Episode 20: What "Root Cause Medicine" Really Means

In this episode of The Anchored to Wellness Show, Dr. Kacey pulls back the curtain on one of the most overused—and misunderstood—phrases in health right now:

Root cause medicine.

Here’s the truth:

Conventional medicine saves lives.
 But functional medicine helps restore them.

If you’ve ever been told:

•  “Your labs are normal” 
•  “Everything looks fine” 
•  “There’s nothing more we can do” 

…while still feeling foggy, exhausted, or off—this conversation will help you understand why.

Because most care today stops at symptom management.
 But real healing starts when we ask why.

🧠 In this episode, we walk through:

•  Why symptom management ≠ healing 
•  How the Reset → Repair → Rebuild framework addresses root causes 
•  Dr. Kacey’s personal journey with IBS—and the shift that changed everything 
•  The risk of labels without real answers 
•  What root cause medicine actually means for your life 

This isn’t about buzzwords.
 It’s about reclaiming your energy, clarity, and resilience.

✨ Stop managing symptoms. Mend the mess. Rebuild your resiliency. Reclaim the Real You.

🧠 Your Next Step (Start Here)

👉 The Weight, Energy & Stress Reset Guide ($9.99)
A simple, structured place to begin restoring your energy, clarity, and stress rhythm—without overwhelm. Click Here to grab yours.

🔬 Want to Understand What’s Driving Your Symptoms?

👉 Adrenal Optimization Test (AOT)
If you feel wired but exhausted, struggle with sleep, or feel stuck in stress mode—this test gives you clear insight into your cortisol rhythm and resilience. Click Here to order yours.

👉 Mineral Analysis (HTMA)
For deeper insight into long-term stress patterns, energy production, and metabolic function. Click Here to order yours today.

🌿 Deeper Support

👉 Memory Momentum Method
A structured, root-cause approach to support brain health, clarity, and long-term cognitive resilience. Click Here to learn more.

👉 The Anchored Journey (1:1 Care)
A personalized, lab-driven roadmap to help you restore your metabolism, hormones, and brain—with expert guidance every step of the way. Click Here to learn more.

🛍️ Support Your Body

👉 Get Healthy Store (Practitioner-Grade Supplements)
Targeted support for inflammation, energy, hormones, and brain health. Shop Here

📩 Stay Connected

👉 Dr. Kacey’s Corner (Weekly Newsletter)
Weekly insights, tools, and real talk to help you feel like yourself again. Get your weekly dose here.

It’s not that your body is failing you.
 It’s that no one has shown you how to look deeper—yet.

Connect with us:

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If you would like to watch this in video format,  it is available on YouTube.  Be sure to subscribe Watch Here

 Disclaimer: The content provided in The Anchored to Wellness Show is for informational and educational purpos

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey there, wellness warriors. Welcome to the Anchor to Wellness Show, your compass in the sea of holistic health. I'm Casey Wallace, and I'm your passionate advocate for vibrant well-being. And after witnessing countless patients caught in the cycle of sick care model, I became really disenchanted with the conventional healthcare system. It's a system where people aren't truly getting better, they're just simply managing symptoms. But I refuse to accept this as the norm, and I'm determined to shift the paradigm from sick care to well care. I have embarked on a journey into the realms of functional medicine and holistic health, and in each of these episodes, we will dive deep into the latest research, debunking myths, and unlocking the secrets to optimal wellness. From brain health to hormone balance, we'll cover it all with a blend of science, soul, and a dash of controversy. Together, we're making waves to reclaim control of our health destiny and anchor ourselves to wellness. So whether you're seeking clarity on brain fog or ready to reclaim your vitality, you're in the right place. So let's make waves and set sail towards a life anchored in wellness. If your doctor never asked why, then they did not find the root. And that's a problem with how most people are treated today. You're given a label, you're handed a prescription, and no one stops to ask what's actually driving your symptoms. That's not healing, that is symptom management. And honestly, that's exactly why I left the conventional system. You've probably heard the phrase root cause medicine floating all over social media lately. It's become a buzzword, almost like the latest health trend. And if you noticed, a lot of conventional doctors are rolling their eyes at this. Some are even making jokes saying, of course we practice root cause medicine. If you have pneumonia, then the root causes a bacteria in your lungs. If you have strep throat, then the root causes strep. And if you have a genetic disorder, then the root causes your DNA. And here's the thing: they're not wrong. Those are very black and white, like crisis urgent situations. And if you're hit by a car, yeah, you need an ER doctor. If you have an appendicitis, you need surgery. So conventional medicine does save lives, but here's the bold truth: functional medicine restores them. Conventional medicine, yes, saves lives. But functional medicine is where I have found that we can restore life. Because here's the reality: most of the people that I serve aren't walking into an ER with an acute infection or a broken bone. They're waking up every day tired but wired. They're battling brain fog that makes them reread the same sentence three times. They're snapping at their families when they don't want to. They're carrying cravings with them that make them feel out of control. They're having joint pain that they have never experienced. And when they finally muster up the courage to ask for help, they're told your lives are normal. Maybe it's just stress. Maybe it's just age. They are told to eat less and exercise more and then handed a prescription for an antidepressant. Or they're written off as just a busy mom or possibly even being made fun of, kind of behind the scenes, that they're just being dramatic and they're just making it all up. It's just a fictitious disorder. So that is not root cause medicine. That is symptom management. That's a label and a prescription without asking why your body is struggling in the first place. And honestly, most docs are not asking why anymore. Why is someone experiencing this issue? It is very much so like, oh, they have high blood pressure, they have diabetes, they have depression, they have some sort of autoimmune disease, they have brain fog. I can go on and on, but no one is asking why. It is too simple for someone to say they just have hypertension because they just have it, their blood pressure's high, so it's just that's hypertension, and then they're prescribed a medication. It is much harder to dive into why they have hypertension, why do they have these disease processes? Why is the body showing dysfunction? And some of this is not necessarily the fault of the doctor, but it is the fault of the system. We are taught that biochemistry and physiologic processes in first-year medical school, but then it's just kind of forgotten. And medical school students, when they move into clinical rotations, there's not a lot talked about this anymore. The true biochemistry, the true physiologic processes. There's just an indoctrination into this diagnosis and prescribe a medication system. And it's hard to say that. But it is just the truth, and I lived it. And so I do feel like I can be a little bit more bold in saying these things. There is no more thought of why. Why is someone experiencing depression? It's not necessarily that they're just depressed. There are so many reasons why. Sometimes people do need medication for this, and I'm not saying to not be treated if you're in a crisis mode situation, such as, you know, your blood pressure is super elevated or you're really depressed and you just need some help with medications. That's totally okay. But so many times there is something more underlying driving this, and that's the same with autoimmune diseases and dementia. There's so many disease processes that fall into this. And I recently saw where a woman had posted in a dementia Facebook group that she has been diagnosed with dementia at the age of 44. And I'm like, what? No, please don't settle for that. But most doctors are not trained in the prevention and reversal of cognitive decline. And honestly, they don't have time to dig deeper into the root causes, and patients are being told this all the time. A 44-year-old should not be diagnosed with dementia. Yes, there are some rare genetic cases that can be in your 40s and have dementia, but most of the time there is something more driving this, especially if you're in your 40s or 50s. Do not settle for this rhetoric that nothing can be done, that just you just need to get your affairs in order. Simply, this is so unfair. And honestly, the medical system should be ashamed that this is now what is being told to people. I often feel so blessed that I was called out of this system. And yes, I still do both conventional medicine and functional medicine, but I'm able to interweave that together and really begin to help people dive deep into the why behind their processes. So I am so grateful that I can live in both camps. I'm the board certified family physician. I've practiced in conventional medicine for many years, but I'm also trained in functional medicine. So it's so awesome for me and for my patients. I can live in both camps. I can just I can practice conventional medicine and those that it is better to just focus on disease and symptom control, I can practice functional medicine and those who are empowered to take back their health and have an open mind about all of this. And we can intermingle the two, which is mostly what I do. It is very rewarding, and I am so glad I now enjoy going to work every day, and I have the ability to share my knowledge here on this podcast. I'm so grateful for that every day. And that's why this episode matters so much to me because this isn't just a debate about buzzwords. This is about your life. This is about whether you get dismissed or managed or whether you have been seen, heard, and healed at the root. And I'm just seeing so many videos from doctors making fun about this root cause thing. And honestly, it is funny to me. I really think that we are all so well-intentioned and they are well-intentioned in their daily practice, and they think they are practicing root cause medicine, and so they are frustrated and I would say possibly feeling that deep down that they know they're being called out, but they really don't practice root cause medicine. And how do I feel like I have the authority to say that? And that is because I've been there, I've done it. I would have said, I practiced root cause medicine when I was in the middle of my conventional medicine days, seeing my 20 patients a day. I would have said, yeah, I practice root cause medicine. But it wasn't until I had my own health issues, my own concerns, and then also saw women struggling and getting no answers for repeated testing and referrals and just staying stuck in the silos of medicine that I realized something more has to be going on. Something is missing. And sure enough, my eyes were opened when I found functional medicine. I was skeptical at first for sure, but here I am, five years later, making bigger impact than I ever knew was possible in my own life, my own health, my family's health, and my patient's health. I am an osteopath. I would love to see the profession go back to its roots to truly practice holistic root cause medicine again. So if there is anyone out there listening that has anything to do with a medical school, especially an osteopathic medical school, hit me up. I will come and I will educate your students about this so that when the dean actually stands up at that white coat ceremony and says that osteopaths practice root cause medicine, then that can be taken as the truth. I realize that there is a lot to this. Medicine is a business. Patients being sick is a business. Big pharma has a hand in medical societies, in our continuing education, in the curriculum medical schools teach, and in my own continuing medical education. So to practice root cause medicine potentially takes away from that business. People get better, people don't need as many medications, people don't utilize the healthcare system as much. I get it. That is why we have leaned so far away from root cause medicine. But I'm here for it, and this is why I do what I do. So I want to be honest with you, this whole idea of root cause medicine is not just theory for me, it is personal. Years ago, I was struggling with irritable bow syndrome. And if you've ever had IBS, you know it's a polite medical way of saying your gut's a mess and you don't really know why. When I brought this up in the conventional setting, the world I was trained in, the answer was always the same. Here's a medication for the spasm, here's something for the constipation, try this fiber supplement, drink more water, you know. In other words, let's just manage the symptoms. But nobody ever stopped to ask me the most important questions. Why is your gut irritable in the first place? And guess what? It's not just stress. Does that have something to do with it? Yes, but I had dealt with that almost my entire life. So there were for sure other things driving it. I lived in that cycle for years, just white-knuckling it through the bloating and some of the pain and cramping, all while putting on a professional face and trying to keep up with my own life. And let me tell you, it made me feel broken, like my body was working against me. It wasn't until I stepped back and started digging into the real roots, looking at my microbiome, my digestion, my liver, my bioflow, my minerals, even my neurotransmitters, that things began to shift. And the crazy part, when my gut started to heal, it wasn't just my digestion that improved. My mood lifted, my brain fog cleared, and I felt like myself again. That was my wake-up call. That was when I realized this root cause thing isn't just about naming the obvious culprit. It's about restoring the entire system so the whole tree can thrive. And here's where this breaks my heart. I know so many people have lived a version of this same story. You've been told you're fine while everything inside of you says otherwise. You've been given a label, but not an explanation, and you've been left to second guess yourself wondering if it really is all just in your head. And I'm here to tell you, it's not just in your head. Your body has roots, and when you tend to them, everything changes. So let's talk about why conventional medicine gets stuck. Here's the thing: I'm not here to bash doctors. I was that doctor. I sat in those classrooms, I studied the Krebs cycle, I memorized the pathways of the mitochondria, and then after year one of medical school, we basically closed the book and we didn't go back to that. From that point forward, the focus became what is the diagnosis and what drug do we match to it? That was a system. And honestly, when you're working in a busy clinic with seven minutes of patient, you don't have time to ask why. You're trained to think in terms of crisis, not complexity. So when someone says root cause medicine, the conventional lens automatically goes to the easy examples like strep throat. Oh, the root causes of bacteria, pneumonia, again, infection in your lungs, genetic disorder, the root causes this mutation. And those are real. Those are places where conventional medicine shines, and thank God for it. But here's where we get stuck. Most of the issues people are dealing with today don't fit that model. IBS is not strep throat, anxiety isn't pneumonia, dementia at 44 isn't explained away by a single gene, yet the system tries to shove everything into that same box. And when it doesn't fit, the patient gets the label IBS, chronic fatigue, autoimmunity, early dementia, and a prescription, and a referral, maybe another referral. No answers. And yes, there are medications to treat these things. And sometimes we do need that. But when every commercial on TV is for some sort of immune modulating medication, I think, wow, that says a lot for where we are. Most everything can come down to the fact that the mind and body is inflamed. The immune system is haywire. So now the only thing, the medications that can help are immune modulators. Let's just change the immune system. So again, yes, that is needed for some, but for those who are ready to dive deep into the root cause, we almost can always find something more driving this. We don't want to keep the immune system in our dysregulated state. We don't want to just modify it. We don't want to just suppress it. We need to help our immune systems function better. And we do have to ask, why is it going haywire in the first place? But the question that gets skipped over, the one that could change a lot of things, is why? Why is the gut inflamed? Why is the immune system attacking itself? Why is the brain struggling decades before it should? That's the gap. That's the difference between managing leaves and tending to roots. And until we start asking why, we keep creating more labels, more lifelong customers, and fewer actual solutions. So let's talk about functional medicine's definition of root cause. So what do we mean when we say root cause? It's not just pointing at a bug or a gene or a diagnosis. Root cause medicine means zooming out and asking, why did this system break down in the first place? Think of your body like a tree. The symptoms you feel, like the bloating, the fatigue, the skin rashes, the brain fog, those are all the leaves. And sure, you can spray the leaves with something to make them look a little better. And that's what most prescriptions do. They change how the leaves look. But if the roots are planted in toxic soil, if the trunk is weak and depleted, the leaves will keep showing signs of strain. Root-cause medicine means tending to the roots. It means looking at the soil, your nutrients, your gut microbiome, your toxic load, your hormones, your lifestyle, your nervous system rhythms. It means asking why the branches are weak instead of just trimming them back. And here's something that often gets misunderstood. This isn't about doing all the things at once. Healing doesn't happen by throwing 27 supplements at you or giving you a list of 45 foods you can never eat. Healing happens in a sequence, in order. Do I believe in supplements? Yes. Do I believe that they are supplemental to addressing the underlying root cause? Yes. Do I believe that supplements are the entire answer? No. Do I believe that there are some really bad supplements out there that make the problem worse? Yes. Do I believe that there are some great supplements out there that truly help physiologic processes? For sure. But I believe that we have to heal in a certain order. Addressing underlying root causes can be so rewarding, but it can be taxing. For example, I don't like putting people through this big detox if the gut isn't functioning appropriately. If we start mobilizing toxins and then you can't poop them out or they get reabsorbed into the system because there is leaky gut present, then likely we will make things worse. So I believe in rhythm and order. I believe in a sequence of healing. And that's why in my work we follow a simple rhythm: reset, repair, rebuild. It is a framework that helps us calm the system first, address the deeper roots, and then rebuild the capacity you've lost. Because here's the truth: when you start with the roots, the leaves don't have to fight so hard. And when the soil heals, the whole tree can thrive. I want to go through some examples that show a little bit more about this gap. It makes it a little bit more real. So let's talk about IBS. Again, conventional medicine will say, well, your boughs are irritable. Okay, why? That's like saying your leaves are turning brown. Thanks for the observation. But what's happening in the soil? When I dug deeper into my own gut, I discovered a dysbiosis, I discovered low stomach acid, poor bile flow, I had neurotransmitter imbalances. That is the root. And when I worked there, everything shifted digestion, energy, and even my mood. And so now let's talk about something like hypertension, high blood pressure. The conventional answer is well, you have you just have high blood pressure. So here's a pill, let's lower it, and then you won't have hypertension or it's controlled. But the real answers for me are why is the blood vessel lining inflamed? Why is your nervous system stuck in fight or flight? Why is your body pumping out stress hormones like it's being chased by a lion 24/7? Those are the root causes that create these numbers on this blood pressure issue, right? So same with type 2 diabetes. It's not just you, oh, you have high blood sugar, so you have type 2 diabetes. No, that's the symptom. The root is years of metabolic chaos, insulin resistance, disrupted rhythms, nutrient depletion, toxic overload, manage the sugar with medication, and yes, you'll lower the number, but if you never restore metabolic flexibility, which is where your body can burn either fat or glucose for fuel, you are still living in a body that's stuck. Okay, now let's think about a thyroid issue. Maybe you've been told you have subclinical hypothyroidism or you've been diagnosed with Hashimoto's. Conventional medicine often stops at that. Here's a pill to replace what your thyroid isn't making. And sometimes, yes, that is necessary. But does anyone ask why your immune system is attacking your thyroid in the first place? Oh yeah, you're making thyroid antibodies. Well, okay, then why are you making thyroid antibodies? Does anyone look at your gut permeability, your nutrient status, your toxic exposures, your stress patterns? Because those are the roots driving the thyroid imbalance. And then let's talk about skin issues, psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis. The conventional playbook is steroids and immune modulators. But that's like painting over mold on the wall without fixing the leak underneath. Functional medicine asks, what is triggering the immune system? Is there a gut flare? Is there gut hyperpermeability? Is there a toxin issue? Is it stress? And here's the one that absolutely stops me in my tracks. And that's back to that 44-year-old being told that she has dementia. That is a label. It is not a root cause. And yes, there are some rare genetic conditions that can cause early dementia, but they're so rare. They're far more likely root things like insulin resistance, inflammation, trauma patterns, toxic exposures, nutrient deficiencies. Those are things that if you address those things, you can actually change the trajectory. So here's the point on all these conditions, the conventional medicine model stops at the leaf. The label, the number, the prescription, root-caused medicine doesn't stop there. It digs into the soil, it asks why. And when you restore the soil, the tree doesn't just survive, but it can thrive. So why this matters to you, my listeners, this is where it gets personal for me. And honestly, this is why I left the system. When I was practicing conventional family medicine, I could not shake this feeling that something was missing. Day after day, I would see women, especially after their childbearing years, sitting in my office, exhausted, foggy, reactive, struggling with weight that wouldn't budge, cravings that fell out of control, sleep that's never restored, new onset joint pain. And what did the system give them? Referrals, another specialist, another silo, another medication to manage a symptom, and still no answers. I remember sitting there thinking, something's off, this doesn't make sense, these women are suffering, and we're just patching the leaves while the roots are screaming for help. And if you scroll through social media today, you'll see it everywhere. Women are pouring out their hearts and comments saying, like, I'm exhausted, I'm foggy, my doctor says my labs are normal, but I don't feel normal. And then you see doctors dismissing those cries, even kind of making fun of them for asking those deeper questions. Or better yet, you're making fun of them for Googling, well, what are they supposed to do? When nobody will figure out what's wrong with them. That's what breaks me because I know what it feels like to sit on both sides of the table. I know what it feels like to be dismissed as a patient, or even how it feels when the doctor really is trying, but just doesn't have the time or the expanded training to really shift things. And I know what it feels like to be that doctor who wants to help, but doesn't have the tools that the system gave me. That's why this matters because this is not just theory. This isn't just a physiologic fight on social media. This is your life, your body, your mind, and your relationships. And I am so thankful I was called out of that system so I could expand my education, I could step into functional medicine and finally help people on a deeper level to move from managing symptoms to actually restoring resiliency. I'm gonna do another episode on resilience. So stay tuned for that. Because here's the truth people are screaming for help. The healthcare system is broken, and you deserve more than being brushed off. You're fine, it's just stress, it's just age. You're not broken, you're not crazy, and your story is not over. It's just underexplained. So here's what I want to leave you with today. When we talk about root cause medicine, it's not just a catchy phrase to toss around online. It's a choice, a choice to stop giving your power away to a system that was built to manage and not restore. Because here's the truth: when you walk into a doctor's office and they tell you what you're going to do and you either follow it or you don't, that's not empowerment. That's dependency. And I don't work with women who want to stay stuck there. I work with women who are ready to take their power back. Women who are tired of being dismissed, tired of being told it's just age, tired of second guessing every choice while nothing changes. Women who are ready to reclaim their lives, they they want to release weight, they want to reignite their life passion, they want to restore their focus, not by white-knuckling harder, but by tending to their roots. And listen, I get it. Not everyone is ready for that because it does take courage. It takes ownership. It takes being willing to say, I'm not broken, I'm not crazy, I'm not too far gone, I am empowered and I'm ready to do the work. But if you are that person, if you're nodding your head right now, if something in you knows that this is the truth that you've been waiting to hear, then I want you to know I'm making this more accessible than ever. We are making resources and programs. There are tools that will help you to do this on a grander scale. And you can find more details in our show notes below. So from now on, I leave you with this: stop managing your symptoms, mend your mess, rebuild your resiliency, and reclaim the real you. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Anchor to Wellness Show. Together, let's anchor ourselves to a life of vibrant well being. Until next time, take care, stay curious, and embrace the journey to holistic vitality. Stay anchored and stay well.