Vagus nerve causing gut symptoms? 4 vagus exercises to help heal your gut

Is your brain causing your leaky gut? One of the ways brain dysfunction can contribute to leaky gut is through poor vagus nerve activity. The vagus nerve is a large nerve that sends communication back and forth between the organs and the brain. When the brain is in poor health it can inhibit vagal nerve…

Oral Tolerance Part II: The overlooked power of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) for immune health, brain health, and food sensitivities

Go here to read Part I: New food sensitivity issues on AIP? The oral tolerance protocol In my first article on oral tolerance, I talked about why many people develop an increasing number of food sensitivities on restrictive healing diets and what to do about it. The primary cause is called loss of oral tolerance, and…

What type of gluten intolerance do you have?

Advances in testing for gluten intolerance offer accurate assessment Gluten intolerance has been linked in the literature to 55 diseases so far, most of them autoimmune. Fortunately a revolutionary breakthrough in gluten reactivity testing at Cyrex Labs, founded on years of leading immunological research, is now available to help determine whether this ubiquitous substance is damaging…

Are your supplement ingredients safe?

Many people with autoimmune and chronic health conditions follow specialized dietary and lifestyle protocols to manage their condition yet find they still suffer from symptoms. One culprit to investigate is whether your supplement ingredients and medications are triggering inflammation. Easy access to supplements is a mixed blessing The United States benefits from wide access to nutritional supplements,…

New food sensitivity issues on AIP? The oral tolerance protocol

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…

Protect your brain and body from stress: Adrenal adaptogens and phosphatidylserine

Stress is one of the most potent contributors to autoimmune and chronic disease. While it’s important to address sources of stress in your life, whether they are psychological, dietary, chemical, or personal — we can never be completely free of stress. However, we can support the body’s stress-management systems to better manage autoimmune, chronic inflammatory,…

How low SIgA promotes loss of oral tolerance and can create false negatives on lab testing

Are you becoming sensitive to an ever growing list of foods? Do you do lab testing only to have everything come back negative, despite clear and obvious reactions to foods. If so, you may have low SIgA levels. SIgA refers to secretory immunoglobulin antibodies. The immune system makes antibodies to tag proteins to be destroyed…

Liver function plays a key role in functional medicine protocols

Did you know your liver can play a role in inflammation, leaky gut, food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities, and autoimmunity? Tending to liver function and liver detoxification is a vital part of functional medicine protocols to address chronic health issues. Liver detoxification involves making fat-soluble compounds water-soluble so they can be eliminated in urine, feces, or…