https://www.autoimmunedocpodcast.com/

Dr. Taylor Krick, Washington, IL (2025)

10/23/2025

What is PANS/PANDAS!
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When a child (or adult) gets Strep throat (or many other infections). The immune system produces ANTIBODIES to "flag" Strep and produces INFLAMMATION to go "kill" Strep. We want this to happen. The problem is, that the body can "mistakenly" flag (antibodies) and attack (inflammation) its self - - THAT'S WHAT AUTOIMMUNITY IS - - and in this case, antibodies and autoimmune inflammation can impact dopamine signaling in areas like the basal ganglia - - that's why another name for this is autoimmune encephalitis or basal ganglia encephalitis. This can drive different responses like FEARS, ANXIETY, EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS, EATING DISORDERS, EMOTIONAL LABILITY, MOTOR TICS, OBSESSIONS, COMPULSIONS, and more.

Do you know or love someone with PANS/PANDAS?

10/22/2025

Autoimmune disease isn’t simple—it’s a web of complexity. 🕸
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While your genetics can increase your risk - they’re only one piece of the puzzle. The real triggers are often poor lifestyle choices and environmental factors.
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What flips the switch?
• Food sensitivities
• Toxins
• Chronic stress
• Hormone imbalances
• Pathogens
…and more.
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Factors like blood sugar control, sleep quality, exercise, relationships, and even head trauma all play a role in the onset, progression, and remission of autoimmune inflammation.
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To heal, you have to look at the whole picture. Addressing each of these pieces can make all the difference in managing symptoms and slowing disease progression.

10/20/2025

So as someone who sees a ton of autoimmune cases, I have a ton of people come to me with positive ANAs. What does that tell you??
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ANA means ANTI NUCLEAR ANTIBODY. It’s commonly used as an autoimmune screening, and often when negative, people are told “good news, you don’t have autoimmunity!” Which is not entirely true. Sometimes it accompanies a symptom like joint pain or hair loss, but there is no “diagnosis”.
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So - what does it tell you?
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Not much, but at the same time, quite a bit. It tells you that you have an autoimmune condition occurring. It doesn’t always mean DISEASE, in fact the overwhelming majority of people I see with +ANAs do NOT have any diagnosed disease, but ANAs are associated with Lupus, Sjogren’s, and connective tissue diseases like MCTD or UCTD. ANAs can also be measured in “titers”, and a larger # means a stronger or worse ANA.
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So - an ANA tells you that you have autoimmunity occurring, and a systemic autoimmunity, not necessarily in the thyroid or the myelin or the joints, but in the cells - but you still have to figure out WHY and what’s DRIVING THIS - which is the hard part.

10/20/2025

So as someone who sees a ton of autoimmune cases, I have a ton of people come to me with positive ANAs. What does that tell you??
❓
ANA means ANTI NUCLEAR ANTIBODY. It’s commonly used as an autoimmune screening, and often when negative, people are told “good news, you don’t have autoimmunity!” Which is not entirely true. Sometimes it accompanies a symptom like joint pain or hair loss, but there is no “diagnosis”.
❓
So - what does it tell you?
❓
Not much, but at the same time, quite a bit. It tells you that you have an autoimmune condition occurring. It doesn’t always mean DISEASE, in fact the overwhelming majority of people I see with +ANAs do NOT have any diagnosed disease, but ANAs are associated with Lupus, Sjogren’s, and connective tissue diseases like MCTD or UCTD. ANAs can also be measured in “titers”, and a larger # means a stronger or worse ANA.
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So - an ANA tells you that you have autoimmunity occurring, and a systemic autoimmunity, not necessarily in the thyroid or the myelin or the joints, but in the cells - but you still have to figure out WHY and what’s DRIVING THIS - which is the hard part.

10/18/2025

Your liver is seriously pretty amazing. I'm a 'mechanisms' kind of guy, and the liver is the king of mechanisms, including:

1- The liver is crucial for metabolism, regulating blood sugar, lipid, and protein metabolism.
2- The liver participates in immune surveillance and pathogen clearance, and is intimately connected with the gut.
3- The liver performs "hepatic biotransformation", or transforming toxins into things that can be excreted, aka DETOXIFICATION.
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The liver can be damaged by many things including lifestyle, alcohol, viruses, parasites, and especially toxins. As liver damage progresses, the liver becomes more congested, toxins begin to accumulate, and metabolic dysfunction can follow. Liver damage is generally a spectrum of worsening fibrosis, and often starts with "fatty liver" and then progresses toward cirrhosis, which is liver scarring. Liver damage can be detected by several labs, and I discuss these labs in detail in episode 43 of my podcast (linked in profile).
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In the liver there are many functions, but this podcast focuses mostly on hepatic biotransformation, or detoxification. This includes Phase 1 and Phase 2 of liver detox, cytochrome P450, and includes processes like methylation, sulfation, conjugation, and more. These processes require many cofactors such as B vitamins and amino acids, and I discuss these all in detail.
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There are also many genetic mutations that can affect liver and detoxification, so I discuss these as well, along with the common and popular liver supplements and what their mechanisms are. All together this is a comprehensive overview of everything I know about the liver and how I use that information clinically in helping sick people get well!

10/16/2025

Dopamine and serotonin are the two most famous neurotransmitters, because they are super important of course, but also because there are drugs that are widely used for ADHD, depression, anxiety, and more. Two lesser-known neurotransmitters are GABA and Acetylcholine, which I often see "signs" of imbalances when I'm working with someone. Supporting these 2 neurotransmitters with nutritional supplement products are some of the most popular strategies with my clients. Here are the things I look for, the slides describe even more:

GABA - overactive nerves - panic attacks, anxiety, sleep issues, feeling "frazzled" or overwhelmed, or pain syndromes (think: GABApentin)

Acetylcholine - vagus nerve issues (gut health, digestion, stress), slow memory, slow recall

If you think you have neurotransmitter imbalances you can try to support them, but you always have to look for root causes! An inflamed brain, an inflamed gut, dysfunctional mitochondria, histamine, neurotoxins, chronic stress - - these will all jack up your neurotransmitter balance - - but sometimes the right support can be noticed immediately. Work with someone who knows what they are talking about, and make sure seek appropriate mental health care!

10/14/2025

What Is Autoimmunity?

Simply put, autoimmunity means that your own immune system is attacking your body, which creates inflammation and damages tissues and leads to symptoms such as joint pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, brain fog, muscle aches, digestive disorders, inflammatory skin conditions, and more. (a ‘tissue’ is just a part of the body - you have bone tissue, thyroid tissue, brain tissue, skin tissue, etc)
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Your immune system is your body’s natural defense system. The immune system’s main job is to protect against invaders - pathogens like bacteria, viruses, yeast, even chemicals like mercury and formaldehyde, and when it gets “invaded” it is the immune system that mounts the attack to get rid of the bad guys and repair the damage.
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Your immune system is like your body’s own security system and police department - when the immune system detects danger it sounds an “alarm” and lets the body know that something has invaded and it needs to be defended. When the “danger signal” is received, the immune system sends support to “target” and “attack” the problem - just like an alarm at your house might send a signal to the police saying “Come quick, we have invaders, we need you to protect us and get rid of the bad guys!”
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When these immune system forces are called into action, they bring their best weapon - INFLAMMATION. Inflammation is an immune response, and it’s a healthy and important immune response. Inflammation helps get rid of infections. Inflammation helps protect damaged tissue. Inflammation helps heal. Inflammation can also run rampant and overwhelm the body, and unchecked inflammation is at the root cause of most chronic diseases, so it’s important to have an appropriate inflammation response!

Do you struggle with an autoimmune condition?

10/13/2025

Understanding Neurotransmitter Deficiencies:

The prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in regulating mood, emotions, and behavior. When serotonin or dopamine activity is reduced in this part of the brain, it can lead to various signs and symptoms that impact daily life.

🧠Reduced Serotonin Activity can manifest as:

- Loss of pleasure in hobbies and interests
- Feelings of inner rage, unprovoked anger, or paranoia
- Sadness for no apparent reason or during overcast weather
- Inability to enjoy life, relationships, or favorite activities
- Difficulty sleeping deeply or feeling susceptible to pain

🧠Reduced Dopamine Activity may show up as:

- Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, or self-destructive thoughts
- Inability to handle stress and heightened anger or aggression
- Constant tiredness even after sleep, lack of concern for loved ones, or an inability to complete tasks

These symptoms can significantly affect overall well-being, but there are ways to address and balance neurotransmitter activity through lifestyle changes, nutrition, and targeted supplementation. I talk about neurotransmitters in more detail in podcast episode #46, which is part of a 4-part series on brain health! You can find a link to my podcast channel in bio.

10/10/2025

SYMPTOMS OF NEUROINFLAMMATION:
💡BRAIN FOG
💡POOR MENTAL ENDURANCE
💡SLOW RECALL
💡ANXIETY / DEPRESSION
💡BRAIN FATIGUE DRIVEN BY SYSTEMIC
INFLAMMATION (GUT, FOODS, STRESS)
💡BRAIN SYMPTOMS TRIGGERED BY:
-LIGHTS
-SOUNDS
-SMELLS
-CROWDS
-MOTION

I’m sure you will ask in the comments - What do you do about it? Follow this feed, listen to my podcast about Neuroinflammation, watch my YouTube channels, and don’t expect to find your answers on IG, but you can definitely find a lot of clues, like this one. 🧩

10/09/2025

PEMT is a gene that controls the formation of phosphatidylcholine, the most abundant phosphatide in your body, comprising more than 50% of your cell membranes. If you have PEMT genetic SNPs, you may have an increased need for CHOLINE from your diet because you may not make as much phosphatidylcholine. I personally have a homozygous TT allele which decreases my PEMT activity by roughly 30%.
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CHOLINE, the building block of PC, is not only necessary to build PC for all of your cell membranes, mitochondrial membranes, etc (which is VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!), but it's also important to shuttle fat out of the liver and very important for the gallbladder by supporting adequate BILE FLOW. Choline also supports methylation, if you don't have adequate methyl donors and folate, your body will steal methyl groups from choline.
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ACETYLCHOLINE is the primary neurotransmitter of the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system, or "rest-and-digest". If you don't have enough CHOLINE, you can't make ACETYLCHOLINE for your vagus nerve to function properly. Acetylcholine is also really important for brain health and focus, and decreased levels are associated with Alzheimer's and other brain issues. It's also the neurotransmitter of muscle contraction, so muscle fatigue and weakness is not uncommon.
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This is so incredibly relevant in my practice because so many people today have brain fog, fatigue, weakness, poor vagus outflow, they are stuck in "fight-or-flight", and they have bile sludge or digestive issues. It's a lot!

10/08/2025

Parasites have become really trendy in the wellness world, mostly because people are doing parasite "cleanses", having great success, and then sharing about it on social media.
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It's really cool, the stories we hear are CRAZY, the pics I get sent to me are WILD, and it's a very real possibility for anyone, and I have a whole podcast talking about parasites, what I know, the stories I have heard and things I have seen, both personally (I have a personal parasite story...) and professionally helping 1000's of people with their gut health over the years.
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It's also true that parasites DON'T always show up on labs - there are false negatives - but sometimes they DO show up on labs - and this is what that looks like.

Do you have a CRAZY parasite story?

Tell me in the comments!⬇️⬇️⬇️

Dr. Taylor Krick

10/23/2025

10/22/2025

10/20/2025

10/20/2025

10/18/2025

10/16/2025

10/14/2025

10/13/2025

10/10/2025

10/09/2025

10/08/2025

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