Dr. Taylor Krick

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Washington, IL
Dr. Taylor Krick

Dr. Taylor Krick, owner of Washington Wellness Center, practices Functional Medicine, which takes a root cause approach to any health concern.

Helping People Get Healthy. Functional Medicine Practitioner, Chiropractic Physician, host of The Autoimmune Doc Podcast

02/18/2026

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an emerging tool for managing inflammatory flares because the vagus nerve plays a key role in regulating the body’s “rest and digest” response and calming the immune system.
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Through what’s known as the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, activation of the vagus nerve can help reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, potentially lowering systemic inflammation.
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While implantable VNS devices are used in certain medical conditions, many people can support vagal tone naturally through practices like slow diaphragmatic breathing, humming or singing, cold exposure, meditation, and gentle exercise.
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By improving nervous system balance and shifting the body out of chronic stress mode, vagus nerve stimulation may help decrease the frequency or intensity of inflammatory flares as part of a broader, personalized treatment strategy.

02/15/2026

Mast cells can be "triggered" by environmental factors like allergens, toxins, foods, inflammation, and stress, and when they get triggered they can cause a broad spectrum of different types of inflammatory responses. I have a lot of metaphors about mast cells, so here is a new one. Mast cells are like the alarm system in a building - when something bad enters one door and "triggers" the alarm, the whole building's alarm system could go off - so even though the intruder came in the back door there may be lights flashing and an alarm sounding in a completely separate area of the building - so mast cells could be "triggered" in the gut, but the "alarm" may go off in the brain or in the joints.
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That "alarm" is inflammation, and if you don't shut the alarm off, it can keep honking and flashing and being REALLY problematic.
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Comment "MAST CELLS" and I'll send you my video specifically about mast cells in the BRAIN, and their association with neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, the perception of pain - and how psychological stress makes it all worse.

02/14/2026

This is one of those great pictures (we remade it…) from the scientific literature that shows how such a common issue - DEPRESSION - could be caused by INFLAMMATION. This picture shows how immune challenges like infections or autoimmunity can lead to an increase of inflammatory cytokines, which can inflame the brain, trigger other mechanisms like glutamate or tryptophan depletion (the precursor of serotonin), which throws off neurotransmitter balance, and leads to the end result - “depression”.

I have seen so many people have amazing changes in their mood or mental health symptoms by addressing the underlying drivers of inflammation! Sometimes you need appropriate medical support first, and you do what you gotta do (meaning I see a ton of people on meds), but we focus on the root causes - gut health, foods, toxins, stress, infections, hormone imbalances - and their health improves.

More in comments!

Check out this study
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http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.16505.80489

02/11/2026

Top 3 Tests for Inflammatory Skin Conditions for KIDS or ADULTS:

🦠 Stool Test

Reveals gut inflammation, dysbiosis, yeast or bacterial overgrowth, and leaky-gut markers that drive immune activation behind eczema, psoriasis, acne, and rosacea.

🍽️ Food Intolerance Test

Identifies delayed IgG reactions (not allergies) that silently increase inflammation, histamine release, redness, itching, and recurring breakouts—even when digestion feels normal.

🧪 Organic Acids Test (OAT)

Maps microbial toxins, mitochondrial stress, nutrient deficiencies, and detox overload—showing why inflammatory byproducts spill over and express through the skin.

💡Skin issues are often internal signals, not surface problems.

02/10/2026

Check out this study!
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Drinking Aloe vera juice daily for 9 months helped 100% of women with Hashimoto’s-related subclinical hypothyroidism return to normal thyroid function (normal TSH levels), without using thyroid medication.
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SWIPE→→→

PMCID: PMC5842288 PMID: 29527506

02/09/2026

7 common root causes of fatigue I see in practice

If you’re dealing with persistent fatigue, it’s rarely just one thing. In functional medicine, I look at why your body isn’t producing or sustaining energy.

Here are 7 of the most common causes:

1️⃣ Sleep apnea — disrupted breathing reduces oxygen and restorative sleep
2️⃣ Anemia — low iron or B12 limits oxygen delivery to tissues
3️⃣ Adrenal dysfunction — chronic stress alters cortisol and energy rhythms
4️⃣ Thyroid dysfunction — thyroid hormones regulate metabolic energy
5️⃣ Mitochondrial dysfunction — impaired cellular energy production
6️⃣ Chronic inflammation — the body diverts energy toward immune defense
7️⃣ Toxin exposure — mold, heavy metals, and chemicals burden detox pathways

Fatigue is a symptom, not a diagnosis. Identifying the underlying cause is key to lasting improvement.

🎥 I break each of these down in more detail in my full YouTube video — link in bio.

02/03/2026

One of the most frustrating patterns I see in gut health is how quickly the conversation ends once a diagnosis is ruled out.

You don’t have Crohn’s.
You don’t have ulcerative colitis.
Your labs are “normal.”
So… it must be anxiety.

But ruling out a disease is not the same thing as finding a cause.

I’ve watched people bounce between specialists for years — scopes, imaging, medications, reassurance — only to finally run a comprehensive stool test and uncover infections, inflammation drivers, immune reactions, or microbial imbalances that no one ever checked for. Not because they were rare. But because they weren’t standard.

And this isn’t an argument against conventional care. There are moments when medication is life-saving and absolutely necessary. Acute symptoms need acute treatment. Full stop.

01/31/2026

Mold exposure doesn’t always show up as allergies.
It can look like deep fatigue, anxiety that feels irrational, histamine issues, gut changes that don’t respond to diet, neurological symptoms without clear answers, frequent urination, or immune dysfunction.

When multiple systems are involved, it’s not random—it’s a pattern.

The good news?
Mold-related illness is often very treatable once it’s recognized.

🎥 Full breakdown on my YouTube. Linked in bio

01/28/2026

In my latest YouTube video I shared the seven signs that may indicate the body is fighting mold exposure. While mold can be a significant stressor, it’s important to recognize that it’s often one of several contributing factors to ongoing health issues. These signs may include fatigue, histamine intolerance, anxiety, gut changes, neurological symptoms, frequent urination, and immune system dysfunction. If you recognize any of these patterns, it may be worth exploring mold as part of a broader root-cause approach to health and learning more about available resources and next steps.

Comment "7" and I'll send you a direct link to this video!

01/26/2026

It’s estimated that 90% of people worldwide carry the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV).
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If you get the virus early (most people), you have no signs or symptoms. If you get the virus later in life (often teens or 20s), it will express as mononucleosis.
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EBV (and other viruses like CMV, HHV, etc) can “re-activate” in some people, causing a myriad of symptoms, including thyroid autoimmunity (and other autoimmunity like Lupus, RA, and MS), chronic fatigue, anxiety, dysautonomia, and much more.
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Many people with Lyme, mold, heavy metal toxicity, Candida, SIBO, etc may also have problems with high viral loads and re-activations due to the immune shifts that take place, it’s a vicious cycle!
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Address

Washington, IL

Telephone

+13094235751

Website

https://www.autoimmunedocpodcast.com/

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