Rabbit Hole Deep Dive Series: The Vagus Nerve, Aging & Hormones

Welcome to the Rabbit Hole Deep Dive Series — where Coach Debbie Potts guides you through the complex, interconnected systems that shape your metabolism, hormones, and longevity. In this series, Debbie unpacks one of the most overlooked drivers of midlife health challenges: vagus nerve dysfunction and its downstream impact on thyroid health, sex hormones, blood sugar balance, inflammation, mitochondrial energy, and the aging process. Through detailed explanations, case studies (including Debbie's own GI-MAP, MEScreen, HRV and blood chemistry results), and science-backed strategies, you'll learn: • Why the vagus nerve controls digestion, nutrient absorption, and gut-hormone signaling • How chronic stress suppresses thyroid conversion (T4 → T3) and increases reverse T3 • The role of autonomic balance in menopause, perimenopause, and andropause symptoms • How low vagal tone accelerates aging by impairing mitochondrial function • The connection between HRV, metabolic flexibility, and fat-burning • Early signs of vagus nerve toxicity — and how to reverse it • Practical tools to strengthen vagal tone, reduce inflammation, and rebalance hormones • How Pulsetto Vagus Nerve Stimulation fits into a data-driven recovery strategy Debbie blends her decades of experience as a practitioner and athlete with functional testing, genetic insight, mitochondrial analysis, and real-world lessons from overcoming her own burnout and metabolic chaos. If you feel like you're aging faster than you should… If your metabolism has slowed… If your hormones feel "off" despite doing everything right… If your stress resilience and HRV are declining… This series will help you connect the dots, understand the root cause, and start building your strongest, most resilient Future You. 🔗 Explore the FutureYou Blueprint™ www.debbiepotts.net 🔗 Support your vagus nerve with Pulsetto VNS https://pulsetto.sjv.io/YRQyQP

In this episode of The Coach Debbie Potts Show, I'm joined by Dr. Mark Charbonneau, PhD — VP of Research & Development at Sōlaria Biō — to explore groundbreaking science around bone health, the gut–bone axis, and how microbes may hold the key to aging stronger, not weaker. We break down: Why traditional bone-health solutions fall short, and what's missing when it comes to inflammation, gut integrity, and immune balance. How Bōndia combines plant-derived probiotic strains + prebiotic fibers + algae-based Vitamin D₃ into a synbiotic medical food targeting bone loss associated with menopause, weight, and aging. The science behind the gut microbiome's influence on bone metabolism, immune regulation, gut barrier integrity, and inflammation — and why this matters more than you think. Details on the clinical evidence showing significant bone-loss reduction, improved gut health, and reduced inflammatory signaling. What makes Bōndia unique: food-derived microbes, clean formulation, and root-cause-driven approach to healthy aging. 🎯 Use code coachdebbiepotts at checkout to save on Bōndia through my referral link. If you care about long-term bone strength, gut health, and aging with vitality — you won't want to miss this conversation. Tune in now!

If you're noticing changes in your skin — dryness, fine lines, faster wrinkling — you might be blaming age. But what if the real cause is happening… in your gut? In today's deep-dive episode, I uncover how my skin was the messenger, alerting me to deeper internal dysfunction I could only see through testing — not guessing. I take you behind the scenes of my own: 🧫 GI MAP gut microbiome analysis 🩸 Advanced blood chemistry assessment 🧬 Genetics (mitochondria, inflammation & detox pathways) 🔋 Mitochondrial stress test (mescreen™) Here's what I discovered: • Low butyrate = low ATP → slow cell renewal → dull skin • High steatocrit = fat malabsorption → low vitamin A/D/E/K2 → faster aging skin • Bile flow congestion = poor hormone clearance → inflammation & skin flares • LPS endotoxins = immune activation → psoriasis & dehydration of skin • Oxidative stress at the mitochondrial membrane = collagen breakdown accelerates And here's the most important takeaway… ✨ Skin aging isn't just cosmetic. It's a biomarker of internal health, especially gut function and mitochondrial repair. If you want younger skin, you must: ➡️ Improve bile flow ➡️ Restore gut lining & butyrate producers ➡️ Reduce endotoxins (LPS) ➡️ Repair mitochondrial membranes Inside this episode, I'll teach you: ✔ What wrinkling and dryness actually mean metabolically ✔ The root-cause drivers behind early skin aging ✔ How oxidative stress accelerates collagen loss ✔ My top solutions from Phase 1 & 2 of the FutureYou Blueprint™ You'll learn how improving your gut health, stress response, and mitochondria is the most powerful anti-aging skincare in the world. 💥 Don't just accept "this is what happens as we age." Investigate. Repair. Rebuild. Reverse. 🔗 Want help uncovering YOUR root causes? Book a FutureYou Discovery Call: https://DebbiePottsCoaching.as.me/discovermore 🎧 LISTEN • SUBSCRIBE • SHARE • TEST — DON'T GUESS™ The Coach Debbie Potts Show www.DebbiePotts.net

If your thyroid labs are "normal" but you still feel tired, inflamed, puffy, slow, or stuck in a metabolic plateau… this episode is for you. Coach Debbie Potts pulls back the curtain on one of the most overlooked root causes of low thyroid symptoms in midlife: vagus nerve dysfunction. Inside this deep-dive episode, Debbie explains how chronic stress, gut dysbiosis, LPS, H. pylori, low stomach acid, sluggish bile, and mitochondrial dysfunction can block thyroid hormone activation — even if you're taking T3 medication. You'll learn: • How vagus nerve dysfunction suppresses digestion and nutrient absorption • Why low vagal tone reduces T4 → T3 conversion in the liver and gut • How inflammation, LPS, and stress physiology increase Reverse T3 • Why your cells can't "hear" thyroid hormone when mitochondria are under stress • The link between HRV, autonomic balance, and metabolic flexibility • Debbie's personal case study using GI-MAP, MEScreen, HRV tracking, and blood chemistry • How she used Pulsetto Vagus Nerve Stimulation to restore parasympathetic tone If you're doing "all the right things" but still can't lose weight, build muscle, recover well, or feel like yourself… your thyroid may not be the real problem. Your cellular environment might be. 🔗 Pulsetto Vagus Nerve Stimulation Support your vagus nerve and improve HRV: https://pulsetto.sjv.io/YRQyQP 🔗 Start your FutureYou Blueprint Investigation Test, don't guess: www.debbiepotts.net

Your vagus nerve is the most underrated driver of your metabolism, hormones, digestion, inflammation, and stress resilience — especially in midlife. And if you've been stuck in "fight or flight" for years (hello, athletes, Type-A performers, and burnt-out high achievers), this episode is the missing link in your healing and fat-loss journey. In this deep-dive episode, Coach Debbie walks you through the real mechanisms behind vagus nerve dysfunction, why so many middle age men and women experience "vagal toxicity," and how suppressed vagal tone shuts down fat-burning, slows thyroid conversion (T4 → T3), increases inflammation, disrupts digestion, and tanks HRV. You'll also hear Debbie's personal case study — connecting her GI-MAP results, MEScreen mitochondrial findings, HRV data, LF/HF ratios, blood chemistry patterns, and real-time tracking using SweetBeat Life to show what chronic sympathetic dominance actually looks like inside the body. Then we explore VNS (vagus nerve stimulation) therapy, how it works, why the research is exploding, and exactly how Debbie is using Pulsetto daily to retrain her nervous system and restore metabolic flexibility. IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN: • Why vagus nerve dysfunction blocks T3 from entering your cells • How LPS, H. pylori, low stomach acid & sluggish bile suppress vagal tone • The "freeze mode" most midlife women don't know they're in • HRV, LF/HF, and what your nervous system is really telling you • How chronic sympathetic stress shuts down fat-burning • Why VNS is becoming a game-changer for digestion, sleep, thyroid & metabolism • Debbie's daily Pulsetto protocol + what changed in her data • How to rebuild your vagal tone and create a stronger FutureYou PULSETTO VNS (Debbie's Favorite Tool for Stress Reset): Strengthen your vagus nerve, improve HRV, and calm your stress response — anytime, anywhere. 👉 https://pulsetto.sjv.io/YRQyQP WORK WITH COACH DEBBIE Ready to understand your metabolism, support your thyroid, restore your mitochondria, and rebuild your vagal tone? 👉 www.DebbiePotts.net Create your FutureYou Blueprint™ and stop guessing.

In this solo "deep dive rabbit hole" episode, Coach Debbie Potts breaks down the truth about animal vs. plant protein — and why it matters even more after 40. You'll learn: Why muscle is your metabolic engine How anabolic resistance makes it harder to build muscle in midlife What leucine thresholds you need to hit to trigger muscle protein synthesis The anti-nutrients in plant-based foods that block absorption Why fiber isn't the full story — and how polyphenols feed your gut better How to create your FutureYou Blueprint™ for muscle, metabolism, and gut health This episode is for you if you're tired of confusion around plant vs. animal protein, bloating on clean eating, or struggling with body composition as you age. It's time to lift the hood and fix the root causes — not just the macros. 🧬 Book your personalized lab review + strategy call: 👉 https://www.debbiepotts.net 📦 Products & codes mentioned: Kion Whey Protein – code: CoachDebbiePotts Beam Minerals – code: CoachDebbiePotts BiOptimizers Sleep/Digestion stack – code: CoachDebbiePotts 🎧 Subscribe to The Coach Debbie Potts Show wherever you listen! 🛑 Disclaimer: Educational only. Partner with a qualified practitioner—especially if you're on medications, have gallbladder disease, significant anemia, active IBD, are pregnant, or have complex conditions.

Are you training hard, eating clean… yet still not seeing fat loss or performance improvements? Today, metabolic testing expert Daniel Crumback joins me to explain how metabolic testing helps you finally stop guessing and start personalizing your training, nutrition, and recovery based on real physiology. We break down exactly what we measure in a Resting Metabolic Rate test and an Active VO₂ Peak test — including fat vs. carb utilization, metabolic flexibility, ventilatory thresholds (VT1 & VT2), FatMax, VO₂ peak vs. max, and heart-rate zones based on your actual data, not formulas. You'll learn how to: • Improve fat burning at rest and during exercise • Identify breathing, cardiac, or metabolic limitations • Train smarter with accurate Zone 2, tempo, and interval zones • Support longevity and mitochondrial health • Adapt training for midlife hormones and stress load Daniel and I also share the most common mistakes people make before and after testing — and how getting your physiology right can transform your results. If you're stuck doing "all the right things" with no payoff, this episode will show you the missing data your body has been trying to tell you. Learn more about Daniel: https://strategichealthperformance.com/about-me-final/ Connect with Debbie: www.debbiepotts.net Educational only. Partner with a qualified practitioner—especially if you're on medications, have gallbladder disease, significant anemia, active IBD, are pregnant, or have complex conditions.

In Episode 1, I revealed the clues hidden in my labs — the WHY behind my fatigue, slower recovery, reduced power output, dry skin, and metabolic slowdown. Now in Part 3 & Part 4 of my personal case study, we turn insight into ACTION. You'll learn: The ROOT-CAUSE MAP of my body • Low ATP from microbiome imbalance • Fat malabsorption choking metabolism • LPS/endotoxin stress suppressing fat burning • High cortisol blocking thyroid activation • Oxidative stress damaging mitochondria • Genetic vulnerabilities amplifying the effect How this showed up in real life • Running performance dropping • Heart rate spikes in Zone 2 • Needing more fuel on long efforts • Harder time building + maintaining muscle • Skin + hormone changes • Mood and motivation shifts The 4-Phase FutureYou Blueprint™ Plan I built for myself PHASE 1 — Digest • Absorb • Drain PHASE 2 — Kill • Clear • Rebuild PHASE 3 — Mitochondria + Muscle Reboot PHASE 4 — Longevity Optimization I walk you through the WHY behind every tool, including: • TUDCA • Tributyrin (butyrate) • S. boulardii • Phosphatidylcholine • Creatine, CoQ10, PQQ, DHA • Nervous system support • HBOT, sauna, cold exposure This is exactly how I help clients transform from burned-out and metabolically stuck → to energized, strong, and aging powerfully. If you're ready to create your own FutureYou Blueprint™, this episode will show you what's possible when you finally stop guessing — and start investigating. 🗓 Book a Discover More Call: https://DebbiePottsCoaching.as.me/discovermore 🌐 Learn more: www.debbiepotts.net 📺 Watch on YouTube: @coachdebbiepotts Educational only. Partner with a qualified practitioner—especially if you're on medications, have gallbladder disease, significant anemia, active IBD, are pregnant, or have complex conditions.

Are you training hard, eating clean, and doing "all the right things"… but your body still isn't responding the way it used to? That was me. Even as a lifelong athlete and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner — I hit a wall. My power dipped. My runs felt harder. My skin changed. Fat loss stalled. Recovery lagged. Something wasn't adding up. So I became my own case study. In this two-part deep-dive series, I take you behind the scenes of my personal health investigation — the exact process I use with clients to build their FutureYou Blueprint™ using: • GI MAP gut microbiome testing • Advanced blood chemistry analysis • Mescreen™ mitochondrial function testing • Genetic stress + metabolism vulnerability profiling • My symptom timeline and history In Part 1 & Part 2, you'll learn: 🔹 Why healthy people still get stuck 🔹 How hidden stressors block fat burning, recovery, and metabolism 🔹 The essential difference between symptoms and root causes 🔹 What my labs uncovered: — low butyrate = low ATP → lower power — high steatocrit = severe fat malabsorption — sluggish bile flow + elevated bilirubin — elevated Enterobacter → high LPS (endotoxin load) — oxidative stress damaging mitochondria — stress genetics driving high cortisol — metabolic genetics reducing fat-burning efficiency I share how to read the patterns, not just the numbers — so you can understand what your body is trying to tell you. This episode will help you connect the dots between: 👉 Gut health 👉 Hormones 👉 Mitochondria 👉 Metabolism 👉 Nervous system 👉 Stress resilience 👉 Athletic performance 👉 Aging well Because you can't fix what you're not investigating. You deserve to feel strong, energized, and unstoppable — not confused and frustrated. 🎧 Tune in — and learn how to start building your own FutureYou. 💬 Want to investigate your health story with me? ➡ Book a Discovery Call: https://DebbiePottsCoaching.as.me/discovermore 📍 Testing + coaching available virtually & locally (North San Diego) 🔗 Learn more: www.debbiepotts.net 📱 Follow @coachdebbiepotts on Instagram & YouTube Educational only. Partner with a qualified practitioner—especially if you're on medications, have gallbladder disease, significant anemia, active IBD, are pregnant, or have complex conditions.