Doctors Reveal How They Healed Their Autoimmune Disease

This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health and Athletic Greens. As a whole, autoimmune disease affects over 80 million Americans and five percent of the population in Western countries. They include type 1 diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, colitis, Crohn’s disease, and dozens of others. While your body is designed to fight off harmful things like infections, toxins, allergens, or a stress response, with autoimmune issues the body directs a hostile attack on its own joints, brain, skin, and more. In this episode, Dr. Hyman speaks with Dr. Cynthia Li and Dr. Terry Wahls about their personal stories of working through autoimmunity and how it led them to help others using Functional Medicine. They also dive into the underlying triggers of inflammation such as stress, hidden infections, food allergies or sensitivities, toxic exposure, genetic predisposition, nutrient deficiencies, and leaky gut. Dr. Cynthia Li received her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. She’s practiced as an internist in many settings, including Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital, and St. Anthony Medical Clinic serving the homeless. She currently has a private practice in Berkeley, CA and is the author of, Brave New Medicine: A Doctor’s Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness. Dr. Terry Wahls is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa where she conducts clinical trials. In 2018, she was awarded the Institute for Functional Medicine’s Linus Pauling Award for her contributions in research, clinical care, and patient advocacy. Dr. Wahls was confined to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years. She restored her health using a diet and lifestyle program she designed specifically for her brain and now pedals her bike to work each day. She is the author of The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles, and the cookbook The Wahls Protocol Cooking for Life. This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health and Athletic Greens. Rupa Health is a place for Functional Medicine practitioners to access more than 2,000 specialty lab tests from over 20 labs like DUTCH, Vibrant America, Genova, Great Plains, and more. You can check out a free live demo with a Q&A or create an account at RupaHealth.com. Right now, Athletic Greens is offering my listeners 10 free travel packs of AG1 when you make your first purchase. Just go to athleticgreens.com/hyman to take advantage of this great offer.