Dr. Kurt's Place

02/23/2026

Thank you so much for all that you have done for me and helped me to accomplish in the last 6ish months.

It is really amazing what we can get used to and just assume is normal. My eyes have been opened to just how not okay I was before I started working with you. I really had no idea that I was so energy drained because of other things going on in my body. I really thought that it was just because of job stress. Just having more energy has been a total life changer for me, my family, and my job.

I have worked with a lot of people on trying to figure out how to improve my heath: traditional doctors, weight loss programs, personal trainers, coaches, chiropractors, etc. I have read books, talked to friends, talked to experts. I have learned a lot from it all.

However, I have learned the most real, tangible, sustaining information from you, and I am very grateful. One of the things I have learned and received from you that I haven’t really felt before is compassion for my body.

I remember in one of our first meetings, I came in and told you that the food stuff was working out for the most part, but in the week before my period started, it was really hard to manage sugar and carb cravings and I ate an entire bag of candy in a sitting.

I was expecting a response something like “Well, you know that’s not a good idea. Do better next time and have more self-control.” But, instead your response was not judgmental and you said that makes sense and suggested that I plan ahead and try to add healthier carbs to my diet the next month during that week.

We both knew that eating a bag of candy in a sitting was not a good idea, and rather than focus on that part, you looked to what could be causing that response and looked for the root. That interaction triggered a whole new way of how I viewed myself.

Instead, it has allowed me to view my body as precious and something that I need to protect for my entire life. It isn’t a short-term project. It’s a long-term gift. 🎁

02/19/2026

Two clients.
Two very different autoimmune starting points.
Same principle:

👉 Stop chasing the thyroid
👉 Start calming the immune system

Client 1:
• TPO: 540 → 74
• Thyroglobulin: 4.2 → non-detectable

Client 2:
• Hashimoto’s antibodies resolved
• ANA 1:160 speckled pattern (lupus/Sjogren risk pattern)

This is where most care stops:
“Your thyroid antibodies are high.”

But the real question is:
Why is the immune system activated in the first place?

When we addressed:
• nutrient deficiencies
• inflammatory load
• gut + stress inputs
• immune signaling

…the thyroid stopped being the battleground.

Autoimmunity is rarely isolated.
It’s usually systemic.

Treat the system → the markers follow.

02/16/2026

Apparently, half the kids have been out of school the last two weeks… must be that sneaky seasonal virus striking again right on schedule. 🤧

Definitely couldn’t have anything to do with:
🏫 Outdoor play → sitting inside all day�
😴 Sleep schedules getting wrecked�
🍬 Sugar becoming a food group�
📉 Movement down, stress up�
🍻 Months of holidays built around excess

But yes… the immune system just randomly “stops working” every winter. Total mystery. 🙃

But hey, at least the pharmacy has free shots. 💉

👉 Full sarcastic and cynical thoughts at substack: https://kurtperkins.substack.com/p/the-flu-doesnt-know-what-season-it

02/03/2026

What if autoimmune disease isn’t self-attack—but overprotection?

We’ve been taught that the immune system “turns on itself.”

That it’s confused.
Broken.
Out of control.

But antibodies don’t just appear. They respond to something.

Sharks don’t show up unless there’s blood in the water.

In autoimmunity, the real question isn’t
👉 “How do we suppress the immune system?”

It’s👉 “Why are tissues breaking down and leaking antigens into the bloodstream?”

When tissues are deficient or chronically exposed to stressors—nutritional, chemical, emotional, mechanical—the immune system does what it’s designed to do: protect.

Functional medicine doesn’t focus on killing sharks. It focuses on reducing the blood in the water.

Stronger tissues.
Less overprotection.
Quieter immune signals.

Full breakdown + real client examples in today’s Substack.

🔗 https://kurtperkins.substack.com/p/autoimmune-disease

01/30/2026

Statins, CAC Scores, and an Inconvenient Finding…

You’re told your cholesterol is high.�You’re told you need a statin. 💊

Then your CAC score comes back zero.

Now what?

What if you DO have some plaque? 🫀Does that automatically mean you’re on a statin for the rest of your life?

What rarely gets mentioned:�statins have been shown to increase coronary calcium scores,�which complicates how we interpret “risk.”

Fear comes from isolated numbers.�Strategy comes from context.

If your labs and imaging don’t align,�that’s not failure — that’s information.

This is where the conversation gets interesting.

Full piece over on my Substack.

🔗https://kurtperkins.substack.com/p/statins-cac-scores-and-an-inconvenient

01/15/2026

The clients weren’t going to let us put up a Bills helmet quietly. Enter the Broncos mini helmet. It’s autographed by Jake Plummer no less.

01/14/2026

OMG guys…I can’t believe I’m a week late in wishing this little stud a happy birthday and happy gotcha day. January 7, 2013. 🎉🥳

You came into our lives 13 YEARS ago. You’re a teenager now. I can’t even believe it. Where has the time gone?

You’ve been steadfast, loyal, and faithful in your commitment to just sit on my shelf and not rot away, stink up the clinic, or attract critters.

We love you little Wilber. Here’s to countless more years to come.

01/12/2026

We know we’re in the heart of Broncos country. Inside these walls this week, we might be perceived as the enemy.

Buffalo famously run into approaching storms, rather than away from them. Horses instinctively move away from the worst of the storm, facing their hindquarters into the wind and rain to protect their sensitive faces.

Go Bills! Beat those ponies.

12/19/2025

🧠Everyone’s talking about nervous system regulation lately.

And don’t get me wrong — it matters.

But here’s the part that keeps getting skipped:

A regulated nervous system doesn’t automatically mean a healthy, capable body.

If you lived in fight-or-flight (or shutdown) for years, your body adapted to survive — not to thrive.�
That adaptation leaves a metabolic mess behind.

So when someone says:�“I’m calmer now… but I’m still exhausted.”

That’s not failure.�That’s physiology.

Regulation restores safety.�Metabolism restores capacity.

Calm without capacity looks like:�• Grounded but foggy�• Relaxed but weak�• Better — but not resilient

I wrote a piece on what actually comes after nervous system regulation — and why feeling safe is just the beginning.

🔗 https://kurtperkins.substack.com/p/regulated-nervous-systemnow-what

Calm isn’t the goal. ☺️�Capacity is. 💪

The goal was never permanent recovery mode. The goal was resilience.

12/19/2025

An adulting reminder you’ll thank yourself for later 👀

Thorne, and several of our supplement partners are increasing prices in the new year.

Not because of trends. Not because of marketing. Because costs are up across the board.

If you:
• Already take supplements consistently
• Have FSA money that disappears on December 31
• Prefer planning over scrambling

This is your nudge.

No pressure. No “buy everything.”

Just a chance to be proactive instead of surprised.

And yes—your unused FSA dollars will happily vanish if you don’t use them. Supplements you already need are one of the cleaner, smarter ways to spend them.

Not sure what qualifies for FSA or what’s worth stocking up on? Ask us before you buy.

https://www.thorne.com/u/drkurt

12/16/2025

I don’t sell hacks. ⚖️

2026 isn’t about more information.It’s about responsibility.

We have more credentials.We have more technology.We have more noise.

And still—people are exhausted, foggy, and frustrated.

That’s not a motivation problem.It’s a systems problem. ⚙️

I put my full stance into a Health Manifesto for 2026—what I believe, how I work, and who this approach is for.

If you’re done chasing trends and ready for structure, sequencing, and implementation, start here.

👉 Read the manifesto:
https://kurtperkins.substack.com/p/responsibility-authority-health-manifesto

More Health. Less Healthcare.
Be the research. Rewrite the rules. 🔬✍️

12/10/2025

🧬 “New” research just reframed how I think about probiotics.

I say “new” because it’s new to me — the strain was actually identified back in 2002. But it might be a game-changer for the same types of people who walk into my office with gut and immune challenges.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found one bacterium missing in infants with milk allergies but present in those who could tolerate milk: Anaerostipes caccae (aka Anaerobutyricum caccae).

When they gave this one strain to germ-free mice, everything changed:

⚡️Butyrate levels normalized

🧱Gut barrier tightened

🧫Mucin layer thickened

🛡️Immune tolerance returned

In other words — a single microbe restored gut and immune balance usually dependent on an entire ecosystem.

That’s why this strain is being called a keystone species and the butyrate-producing champion.

And what makes it even more fascinating — it thrives even when fiber doesn’t.

If you struggle with:
* post-antibiotic gut issues
* fiber intolerance
* keto/carnivore adaptation
* sorbitol or sugar-alcohol sensitivity
* dairy reactivity

…this discovery might shift the way you look at “gut healing” altogether.

I unpack the science — and why it matters for real-world clients — in my latest Substack post.

👇[Read the full article on Substack →]

https://kurtperkins.substack.com/p/a-potential-game-changer-for-gut