When you’re managing autoimmunity and other chronic health issues, the dietary changes, lab testing, and lifestyle overhauls can be a lot of hard work. But it’s also vitally important to your immune health to do things that make you feel good in a positive way. This is because having fun boosts your endorphins, which dampen…
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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,…
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Vitamin D deficiency is commonly associated with autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and type 1 diabetes, as well as muscle pain, neurodegenerative disorders, osteoporosis, impaired wound healing, depression, constant fatigue, and more. Understanding the role of vitamin D and how to maintain proper testing, supplementation, and cofactors will go a long way in fostering…
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Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are naturally occurring fats that our bodies cannot produce. Instead, they must come from whole food sources or supplements. EFAs are critical to help dampen inflammation and autoimmunity, promote blood vessel health, support healthy skin growth, give the hormones the precursors they need to remain balanced, and support healthy brain and…
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Reducing inflammation is integral to managing autoimmune disease and other chronic disorders. To be effective in reducing inflammation, it’s important to understand some basics. One great way to minimize inflammation is to support the immune system’s regulatory T cell function with simple dietary and lifestyle habits. These daily strategies can profoundly impact how you feel…
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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…
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One of the most vital nutrients for the brain is oxygen, and a seldom-mentioned but worthy suspect of poor brain oxygenation is low blood pressure. You would think as long as you’re breathing your brain is getting sufficient oxygen. However, while it may be getting enough oxygen to survive, it may not be getting enough…
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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…
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Many people with gluten sensitivity and gastrointestinal inflammation develop intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut.” Leaky gut happens when the lining of the digestive tract becomes over-porous and allows toxins, undigested food, and other pathogens into the bloodstream. These pathogens trigger an immune cascade that results in systemic inflammation, increasing the risk for food sensitivities, inflammation,…
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Before reading about how to unwind leaky gut, it’s important to understand what causes it so you can identify the best strategies to improve your gut and brain health. Unwinding leaky gut is a multi-faceted approach that consists of following a restricted diet, taking nutritional compounds that help reduce intestinal inflammation and repair the intestinal…
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If you are working on repairing leaky gut and restoring oral tolerance, it’s important to know about one key facet of good gut health that is a fairly new discovery — eating an ample and diverse amount of produce is key to healthy gut function because of its influence on gut bacteria. The modern diet…
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Have you noticed fermented and aged foods, wine, and cured meats cause certain symptoms in you? If so, you may have a histamine intolerance. Histamine sensitivity can produce a wide array of symptoms, however some of the more common are hives, swelling of the face or throat, a headache, nasal congestion, skin problems, a racing…
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