The Functional Nurse Podcast - Nursing in Functional Medicine · Brigitte Sager, DNP

Key Takeaways from the 2025 PLMI Thought Leaders Conference

·29 min·1 clip

Dr. Bredesen says the functional medicine approach is the most effective way to reverse cognitive decline.

1. The Functional Nurse Podcast episode recaps the 2025 PLMI Thought Leaders Consortium in Dana Point, California. 2. Bridget Sager hosts the show, leads the Institute for Functional Nursing, and says she attends PLMI to stay current for nursing practice and her students. 3. The episode answers what a nurse should take from a two-day functional medicine conference and how those ideas apply to practice. 4. Dr. Bland opens the conference with immunometabolism and a long list of markers, including waist-to-hip ratio, grip strength, daily steps, and sleep metrics. 5. Bridget Sager includes average nightly heart rate, temperature during sleep, respiratory rate, heart rate variability, average blood pressure, MMSE, and the Beck Depression Inventory. 6. She says felt state compared to biomarker patterns matters because patient-reported health influences immune and metabolic health. 7. She notes fecal calprotectin and melatonin as additional pieces of the immunometabolism conversation. 8. Bridget Sager says wearables matter because many patients can monitor steps, sleep, and heart data at home over time. 9. Carrie Jones, described as the “hormone queen,” gives a case study that uses a continuous glucose monitor to guide patient changes. 10. Dr. Bridget Briggs emphasizes that smart rings, smart watches, Apple Watch, Aura Ring, and Garmin data can help when sleep studies are delayed or unaffordable. 11. The conference also turns to toxins, and Bridget Sager says the practical focus is on whether patients can “pee, poop and sweat” well enough to support detoxification. 12. She says the political discussion around autism, acetaminophen, Tylenol, and vaccines changed the tone of the Q&A. 13. Her concern is that the way those topics are discussed can erode trust between providers and mothers who are already second-guessing pregnancy choices. 14. Robert Lustig appears at the conference and is mentioned as having a long podcast interview that covers related topics. 15. Dr. Chris Migrat and Eric Lundquist present a talk that leads them back to Dr. Bland’s prior immune-health session and into CBC-based ratios. 16. Bridget Sager names the ratios as SII, platelets times neutrophils divided by lymphocytes, and SIRI, neutrophils times monocytes divided by lymphocytes. 17. She says Dr. Bredesen presents recent research on cognitive decline outcomes and argues that the functional medicine approach can reverse decline. 18. The episode repeatedly returns to a theme of disruption, with Bridget Sager saying nurses, pharmacists, chiropractors, physicians, and therapists are all using functional health tools. 19. Nurses interested in root-cause care, wearables, immune markers, and cognitive health would get the most from this recap. 20. Listeners wanting a tightly edited clinical interview may skip the long conference recap and sponsor segments.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Functional Nurse Podcast - Nursing in Functional Medicine