2025 Highlights

Don’t Miss the Best of 2025


Aaron Hartman MD

December 22, 2025

2025-Highlights

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    What a year it’s been. In 2025, we explored some of the most important (and often overlooked) topics in functional medicine: from hormone optimization and gut health to the hidden connections between trauma and chronic illness.

    These are the articles that resonated most deeply with our community: the posts that answered lingering questions, offered fresh perspectives, and reminded us all that you were made for health. Consider this your roadmap to the year’s best insights … and perhaps the starting point for your own transformation.


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    • All
    • 2025 Highlight
    Tired mom slumped on coach with blurred family circling her

    Made for Health

    CIRS vs. Hypothyroid

    Stop the Guesswork & Reclaim Your Energy

    Made for Health

    Heart for Life

    5 Science-Backed Superfoods to Rev Up Your Metabolism AND Fortify Your Heart

    How to Detox Your Brain

    Without Doing Anything
    A young woman stands outdoors in profile, eyes closed and smiling peacefully while taking a deep breath.

    Breathwork for Stress Relief

    8 Science–Backed Techniques to Calm Your Nervous System

    Breaking the Trauma Cycle

    New Psychedelics Research is Transforming Mental Health Treatment
    Meet Veronica Porterfield

    From Global Justice to Personal Healing

    Meet Veronica Porterfield (MS, LN, MPAS, PA-C)
    Meet RIFM’s newest provider: Veronica Porterfield, whose remarkable journey from global justice advocate to functional medicine expert brings hope to patients seeking root-cause solutions for complex chronic conditions.
    Magnesium-rich foods including bananas, avocado, spinach, almonds, walnuts, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, chia seeds, and yogurt displayed on a light background with the text 'Mg' highlighting magnesium benefits.

    Magnesium

    The “Missing Mineral” 80% of Americans Desperately Need for Better Sleep, Fewer Cramps & Calm Nerves
    Meet RIFM’s newest provider: Veronica Porterfield, whose remarkable journey from global justice advocate to functional medicine expert brings hope to patients seeking root-cause solutions for complex chronic conditions.

    PCOS in Young Women

    Understanding the Problem & Finding Solutions
    Discover why PCOS cases have increased by 67% in young women and the functional medicine approach that goes beyond birth control pills to restore true hormonal balance.

    Beyond Weight Loss With GLP-1s

    A Doctor’s Guide to Benefits, Risks, & Natural Alternatives
    Slot machines with an overlay text that says the neuroscience of social media

    Our Connected Life Crisis

    The Neuroscience of Social Media

    How Algorithms Hijack Your Brain
    Sophisticated algorithms are systematically rewiring your brain and stealing your family time—but neuroscience shows how to break free.

    The Connected Life Crisis

    Breaking Free from the Connected Life Crisis

    The Simple (But Not Easy) Solution Your Body Needs to Heal

    Metabolic Syndrome | Part 2

    The One Ring

    How Mitochondria Control Your Metabolic Fate
    Discover the single cellular component that controls your entire metabolic fate and why it's under unprecedented assault in modern life.

    Low-Dose Naltrexone

    The Tiny Dose That Tricks Your Body Into Healing Itself
    After 25 years treating chronic conditions, I've found one therapy that consistently delivers results where conventional medicine fails. This simple, affordable treatment has helped my patients overcome Long COVID, POTS, chronic fatigue, and autoimmune conditions by teaching their bodies how to heal naturally.
    Anna Hartman as toddler

    UnCURABLE | Part 1

    The Day “Incurable” Became Hopeful

    How One Diagnosis Changed Everything

    UnCURABLE | Part 2

    The 5 Biggest Blind Spots in Modern Medicine

    (and What They’re Costing Us)

    We’ve Updated Our Popular Food Sourcing Guide

    • Food Sourcing Principles
    • Local Sourcing Options for Central VA
    • Non-Local Sourcing Solutions & Principles

    And we’ve added it to our FREE micro course “Real Food Diaries.” Register for the free course to access the updated guide.