Optimal immune resilience requires your immune system to have the ability to communicate throughout your whole body. The body has a variety of immune cells such as antigen presenting cells or macrophages, and their job is to continuously sample various compounds that come into the body. If they happen to sample a virus, bacterium, or…
Have you ever noticed that you’re more likely to get the cold or flu when you’re sleep-deprived? In all of the research studies looking at mechanisms that support immune resilience, NOTHING comes close to getting plenty of good sleep — no supplement, no diet, and no other lifestyle strategy. We’ve all heard sleep is important,…
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…
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…
“Pregnenolone steal” is often the culprit behind the hormonal rollercoasters that affect so many women during PMS, perimenopause, and other female hormone imbalances. We think it’s normal because so many women are impacted, but it’s not normal. Instead, it’s a symptom of chronic stress that leads to pregnenolone steal — a mechanism in which stress…
While male hormone imbalance is not a topic that gets as much press as female hormone imbalance, it is nevertheless vital to men’s health and well-being. It is important for practitioners and patients to understand the factors that underlie male hormone imbalances so the root caused can be addressed, instead of routing patients automatically to…
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,…
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…