Gut barrier dysfunction (leaky gut)
70% of the immune system lives in the gut. Loss of barrier = chronic immune activation.
+ Symptom 09
Immune · Thyroid · Gut
My immune system feels broken.
Every cold the office gets, you get worse and longer. You catch what your kids bring home. You're the one still sick three weeks later. Or you've been told you have Hashimoto's, lupus markers, an autoimmune flag — and the next sentence was "we'll watch it."
A misfiring immune system is treatable, and watching is not the only option. The drivers — gut barrier, thyroid antibodies, vitamin D, B12, infections, inflammation — are testable, and most respond meaningfully to targeted intervention.
The Picture
If this is you,
it might sound like —
Read these the way you'd read a letter from someone who already knows. If three or more land hard, you're in the right place.
- I catch every cold the office gets.
- I'm sick longer than everyone else.
- I have an autoimmune diagnosis but no plan.
- "TSH is normal" — but I feel terrible.
- Joint aches, low-grade fevers, swollen glands.
- Recurring UTIs, thrush, sinus infections.
- A strange rash that comes and goes.
- I'm exhausted in a way that feels different.
+ Key Drivers
What's misfiring.
Autoimmune disease isn't a sentence — it's a system that's lost its ability to discriminate. Testing reveals which inputs are driving the misfire.
Vitamin D deficiency
Single most common nutrient driver of autoimmune flare. Optimal blood level is 100-150, not 50.
Chronic infections
EBV, CMV, Lyme, occult dental infections, H. pylori. Often missed; often the trigger.
Subclinical Hashimoto's
Antibody-positive thyroiditis. Often present years before TSH moves. The most common autoimmune condition in women.
Stress + cortisol depletion
Long-term cortisol dysregulation impairs the immune system's ability to discriminate self from non-self.
B12 + iron depletion
White blood cells need substrates. Marginal status compromises the immune response.
+ Key Tests
How we see the immune load.
Immune dysfunction is rarely a single broken thing — it's a load. Testing identifies which inputs are stacking the load so we can drop them.
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Comprehensive bloods + autoimmune sweepFull thyroid (incl. antibodies), ANA, ENA, full iron studies, B12 (active), folate, vitamin D, inflammation (CRP, ESR, ferritin), full immune panel.
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GI-MAP · Stool DNA panelGut barrier markers, opportunistic pathogens, parasites, gut inflammation, secretory IgA.
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OAT · Organic acidsMitochondrial markers, B-vitamin status, gut dysbiosis, fungal/bacterial overgrowth.
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DUTCH cortisolChronic stress chemistry undermining immune function and thyroid antibody activity.
+ Foundational Must-Haves
What you can start today.
Six high-leverage daily moves. These are the floor for any autoimmune work that follows — without them, deeper protocols struggle.
- Vitamin D3 + K2 — get blood levels to 100-150 nmol/L. The single highest-leverage nutrient for autoimmune.
- Sleep 8 hours a night, non-negotiable. Immune cells consolidate during deep sleep; you can't supplement around chronic sleep loss.
- Cap alcohol. Alcohol breaks gut barrier, suppresses immune cells, drives autoimmune flares.
- Gentle daily movement. Lymph doesn't have a pump — it relies on muscle contraction. Walk daily.
- Treat the gut. Healing the gut barrier is foundational for any autoimmune work that follows.
- Stress practices that you actually do. Not optional. Cortisol dysregulation will undo any immune protocol.
+ The Process with How It Heals
"We'll watch it" isn't a plan.
Autoimmune disease is not a sentence — it's a system that has lost its ability to discriminate. Testing reveals which inputs (gut, infection, nutrient, stress, thyroid) are driving the misfire. Treatment lowers the load.
Most clients with autoimmune flags see antibody trends improve and flares reduce inside 4-6 months once the upstream load is identified and addressed. We work alongside your specialist, not against them.
+ From the women in front of us
What changed.
Selected from clients who started here — recurring infections, autoimmune flags with no plan, TSH normal but symptomatic — and worked through the 22-week reset.
My TPO antibodies dropped from 800 to 120 in six months. My GP said it 'doesn't usually work like that.'
T.G. · 38 · New Farm
I haven't had a single cold this winter. First time in five years.
R.M. · 36 · Telehealth