When it comes to having better defenses against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens, it’s important to understand the concepts of immune tolerance and immune resilience, and how they relate to each other. Immune tolerance Immune tolerance refers to the immune system’s ability to appropriately respond to the environment. Proper tolerance means it does not over…
It’s important to understand the relationship between autoimmune disease and immune resilience during a time when many people are concerned about the coronavirus, or COVID-19. But first, what is autoimmune disease? Autoimmunity is a disorder in which the immune system erroneously attacks and destroys body tissue. It’s an extremely common yet largely overlooked immune disorder…
by Datis Kharrazian, PhD, DHSc, DC, MS, MMSc, FACN (Reprinted with minor revisions from Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? by Dr. Datis Kharrazian) Once the gene for an autoimmune disease has been turned on, it can’t be turned off. The only thing to be done clinically is to turn down the volume on…
Mathias Herriges is a patient who has been working with Dr. Kharrazian to manage his sports-related brain injury and related chronic health conditions. He originally shared this letter to the Kharrazian Institute Members Only Facebook group. It is shared here with his permission. This is a follow-up to my case study presented roughly 9 months…
(Click here to read Part II of the Autoimmunity Mind-Body Connection.) When managing a chronic health condition — pain, inflammation, hypothyroidism, an autoimmune disease — it’s easy to get caught up in the nuts and bolts of care. Strategies such as an anti-inflammatory diet, supplements, medications, sleep hygiene, exercise, and other functional medicine protocols can…
(To read Part 1 of the Autoimmunity Mind-Body Connection click here.) So how exactly do happiness, positivity, and socialization improve health? They profoundly influence stress levels, inflammation, and the release of feel-good chemicals, all of which play roles in autoimmune management. Social isolation, pessimistic thinking, toxic relationships, unhappy marriages, dead-end jobs, living a life without…
A recent study we conducted showed infections — bacterial, viral, parasitic, mold and yeast — may trigger the development of Alzheimer’s disease in a mechanism similar to the development of autoimmunity. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD), examined how infections may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). We performed…
Every day our bodies work hard to cope with the effects of environmental toxins, food intolerances, inflammatory diets high in sugar but low in nutrients, sleep deprivation, and chronic stress. To minimize the damage, it’s important to support levels of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant produced by the body. This can be done by taking glutathione…
It wasn’t long ago that the “autoimmune protocol (AIP diet)” was unknown term for what used to be known in functional medicine as the “elimination and provocation diet.” Today, the AIP diet is a well-known tool in autoimmune management, and thousands of autoimmune patients have used it successfully to help recover their health. However, while…
Oral Tolerance Part I: Sensitive to multiple foods and not getting better? Here’s why If you’re managing your autoimmune disease, chronic health disorder, or brain health, then you’re probably familiar with the autoimmune paleo (AIP) diet, also known as the leaky gut diet or autoimmune paleo protocol. Prior to its rebranding online, functional medicine practitioners…