A Good Man and Thorough

Gift Wrapped in Barbed Wire: Producer Nic's Journey Through EoE, Cancer, and Recovery

In this episode, I sit down with my podcast producer, Nic Murphy, who shares his powerful story of resilience—from years of battling eosinophilic esophagitis and endless esophageal dilations, to discovering how nutrition and lifestyle changes gave him years of remission, to facing and overcoming testicular cancer. We explore the role of an everyday food bogeyman—that was overlooked in his care for years, prolonging both his diagnosis and recovery. Nic speaks candidly about his cancer diagnosis, chemotherapy, major surgery, recovery, and the mental shift that came with learning to accept life on its own terms. This conversation is raw, hopeful, and packed with insight into how functional models, clinical nutrition, and overlooked dietary triggers can complement Western medicine for even the most severe conditions. Topics include: * Eosinophilic esophagitis and the missed role of food * Why gluten can drive hidden immune and neurological problems * The TH1/TH2 immune balance and cancer vulnerability * Chemo, surgery, and life after testicular cancer * Stoicism, Buddhism, and finding acceptance after illness Resources & Links: www.atlashealthmethod.com https://www.facebook.com/drjoepsmith https://www.youtube.com/@dr.josephsmith6883 Disclaimer: This podcast shares personal experiences and general information. It is not medical advice. Please consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, medication, or treatment plan.

Jessica Brown- Where Do You Go When the Diet Everyone Else Says Works Made You Worse or Didn't Help at All?

What is a clinician to do when patients are not responding to the health care innovation du jour that you helped create? Tell them they're wrong, or there is something wrong with them while clinging to a story that is not true because it does not support the pervading narrative? A clinician with integrity will listen to their patient. They will learn from their patient. They will continue to study to expand the knowledge base to help the patient in need instead of clinging to an idealistic dogmatic principle that has no basis in reality or utility in actual clinical practice. Enter Jessica Brown-- clinical nutritionist, author The Loving Diet, trailblazer in the field of clinical nutrition. She was there when autoimmune paleo diet came to light. She was an early adopter of these principles in her practice and helped bring the movement to life to the benefit of so many. What's not to love about AIP? This diet helped so many people that were not finding answers and the standard and alternative model. Literally adopting this diet led so many people to recovery from conditions they otherwise may have suffered from in perpetuity in the existing models. But what happens for those that it doesn't work for? What happens if they actually get worse on AIP? Well sadly the same people that were dismissed and gaslit for years by the existing dogmatic models became the gaslighters and dismissers of their fellow sufferers. In this conversation, clinician and author Jessica Brown (formerly Flanagan) discusses her evolution from being a central figure in the Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) community to developing a more compassion-centered, individualized approach to health. She reflects on her early advocacy for AIP, which initially offered hope and symptom relief for many with autoimmune diseases, but also became dogmatic and rigid in online communities. As clients began to experience worsening symptoms, eating disorders, and emotional distress, Jessica questioned the one-size-fits-all nature of restrictive diets. She faced backlash and ostracism from the AIP community for advocating nuance and patient-centered care, but maintained her integrity by focusing on compassion and believing her patients' experiences, even when it meant professional hardship. Now, Jessica's work centers on helping people understand the emotional drivers behind their health choices, such as whether they're pursuing diets out of abundance or fear. She emphasizes that without addressing underlying trauma, self-judgment, and how individuals relate to their diagnosis or their bodies, no diet—AIP, carnivore, intuitive eating—will create lasting healing. Her new book focuses on emotional eating and self-compassion, using principles of reparenting and noetic field therapy to help clients regulate their nervous systems and heal from past emotional wounds. She underscores that healing must involve the heart, not just the mind, and that true transformation often comes from leaning into discomfort with compassion rather than running from it. Find jessica: https://www.thelovingdiet.com/about-me [https://www.thelovingdiet.com/about-me] / 1927554647522671 [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa09xYk8wczNKVmhCZDNrR0ZMN1BYc3hYWHUzd3xBQ3Jtc0ttWnVZLUxEdjVPVE1vYXNZN1ROakhMemdBcmcxdDJvY2VPMjFfRUNGbTJnaGVybFU4REhnVEprQVVfYlZRQnh2ZWotdGUxekd3R2ZaN3RKVVZrbjhodjZSS0hXcFhSWG1kZ0xSU1YwZGpvUEtGVnRCVQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroups%2F1927554647522671&v=Qgn2DmNpa3Y]

Episode Two with Allison Imel PA: Addressing Glaring Weaknesses in Contemporary Approaches to Women's Health

Addressing modern medical practices, combining functional medicine with conventional protocols, and exploring lifestyle changes and informed consent for actualizing therapeutic potential. In this episode, Dr. Joe interviews women's health trailblazer Allison Imel PA to explore how integrating functional medicine into women's health and metabolic wellness can address issues like vaginal dryness, incontinence, and metabolic syndrome by getting to the root cause through detailed lab assessments, lifestyle modifications, and community-based group programs. They discuss the challenges and benefits of using comprehensive diagnostic tools (such as body composition analysis) and personalized treatment plans—including dietary changes and resistance training—to create a more holistic, informed approach to patient care, while also sharing personal journeys and professional insights into transforming conventional practices. Allison, PA-C, FTNP, MMS, currently practices in Olympia, WA in the fields of urogynecology and pelvic reconstructive surgery and metabolic and lifestyle medicine for women. She educates physician associates and other clinicians in these specialties, furthering her mission to integrate foundational wellness principles into primary care in the conventional healthcare model. Her background includes certification in functional nutritional therapy, a fellowship in functional medicine and treatment of complex chronic illness, and additional training in hormone replacement therapy, complex digestive dysfunction, and mycotoxin illness. Her passion lies in understanding the hearts of her patients in order to promote self-prioritization, self-love, nervous system regulation, and connection to all beings so that we may collectively participate in the healing of the planet.

Episode One with Documentary Filmmaker Chesley Heymsfield: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis meets Long Covid -- Where Do People with Complex Issues Find Help Where No Model Exists to Support Their Complexity?

In this first episode of A Good Man and Thorough, Dr. Joseph Smith, a chiropractic neurologist, sits down with Chesley Heymsfield, producer of the documentary All About ME and founder of the Chesley Initiative. The discussion delves into Heymsfield's personal battle with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and the broader implications of the condition, particularly in the wake of long COVID. Heymsfield shares her decades-long struggle to receive a diagnosis, navigating a medical system that often dismissed her symptoms. Her experience underscores the complexity of ME/CFS, which presents with neurological, immune, and metabolic dysfunction, and how many sufferers, like those with long COVID, face skepticism and lack of effective treatment options. The conversation also highlights systemic shortcomings in healthcare, from the constraints of insurance-based medicine to the difficulty in diagnosing and treating complex, multi-systemic conditions. Dr. Smith and Heymsfield discuss the need for a more integrative and patient-centered approach, one that considers early detection, personalized interventions, and a shift toward prevention rather than reactionary treatment. Heymsfield's initiative seeks to raise awareness and push for systemic changes, advocating for research, better patient-doctor relationships, and a more supportive healthcare infrastructure. Ultimately, the episode serves as both an eye-opening exploration of ME/CFS and a call to action for medical professionals and policymakers to address the growing population suffering from these debilitating conditions.