The Autoimmune Doctor (2025)

02/12/2025

🍏 When your hair falls out, it’s rarely just about hair

Most people are told it’s stress… or hormones… or “just part of getting older.”

But in so many of the people I see, hair loss is the surface signal of something deeper happening in the immune system.

Alopecia, especially alopecia areata, is autoimmune in nature.

It’s not cosmetic.

It’s immunological.

And it often travels with other patterns:

• thyroid autoimmunity

• blood sugar instability

• celiac or gluten reactivity

• nutrient depletion (iron, zinc, vitamin D)

• chronic stress chemistry

• gut permeability and dysbiosis

• post-viral shifts (EBV is a common story)

When we take a step back and look at the body as a system, hair loss becomes a map, not a mystery.

In my work with Functional Medicine, we explore questions that standard care rarely asks:

— Is the immune system over-activated, under-regulated, or both?

— Are there early antibodies that haven’t been tested yet?

— Is stress chemistry pushing the immune system into a constant alarm state?

— Are nutrients being absorbed properly, or is the gut struggling?

— Is your thyroid “normal” on paper but suboptimal in function?

— Has a past infection primed the immune system to misfire?

Once we find the pattern, everything starts to make sense.

We stabilise immune overdrive.

We rebuild nutrient foundations.

We restore gut integrity and reduce inflammatory load.

We support the thyroid, balance stress hormones, and bring the body back to a place of safety.

Because hair loss isn’t something you simply “treat.”

It’s something you understand.

And when you understand what your immune system is trying to tell you, everything shifts, your energy, your mood, your confidence, and yes, your hair.

If you want support identifying your pattern, you can message me “IMMUNE” and I’ll send you the most relevant resources to start with.

You deserve answers.
And you deserve to feel well in your own skin ,and your own hair.

01/12/2025

🍏 Functional Medicine Isn’t a Trend, It’s a Different Standard of Care

Most people only meet functional medicine after years of being told “everything looks fine” when nothing about their day feels fine.

And that’s because traditional care is built to detect disease, while functional medicine is built to detect dysfunction, long before it becomes something bigger.

Here’s what this approach truly means, in the way I practise it:

• We aim for optimal, not average.

Your labs shouldn’t be compared to a tired, inflamed population.

Functional ranges show the earliest signs of immune, gut, and hormonal strain, the patterns most people miss.

• We read the system, not individual symptoms.

Fatigue, pain, brain fog, gut issues, these aren’t random.

They’re signals from sleep, stress, digestion, immune balance, and hormones interacting in ways that deserve attention, not dismissal.

• We look at relationships and ratios.

A marker out of range is rarely the full story.

Sodium to potassium, lipids in clusters, inflammatory patterns, blood sugar responses, these tell you why you feel the way you do.

• We treat the mechanism, not the marker.

Instead of chasing symptoms, we address what’s actually creating them, impaired digestion, poor detoxification, nutrient depletion, immune dysregulation, or hormonal miscommunication.

• And we follow a priority sequence that works with human physiology, not against it.

Before we touch hormones, we stabilise energy, sleep, digestion, and stress responses.

Before we detox, we open drainage pathways.

Before we “fight inflammation”, we address what’s driving it.

This is why functional medicine changes lives: it gives people a map, not a list of bandaids.

If you’re reading this and thinking, this finally makes sense, you’re not imagining it.

You’re just hearing your body explained properly.

Ready to understand what your symptoms are trying to tell you?

Book a Clarity Call - link in bio.

24/11/2025

🍏 A “Nutella-style” treat your immune system won’t have to fight

Most people don’t realise this, but when you’re living with symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, joint aches, gut flare-ups, even your treats can either support your body… or quietly inflame it.

So when I find something that feels indulgent without sending the immune system into overdrive, I pay attention.

And this one is worth sharing.

I’ve been loving the Essential Crème Hazelnut Chocolate Spread because it behaves very differently to the typical chocolate spreads that spike blood sugar, irritate the gut lining, or sneak in seed oils that push inflammation higher.

Here’s why it fits beautifully into an autoimmune-aware lifestyle:

• 43% organic roasted hazelnuts

This isn’t just sugar with flavouring, it’s real food.

A nutrient-dense fat and antioxidant source that feels satisfying without the crash.

• Zero seed oils

Instead of inflammatory oils, it’s made with extra virgin olive oil, which supports cell membranes, reduces oxidative stress, and is far kinder to an already overactive immune system.

• No dairy, soy, artificial flavours, or gluten

For many of my clients, these are some of the earliest triggers we remove while healing the gut and calming immune activation. Having a treat that avoids them makes life easier.

• A short, clean ingredient list

No fillers. No emulsifiers that can irritate the gut lining. Nothing hidden.

Here’s how to enjoy it in a way that supports your biology rather than sabotaging it:

Eat it after a protein-rich meal, not on an empty stomach, your blood sugar will thank you.

Pair it with foods that are gentle on your gut, like sliced fruit or a small amount of your best-tolerated bread.

Treat it as a pleasure, not a coping strategy,you deserve treats that feel good in the moment and the next day.

This is the kind of swap I teach inside my 5R framework, upgrading the small daily decisions that quietly affect inflammation, hormone signalling, and mitochondrial energy.

If you’re curious to try it,

Your treats are allowed to feel luxurious, they just don’t need to cost your health.

13/11/2025

🍏 Vitiligo starts in the immune system long before it shows on the skin.

Most people are told vitiligo is “just a skin condition.”

A cosmetic issue.

Something to cover, camouflage, or ignore.

But if you’re living with it, you already know the truth, this didn’t begin on the surface.

It began in the immune system, the gut, the nervous system, and the way your body responds to stress and the world around you.

And that changes everything.

Because when you stop treating vitiligo as a pigment problem, and start understanding it as an immune-regulation problem…you finally have a path forward.

Here’s what I want you to know:

Vitiligo is an autoimmune-driven loss of melanocytesm, the pigment-producing cells in your skin.

But the process that destroys them starts much earlier:

• A shift toward Th1 and Th17 immune activity

• Increased oxidative stress (melanocytes are extremely sensitive to ROS)

• Gut permeability or dysbiosis that keeps the immune system “on alert”

• Nutrient deficiencies that weaken antioxidant defence (vitamin D, zinc)

• Chronic stress that lowers your tolerance threshold

• Molecular mimicry and triggers that push the immune system to attack what it shouldn’t

This is why so many people with vitiligo also experience…

• Thyroid problems

• Blood sugar changes

• Celiac disease or gluten reactivity

• Fatigue, brain fog, or mood shifts

• Skin sensitivity or flares at high-stress moments

Your skin is the messenger, not the root cause.

And when you calm the immune system, restore tolerance, support the gut, and reduce oxidative stress, the skin can stabilise.

For many, repigmentation becomes possible.

For others, halting the spread is the first empowering win.

No quick fixes.

No “miracle creams".

No false promises.

Just a clear, intelligent plan rooted in immune science, personalised to your body.

Because vitiligo isn’t random, and you’re not powerless.

Your skin is telling a story, and when you understand that story, you can change the next chapter.

12/11/2025

🍏 Crohn’s Disease: When the Immune System Turns on the Gut

Crohn’s isn’t just inflammation, it’s your immune system mistaking your own gut for danger.

This autoimmune-driven IBD can affect any part of the digestive tract, causing deep inflammation that erodes tissue and disrupts nutrient absorption.

In Functional Medicine, we ask why:

Stress, infections, toxins, or dysbiosis weaken the gut barrier.

Tight junctions open.

Antigens leak through.

The immune system responds with a Th1/Th17 cytokine storm - TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17, inflaming every layer of the gut wall.

Labs often show the pattern before symptoms do:

🔥 Inflammation: CRP or calprotectin ↑

💉 Nutrient loss: low ferritin, B12, albumin

🧫 Barrier damage: low intestinal ALP

🧍♀️ Immune load: monocytes, eosinophils ↑

Healing Crohn’s means more than “reducing inflammation.”

It’s about calming the immune system, sealing the barrier, and rebuilding tolerance.

Here’s the 3-phase approach I use with my patients:

1️⃣ Calm + Seal: sleep, vagal tone, zinc carnosine, glutamine (if tolerated), quercetin, vitamin C

2️⃣ Clear Drivers: address dysbiosis, mold, toxins; support bile flow + motility

3️⃣ Rebuild: restore iron, B12, zinc, vitamin D, add PHGG + probiotics once stable

The goal isn’t cure, it’s remission and resilience.

🍏 Comment or DM “Inflammation” and I’ll send you resources to help calm your immune system and rebuild your gut from the inside out.

03/11/2025

🍏 Celiac Disease isn’t just a digestive issue, it’s an autoimmune attack.

When someone with genetic susceptibility (HLA-DQ2 or DQ8) eats gluten, the immune system targets the small intestine, leading to nutrient loss, inflammation, and fatigue.

But what many don’t realise is that gluten can increase gut permeability in anyone, not just those with Celiac.

This temporary opening of the gut barrier, via zonulin release, can let immune-activating particles slip through, triggering symptoms from brain fog and migraines to thyroid dysfunction and skin flares.

Up to 13% of people may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, meaning their blood tests and biopsies look “normal,” yet gluten still fuels their immune reactivity.

Cross-reactive proteins (like dairy casein or yeast) and hidden gluten exposures can keep people unwell even after they “go GF.”

And in Celiac specifically, the overlap with other autoimmune conditions, especially Hashimoto’s and skin autoimmunity, is profound.

Healing requires more than just removing gluten.

You have to restore the gut lining, replete deficiencies, calm the immune system, and rebuild your tolerance to life, not just to food.

🍏 Comment or DM “Gluten” and I’ll send you resources to help identify your triggers and guide your gut recovery.

31/10/2025

🍏 If your skin flares, your mood dips, or your bloating worsens right before your period, it’s not “just hormones.”

It’s hormones and histamine talking to each other.

Estrogen and histamine have a two-way relationship that most people never hear about 👇

💥 Estrogen increases histamine release.

When estrogen rises (especially around ovulation or just before your bleed), it signals mast cells to release histamine, the same chemical behind flushing, itching, bloating, and headaches.

🚫 Estrogen also suppresses DAO, the main enzyme that clears histamine.

So while more histamine is being made, less is being broken down.

That’s why your PMS might come with migraines, sinus pressure, rashes, or anxiety.

🌙 Low progesterone makes it worse.

Progesterone stabilises mast cells, helping to calm histamine output.

When progesterone is low from stress, poor ovulation, or perimenopause, mast cells become more reactive.

The result?

A hormonal histamine storm, the perfect setup for autoimmune flares, mood swings, and those “I can feel everything” days.

But this isn’t your body failing you, it’s your body communicating imbalance.

✨ The solution isn’t to suppress hormones or avoid every histamine food.

It’s to create the conditions where both can regulate naturally:

✅ Support liver detox (B vitamins, cruciferous veggies, protein)

✅ Nourish DAO with vitamin C, B6, copper, and minerals

✅ Rebuild the gut microbiome

✅ Lower stress and balance blood sugar

When you restore the terrain, both hormones and histamine find their rhythm again.

💚 DM or comment “Histamine” to receive a free resource that walks you through calming histamine naturally.

Your flares aren’t random.

They’re rhythmic messages from a body that still wants balance.

30/10/2025

🍏 If you’ve ever felt “reactive” to foods that other people eat without an issue, it’s not random, and it’s not all in your head.

It’s your gut microbiome talking.

Your gut doesn’t just digest food, it decides how much histamine your body makes, stores, and releases.

Let’s break it down 👇

🧫 Some bacteria make histamine.

Species like Klebsiella, Morganella, Proteus, and Enterococcus contain the gene histidine decarboxylase, the enzyme that turns histidine (an amino acid in protein foods) into histamine.

When these “producers” overgrow, even healthy meals like fish, chicken, or eggs can trigger a flare.

🌿 Other bacteria break histamine down.

The “peacekeepers”, Akkermansia, Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus plantarum, L. rhamnosus, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, help degrade histamine and support DAO, the enzyme that clears it from your gut lining.

But here’s the catch: when chronic stress, antibiotics, low fibre, or inflammation wipe out the degraders, the producers take over.

Your DAO levels drop, your gut barrier weakens, and histamine begins to leak into circulation.

And that’s when you start to feel it:

– Flushing or itching after meals

– Bloating and loose stools

– Headaches or congestion after wine or vinegar

– Anxiety or wired energy at night

Histamine overload isn’t a food problem, it’s a terrain problem.

You don’t fix it by removing more foods, you fix it by rebalancing your microbiome so your body can regulate again.

✨ Healing histamine means supporting the terrain that controls it:

→ Feed your degraders (diverse fibre, prebiotics, polyphenols)

→ Rebuild the gut lining (zinc, glutamine, SCFAs)

→ Support liver clearance (B vitamins, protein, minerals)

→ Calm the nervous system so mast cells stop “over-alerting”

💚 DM or comment “Histamine” to get my free resource on calming histamine naturally, so you can enjoy food again without guessing what might set you off.

Your gut isn’t sabotaging you, it’s sending messages about what needs balance.
When you listen, histamine stops screaming.

26/10/2025

🍏When we talk about lupus, we’re not talking about “your body attacking itself.”

We’re talking about a defense system that’s lost its boundaries, and is trying to protect you in all the wrong ways.

Lupus (SLE) begins when genes (HLA-DR2, DR3) meet triggers - sunlight, infections, toxins, stress, even unhealed trauma.

Inflammation damages tissues, nuclear material spills into circulation, and suddenly your immune system sees “self” as “foreign.”

From there, the cascade begins:

B cells create antibodies against your DNA.

Immune complexes deposit in tissues, skin, kidneys, joints, brain.

Cytokines like TNF-α, IL-6, and interferons amplify the fire.

The symptoms vary because lupus can touch almost any organ:

☀️ Photosensitive rashes, oral ulcers, and hair loss.

🦴 Joint pain and fatigue that don’t match your blood tests.

💧 Protein or blood in urine - signs of lupus nephritis.

🧠 Brain fog, mood shifts, even seizures in rare cases.

And yet, many are told “your tests are fine.”

Functional medicine bridges that gap, connecting immune tolerance, gut health, nutrition, and nervous system regulation.

What we often uncover:

Gut permeability or dysbiosis

Vitamin D or omega-3 deficiency

EBV or chronic viral activation

Sleep and circadian imbalance

Chronic stress with cortisol flattening

When we stabilize these foundations, the immune system begins to remember what it’s meant to protect.

Lupus is not your body betraying you.

It’s your biology begging for balance.

🍏 Let’s decode your symptoms, find what’s really driving them, and map out a plan to help you feel like yourself again.

Because you deserve answers.

And you deserve to feel well.

24/10/2025

🍏 If you’ve ever felt your symptoms flare under stress, the redness, bloating, itching, racing heart, or wired-but-tired feeling ... it’s not your imagination.

Stress literally raises histamine.

Here’s how 👇

When your brain senses danger, it activates your HPA axis (the stress response system).

That releases Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone (CRH), which directly primes and activates your mast cells.

And what do mast cells release? (apart from 300+ other mediators)

👉 Histamine.

So even without food triggers, your own stress chemistry can push histamine higher.

💥 Emotional stress

💥 Overtraining or heat

💥 Poor sleep

💥 Blood-sugar crashes

They all send the same “danger” signal that makes mast cells dump histamine into your system.

That’s why a flare-up might happen after an argument, a deadline, or even a HIIT class.

🧠 Histamine isn’t bad, it’s trying to help.

It opens blood vessels, brings immune cells to tissues, and keeps you alert.

But when your nervous system never gets the memo to stand down, histamine becomes chronic background noise, inflammation you can feel.

The fix isn’t more suppression, it’s re-regulation.

Calm the signal, and the messenger quiets too.

💚 DM or comment “Histamine” to get a free resource that shows you how to lower histamine naturally by supporting your gut, stress, and sleep pathways.

Your body’s not overreacting,it’s over-signalling for safety.

23/10/2025

🍏 “I’m eating clean, taking my meds, and doing everything right… but I still feel exhausted.”

If that’s you, it’s not your fault.

Your thyroid can’t make, convert, or regulate hormones without key nutrients and most blood tests never check for them.

Here are the 10 nutrients your thyroid can’t live without 👇

1️⃣ Selenium : Converts T4→T3 + lowers antibodies. 🥚 Brazil nuts, sardines, eggs.

2️⃣ Iodine : Builds thyroid hormone, but too much can flare Hashimoto’s. 🌊 Seafood, eggs.

3️⃣ Iron : Needed for TPO + oxygen delivery. Low ferritin = low energy + hair loss. 🥩 Red meat, clams, liver.

4️⃣ Zinc : Regulates TSH + immune balance. 🥜 Oysters, beef, pumpkin seeds.

5️⃣ Magnesium : Activates vit D + thyroid signaling, supports stress resilience. 🌿 Cacao, greens, almonds.

6️⃣ Vitamin D : Calms autoimmunity + boosts mood/energy. ☀️ Sun, fatty fish, eggs.

7️⃣ Vitamin A —: Improves thyroid receptor sensitivity. 🥕 Liver, eggs, colourful veg.

8️⃣ B12 + B6 : Energy + stress metabolism. 🥩 Animal protein, potatoes, seeds.

9️⃣ Copper : Balances zinc + supports thyroid enzymes. 🦪 Shellfish, liver, nuts.

🔟 Omega-3s : Anti-inflammatory, reduces antibodies. 🐟 Sardines, salmon, mackerel.

💡 You don’t need every supplement, just the right ones, in the right sequence.

Start with food first, test what’s low, and recheck every 8–12 weeks.

➡️ Comment or DM “DOSE” so I can help you along with your thyroid health journey.

22/10/2025

🍏 Not all autoimmune diseases have a clear label, yet.

We’ve come a long way in understanding conditions like Hashimoto’s, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis …but many others show the same immune and inflammatory patterns without an official diagnosis.

Chronic fatigue syndrome.

Endometriosis.

Fibromyalgia.

POTS.

Interstitial cystitis.

Chronic urticaria.

Even restless leg syndrome and Lyme disease.

Different names, same pattern, immune dysregulation, inflammation, and poor recovery.

If you live with these symptoms, you’ve probably heard:

🩸 “Your bloodwork looks fine.”

💊 “Try this medication.”

🧠 “Maybe it’s just stress.”

But functional medicine sees what’s happening underneath:

how the gut, immune, and nervous systems communicate and how that communication breaks down.

Whether your condition has a name or not, your experience is real.

And there is a way to move from inflammation to restoration.

💬 Comment or DM me “WHAT NOW" and I’ll send you resources specific to your health journey and goals.

The Autoimmune Doctor