What if some of what you’re calling “anxiety,” brain fog, low mood, or restless sleep isn’t a personality flaw… but a gut + immune signal your body has been trying to send for years?

In this raw, real, and deeply empowering conversation, Susan sits down with functional medicine physician Dr. Jill Carnahan (and yes, she’s right here in Colorado!) to unpack the gut-brain axis and how the microbiome can influence neuroinflammation, cognition, mood, histamine, and resilience.

Dr. Jill shares her extraordinary personal story—breast cancer at 25, Crohn’s disease, and mold illness, and the core truth that shaped everything that followed: you are not broken, and you are not powerless. Your symptoms have information.

In this episode:

• What the gut-brain axis really is
• The reason extreme diets can feel good short-term and backfire long-term

This one is a must-listen if you’ve ever felt dismissed, confused, or stuck cycling through symptom “management.” You deserve root-cause clarity, and a plan that fits your body.

Learn more about our guest Dr Jill Carnahan:

Dr. Jill Carnahan is Your Functional Medicine Expert®. She is dually board certified and is the founder and Medical Director of Flatiron Functional Medicine. As a survivor of breast cancer, Crohn’s disease, and toxic mold illness, she brings a unique perspective to treating patients. She specializes in searching for the underlying causes of illness through cutting-edge lab testing and personalized medicine protocols.

Released in 2023, Dr. Jill's Best Selling book, Unexpected: Finding Resilience though Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith is a powerful prescriptive memoir that will have you laughing and crying with her on the journey, leaving you with the key resources you need to achieve optimal health and wellness. She is also executive producer, film writer, and featured in an award winning new documentary about her journey overcoming chronic illness called Doctor/Patient, now available streaming online and on Amazon Prime.

As a popular inspirational speaker and prolific writer, she shares her knowledge of hope, health, and healing live on stage and through newsletters, articles, books, and social media. Patients and fans alike are encouraged by Dr. Jill’s science-backed medical knowledge delivered with authenticity, love, and humor. She is known for inspiring her audience to thrive even in the midst of difficulties. Be sure to follow @drjillcarnahan on Instagram for access to all her content.

RESOURCES:

Connect with Dr Jill Carnahan:

https://www.jillcarnahan.com/

https://www.drjillhealth.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Tg7FE_TgHuCLGrHgP8sdw

https://www.facebook.com/flatironfunctionalmedicine

https://instagram.com/doccarnahan

https://twitter.com/DocCarnahan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillcarnahan

https://healthyawakening.co/2026/01/12/episode106/

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

This episode is a heartfelt end-of-year reflection, and a moment to pause after passing a major milestone.

With 105 episodes now behind her, Susan takes time to reflect on what it has meant to create Everyday Epigenetics: Raw. Real. Relatable, a space built on honesty, curiosity, and the belief that lifestyle truly drives genetic expression.

In this episode, Susan shares gratitude for the listeners who’ve helped this podcast grow into a global community, opens up about the personal challenges of the past year, and explains why authenticity, not perfection, has always been the foundation of this show.

She also walks through important updates heading into the new year, including changes to the podcast format, a return to one intentional episode every Monday, and why choosing quality over quantity matters, especially when the goal is real impact.

You’ll also hear an exciting preview of upcoming conversations on gut-brain health, histamine, epigenetic aging, stem cells, sleep, HRV, and more, including deeply personal episodes where Susan shares her own epigenetic test results after one of the most difficult years of her life.

This episode is honest, reflective, and deeply human. It’s a thank-you, a reset, and an invitation to step into the new year with more awareness, intention, and self-trust.

P.S. There won’t be a brand-new episode next week, but we are revealing the Top 5 episodes of 2025 and the Top 5 of all time, it’s the perfect chance to catch up on listener favorites.

RESOURCES:

Find all of Susan’s Resources and links in the show notes:

Shop the products: http://healthygut.com/healthyawakenings (this link will provide you a special discount!)

https://healthyawakening.co/2025/12/29/episode105/

Connect with Susan: https://healthyawakening.co/

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast

This mini episode is exactly what Everyday Epigenetics promises: raw, real, and relatable, literally recorded out in nature, wind, trail noise, construction sounds and all.

After my conversation with Katie Asmus from the Somatic Nature Therapy Institute, I decided to stop talking about somatic nature therapy… and actually experience it. So I headed to Boulder, Colorado, met two incredible therapists-in-training, and stepped onto the trail with no plan, no expectations, and zero control.

What followed was one of the most unexpected, grounding, emotional, and regulating experiences I’ve had in a long time.

This episode captures:

• the beginning of the session in real time
  
  
• conversations on the trail about intention, surrender, and presence
  
  
• moments of disruption (because… nature + life happen)
  
  
• and my honest reflection afterward on what shifted in my body, mind, and spirit
  
  

No edits. No polish. Just lived experience.

In this mini episode:

• What somatic nature therapy actually feels like, not just how it’s described
  
  
• Why letting go of control can create profound nervous system regulation
  
  
• How sensory awareness opened emotional and physical release
  
  
• What surprised me most after the session (including deep exhaustion + incredible sleep)
  
  
• How this experience changed the way I’ll approach time in nature moving forward
  
  

If you’re curious about somatic work, nervous system regulation, or what happens when you stop “doing” and allow yourself to simply be, this episode is for you.

And yes… there are interruptions, wind gusts, trail sounds, and imperfect audio. Because healing doesn’t happen in a studio, it happens in real life.

RESOURCES:

Connect with Katie Asmus and her therapists:

Website: https://www.somaticnaturetherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somaticnaturetherapy/

Events: https://www.somaticnaturetherapy.com/calendar

Show notes: https://healthyawakening.co/2025/12/26/episode104

Visit the website: healthyawakening.co/podcast

Find listening links here: https://healthyawakening.co/links

Connect with Susan:

• Check out Susan’s NEW E-book! Download it FREE here: https://healthyawakening.co/ebook-signup
• Contact me for your DNA testing or epigenetic coaching! To schedule a FREE Personalized Health Strategy Session, send an email to susan@healthyawakening.co
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/susanrobbinshealthyawakening
  Instagram: @susanrobbins_epigeneticcoach

Susan’s LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/susanrobbins

P.S. Want reminders about episodes? Sign up for our newsletter, you can find the link on our podcast page! https://healthyawakening.co/podcast