S04E36. Functional Labs for Acne: Why Your "Normal" Blood Work Isn't Telling You the Whole Story

If your blood work keeps coming back "normal" but your skin, sleep, and hormones say otherwise, this episode explains exactly what's getting missed.In this episode, Katie and Cris pull back the curtain on the functional labs they've been using in their acne practice since 2020, long before anyone else was using them for skin. They break down why standard blood labs only capture a snapshot of one moment, how your body quietly buffers its blood chemistry to keep things looking "fine," and why that masking is the reason so many people feel awful with textbook-normal results. From the HTMA they run as a foundation, to the GI Map for gut, to the DUTCH for hormones, they walk through what each test actually reveals, the exact order they run them in, and why "more is more" testing usually just wastes your money. If you've ever been handed a clean lab report and told nothing's wrong, this one's for you.In This Episode We CoverWhy your blood labs can look "normal" while deeper imbalances are quietly wrecking your skin.How your body buffers blood pH by pulling minerals from your bones and tissue (and why that hides deficiencies).What an HTMA reveals about your minerals, stress patterns, and heavy metal exposure that blood work never will.Why Katie and Cris always run an HTMA before a GI Map or a DUTCH.The top three mineral imbalances they see again and again in acne clients.Why starting with a DUTCH hormone test is usually a waste of your money (and when to actually run one).Resources & Links MentionedThe HTMA Testing PackageThe GI Map Testing PackageThe DUTCH Testing PackageFunctional Blood Lab Bundle (includes the full panel list to bring to your doctor plus the blood lab decoder)Gut Zoomer / Hormone Zoomer (mentioned for clients outside North America, a more comprehensive version of the GI Map and DUTCH) Work With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

You've got the probiotic, the binder, and the gut protocol, and your skin still isn't budging. This episode explains the step almost everyone skips.We sat down with Dylan Gemelli, host of The Dylan Gemelli Podcast, to talk about why nervous system regulation has to come before any protocol you run. Dylan shares the origin story behind his work (four-sport athlete, international model, two years in prison, a full rebuild at 30) and the emotional reset that changed how he approaches health. From what NAD actually does inside your cells to why injectable NAD doesn't work long term, to spore-based probiotics and why Cris caps most clients at four supplements, this one reframes what "doing everything right" actually means. If you're running protocol after protocol and nothing is sticking, start here.In This Episode We CoverWhy a dysregulated nervous system keeps cortisol and inflammation high enough to stall every gut protocol you run.What NAD does inside the cell, and why straight injectable NAD is too large a molecule to get in and work long term.Why Dylan picks NMN over NR as a precursor, since NR has to convert to NMN before your body can use it anyway.How Dylan took his own NAD from 24 to 72 in two months, and why standard blood panels never check it.What makes a spore-based probiotic different, including shelf stability and surviving stomach acid to reach your gut intact.Why Cris caps most clients at four or five supplements, and how biofilms and endotoxins drive those "die-off" reactions.Resources & Links Mentioned:The Functional Blood Lab Bundle (for the "your labs are normal but you're not" conversation)The GI Map Testing PackageThe HTMA Testing PackageThe Dylan Gemelli NAD Optimization Protocol Powered by JINFINITIJINFINITI Save 15% site wide with code DYLANConnect with DylanWebsite: dylangemelli.comInstagram: @dylangemelliPodcast: The Dylan Gemelli PodcastYouTube: Dylan Gemelli BiohackingWork With Us + ConnectReady to start working on your skin? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

You don't need a $500 stool test to know something's off in your gut. Your symptoms have been telling you for years.In this episode, Katie and Cris break down the patterns they've seen over and over across hundreds of stool tests run on acne clients. They walk through the three umbrellas everything falls under: gut infections and overgrowths, broken-down digestion, and a leaky gut lining. From H. pylori and candida to low stomach acid and sluggish bile flow, they name the exact mechanisms connecting your gut to your skin, plus the everyday symptoms that point at an overgrowth long before a lab ever confirms it. They also get honest about why running a DUTCH before you've worked on your gut is usually wasted money. If you've been told your acne is "just hormonal," this one's going to reframe things.In This Episode We CoverWhy H. pylori, candida, staph, and strep are the overgrowths showing up most often in acne clients.How low stomach acid opens the door for bacterial overgrowth and blocks the protein your skin needs to repair.What toenail fungus, a white tongue, and repeat yeast infections can tell you about what's living in your gut.Why your estrobolome decides how well you clear estrogen, and what that means for jawline breakouts.How sluggish bile flow starves your hormones of the fats they're built from.Why an HTMA is a smarter first test than a GI Map or a DUTCH when money is tight.Resources & Links MentionedThe Gut Reset (new self-paced gut protocol mini course)The GI Map Testing PackageThe HTMA Testing PackageWork With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you've been buying products labeled "acne safe" and still breaking out, the label might be the problem, not your skin.Katie and Cris sit down with Marlee Eyre, a former Clear Skin Solution client and the founder of Klenzera, an app that scans your skincare and makeup for pore-clogging ingredients. They get into why "non-comedogenic" and "acne safe" are unregulated marketing claims, where comedogenic ratings actually come from, and why foundations, moisturizers, and SPF are the sneakiest hiding spots for pore-cloggers. Marlee also shares her own journey through the program, from a bad breakout caused by detoxing before her pathways were ready, to the HTMA that showed her high mercury and lead. The big theme: ingredient awareness is about empowerment, not fear.In This Episode We CoverWhy "non-comedogenic" and "acne safe" labels are unregulated marketing claims you can't fully trust.How comedogenic ratings are made, why they're sometimes based on decades-old studies, and why they vary across sources.Why your skin is not a catch-all, and how product ingredients can burden your liver and mimic your hormones.How foundations, moisturizers, and SPF become the biggest hiding spots for pore-clogging ingredients.Why concentration and placement on the ingredient list matter more than a single flagged ingredient.What Marlee's HTMA revealed about heavy metals and cortisol, and how it reshaped her acne journey.Resources & Links MentionedKlenzera app: klenzera.comThere's Lead in Lipstick by Gillian DeaconThe HTMA Testing Package: The HTMA Testing PackageConnect with MarleeWebsite: klenzera.comInstagram: @klenzeraWork With Us + ConnectReady to start working on your skin? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you keep hearing that you "should be using AI" but have no idea what that actually looks like for your health or your business, this conversation pulls back the curtain.In this episode, Katie and Cris get real about how they're actually using AI behind the scenes at KSW, the good, the messy, and the parts that still freak Cris out. They cover everything from how Cris went from a hard no to cautiously on board, to the exact checklist they run before trusting AI with anything, to why you should never let it write your protocol unproofread. From training AI on Katie's entire body of work to building interactive tools that make clear skin support way more affordable, this one is a peek inside how a real wellness company is putting AI to work without losing the human part. If you're curious, skeptical, or a little of both, this episode is for you.In This Episode We CoverWhy Cris spent a year as a hard no on AI, and the specific thing that finally brought her around.The exact checklist KSW runs before using AI, including why client files never go in and what HIPAA compliance actually means here.How Katie trained her AI on her book, blogs, emails, and podcast transcripts so it thinks like her "Katie brain."Why an unproofread, AI-generated protocol is so easy to spot, and the recurring errors AI makes on iron and mineral analysis.How the Acne Detox Copilot and Breakout Analyzer give you private, day-by-day support when one-on-one coaching isn't in the budget.Why Katie sees AI as the new "invention of the internet" moment and what that means for your health and your business.Resources & Links MentionedThe Acne Detox (home of the Acne Detox Copilot)The Clear Skin CoachFunctional Blood Lab Bundle (includes the Blood Lab Decoder)Breakout Analyzer (free interactive tool) <<NEW LINK NEEDED>>Courses page (where all of Katie's tools and courses live)Work With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

That "third party tested" label on your supplements, peptides, and protein powder probably means a lot less than you think it does.In this episode, Katie and Cris get spicy on one of the most misunderstood phrases in the wellness world: "third party tested." Cris breaks down the four levels of testing, from a company grading its own homework to truly independent watchdog testing, and explains why the version on almost every bottle tells you nothing about whether the product is actually safe. From peptide purity tests that skip heavy metals, to what the FDA does and doesn't check, to mushroom powders that are mostly starch, to how Amazon's warehouse system lets counterfeits slip into brand-name listings, this one will change how you read a label forever. If you've ever bought something because it said "third party tested" and felt safe, this is the episode for you.In This Episode We CoverThe four levels of testing and why "third party tested" sits closer to the bottom than you'd expect.Why a peptide can test 99.5% pure and still never get checked for mercury, lead, or arsenic.How the 1994 DSHEA law means the FDA doesn't approve supplements before they hit the shelf.Why the FDA inspects only about 5% of supplement facilities each year, in their own director's words.How "mycelium on grain" mushroom products can be 30 to 40% starch with almost no active compounds.Why Amazon's commingled inventory means even a brand's official listing can ship you a counterfeit.Resources & Links MentionedConsumerLab (independent supplement testing organization)Labdoor (independent supplement testing organization)Clean Label Project (independent testing and certification organization)NSF Certified for Sport (third-party certification to look for)USP Verified (third-party certification to look for)NOW Foods Quality & Safety (supplement brand that publicly tests supplement quality and publishes testing results, including investigations into counterfeit products sold on Amazon)NOW Foods Amazon Authenticity Guide (how to identify authentic NOW Foods products when shopping on Amazon)The HTMA Testing PackageThe DUTCH Testing PackageWork With Us + ConnectReady to start working on your skin? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you feel like you're doing all the things for your skin and still stuck, this episode is the reset you need.In this episode, Katie and Cris get real about why "doing all the things" usually isn't the answer for clearing your skin. They break down the free, boring, daily foundations most people skip or do in the wrong order, why being educated isn't the same as being accurate, and why the body has a built-in order it needs before skin can change. From under-eating and the shiny object trap to lifestyle stacking and tracking your non-skin wins, this one will talk you off the ledge the next time you feel like you need to add one more thing. If you've ever thought "I'm not doing enough," keep this episode in your back pocket.In This Episode We CoverWhy "I'm already doing all of this" is the most common thing they hear, and what's usually actually happening.How being educated from podcasts and social media doesn't mean the information is accurate or applied correctly.Why the order you add things in matters more than how much you add (the body's co-reliance on certain mechanisms).What under-eating and under-hydrating actually do to your energy, immune system, and anxious-like behaviors.Why your skin is last in line to change, and the non-skin wins to track instead.How to slow down, simplify, and integrate one foundation at a time so it actually sticks.Resources & Links MentionedClearer Skin in 30 Days (the first four weeks of foundations Katie walks private clients through)The HTMA Testing PackageWork With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you've been doing everything right and your skin still isn't where you want it, Monique's story is the reminder you need that slow progress is still progress.In this episode, Katie and Cris sit down with Monique, one of Cris's clients in The Clear Skin Solution, to walk through a year-long healing journey that was anything but linear. They get into how her acne work opened the door to deeper gut healing, why H. pylori and a mysterious bloating pattern needed more than a food-elimination approach, and how specialized lab testing finally gave her answers when standard advice kept falling short. Monique also shares how nervous system regulation became the biggest lever of all, and why learning to feel safe around food changed everything. From migraines to bowel health to a vacation that proved her body was finally responding, this one is full of hope for anyone who feels like their case is "too complicated."In This Episode We CoverWhy Monique's journey took a full year and how the "time, patience, and consistency" trifecta made the difference.How a mysterious gas and bloat pattern pointed to something deeper than a single food trigger.Why nervous system regulation turned out to be the single biggest lever in clearing her skin and calming her gut.How specialized lab testing (viral markers, thyroid, liver, and more) gave answers that standard advice missed.What happened on a relaxed four-day vacation that proved her body was finally responding.Why food fear and symptom reactivity feed each other, and how structured reintroductions helped break the loop.Resources & Links MentionedThe HTMA Testing PackageFunctional Blood Lab BundleWork With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you've ever watched a wellness influencer's 3-hour morning routine and felt like you'll never measure up, this episode is your permission slip to let that go.In this episode, Katie and Cris throw out their planned topic and get spicy and unfiltered about their biggest pet peeves in the health and wellness space. They get into why "perfect routine" influencer content quietly makes people feel inadequate, why Cris thinks affirmations actually support a lie for most people (especially anyone with acne), and why visualization works where repeating "I am beautiful" falls flat. They go from the toxic pressure for practitioners to look and live perfectly, to the body shaming and cruel comments Katie has faced about her weight and fertility, to the algorithm that quietly rewards online cruelty. If you've ever felt like you're not doing health "right," this conversation will feel like a deep exhale.In This Episode We CoverWhy the 3-hour, 46-step influencer routine is quietly making people feel like they can't be healthy at all.How inadequacy is the hidden root underneath almost every wellness pet peeve they name.Why Cris says affirmations "support a lie" for most people, and what she has them do instead.The difference between repeating "I am beautiful" and actually visualizing the feeling you're after.Why "you're thin, so you're legit" is one of the most damaging standards in wellness.How the algorithm rewards nasty comments, and the one question to ask before you leave one.Resources & Links MentionedThe Secret (book Katie read at age 12, mentioned in the affirmations conversation)Julie Daniluk (Canadian nutritionist Katie worked for starting in 2015)Kathleen Cameron (mentioned for dropping affirmations in the manifestation space)Work With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏

If you've been quietly wondering whether a GLP-1 like Ozempic is the answer, and what it might do to your skin, this is the honest, no-judgment breakdown nobody's giving you.In this episode, Katie and Cris take a fully neutral, education-first look at GLP-1s and your skin. They break down what GLP-1 actually is (a hormone your body already makes), what the medication does differently, and what really happens in those first months and when you stop. From slowed digestion and rapid fat loss to the gut, the liver, and your minerals, they connect every dot to the skin. Then they walk through how to support your body whether you choose to take one or not, including the natural compounds that work on the same pathways. If you've felt the pull of a quick fix, or you're just curious, this one will help you make an informed choice for your own body.In This Episode We CoverWhat GLP-1 actually is and why your gut already makes it after every meal.Why the medication's signal lasts days instead of the natural one to two minutes.What happens to your appetite, weight, and blood sugar when you stop, and why ghrelin can rebound.How slowed digestion and rapid fat loss can show up as new breakouts and changed skin.Why bile flow and your microbiome are make-or-break for skin, on or off a GLP-1.The natural compounds (berberine, Ceylon cinnamon, sodium butyrate) that work on similar pathways.Resources & Links MentionedThe HTMA Testing PackageThe GI Map Testing PackageBerberine (mentioned as a natural support for blood sugar regulation and the gut microbiome, short-term use)Ceylon cinnamon (mentioned for post-meal insulin sensitivity)Sodium butyrate (mentioned for gut lining support and GLP-1 release)ConcenTrace Trace Minerals (mentioned for mineral repletion and hydration)Work With Us + ConnectReady to start? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.Need one-on-one help? The Clear Skin Solution includes an HTMA for every client plus custom protocols and support for your whole six-month journey.Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellnessLoved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏