On May 12, 2023, Mosaic EDGE (formerly GPL Academy) hosted the Indicators That Unveil Signs of Autoimmunity and What to Do About It live-streamed online. The following Q+A is a grouping of responses from the workshop presentations.
The material contained within this article is not intended to replace the services and/or medical advice of a licensed healthcare practitioner, nor is it meant to encourage diagnosis and treatment of disease. It is for educational purposes only. Any application of suggestions set forth in the following portions of this article is at the reader’s discretion and sole risk. Implementation or experimentation with any supplements, herbs, dietary changes, medications, and/or lifestyle changes, etc., is done so at your sole risk and responsibility.
Evan Brand, FNTP
Julie Greenberg, ND
Have you used ozone and/or high-dose vitamin C in your treatment? If so, what is your protocol?
We have not created a specific protocol for vitamin C. We do recommend a micronutrient assessment and personalization of supplements according to identified insufficiencies. We do have practitioner training for individuals with a health-related license or certificate to provide advanced training for the Wahls Behavior Change(TM) model and implementation of the Wahls Protocol. Details for the training can be found at https://terrywahls.com/certification/. Mosaic attendees can receive a discount on the application fee and lifetime access to the Wahls Protocol(R) licensing and monthly question-and-answer sessions with Dr. Terry Wahls. The code for the discounted application fee is “VIP”.
Q: Will the treatments for psoriasis apply to psoriatic arthritis as well? Have you seen it work for joint inflammation as well in patients who have that?
A: Reducing the systemic inflammation generally does help with the other comorbidities of psoriasis including psoriatic arthritis.
Q: Have you found any natural topical approaches that help tinea versicolor along with working on the gut?
A: Tinea versicolor is due to Malassezia yeast, so the topicals discussed in the lecture for Malassezia would apply to TV as well.
Q: Would the approach be similar for perioral dermatitis?
A: No, perioral dermatitis is a totally different disease with a totally different pathophysiology. It’s similar to acne.
Q: Which therapies are typically treatment based (for infections for example) vs chronic based?
A: Infections were not covered in this presentation – it’s a totally different topic.
Q: Do you think that homemade yogurt with say 200 billion CFUs will colonize the gut better than a probiotic capsule?
A: I generally do not like patients eating dairy as it is an inflammatory food. It is not a natural food source for humans as we are not baby cows.
Q: Would she run an MRT food sensitivity test as well as GI Map and OAT?
A: No, I do not do MRT or any food sensitivity testing.
Q: Do you run the hormone saliva test for alopecia, with the OAT and GI Map?
A: Alopecia is a broad term meaning any type of hair loss. For androgenic alopecia, I may run a dried urine test, but often the hormone problem is at the follicle level, not systemic.
Q: Do you have success with alopecia universalis?
A: Yes, but treating alopecia universalis is a totally different pathophysiology with a totally different approach.
Q: Are there certain bacteria that you find have to be treated with different antimicrobials than the usual berberine?
A: I treat with multiple different herbs and herbal blends – not just berberine, so yes.
Q: Do you have a preferred type of soap / body wash / shampoo for general use?
A: No, it really depends on the person and what’s happening with them.
Q: Do you have any recommendations, indications, or suggestions for facial Rosacea?
A: Rosacea is a totally different pathophysiology with a totally different approach.
Q: Do you have a recommended brand of zinc wash?
A: Happy Cappy Shampoo for Children by Dr. Eddie
Q: If Alopecia has lasted for 20+ years, can it still be reversed with your protocols?
A: Alopecia is a broad term meaning any type of hair loss. It would depend on the alopecia, but 20 years is a very long time so something like alopecia areata may not be reversible at this point.
Q: What indigo balm do you use or do you make your own?
A: Indigo Naturalis Skin Balm by Indigo Natural Herbs
Q: Any advice for water use in the shower, or drinking water for psoriasis?
A: A Berkey filter or Aquasana filter can be useful for filtering drinking water.
Q: Does red light therapy help with psoriasis?
A: It is not a treatment I use for psoriasis so unfortunately I cannot speak to this.
Q: What have you found particularly helpful in patients with Psoriatic Arthritis (herbs/supplements/other integrative modalities)?
A: I don’t treat the psoriatic arthritis with anything special. I treat the overall inflammation as discussed in the presentation which is the root cause of the PA.
Q: 1) What’s a safe antimicrobial that can be used on the scalp? 2) Is there a way to prevent UV (sun) from causing herpes virus reactivation? 3) I missed the name of the nasal spray that can be used for fungi and bacteria.
A: 1) this really depends on the person and the problem they are having; 2) avoidance of direct sun, there are herbs that enhance UV protection and potentially l-lysine; 3) ACS Nasal spray
Christine Maren, DO
Q: You mentioned AI starting in the year following vaginal delivery. Did you mean to imply that the incidence of AI is different following Cesarean delivery?
A: No, I don’t know any difference between vaginal in cesarean delivery with this data.
Q: I noticed no mention of goitrogens (soy/cruciferous, etc) on dietary recommendations.
A: I briefly mentioned goitrogens but in general don’t feel like these are a huge issue. I would be more concerned about processed foods, gluten, sugar, etc. And when it comes to diet, I feel like we have enough to stress about so try to keep restrictions reasonable.
Q: What do you think of including ferments and bone broth in the diet as part of the treatment of Hashimoto’s? Have you seen them help?
A: They could certainly be a part of the diet, but I don’t ALWAYS recommend them. With bone broth I am sometimes concerned about too much histamine. With ferments, I am also sometimes concerned about histamine and also SIBO. Since SIBO is common with Hashimoto’s, I’d give a warning to watch for increased bloating or digestive symptoms.
Q: What testing company do you use for the oral microbiome? I used to use uBiome when they were around. Also, have you found anything that can restore a healthy oral microbiome?
A: I use Oral DNA labs and recommend tongue scraping, waterpik, toothpaste with hydroxyapatite, and referral to a biological dentist for root canals, amalgams, etc.
Q: I was able to get my Hashimoto’s into remission but my TSH is now 10 and I’m very symptomatic. (It was 4-6 before, on a low dose of Armour) I went off of my compounded Armour because the FDA stopped my pharmacy from making it. Around that time, I found out that I also have some markers for lupus. I’m now on LDN for lupus and other autoimmune issues. My MD said to wait 3 months until finding my sweet spot with the dosing of the LDN before rechecking my thyroid labs and deciding what to do about new thyroid meds. Do you find that most people’s TSH goes down with the use of LDN?
A: No, I don’t see significant changes in TSH with LDN. I do expect some improvement in anybody’s levels so this may indirectly influence TSH.
Q: Do you test iodine levels, 24-hour urine or spot morning urine? When do you recommend low-level replacement and how much?
A: I use a random blood test (not perfect) and occasionally a 24-hour urine. Hakala Labs has an interesting test for this. For patients with Hashimoto’s, I generally avoid supplementation with anything over 1mg.
Q: Are there supplements you recommend in place of prescriptions? For those of us who cannot prescribe, would you use glandulars or other supplements?
A: I do not recommend glandular supplements for thyroid hormone replacement – medication doses are too precise and I’ve never seen the OTC glandular supplements do an adequate job.
Q: When would you use compounded T3? I recently saw a patient on compounded T3 75 mcg and I’m wondering when you would use it.
A: Are you sure it was 75 not 7.5 mcg? 75 mcg would be WAY too high in my opinion. I generally prescribe this as a pre-manufactured drug, but I do compound for a few patients who need an in-between dose like 7 mcg.
