Autoimmunity
If you've been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, or you suspect your body may be reacting against itself without a clear diagnosis yet, you likely already know how limited the conventional path can feel. Medication can manage symptoms and slow progression, but it doesn't usually address why the immune system started targeting your own tissue in the first place. That question is where my focus tends to go.
I work alongside your specialist and GP, not in place of them. My role is to look at the underlying contributors, immune dysregulation, gut permeability, chronic inflammation, nutrient status, and stress load, to support your body in calming down and functioning better, whatever autoimmune condition you're navigating.
What autoimmunity is
Autoimmunity happens when the immune system loses the ability to distinguish your own healthy tissue from a genuine threat, and begins reacting against the body instead of protecting it. Depending on which tissue is affected, this can show up as thyroid disease, joint inflammation, skin conditions, digestive disease, connective tissue involvement, or a combination, since autoimmune conditions often cluster together in the same person.
Some of the autoimmune and immune-mediated conditions I commonly support include:
Hashimoto's thyroiditis
Graves' disease
Rheumatoid arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Lupus (SLE)
Sjögren's syndrome
Celiac disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
Psoriasis
Alopecia areata
A note on endometriosis: while it involves inflammation and some immune involvement, it isn't classified as a true autoimmune condition, so I cover it separately under Female Hormone Health rather than here.
The gut-immune connection
A significant portion of the immune system is housed in the gut, which is part of why gut health tends to be central to autoimmune cases. When the gut lining becomes more permeable, sometimes described as increased intestinal permeability, undigested food particles and bacterial fragments may pass into the bloodstream and contribute to ongoing immune activation. Over time, in someone with a genetic predisposition, this kind of sustained immune activation is thought to play a role in the development of autoimmunity.
This is part of why digestive health and microbiome balance tend to be a strong focus of any autoimmune treatment plan I build, often alongside stool and microbiome testing where appropriate.
How I approach autoimmunity
Every autoimmune case looks different, but my clinical framework generally follows a similar shape:
Identify potential triggers. This might involve a past infection, chronic stress, a dietary trigger like gluten, environmental exposures, or some combination of these.
Support the gut lining. Reducing intestinal permeability and rebalancing the gut microbiome is often one of the most impactful steps available.
Address systemic inflammation. Through targeted nutrition, herbal medicine, and identifying food sensitivities that may be feeding the immune response.
Support the nervous system. Chronic stress places real demand on immune function, so calming the stress response is treated as an active part of the plan, not an afterthought.
Address nutrient status. Autoimmune conditions are frequently associated with low vitamin D, zinc, selenium, iron, and B vitamins, all of which play a role in immune regulation.
Support immune balance. Using evidence-informed herbal and nutritional strategies aimed at helping an overactive immune response settle.
Testing I may use
Where clinically appropriate, this can include:
Comprehensive gut microbiome and stool testing
Inflammatory marker testing (such as CRP and ESR)
Thyroid antibody testing (TPO and TgAb) where Hashimoto's is suspected
ANA panel
Food sensitivity testing
Nutrient status testing, including vitamin D, iron, zinc, and B12
Hormone and adrenal testing, given how closely the endocrine and immune systems interact