It Has To Be Me Episode

THE POWER OF ADVANCED LAB TESTS

Dr. Lara Zakaria

Episode #20: September 19th, 2024

THE GOLD FROM THIS EPISODE

“There is great power in nutrition education. When we teach we scale knowledge which has an impact on our healthcare and the way we view food.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“With the right data and practitioners to interpret the data you can find nutrition solutions that are appropriate for you.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“Instead of veering towards disease, catch patterns to move towards better health.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“Your genes are software, not hardware. You can upgrade your software and change your programming with diet, lifestyle, sleep, and stress modifications. Epigenetics changes the inputs, which changes the outputs. So instead of spitting out cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline, you can have healthy metabolism, cognitive function, and immune responses.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“Microbiome stool testing looks at the balance of your gut microbiome and overall digestive function (the amount of pancreatic enzymes, how protein, fats, and carbs are excreted, inflammatory markers) to assess the foundation of your health to track patterns and address problems.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“A complete metabolic panel can look at additional markers with blood sugar, to find patterns with triglycerides and insulin levels to prevent pre-diabetes and diabetes earlier.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“Continuous glucose monitoring can track day-to-day patterns with blood sugar and how your body responds to certain foods based on your genetics, gut microbiome, and activity levels.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“Give yourself permission to imagine more possibilities, and opportunities show up in a different way.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

“Have the audacity to be you.”

Dr. Lara Zakaria

PharmD, MS, CDN, CNS, IFMCP

in THIS EPISODE

  • Dr. Lara Zakaria—pharmacist, nutritionist, and functional medicine practitioner—shares some of the advanced lab testing you can use to get higher-level data about your health to prevent and reverse disease.

  • After struggling with health issues and working in a pharmacy watching people get sicker and more dependent on medications, Dr. Zakaria became passionate about holistic nutrition as a preventative solution.

  • Through the lens of her personal journey with burnout and poor health, she stresses the importance of listening to signs that “things aren’t right” and the huge impact of better food and lifestyle choices.

  • With a gift for using hilarious anecdotes to make dry medical issues entertaining, Dr. Zakaria will get you excited about microbiome stool testing and metabolic, lipid, and thyroid panels. You’ll learn how these tests help functional practitioners look at patterns (not just numbers) to detect risks earlier and optimize your health.

  • If you’ve got autoimmune, metabolic, or allergic disease, or want to be in peak health and catch problems early, this episode is a must-listen.

TESS'S TAKEAWAYS

  • To approach your health holistically, work with a functional medical practitioner.

  • Nutrition education has a powerful effect on food culture.

  • Parents who encourage healthy living build a foundation of self-care.

  • Epigenetics (food and lifestyle choices) upgrades your genetic programming.

  • Track patterns, not just numbers, to prevent and reverse disease.

  • Advanced lab tests empower you to catch disease patterns earlier.

  • A microbiome stool test determines the balance of your gut and overall digestive function.

  • Advanced metabolic, lipid, and thyroid panels inform more personalized health responses.

ABOUT LARA

As a pharmacist, nutritionist, and professor of integrative medicine, Dr. Lara Zakaria is passionate about gut health and the prevention and reversal of metabolic, allergic, and autoimmune disease.

Following 20 years in community pharmacy practice, watching patients get sicker and more dependent on medications, Lara developed a keen interest in functional medicine. Earning an MS in nutrition, she additionally qualified as a certified nutrition specialist and functional medicine practitioner.  

Dr. Zakaria’s clinical practice applies a multi-disciplinary approach, working one on one with patients. She also loves teaching as a faculty member at the Integrative Medicine program at George Washington University and as guest instructor in functional medicine at LECOM College of Pharmacy. 

Lara is committed to working with pharmacy professionals, nutritionists, clinicians, and other practitioners to amplify the message of personalized nutrition solutions.