the brakesand the accelerator on the car.
The accelerator on theinflammation is is the are the
omega three, I'm sorry, theomega sixes and then the brakes
are the omega threes and youneed them in balance, and most
Americans are driving aroundlike pedal to the metal full of
them at six, and they don't evenhave brakes.
There's no omega threes onboard at all, and so you're
(14:01):
never going to feel good ifthat's going on.
So you'd need to get this,these garbage oils, out, and
they're in every packaged foodwhen you read the label, like
you know, chips and cookies andand they're in most cheap salad
dressings I actually most saladdressing so you've got to look
for these and then replace themwith healthier alternatives like
avocado oil or olive oil, um,coconut oil, and that makes a
(14:26):
huge difference.
That can really affect yourmood, Just making that kind of
oil change.
Hmm.
Camille (14:31):
Now you mentioned that
you went through your own
journey of functional medicine.
Dr. Tracy (14:35):
Is this something
that you were finding you needed
help with as well going throughand replacing yeah, I mean I, I
did make all these changes as Ilearned about them, that is for
sure.
Some, a lot of people infunctional medicine got to it
because they or a family memberwere quite sick, and in my case
I was not sick.
I was really fortunate.
(14:56):
But you know, what's funny is,as I started to learn functional
medicine, I realized that I hadthese different symptoms and I
did have some problems that youknow we just sort of dismissed
because we're like that's common, it's normal.
Well, so many things are reallynot normal.
So then I really, by learningfunctional medicine, I recognize
that I did have some issues andit's enabled me to get to the
(15:16):
root of those and really changejust my health.
And then, you know, the healthof my kids.
I was having babies around thetime I was learning all of this,
so that's been a total, totallyimportant aspect for me that
changed the health of my family.
But, yeah, absolutely, this isthese are the changes we make at
home and the fats we use andreally try to minimize those
(15:37):
processed carbs as much aspossible, because those are also
inflammatory and just feed thewrong gut microbiome or bacteria
.
They have a lot of effects.
Camille (15:47):
Yeah, I'm curious what
if you had an easy swap that I'm
just thinking of all thesedifferent examples, especially
for our kids, they can be alittle trickier to make swaps
with.
What are some good tips for ushelping our children to do the
same?
Dr. Tracy (16:08):
Well, I would say
that they really take their cue
from us.
So I think what we're doingmost of the time at home is what
really matters, not obsessingabout every single thing they do
when they go to a birthdayparty or a friend's house or any
of that.
But you know what, how are youeating?
And not not cooking separatelyfor them.
Camille (16:25):
That, I feel like, is a
real slippery slope to stress
and despair.
Dr. Tracy (16:31):
I'm like don't do
that please, cause you'll be so
miserable and you have a kidthat only eats like chicken
nuggets and macaroni and cheese.
Like, from the beginning, justcooking, showing them cooking,
having them involved and theneating together, that's been the
biggest factor for me to getthem to have a broad diet and be
really open to things.
You know, obviously if they'renot on that now, then that's
(16:54):
going to take time, but you'regoing to, they're watching you.
So you know, by example,getting them to try things and
running out of some of thethings that aren't healthy, like
, oh they're out of them now, wedon't have that, you know they
will start to eat other foods.
Um, so you know that's, ingeneral, what I would recommend.
You know, anybody's particularswap there's lots of different
(17:15):
ways to to.
You know this.
There's all kinds of things youcan do for any particular thing
that someone really wants tokeep eating.
You know.
Camille (17:23):
Okay, I'm going to
rapid fire ask you some
questions for swaps.
You ready for this?
Okay, I'm just curious, likewhat?
I'm not going to make it hard,okay.
So opinions on milk are youdoing whole organic or do you do
something else?
Dr. Tracy (17:39):
No, I do have
feelings about milk that, first
of all, whole, is critical.
You do not want to do low fatdairy products at all and you
know there's still a lot ofpeople that have fat phobia.
This is sort of from honestlylike from the eighties, and that
has all been debunked in theresearch.
But people are still fearfulabout that and definitely no
child should be on anythingthat's not whole milk.
(18:00):
So that I feel really stronglyabout.
I also want it to be grass fedif possible.
They should be cows eatinggrass, because that changes the
fats in the milk, so that'sreally important.
So organic, yes, we do not wantto be giving them pesticides,
like there's already a big toxicburden in our environment.
We can't control all of it, butthe food we can influence, so
(18:21):
when possible, is well worth it.
Camille (18:23):
Costco has whole
organic in cartons that we love
and we've switched to that andwe're really happy with that one
.
Okay, next one yogurt.
What do you?
What do you choose?
Dr. Tracy (18:34):
Well, I have a son
who's a real yogurt addict, and
so we use he eats what locallyfor us is Strauss organic yogurt
that's grass fed and, um alwayswhole fat and and it's also no
sugar.
It's just plain yogurt and he'salways loved that tangy sort of
sour plain yogurt, andsometimes he puts blueberries in
(18:56):
it or or sometimes like agluten-free granola or something
, but it's pretty much a staplefor him.
Camille (19:03):
Okay, at our house we
like Tillamook and we also love
Storybrook.
Or is it Stonybrook, stonybrook?
Dr. Tracy (19:11):
Yeah.
Camille (19:11):
So we had the girls of
Stonybrook on this podcast and
they're amazing.
You can't find their yogurteverywhere, but it's more
typically in like your wholefoods and it tastes like ice
cream.
It is so good.
Okay, my next one is bread.
Dr. Tracy (19:28):
Well, I don't think
bread's really good for people
in general.
That doesn't mean we don't havebread in our house.
We do have a gluten-free breadthat I use sometimes for
sandwiches for the kids to mixit up, but the bottom line is
that it's processedcarbohydrates that are really
not good for our blood sugar.
Even you know gluten aside it,and, um, you know, a lot of
(19:48):
people's symptoms of anxiety arecoming from the blood sugar
going up and down in the body,and so these high carb things
without enough protein or fat tobalance that out can be bad
news.
So I you know bread for us islike a sometimes food.
It's not like everyday staple.
Camille (20:07):
Okay, so no, you're not
saying like, do whole wheat
sourdough, jack Sprat, like ifpeople are in the store, please
definitely a lot of people aresensitive to different things.
Dr. Tracy (20:22):
In wheat gluten it's
one of those things A lot of
people react to, different umlectins in there or something
called FODMAPs, which are likelittle fermentable sugars.
So um, it's easy when you'reeating some every day to think
it's not causing trouble.
But if you take it out for amonth and then you reintroduce
it, you might realize you havebeen reacting to it.
That's not everybody, but it'sit's so.
(20:43):
Um, you know you have to.
That's a personal thing.
You have to figure out ifyou're personally reacting.
But I think organic is good andagain, you know, limiting the
quantity I think is important.
Camille (20:54):
Okay, um, how about
chips?
I know you're going to say nochips, but is there any that
you're like siete?
Is that what?
Dr. Tracy (21:03):
you're.
I love those cassava chipsavachips and you know partly why
they're so good is also they useavocado oil.
So this is an example ofreading the labels and seeing
like oh, this is actually a highquality product, like that's
all right we can have cornersdecent or not.
Camille (21:17):
So much do you know
brand corners.
Dr. Tracy (21:20):
It's like made from
corn I mean, I don't, I'm not
familiar with that product.
I will say corn is another onewhere you know that's usually
GMO, like maybe not, so you knowif you can get an organic corn
and then you don't react.
I mean, here's what we do withpopcorn.
It's not something we have allthe time, but I just actually
(21:42):
get the bulk organic popcorn,like unpopped, from our co-op.
It's really easy to make yourown popcorn and it's fun.
Do you have a popcorn machine?
Or do you put in a pan and weput the avocado oil in and so I
can control like what oils andwhat corn and then, um, and then
(22:03):
you put like grass fed butteron it, melt it, it's delicious
and it's a fun treat, you know.
Camille (22:09):
Okay, so you do.
You said avocado oil for that,for the popcorn?
Yeah, okay, I wouldn't useolive oil for high heat.
Yeah, that's when I was likethat would be a situation.
Okay, what about deli meats?
Have you ever felt like you'regoing through the motions and
not really sure what's drivingyou forward?
It's time to rediscover yourpurpose with my free five-day
(22:34):
Discover your why.
This is a video workshop that,in just five days, you'll gain
clarity on what motivates youand how to align your life and
your business with your biggervision, because when you know
your why, you make betterdecisions, you build momentum
and you create a life youactually love.
Join the free challenge now atcamillewalkerco.
(22:54):
That's camillewalkerco, andlet's uncover your why together.
Dr. Tracy (23:02):
There's high quality
deli meats out there.
In fact you mentioned Costcoearlier.
They use that.
What is it true story is thatthe brand I'm thinking of that
is at costco a lot that'sorganic and um, usually, um,
pastured meats, um, likegrass-fed beef.
I may I think so, if I'mremembering correctly.
But you know, it's aboutreading, reading the label and
(23:25):
kind of where did this come fromand how was it raised?
That's that's important becauseit really affects the quality.
You know, the thing about thegrain fed cows and animals is
that they're like a cow issupposed to eat grass and when a
cow is eating grain it'sinflammatory for the cow.
So now you're eating it's likenamed cow.
That that's not healthy.
It wasn't healthy.
(23:46):
It's not good for you either,actually, and it's not good for
the environment as well.
So a lot of reasons to try tofocus on the quality of the meat
.
Camille (23:53):
I like that.
So here's a question If youobviously are a busy mom and you
have to get dinner on the tabletoo, what do you go to for easy
dinners and or what's yourgo-to for eating out If you're
like, oh, we got to stopsomewhere?
Dr. Tracy (24:11):
Great questions.
Well, again I'm going to sayCostco.
Our Costco is amazing with tonsof organic things, tons of
grass-fed things and really, um,they even have prepared things
that meet these requirements.
Um, so there's things that arereally easy to heat up that they
have.
So we kind of will use those aslike we'll have them in the
fridge as a backup for a nightthat we're in a hurry or
(24:32):
something.
But the other thing that we dois cook on the weekends.
We'll cook a larger quantity,like, you know, double batch, of
something, and have that a fewtimes that week and then,
whatever else we do, the othernights are usually something
pretty quick to throw together.
But I'm a huge fan of the week.
Weekend cookup, so to speak,kind of make big mess in the
(24:53):
kitchen.
I might make multiple things.
I've got two of these, like 10quart Instapots, you know, and
those are my, my favorite CauseI can just make all kinds of
things.
I'll make like soup for kids'lunches, or my husband makes a
lot of like chili verde or, youknow, roasts in them.
So I think those are wonderfultools and I think that that
(25:14):
approach to cooking has reallyworked well for us, because
we're both working all day.
Yeah, so that's, those are kindof the strategies.
A really fast meal at our houseis sometimes like some some
high quality sausage and a salad, and maybe we quickly like dice
up some sweet potatoes androast them.
We have some different thingswe can throw together pretty
(25:36):
quick if need be.
Camille (25:37):
Yeah, and do you ever
eat out?
Dr. Tracy (25:39):
Oh yeah, we
definitely do.
Camille (25:41):
So where do you go?
Dr. Tracy (25:43):
Well, we have a.
We certainly do like our localtaqueria, and that's not going
to be healthy per se.
There's no control over thequality of the food in the meat
and it's not organic and there'sconcerns about microplastics
and fryer.
So you know, these are thekinds of things it's like we
live in the real world and wedon't.
We don't, we're not purists,but that's not what we're doing
(26:04):
every day, like that's the mainthing.
I think that's important islike what are you doing most of
the time?
Like the 80, 20 rule, yeah, andthere there are some options
too that are going to be morehealthy.
Like Thai food is often areally great choice, you know,
that's where I can.
Certainly I avoid gluten and Ican do that there very easily,
and they've got good fats withthe coconut milk and veggies and
meat, you know.
(26:25):
But but that's not like for us,a everyday kind of kind of
place.
Camille (26:29):
So I like it.
I like asking these real lifequestions because I'm sure
people are listening and goingoh, it's so hard, like we stop
at McDonald's and my 16 year oldreally likes McDonald's and I'm
like, okay, we need to work onthis digestion situation.
So I want to talk a little bitmore about how we can naturally
(26:51):
boost our energy, our mood,through our food.
What are some key componentsthat we want to be looking for?
Dr. Tracy (26:58):
Yeah, so we just
talked about the things to try
to minimize right.
Again, you don't have to beperfect, but if you really avoid
the processed foods more andthe sugars it reduced, that
that's going to help a lot.
The things then to think aboutadding in I mentioned the
omega-3 fats, so that's going tobe from the certain seafood and
you want to be careful with theseafood because you don't want
(27:20):
to get a lot of mercury at thesame time because that's toxic
to your brain.
So, like wild caught, salmon isthe most popular, easy form to
get omega-3s in.
You do need to eat a lot of itto get enough, and probably four
servings a week at least.
Yeah, so most people do betterto add in some high quality fish
oil that contains a lot ofomega-3.
(27:41):
So omega-3s are the ones you'relooking for, are EPA and DHA,
so that's what you want to seeon the back there.
Those are the bulk of it andthat is a huge mood booster.
There's lots and lots ofstudies on omega-3s for
depression, so that's reallyimportant and, again, it's
(28:01):
through its anti-inflammatorysignaling effects, the other
things that are critical for ourbrain to function right, so
that we can feel good, so thatthe neurons are working right
are B vitamins.
There's tons of B vitamins.
Most of them are found inanimal products, but folate is a
B vitamin and that's in darkleafy greens, so getting enough
of that is important.
(28:21):
And then I would also say acouple of minerals are very
important, like magnesium andzinc.
Often people are low in both ofthose, and you know, a
multivitamin that contains allthose bees and some zinc would
be really great.
And then often supplementingwith magnesium is very helpful
as well.
It can help anxiety, can helpsleep, and then it's involved in
(28:42):
just hundreds of reactions inthe body.
Is it's needed for and it'sjust not.
You can.
You can certainly focus onmagnesium rich foods, but it's
hard to get enough through food.
So that's when I definitelyrecommend supplementing with.
Camille (28:57):
I have a magnesium
powder form that I love by bio
optimizers.
I don't have a discount code,but I'm a big fan of Chalene
Johnson and if you go to biooptimizers and use Chalene that
will give you a discount.
And it's a really yummy mix in.
I just put it in my water inthe mornings and it has helped
so much.
I love it.
(29:17):
It's not something I drink atnight, I like drink it in the
morning, in the day, and it'sfine and I sleep great, so
that's been a really good helpfor me.
And then zinc is.
We're a big fan of zinc.
I think it was when we weregoing through the years with
COVID where we learned that zincwas really good for helping
your immune system and fightingoff illness, and so we always
(29:37):
have chewable zinc on hand andhave that for ourselves and our
kids.
So that's that's been reallyhelpful.
Dr. Tracy (29:45):
Yeah, that's that.
Bio-optimizers.
Magnesium is good and for ifpeople are having sleep issues
it's a good time is to take itat bedtime, but it won't sit
like you're experiencing.
It's fine to take it, yeah.
Camille (29:56):
Yeah, and then when I
drink is like a mixture of
magnesium, so I don't it's morethan one and I'll link to it
below.
So yeah, yeah, it's a blend.
I'll I'll link to it so youknow what I'm talking about, but
it's been really, reallyhelpful.
What are some of your favoritevitamins or supplements to take?
Dr. Tracy (30:15):
Well, um when, on the
magnesium topic, you know you.
You mentioned there are a lotof forms of magnesium in what
you're taking, and that's right.
Some are going to be morelaxative, so they're helpful If
you're not having bowelmovements every day.
People will say this is alittle pet peeve of mine and,
well, a concern of mine.
I should say that when peoplewill say, oh, I'm regular, I go
(30:36):
every three days, like no, youneed to go every day, easily,
that otherwise you're notdetoxifying properly.
So if you're somebody whodoesn't go to the bathroom every
day, doesn't have bowelmovement every day, then
magnesium citrate is a reallygreat option.
It's gentle but it is helpful.
But when people don't have thatproblem, I like to use
magnesium glycinate a lot, andthat's largely because of my
(31:00):
psychiatry perspective.
The glycine in there is veryhelpful for anxiety, as is the
magnesium, so that combo islovely for helping people feel
calmer, more relaxed, lessanxious.
Camille (31:13):
I have a question about
that because I have a child who
is coming off of a prescriptionof sertraline and I was talking
with a friend yesterday and shesaid, well, what is the
doctor's protocol for theweaning Like, what are you
supplementing with?
And I was like, oh my gosh, Ishould have asked that she's
(31:35):
like you need to talk to afunctional doctor.
So this is really kismet,because I would love to hear
what your opinion is on that.
Dr. Tracy (31:41):
If you are weaning
off of something you know like a
Prozac or a yeah or aSertraline or something like
that, yeah, I think it's reallyimportant and unfortunately, I
think when you ask mostpsychiatrists, they won't have a
protocol out Cause they justaren't taught that they don't
even know.
Yeah, really, some basic thingscan make a big difference, and
they're the things I've alreadymentioned.
(32:02):
Um, and I would say like beingon some of these for several um
months before weaning makes thegoing to ups the chances that
it's going to be a smoothprocess.
Camille (32:13):
So, magnesium, for sure
, the B vitamins we just talked
about so the sorry to interruptyou, the glycinate one or the
yeah I mean just about any formexcept for magnesium oxide.
Dr. Tracy (32:25):
That doesn't get
absorbed.
But magnesium glycinate iswonderful, and that would you
know, especially in the casewhere someone was on an ssri
that then it's probablydepression or anxiety.
So magnesium glycinate is goingto be helpful.
And then the B vitamins, makingsure it has the active form of
(32:46):
folate in it.
Um, so don't not one that saysfolic acid, but one that says L
dash, mthf.
That's the kind of folate youwant in there, cause a lot of
people with depression oranxiety are struggling with
difficulty making that activeform, and so getting that in the
vitamins is going to be helpful.
Camille (32:59):
Now does that mean that
it's methylated, or okay?
Dr. Tracy (33:03):
Okay, yes, that's the
if you've heard about
methylated B vitamins and that'sthe form of folate, yeah, okay,
perfect, which means the activeform in the body, cause some
people's genetics make it alittle bit harder to do that to
methylate.
And then zinc.
Yes, you know, making sure thatthe zinc is, is on board.
Now you gotta be careful withthese things.
You can't do high dose zinc fora long time with.
(33:23):
You can deplete your copperthat way.
But zinc in a multivitamin isfine.
And then the omega-3s.
That's really, really important.
So you know I would be on.
I mean, I can't give anyspecific medical advice, but an
average amount for people thatcan be helpful is probably two
grams of omega-3s.
So getting a high quality one,that's usually two large soft
(33:45):
gels.
Camille (33:46):
Yeah, okay, yeah,
that's helpful because I oh
sorry, there's more.
Dr. Tracy (33:51):
That's the main.
Those are the ones that come tomind right off the bat.
I would say also sometimesnutritional lithium, so lithium
orotate, like five milligrams,this is just a mineral.
This is not prescriptionlithium for bipolar disorder.
This is like a teeny, tiny dosethat people.
Lithium is found naturally inwater supplies, but the amount
(34:12):
varies, and that's one otherthing that's been helpful for
lots of people coming off isjust making sure that that
amount that minerals present aswell.
Camille (34:20):
And is that something
you get over the counter, or is
that something?
Dr. Tracy (34:22):
you need.
Camille (34:25):
That's interesting.
I haven't heard of that one.
And something with that too isfor someone who is taking a lot
of, let's say, they're havingdigestion issues, and there is
almost that battle because ifyou are doing, let's say, like a
Prilosec or something like that, and it can cause so that
people aren't as regular, butthen it reduces the acid reflux,
(34:47):
it kind of becomes this yo-yoof like pulling back and forth.
What would you suggest forpeople who are in that state?
Dr. Tracy (34:56):
A couple of things.
First of all, if you're in thatstate and you're having any
issue with mood or fatigue orlike nerve pain, if you've been
on Prilosec for a long time, youmay have really depleted your
vitamin B12.
So taking a B12 lozenge underthe tongue, that's what I would
be doing right away.
If you're on a proton pumpinhibitor, that's that kind of
(35:17):
medication.
But to get more at the rootcause of this reflux, there's a
number of reasons people canhave it, but often things can
improve quite a bit If they dothat step I talked about earlier
, which is reducing the process.
Carbohydrates that can be a gamechanger for reflux.
I mean, what?
What you've got going on?
There is poor digestion, thenkind of forcing acid up the
(35:38):
esophagus.
There's this pressure.
You want the stomach acid, youneed that for digestion and
that's why you deplete the B12,because you don't absorb B12
without enough stomach acid.
So, um, you know, shutting downthe acid is sort of like an
emergency thing to help with thepain from the that that acid's
causing in the esophagus, whereit shouldn't even be right.
(35:59):
So you do that temporarily, butif you can get the root cause,
you want that acid again in thestomach so that you can be
killing bacteria and activatingenzymes and doing all the things
it's supposed to do fordigestion.
Camille (36:11):
Okay, really good
advice.
I w.
Those are just the top twothings that come to my mind, and
I know that with functionalmedicine, there's so many other
symptoms that people have withlike rashing, like breaking out
in.
Is it psoriasis or?
Dr. Tracy (36:27):
skin condition yeah.
Camille (36:31):
Which I know that that
can be affected a lot by your
food and there's a lot ofdifferent questions that people
have.
What is a good, let's say, andI'm not sure if your practice
treats people virtually.
Dr. Tracy (36:42):
Do you offer that or
yes, we do, but they have to be
California residents.
Camille (36:48):
Okay, so for someone
who maybe isn't in California,
what would be a good way to findresources for this type of
medical help?
Dr. Tracy (36:59):
Yeah.
So if you're looking foreducation like you're early to
these ideas, you you want tolearn more.
That's why I created my onlinecourse, which is the natural
mood solution, where you canreally learn about all these
things we're talking about todayand the steps you can take on
your own.
Then, if you're looking for aprovider practitioner like maybe
you've you've done a bunch ofwork on your own Then, if you're
looking for a providerpractitioner like maybe you've
done a bunch of work on your ownnow and lots of things are
(37:20):
better, but certain things stillaren't better you need to dive
deeper and get testing Then Iwould utilize the Institute for
functional medicines website.
They have a find a practitionertool there and that's a great
way to find somebody in yourarea who you can see that
they're certified by them andproperly trained.
Camille (37:38):
Okay, well, cool.
So you have this course.
We'll make sure to link to thatbelow.
I would love to check that out.
I love to ask very realquestions.
As you can tell, I've been likegrilling you, but I'm curious.
This last set is what is atypical day for you Of what
you're eating, or, and alsoexercise and also vitamins?
I would just love to hear, like, what works for you, let's of
what you're eating or, and alsoexercise and also vitamins.
(37:59):
I would just love to hear, like, what works for you and I know
that this is not medical advice,it's just your opinion but what
are some go-to like?
Ooh, this is a great breakfastI love to have, or lunch or
dinner.
Dr. Tracy (38:13):
Yeah, let's see.
Well, I've I've done differentthings at different times and
actually the supplements thatI'm taking, that's pretty highly
personalized to me right now,like I, I revisit that plan
every few months with acolleague of mine who is my
doctor, and we do a certain kindof testing to do that, so that
it's like always a differentregimen.
Camille (38:31):
That's amazing.
So are you doing like your?
What kind of tests?
Like blood saliva, all of thethings every few months, okay,
yeah.
Dr. Tracy (38:41):
Or also, yes, that's
essentially right, and there's
also a.
We utilize an autonomicresponse testing which is like a
um, a muscle testing basedapproach, which also tells you
what the body actually wantsright now, which is really
that's amazing or like a hairtest, Do you have?
Camille (38:57):
have you done those too
, to see what is?
Dr. Tracy (39:00):
often for minerals,
and this kind of limited it can
tell you certain things for surebut yeah, I've done that before
with the liver detox and it wasfascinating.
Yeah, so, um.
So my supplements change likeregularly, but I will tell you
themes are supportingdetoxification I have some had
some mold in my system.
I'm working on getting out moldtoxins.
(39:22):
That's really important to getrid of, if you've got that, um,
supporting hormone balance, youknow, and reducing inflammation,
just different things that aretargeted toward that.
And uh, food wise, why, for along time I've had a.
I like to start my day with the,what is called, based on the
creator of it, a rocket fuellatte.
It's actually it's kind of basedon the idea of a bulletproof
(39:44):
coffee Okay, that would or abutter coffee, but this is
actually, and I drink, like awater process decaf coffee and
then I put in cacao, and I putin um, cacao butter and a little
few drops of Stevia and um, alittle bit of collagen powder
and just begin my day with thesort of high fat drink, and then
(40:07):
I might have some eggs if I'mhungrier and um, and I'm always
making eggs for my kids andother, sometimes other breakfast
and then lunch, um, I did asalad delivery for quite a while
, but now I've been um, doing atrial of ketogenic diet, so I'm
back making my own food for that, and I usually will cook
(40:28):
something that I can have for anumber of days.
So, like last week, it was thisum Indian butter chicken recipe
with like a rice cauliflower,and that was really delicious.
Now it's just like chicken mole, so I'll have to be hungry.
I know it's almost lunchtime.
That sounds good, so I willusually make something that I
(40:53):
can reheat and enjoy.
The salad thing was fun to havedelivered.
I am bad about making my ownbecause I don't have like all
the different ingredients thatthey'll put in, but I used this
little, which is really a greatum service.
If it's in your area they dowonderful um salad delivery
options.
I know they're in.
They're all over California andthey're in Washington DC now
and I think maybe New York.
I'm not sure anyhow, but that'sa great service If you're busy.
(41:15):
You know working mom, and youwant something really healthy
delivered.
It just was too high carb formy keto plan that I'm trying.
And then dinners are all kindsof things but, um, you know some
kind of.
So you know some kind of cleanprotein.
It's either a fish or or meatof some sort with lots of
veggies and tasty sauces, andyou know it's all about enjoying
(41:38):
the food.
Yeah, in our house.
Camille (41:42):
So no, that sounds
amazing.
I also was wondering do you?
What is your opinion onbioidentical hormone?
Is that something that's a partof your practice as well?
What?
Is your opinion on this, andwhen do you think people should
start it?
Dr. Tracy (41:57):
I mean that's when
they should start it as pretty
individual, but I do.
I'm a big fan of bioidenticalhormones and see the huge
benefits all the time in mypractice and you know I'm even
you see it in the I'm part of amastermind right now about
(42:18):
reversing cognitive decline fromDr For anybody interested, dr
Dale Bredesen's research on onreversing Alzheimer's.
It's really amazing and it's afunctional medicine approach and
the hormones are a key part ofthat.
Like, for some people that'sthe, that nerve sort of growth
signal that they need, andthere's I've worked with of
(42:39):
growth signal that they need andthere's I've worked with lots
of women that when menopause hitthere, they just felt like
their brain wasn't working rightanymore and I mean they need
the hormones.
Hormones are very, very helpfulfor a number of things bone
health, you know, skin health, Imean.
It goes on and on.
So yeah, I find them veryhelpful.
I do think it's important to doall the other parts besides
(42:59):
hormones to make sure thatyou're the the other hormones in
the body are balanced right,because they all interact like
insulin, thyroid and cortisol,and then the metabolism of the
hormones that you're.
You know when, if you're takingestrogen, you got to make sure
you're metabolizing it properlydown the healthy pathway and on
unhealthy pathway.
So those are things we monitorbut I'm a failure.
Camille (43:23):
Yeah, yeah, okay.
What is your opinion ontestosterone bioidentical
hormone?
There's so much controversy inmy world with is the pellet good
or is it bad, or is the shotbetter or the creams Like?
I know it's different in itspreference, but for your opinion
I'm curious.
Dr. Tracy (43:36):
Preface this by
saying I don't use a lot of
testosterone on my practice.
It's not my focus.
That's another one where I feellike I work a lot more upstream
.
You know why is thetestosterone low?
I want to work on why that is.
For a lot of people that'sinflammation and so, um, that's
really important to address.
Like you, like men with lowtestosterone, usually that's the
(43:56):
cause and if you just give moretestosterone, they just convert
that to estrogen.
Camille (44:00):
And interesting.
So that's where it would belinked to less inflammatory
foods.
Dr. Tracy (44:06):
Yeah, that would be
important.
That would be one piece of thepuzzle for improving their
testosterone Um.
But I will say when I doprescribe testosterone um for
well, for men or women, it's acream, I mean for men sometimes
a gel.
Camille (44:20):
Okay, all right.
Well, I think I have used up somuch of your time.
This has just been a well ofknowledge.
Thank you so much for takingthe time and sharing this with
us, and please let our audienceknow where they can connect with
you, your practice, your courseand everything online.
Dr. Tracy (44:37):
Yeah, um, you can
find me on Instagram at Dr Tracy
McCarthy.
That's D R T R A C Y M C C A RT H Y, and my website is
drtracymccarthycom, and whereyou can find information on the
practice for Californiaresidents and the.
I have also a free guide thatis a great way to to learn more
(44:59):
about what you can be doing now,today, to start feeling better,
and that's called the top 10overlooked causes of depression,
anxiety and brain fog.
You can find that atdrtracymccarthycom backslash top
10, which is T O P one zero.
Camille (45:13):
Perfect, we'll make
sure to link to that as well.
Thank you so much for coming onthe show.
This was so much fun, and thankyou for taking all my questions
.
There's two questions I ask allmy guests, and it's what are
you reading, watching orlistening to?
And the second is a motherhoodmoment you'd like to share okay.
Dr. Tracy (45:31):
Well, I'm usually
reading several things at a time
and listening to a few thingsat a time.
Just this morning I waslistening again to Mel Robbins.
Let them really enjoying that,finding that very helpful.
I think a lot of us have beenconditioned lifelong to be
people pleasers in some way andthat's that's, I think, a
helpful book on letting go ofsome of that so that we can have
(45:54):
less stress and be happier andhealthier Amazing.
I would recommend that.
Um gosh motherhood moment.
There's just um so many, butI'm just thinking about my boys,
who are both wrestlers andlearning that.
What really watching thisseason, learning a lot more
about what, what's going on whenI'm watching it to understand
(46:14):
it, and then around at home,like trying to do these moves
with them, which is pretty funny, cause I feel like that's the
thing usually dads are doing,like you know, physically
playing with the kids in a waywhere I might be doing, you know
, a different kind ofinteraction, but it just gets
great, like, just like trying toplay wrestle with myself.
I mean he could pick my buttany day, so he's going extremely
(46:37):
gentle on me because you knowhe's taller than me now, but
it's, it's a lot of fun, sothat's been funny lately.
Camille (46:44):
Oh, that's so cool.
I love that you wrestle withyour boys my two younger boys,
that's their love language.
They're like tickle me, mom,wrestle me.
They just love it.
So that's amazing.
All right, Well, thank youeveryone for tuning in today.
I hope you enjoyed all of thosequestions and answers.
I know I did.
I was taking notes.
I'm going to go back and makesome changes and know that it's
(47:05):
one step at a time.
If you're feeling overwhelmedbecause Dr McCarthy is killing
it, that's okay.
We can do it one step at a timeand it's worth the investment
of your time.
So I'm wishing you a happy,healthy day and I can't wait to
see you next time.
Hey CEOs, thank you so much forspending your time with me.
If you found this episodeinspiring or helpful, please let
(47:28):
me know in a comment.
In a five star review, youcould have the chance of being a
featured review on an upcomingepisode.
Continue the conversation onInstagram at callmeCEOPodcast
and remember you are the boss.