EPISODE · Mar 6, 2026 · 1H 7M
Episode 14 - "The Father of Functional Medicine" — Dr. Jeff Bland's Eight-Decade Journey
from The Root Cause - Business of Medicine Podcast · host Dr. Erik and Dr. Davin Lundquist
Dr. Erik Lundquist and Dr. Davin Lundquist sit down with Dr. Jeff Bland for a sweeping conversation that traces the entire arc of functional medicine — from its pre-history to its future. Bland shares his origin story: an insatiably curious kid who worked with Nobel laureate Sherwood Rowland at UC Irvine, pivoted from medical school toa PhD, then exposed deadly arsenic pollution at Tacoma's ASARCO smelter in a saga that reached 60 Minutes. A sabbatical next door to Linus Pauling's office led to the pivotal question — "Is your classroom big enough?" — that pushed Bland to abandon tenure and build a nutrition-education business with his family.He recounts co-founding IFM with Dr. David Jones, coining the term "functional medicine" in 1990 (over considerable pushback), and personally investing millions to institutionalize the movement. The conversation turns to today's convergence of wearable tech, AI, and portable health records, which Bland sees as empowering patients while elevating the clinician's role to teacher and guide. He warns that ultra-processed food is an existential threat — citing declining fertility — and describes his Big Bold Health ventures in regenerative agriculture and minimally processed fish oil. His parting advice: find your peer group, start with high passion, and the world will protect you.For practitioners exploring functional medicine, students seeking inspiration, or anyone curious about the movement's origin storyHere is the link to the publication in the IMCJ (Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal)*** Note from the Editor. There was a mistake in what link I posted. Here is the link to the actual article mentioned"The Paradigm-Shifting Future of Health Care: Rise of Predictive, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine - PMCThe Paradigm-Shifting Future of Health Care: Rise of Predictive, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine (2025) takes that foundation and projects where it's heading — a tech-enabled, predictive, continuously monitored health system.Functional Medicine Past, Present, and Future - PMCFunctional Medicine: Past, Present, and Future (2022) makes the case for why functional medicine works based on history and evidence.
What this episode covers
Dr. Erik Lundquist and Dr. Davin Lundquist sit down with Dr. Jeff Bland for a sweeping conversation that traces the entire arc of functional medicine — from its pre-history to its future. Bland shares his origin story: an insatiably curious kid who worked with Nobel laureate Sherwood Rowland at UC Irvine, pivoted from medical school toa PhD, then exposed deadly arsenic pollution at Tacoma's ASARCO smelter in a saga that reached 60 Minutes. A sabbatical next door to Linus Pauling's office led to the pivotal question — "Is your classroom big enough?" — that pushed Bland to abandon tenure and build a nutrition-education business with his family.He recounts co-founding IFM with Dr. David Jones, coining the term "functional medicine" in 1990 (over considerable pushback), and personally investing millions to institutionalize the movement. The conversation turns to today's convergence of wearable tech, AI, and portable health records, which Bland sees as empowering patients while elevating the clinician's role to teacher and guide. He warns that ultra-processed food is an existential threat — citing declining fertility — and describes his Big Bold Health ventures in regenerative agriculture and minimally processed fish oil. His parting advice: find your peer group, start with high passion, and the world will protect you.For practitioners exploring functional medicine, students seeking inspiration, or anyone curious about the movement's origin storyHere is the link to the publication in the IMCJ (Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal)*** Note from the Editor. There was a mistake in what link I posted. Here is the link to the actual article mentioned"The Paradigm-Shifting Future of Health Care: Rise of Predictive, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine - PMCThe Paradigm-Shifting Future of Health Care: Rise of Predictive, Personalized Lifestyle Medicine (2025) takes that foundation and projects where it's heading — a tech-enabled, predictive, continuously monitored health system.Functional Medicine Past, Present, and Future - PMCFunctional Medicine: Past, Present, and Future (2022) makes the case for why functional medicine works based on history and evidence.
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Episode 14 - "The Father of Functional Medicine" — Dr. Jeff Bland's Eight-Decade Journey
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