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What if your kitchen was the most powerful clinic in your home? In this episode, I sit down with Ali Miller, a functional medicine dietitian and author of The Anti-Anxiety Diet, to make food as medicine practical. We get into gut health, stress, real-world meal planning, and raising resilient kids without turning dinner into a battle.
Ali breaks down her double-edged approach: remove the chemical additives and irritants that inflame your body, and load your plate with nutrient-dense foods that build you back up. Think snout-to-tail eating for glycine and minerals, slow-cooked meats for calm, probiotic-rich foods, and colorful plants for antioxidants. We also talk about how to bring this into a busy household with a spouse, a nine-year-old, and a full workday.
You’ll hear how Ali navigates food deserts without disempowerment, why home cooking is a keystone habit for mental health and family connection, and the overlooked gut-brain links behind anxiety. If you’ve been told convenience is king, this conversation flips that script with a plan you can actually live.
Why This Matters to You
Buried under convenience foods and feeling worse for it? You’ll learn why identifying real food first is the foundation for any food-as-medicine plan.
Stuck on the anxiety rollercoaster? We dig into the gut-brain connection, including how infections and dysbiosis can drive adrenaline surges, and what actually helps.
Tired of dinner chaos? You’ll hear a simple weekend routine to stock protein, plan fast sears and slow cooks, and get sheet-pan vegetables in the oven without stress.
Worried your kids won’t eat real food? Ali shares how guided choices, involving kids in planning, and clear reasons behind foods dramatically reduce picky eating battles.
Unsure where to find real help? We talk about how to vet functional practitioners, why curiosity matters more than credentials alone, and where to start.
Actionable Advice
Audit and upgrade your inputs. Remove chemical additives, seed oils, and ultra-processed snacks that hijack satiety and inflame your gut. Replace them with whole foods you can identify without a label.
Plan proteins first every weekend. Pull a slow-cook roast, two grinds, and two quick-sear cuts from the freezer. Assign who cooks what and when so busy days don’t derail dinner.
Build snout-to-tail nutrient density. Work in organ blends for meatballs or nuggets, sip bone broth, and prioritize collagen-rich cuts for glycine and GABA support.
Stabilize your blood sugar. Center meals on protein, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables. Use taco bowls, seared fish with sheet-pan veg, and skillet grinds to avoid spikes and crashes.
Repair and re-seed the gut. After cleaning up the diet, support gut lining with bone broth, glutamine, aloe, and DGL, and bring in probiotic foods. If symptoms persist, investigate dysbiosis or infection with a practitioner.
Ali’s journey started at Bastyr University, where she trained in natural medicine and became a registered dietitian to bridge both worlds. Early in her career she lectured on probiotics inside conventional hospitals, earned diabetes educator credentials, and built a functional practice focused on food-first solutions. Today she runs a busy clinic and family kitchen, meal plans with her husband every weekend, involves her daughter with guided choices, and teaches parents how to reduce anxiety by repairing the gut and steadying blood sugar.
Links and Resources to Explore
Listen to the Full Episode – Available now on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
You don’t need a new identity to feel better, just a new rhythm. Pick one action from this episode, put it on your calendar, and run the play this week. Then listen in for the full conversation to lock in your next step and keep your momentum moving forward.
Links and Resources to Explore
Listen to the Full Episode – Available now on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
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