This episode of The Breathing Lab—featuring a powerful conversation with Dr. Silke Heine, PhD, expert in Holistic Nutrition and founder of Simplify Holistic Nutrition Consulting.

Dr. Heine has helped countless individuals uncover hidden food sensitivities using advanced diagnostics like the FIT 176 Food Inflammation Test. She’s also played a pivotal role in my own healing journey.

For years, I battled unexplained bloating, congestion, and discomfort—without real answers. It wasn’t until I began working with Dr. Heine and discovered my own unique inflammatory triggers (lime and dairy, surprisingly!) that everything started to shift.

In this episode, we will dive into:

What chronic inflammation actually looks like and how food plays a sneaky role

The often overlooked difference between food allergies and sensitivities
How gut issues like Candida and leaky gut often go missed

The essential link between digestion, breathing, diet, and
How the FIT test works as a truly personalized roadmap for better health
Whether you’re dealing with digestive discomfort, brain fog, chronic congestion—or simply want to feel your best—this episode is packed with insights that could change the way you eat and breathe.

P.S. If you’re curious about the FIT Test and how to get started, we cover that too—and why it might be one of the most personalized tools you can use for your health. Learn more about FIT test.

About Dr. Silke Heine:

Silke Heine, born in Duesseldorf, Germany, spent 11 years working as a buyer in the German fashion
retail industry. Moving to the U.S. with her American husband and two children, Silke started studying
many holistic nutrition topics with various programs/universities. Silke has a Ph.D. in Holistic Nutrition
and is the owner of Simplify, Holistic Nutrition Consulting (www.simplifyholisticnutrition.com). She
spent the last 20 years studying the relationship between health and food and helps her clients find the
bio-individual way of eating, matching their conditions and goals.

Because Silke has concentrated for many years on the topic of an Anti-Inflammatory Diet, she partnered
with KBMO Diagnostics and offers the FIT Test (Food Inflammation Test) in her practice. KBMO
Diagnostic added Silke as their head nutritionist, where she was leading a team of 10 meal-planners to
create a sample 7-Day Meal Plan for the FIT 132 and FIT 176 Test for providers all over the world, which
she stopped doing a year ago.

Silke has clients from many countries who have heard from her, many order the FIT Test on Silke’s
website and she reviews the test results in her office, or with her long distant clients virtually on Zoom,
or on the phone to implement a new way of eating according to the FIT Test results.

Silke has earned the following degrees:
2007: Bioenergetic Nutritionist from the Healthy Living Institute, Dr. Mark Mincolla
2010: Bachelor in Holistic Nutrition from Clayton College with Highest Honors
2013: Master’s degree in Holistic Nutrition from the University of Natural Health with Summa Cum
Laude
2013: Certified Natural Health Practitioner, Certified Holistic Nutrition Practitioner
2014: PhD in Holistic Nutrition from the University of Natural Health with Summa Cum Laude
2019: Certified Functional Medicine Health and Wellness Coach from the Functional Medicine Coaching
Academy
2021: Certified International Sports Nutritionist from ISSA
2022: Certified Functional Nutrition Counselor from the Function Nutrition Lab, Full Body Systems
2022: Certified Gluten-Free Diet Practitioner by Dr. Tom O’Bryan
Since 2015 part of the Integrative Practitioner Group that meets annually in NY at the Integrative
Healthcare Symposium, a conference led by the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Contact Silke Heine: 781 883 5951
Silke@simplifyholisticnutrition.com
www.simplifyholisticnutrition.com

At the Hobson Institute, we’re dedicated to exploring holistic approaches to health, with a strong focus on how breathing impacts overall well-being. In a recent Breathing Lab session, I had the pleasure of interviewing Patrick McKeown—a leading expert on breathing techniques and the Buteyko Breathing Method. Patrick shared with our listeners how simple changes in the way we breathe can help manage conditions such as asthma, sleep disorders, and anxiety.

Key Highlights from Our Podcast Discussion

Understanding the Unified Airway
We explored the concept of the unified airway—the idea that the entire respiratory system is interconnected. This understanding is essential when addressing sleep and breathing issues. For example, mouth breathing increases airway resistance, which can impair sleep quality and affect overall health.

Supporting Children with Anxiety and Breathing Issues
Children’s breathing habits can have a profound effect on their mental and emotional health. We discussed the importance of assessing children for both anxiety and dysfunctional breathing patterns. Gentle nasal breathing techniques, a calm and reassuring clinical environment, and tools like MyoTape can support better sleep and reduce anxiety by encouraging nasal breathing.

The Benefits of Mouth Taping
Mouth taping can help promote nasal breathing during sleep.

Breathing Techniques to Manage Anxiety
We also discussed how specific breathing practices—such as reducing breathing volume and encouraging nasal breathing—can help regulate carbon dioxide levels, promoting calm and relaxation. While results may take time, consistency and patience with these techniques can lead to meaningful improvements in anxiety symptoms.

How to Learn More For Healthcare Professionals
If you're a clinician interested in integrating these techniques into your practice, consider taking my Intro to Airway Evaluation and Treatment Course. In this course, I share how I’ve combined the Buteyko Breathing Method with myofunctional therapy, cranial nerve integration, and physical therapy into a comprehensive approach. Sign up here.

For Individuals Seeking Relief
If you're struggling with poor sleep, chronic tension, jaw clenching, TMJ, or tinnitus, our online breathing retraining program is designed to help you address these concerns through proven techniques. Sign up here.

At the Hobson Institute, our mission is to empower individuals and professionals with holistic tools and knowledge to achieve optimal health. We’re proud to continue this journey of exploration and education with our community.

About Patrick McKeown, Breathing Expert and Author

Patrick McKeown is a leading expert in breathing and its impact on asthma, sleep, and mental health, with over two decades of experience in breathing re-education. He has authored 12 books on the science of breathing, including the internationally acclaimed The Oxygen Advantage, and has a forthcoming book, The Sleep Cure, set for release in June 2025 by Humanix Books.

His work focuses on functional breathing, sleep-disordered breathing, and nervous system regulation, offering practical techniques to improve respiratory health, sleep quality, and mental well-being. His research has been published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, and he collaborates with leading experts in medicine, sports performance, and neuroscience.

Patrick trains healthcare professionals, athletes, and individuals worldwide, helping them harness the power of optimal breathing for better health, sleep, and resilience.

In this session, Dr. Murphy will share her personal journey of transitioning from traditional orthodontics to a more holistic airway focused approach. She will discuss the challenges she has had in her own profession and obstacles that she has overcome, along with valuable insights from her interdisciplinary approach that combines dentistry, breathing retraining and myofunctional therapy. You’ll have the opportunity to ask your questions in real-time and learn about her advanced evaluation and treatment methods.

Key takeaways from the webinar:

A Personal Story: Discover how Dr. Murphy’s personal experience with tongue tie issues and breathing dysfunction which has led her to work with interdisciplinary teams—sleep MDs, ENTs, myofunctional therapists, and dentists—to address growth, development, and airway concerns.

The Mentor: Dr. Murphy helps offices either start or transform their orthodontic departments to an airway treatment practice. She also mentors primary care practitioners in their orthodontic care.

Early Intervention: Dr. Murphy will take children in as early as 2 months or whenever their primary care dentist or parent notices a bad bite to start airway treatment. She will explain the importance of early intervention. She helps children with symptoms of ADHD, snoring, poor sleep, bruxism, asthma, and more.

Recent Books Written: She has written several books to provide a resource for families. She believes that the sooner myofunctional therapy and tethered oral tissues become household terminology, the sooner major shifts in preventative care will be made.

Dr. Catherine Murphy

Dr. Catherine Murphy is an orthodontist by profession and a holistic health advocate by passion.
As the author of two picture books (“Dear Momma…” and “Dear Friend…Do You Know About Tongue Ties?”, she empowers families to recognize the deeper connections between symptoms like poor breathing, sleeping, and/or eating, and their root causes. Her personal and professional experiences have led her to unlearn conventional approaches in favor of a more compassionate and collaborative model of care. Committed to providing life-enhancing treatments rather than short-term solutions, Dr. Murphy strives to bring health, hope, and harmony to every family and audience she serves.