If you've been handed a blood pressure prescription and no explanation, this conversation will change what you ask at your next appointment.

In this episode, Katie sits down with Mark Young, PhD, CEO of Zona and host of the Age Defiantly podcast, to talk about why heart health stops being a men's issue somewhere around age 45. They get into what happens to your blood vessels when estrogen production drops, why hypertension became its own diagnosis instead of a clue, and how the same root-cause thinking Katie uses for skin applies to your heart. From protein folding and why every drug label says "side effects may include," to the isometric hand grip research that came out of a US Air Force study on fighter pilots, Mark connects dots most people never see connected. If you've ever been told something is just part of getting older, this one's for you.

In This Episode We Cover

• Why estrogen is one of the body's primary vasodilators and what happens to your blood vessels when production drops in perimenopause.
• How the same blood flow restriction that men act on immediately gets quietly accepted by women as normal aging.
• Why only about 10 percent of the body's proteins have been mapped, and what that means for the phrase "side effects may include."
• How hypertension became an insurance billing code, and why that single change stopped clinicians from looking upstream.
• The three-part mechanism behind isometric hand grip work: nitric oxide release, sodium to stop muscle spasm, and potassium to soften the endothelium.
• Why the endothelium behaves like a sponge, and what a hardened one does to your body's ability to regulate pressure.

Connect with Mark

• Website: zona.com
• Podcast: Age Defiantly
• Instagram: @themarkyoung
• Discount code: KatieStewart for 100 dollars off at zona.com
  
  

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 Cover

• Why 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 Mentioned

• The HTMA Testing Package
• The GI Map Testing Package
• The DUTCH Testing Package
• Functional 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 + Connect

• Ready 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: @katiestewartwellness
  
  
• Loved 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 Cover

• Why 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 Package
• The HTMA Testing Package
• The Dylan Gemelli NAD Optimization Protocol Powered by JINFINITI
• JINFINITI Save 15% site wide with code DYLAN
  
  

Connect with Dylan

• Website: dylangemelli.com
• Instagram: @dylangemelli
• Podcast: The Dylan Gemelli Podcast
• YouTube: Dylan Gemelli Biohacking
  
  

Work With Us + Connect

• Ready to start working on your skin? Clearer Skin in 30 Days is your next step.
• Follow Katie on Instagram: @katiestewartwellness
• Loved this episode? Leave us a review, it truly helps more people find the show! 🙏