June 7, 2025 • 14 mins
Unlock the secrets of managing autoimmune dysregulation with insights from Damaris Maria Grossman, an integrated family nurse practitioner. Ever wondered how genetics, trauma, or even the food you eat could play havoc with your immune system? Discover how these factors contribute to conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and how you can take charge of your health by nurturing your gut microbiome. We explore the power of dietary changes, from the soothing qualities of bone broth to the gut-friendly benefits of fermented foods and high-fiber vegetables. Whether you're a meat eater or vegetarian, learn how to reintroduce nutrient-dense foods and remove inflammatory triggers to reclaim your health.
But that's not all. Dive into a holistic approach to immune system regulation as we decode the role of hormones, supplements, and lifestyle adjustments. From the vitality-boosting effects of magnesium and B vitamins to the balancing magic of adaptogens like rhodiola and ashwagandha, there's a wealth of natural support waiting for you. Embrace mindful practices, prioritize restful sleep, and customize your movement routines to fit your needs. Join us as we weave together the threads of stress management, hydration, nutrition, and exercise into a tapestry of well-being, inviting you to integrate these mindful practices into your daily life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hi, how are you?
So I'm Damaris Maria Grossmanand I'm an integrated family
nurse practitioner and you know,I just have been thinking about
the top three things that causeinflammatory or like an
autoimmune dysregulation in thebody.
Granted, it's different foreach person but um, there has
(00:26):
been shown like kind of liketriggers that make it worse for
individuals and if they actuallywill um get better or if they
need to have it suppressed.
But the real goal is toregulate and modulate the
autoimmune system and then seeif you can kind of improve it
and ways to do that.
So the top areas why peopleusually get inflammatory markers
(00:50):
or dysregulation is first, it'sgenetics.
Maybe you may be predisposed toa lupus, a rheumatoid arthritis,
you may have had an exposure ofsome sort toxin treatments,
infections and such.
Then there's a trigger.
Maybe that is a worst casescenario.
(01:11):
Sometimes that could beinfection.
That could be the worst.
An accident, a car accident, atrauma, something that triggered
the trauma, something thattriggered the, or an actual
injury itself, personal injuryor something that was ingested.
(01:36):
There's many things that couldcause the body and stressors.
Usually oxidative stress, couldalso be a trigger that may, or
something in the past that mighthave mediated this response Due
to that.
Then there's the third part ofit is so those two may happen
and some individuals may havesome like, once in a while,
maybe an XML once in a whileintermittent pain.
But then there's that thirdlevel where they get to their
(02:01):
gut biome has been ruined.
So what happens is that thesethree tiers.
One, it's a genetic component.
That doesn't mean just becauseyou have genetic history you're
going to have an illness.
I have genetic history to havetype two diabetes.
Will I have type two diabetesat some point?
I may.
I may have it at a later ageeighties, nineties, hopefully
(02:21):
not now.
Then that trigger component wasit a car accident?
Was it a trauma?
Was it something that caused?
Was an infection?
Was it induced toxin?
Was it some sort of something?
You know that?
An injury, stressful moment,what have you then that triggers
(02:42):
the immune system to want tojolt up?
Then the next part of theequation is what is going on in
your microbiome?
The microbiome is a secondimmune system.
So when that gets altered, thenyou notice, start noticing
anxiety, depression, alteredmood, altered things that, if
you, they call it leaky gut.
But first it's dysbiosis, anddysbiosis is an irregularity of
(03:07):
the microbiome within the gutand then leaky gut, or like an
intestinal permeability, is overtime you can eat poorly,
stress-induced, food-inducednutrition, less, you know less
things and maybe an exposure toan infection or some sort of
toxin in some manner that hadover time degraded your
(03:31):
microbiome and your the walls ofthat stomach.
So then when it's opened up,then it will seep out into the
rest of the circulatory systemand in turn we'll bring that
inflammation, whether it's frominsulin, whether it's an
infection, whether it's you nameit, you it could be um, a
dysregulation.
(03:52):
Now, for individuals it'sdifferent, everybody is a
different reason, but with that,the only way for you know
working to get it better is, um,with a good health restoration
and balancing out your immunesystem.
So it's not about, like thedifference between, in a general
(04:13):
conventional consideration isobviously, if you're extreme you
may have to have a suppressionand acute case and things are
not getting better than just amicrobiome work may not be
helpful and they may need anacute medications, but really
ways of improving yourmicrobiome and improving your
(04:35):
immune system and trying tomodulate it as number one.
Number one is healing yourintestinal permeability, which
is the so-called leaky gut.
And how do we do that and myfavorite really is you're trying
to remove the trigger.
So the main part of that is youincorporate the five R's I put
in one podcast.
(04:55):
I say six R's, but reallyyou're trying to remove those
things that have caused thedysregulation.
And that doesn't mean thatyou're going to be on a removal
of everything for a period oftime.
But to lessen the triggers andlessen the inflammatory process,
you need at least four to sixweeks to get to at least an
optimal range.
(05:15):
Now, when you're helping healingthe gut, my favorite, my
favorite, favorite favorite willbe bone broth, fermented foods,
high fiber vegetables and likehealthy fats.
So if you're a vegetarian,there are algae consumptions and
juices, but there are somealgae and spirulina and coleros
(05:37):
that can be used in place of thebone broths.
But, hands down, bone brothsare one of the best collagen and
gut lining treatments.
Now, supplements I use avariety of different things.
It varies depending upon theclient, but really it always
comes down to what are youputting into your body.
So, instead of just eliminatingthings three to four weeks, I
(05:57):
think that's important, but Ireally think you know in reality
and sustainability is, what canyou do to bring in the nutrient
, dense, quality things backinto your diet and start
thinking that way on a regularbasis.
Now to heal the gut, you knowyou need to.
You know remove the junk.
(06:20):
Then you have to reintroducebecause your dysbiosis means
that the gut lining or themicrobiome in there has been so
irregular and it hasn't beencorrected properly.
So what that means is that youneed to have it regulated.
The dysbiosis means thatthere's too much of the bad
stuff and none of the good stuffand we're, you know, populating
the wrong things and it'sbecause of food toxins,
(06:40):
environmental stressors, nottaking in the right good foods,
not, you know, makingappropriate choices.
And then there's, you know,components.
So majority of clients that arein this autoimmune response,
most of them, if I can work onhealing their gut not that it is
gone away, but it is managed ina really manageable, like
(07:03):
almost remissioned way.
And once they kind of findtheir way, after we've kind of
healed that general gut lining,they can find a way to have like
the other side.
Trust me, I have worked withindividuals that, and myself
included, that when you work onyour gut it does improve.
Now, of course it's not fixingeverything, but it does help
(07:28):
significantly.
Think about like it in thesense of your grandmother's
chicken soup for the soul.
You know you were given, oh,some garlic herbs and a good old
broth.
That remedies back in the dayreally did help significantly
for a lot of illnesses andbringing back your immune system
(07:50):
to where it needs to be.
Now Each person is differentbut you know, a big part of it
is because we've been triggered,whether it was a sensitivity, a
toxin, you know, pesticide,herbicide, heavy metal,
infection, pathogen, you know,sometimes infections come array
of things and that will triggeron those with autoimmune
(08:13):
dysregulation, you'll noticetheir Epstein-Barr might be
increased, their herpes zoster Imean herpes simplex may be
increased, they may have someviral load a little bit higher,
and it's just basically, it'ssaying that the body's starting
to, you know, tick up and needto regulate.
Now how do you balance it?
What is ways to do thatImproving ways?
(08:35):
Ways to do that Improving ways,hands down, is the gut right.
So we work on the lining, weregulate it by giving and
bringing the body its nutrientdense foods.
Now there's an array of thingsthat can be given, but always,
you know, good quality fattyfishes, omega-3s, and think of
that because the cellular levelit's made up of bilater, of
(08:56):
phospholipids.
So if you're giving your bodyquality oils and lipid and
bringing back that layer so it'snot being broken down, that
fish or salmon or omega-3s isgiving you that you can also get
it with algae and colariaSpices helping with inflammation
(09:18):
.
So inflammatory use spices thatare really beneficial turmeric,
saffron, ginger, garlic.
You'll hear me say things quiteoften, but think of it like
anti-inflammatory turmeric,garlic, saffron, ginger,
cinnamon, garlic, saffron,ginger, cinnamon and I think the
(09:39):
more spices, in a way some ofthem are just so beneficial for
the body and nutrient quality.
Now, when it comes to greens,the more greens usually the
better.
The best ones are usually kale,spinach and chard.
The greener the better.
Or you can do some micro greensthat are out there.
If you don't really have thetime to incorporate Now, always
(10:04):
nutrition and food would be thebest start, but the next route
would be, you know, vitamin Dwith K2.
And I usually around 4,000, twoto 4,000, as you're starting um
.
Omega-3 fish oil uh, if youhave to take it.
Or an algae based vegetarian,that's around 2000 milligrams.
(10:26):
Um.
Turmeric or saffron, around 500to a thousand, depending upon.
Now, this is obviously ifyou're not going to take it on
your own or try to find some way.
Chrysanthin is also anothertype of anti-inflammatory to
help with regulation.
Now, would you believe, yourhormones are going to regulate
(10:46):
your immune system also.
So, in turn, you know, when youuse a little bit of magnesium,
maybe for nighttime, some Bvitamins to you know overall
help your cellular metabolismand your and your um supports
your energy.
Think of adaptogens.
Um, of course I love umrhodiola and ashwagandha, um,
there's a couple of othersavailable.
And then you know, if there isa need for medications, there
(11:11):
are options.
Um, a very, very good immune,natural um herbs and Chinese
herbs are mushrooms.
I don't love mushrooms, but Iknow that the blends of
mushrooms, specifically reishi,cordyceps, are excellent for
building immune and modulatingthe immune system.
So there are a bunch of blendsout there that you can get that
(11:34):
are like grounded, that are away of modulating and, you know,
taking in that nutritionalvalue to help regulate your
system a little bit.
And that's a way.
And, you know, optimally,lifestyle management will always
be key.
So how do we, you know,regulate our stress management?
Is it mindfulness, is it yoga,is it guided meditation?
(11:56):
I have many videos and manythings relating to mindfulness
and you know that it will be akey foundation.
The next would be sleep.
How do you modulate your sleepon a regular basis?
It's quite important, I mean.
I can tell you even for myself,like when I'm not having a good
day, oh my gosh, if I have notslept the night before, my next
(12:20):
day really can be a struggle.
So I then have to really,really uptick on my hydration,
really uptick on myanti-inflammatories and
nutrition, because I will, youknow, I can struggle just like
you and I, you know, just likeanother person.
So it's just kind of takingthat into consideration and then
move whenever that is for you.
If you're obviously in pain,that might be less for you, but
(12:42):
it's got to be regulated.
If you have any other questionsor you want to reach out at any
time, feel free.
I love answering and talkingabout this because it's near and
dear.
Anything reference tointegrating a better health and
finding mindful ways each andevery day.
Yeah,
Hi, how are you?
So I'm Damaris Maria Grossmanand I'm an integrated family
nurse practitioner and you know,I just have been thinking about
the top three things that causeinflammatory or like an
autoimmune dysregulation in thebody.
Granted, it's different foreach person but um, there has
(00:26):
been shown like kind of liketriggers that make it worse for
individuals and if they actuallywill um get better or if they
need to have it suppressed.
But the real goal is toregulate and modulate the
autoimmune system and then seeif you can kind of improve it
and ways to do that.
So the top areas why peopleusually get inflammatory markers
(00:50):
or dysregulation is first, it'sgenetics.
Maybe you may be predisposed toa lupus, a rheumatoid arthritis,
you may have had an exposure ofsome sort toxin treatments,
infections and such.
Then there's a trigger.
Maybe that is a worst casescenario.
(01:11):
Sometimes that could beinfection.
That could be the worst.
An accident, a car accident, atrauma, something that triggered
the trauma, something thattriggered the, or an actual
injury itself, personal injuryor something that was ingested.
(01:36):
There's many things that couldcause the body and stressors.
Usually oxidative stress, couldalso be a trigger that may, or
something in the past that mighthave mediated this response Due
to that.
Then there's the third part ofit is so those two may happen
and some individuals may havesome like, once in a while,
maybe an XML once in a whileintermittent pain.
But then there's that thirdlevel where they get to their
(02:01):
gut biome has been ruined.
So what happens is that thesethree tiers.
One, it's a genetic component.
That doesn't mean just becauseyou have genetic history you're
going to have an illness.
I have genetic history to havetype two diabetes.
Will I have type two diabetesat some point?
I may.
I may have it at a later ageeighties, nineties, hopefully
(02:21):
not now.
Then that trigger component wasit a car accident?
Was it a trauma?
Was it something that caused?
Was an infection?
Was it induced toxin?
Was it some sort of something?
You know that?
An injury, stressful moment,what have you then that triggers
(02:42):
the immune system to want tojolt up?
Then the next part of theequation is what is going on in
your microbiome?
The microbiome is a secondimmune system.
So when that gets altered, thenyou notice, start noticing
anxiety, depression, alteredmood, altered things that, if
you, they call it leaky gut.
But first it's dysbiosis, anddysbiosis is an irregularity of
(03:07):
the microbiome within the gutand then leaky gut, or like an
intestinal permeability, is overtime you can eat poorly,
stress-induced, food-inducednutrition, less, you know less
things and maybe an exposure toan infection or some sort of
toxin in some manner that hadover time degraded your
(03:31):
microbiome and your the walls ofthat stomach.
So then when it's opened up,then it will seep out into the
rest of the circulatory systemand in turn we'll bring that
inflammation, whether it's frominsulin, whether it's an
infection, whether it's you nameit, you it could be um, a
dysregulation.
(03:52):
Now, for individuals it'sdifferent, everybody is a
different reason, but with that,the only way for you know
working to get it better is, um,with a good health restoration
and balancing out your immunesystem.
So it's not about, like thedifference between, in a general
(04:13):
conventional consideration isobviously, if you're extreme you
may have to have a suppressionand acute case and things are
not getting better than just amicrobiome work may not be
helpful and they may need anacute medications, but really
ways of improving yourmicrobiome and improving your
(04:35):
immune system and trying tomodulate it as number one.
Number one is healing yourintestinal permeability, which
is the so-called leaky gut.
And how do we do that and myfavorite really is you're trying
to remove the trigger.
So the main part of that is youincorporate the five R's I put
in one podcast.
(04:55):
I say six R's, but reallyyou're trying to remove those
things that have caused thedysregulation.
And that doesn't mean thatyou're going to be on a removal
of everything for a period oftime.
But to lessen the triggers andlessen the inflammatory process,
you need at least four to sixweeks to get to at least an
optimal range.
(05:15):
Now, when you're helping healingthe gut, my favorite, my
favorite, favorite favorite willbe bone broth, fermented foods,
high fiber vegetables and likehealthy fats.
So if you're a vegetarian,there are algae consumptions and
juices, but there are somealgae and spirulina and coleros
(05:37):
that can be used in place of thebone broths.
But, hands down, bone brothsare one of the best collagen and
gut lining treatments.
Now, supplements I use avariety of different things.
It varies depending upon theclient, but really it always
comes down to what are youputting into your body.
So, instead of just eliminatingthings three to four weeks, I
(05:57):
think that's important, but Ireally think you know in reality
and sustainability is, what canyou do to bring in the nutrient
, dense, quality things backinto your diet and start
thinking that way on a regularbasis.
Now to heal the gut, you knowyou need to.
You know remove the junk.
(06:20):
Then you have to reintroducebecause your dysbiosis means
that the gut lining or themicrobiome in there has been so
irregular and it hasn't beencorrected properly.
So what that means is that youneed to have it regulated.
The dysbiosis means thatthere's too much of the bad
stuff and none of the good stuffand we're, you know, populating
the wrong things and it'sbecause of food toxins,
(06:40):
environmental stressors, nottaking in the right good foods,
not, you know, makingappropriate choices.
And then there's, you know,components.
So majority of clients that arein this autoimmune response,
most of them, if I can work onhealing their gut not that it is
gone away, but it is managed ina really manageable, like
(07:03):
almost remissioned way.
And once they kind of findtheir way, after we've kind of
healed that general gut lining,they can find a way to have like
the other side.
Trust me, I have worked withindividuals that, and myself
included, that when you work onyour gut it does improve.
Now, of course it's not fixingeverything, but it does help
(07:28):
significantly.
Think about like it in thesense of your grandmother's
chicken soup for the soul.
You know you were given, oh,some garlic herbs and a good old
broth.
That remedies back in the dayreally did help significantly
for a lot of illnesses andbringing back your immune system
(07:50):
to where it needs to be.
Now Each person is differentbut you know, a big part of it
is because we've been triggered,whether it was a sensitivity, a
toxin, you know, pesticide,herbicide, heavy metal,
infection, pathogen, you know,sometimes infections come array
of things and that will triggeron those with autoimmune
(08:13):
dysregulation, you'll noticetheir Epstein-Barr might be
increased, their herpes zoster Imean herpes simplex may be
increased, they may have someviral load a little bit higher,
and it's just basically, it'ssaying that the body's starting
to, you know, tick up and needto regulate.
Now how do you balance it?
What is ways to do thatImproving ways?
(08:35):
Ways to do that Improving ways,hands down, is the gut right.
So we work on the lining, weregulate it by giving and
bringing the body its nutrientdense foods.
Now there's an array of thingsthat can be given, but always,
you know, good quality fattyfishes, omega-3s, and think of
that because the cellular levelit's made up of bilater, of
(08:56):
phospholipids.
So if you're giving your bodyquality oils and lipid and
bringing back that layer so it'snot being broken down, that
fish or salmon or omega-3s isgiving you that you can also get
it with algae and colariaSpices helping with inflammation
(09:18):
.
So inflammatory use spices thatare really beneficial turmeric,
saffron, ginger, garlic.
You'll hear me say things quiteoften, but think of it like
anti-inflammatory turmeric,garlic, saffron, ginger,
cinnamon, garlic, saffron,ginger, cinnamon and I think the
(09:39):
more spices, in a way some ofthem are just so beneficial for
the body and nutrient quality.
Now, when it comes to greens,the more greens usually the
better.
The best ones are usually kale,spinach and chard.
The greener the better.
Or you can do some micro greensthat are out there.
If you don't really have thetime to incorporate Now, always
(10:04):
nutrition and food would be thebest start, but the next route
would be, you know, vitamin Dwith K2.
And I usually around 4,000, twoto 4,000, as you're starting um
.
Omega-3 fish oil uh, if youhave to take it.
Or an algae based vegetarian,that's around 2000 milligrams.
(10:26):
Um.
Turmeric or saffron, around 500to a thousand, depending upon.
Now, this is obviously ifyou're not going to take it on
your own or try to find some way.
Chrysanthin is also anothertype of anti-inflammatory to
help with regulation.
Now, would you believe, yourhormones are going to regulate
(10:46):
your immune system also.
So, in turn, you know, when youuse a little bit of magnesium,
maybe for nighttime, some Bvitamins to you know overall
help your cellular metabolismand your and your um supports
your energy.
Think of adaptogens.
Um, of course I love umrhodiola and ashwagandha, um,
there's a couple of othersavailable.
And then you know, if there isa need for medications, there
(11:11):
are options.
Um, a very, very good immune,natural um herbs and Chinese
herbs are mushrooms.
I don't love mushrooms, but Iknow that the blends of
mushrooms, specifically reishi,cordyceps, are excellent for
building immune and modulatingthe immune system.
So there are a bunch of blendsout there that you can get that
(11:34):
are like grounded, that are away of modulating and, you know,
taking in that nutritionalvalue to help regulate your
system a little bit.
And that's a way.
And, you know, optimally,lifestyle management will always
be key.
So how do we, you know,regulate our stress management?
Is it mindfulness, is it yoga,is it guided meditation?
(11:56):
I have many videos and manythings relating to mindfulness
and you know that it will be akey foundation.
The next would be sleep.
How do you modulate your sleepon a regular basis?
It's quite important, I mean.
I can tell you even for myself,like when I'm not having a good
day, oh my gosh, if I have notslept the night before, my next
(12:20):
day really can be a struggle.
So I then have to really,really uptick on my hydration,
really uptick on myanti-inflammatories and
nutrition, because I will, youknow, I can struggle just like
you and I, you know, just likeanother person.
So it's just kind of takingthat into consideration and then
move whenever that is for you.
If you're obviously in pain,that might be less for you, but
(12:42):
it's got to be regulated.
If you have any other questionsor you want to reach out at any
time, feel free.
I love answering and talkingabout this because it's near and
dear.
Anything reference tointegrating a better health and
finding mindful ways each andevery day.
Yeah,
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