Autoimmune disease describes a diverse group of conditions in which the immune system mistakenly targets the body’s own tissues. Because different autoimmune diseases affect different organs and pathways, there is no single cause or treatment that applies to everyone.
hol+ provides physician-led autoimmune disease treatment that evaluates a variety of factors, including inflammation, gut health, nutrition, hormones, stress, sleep, and nutrient status. Care is designed to complement appropriate conventional treatment and specialist support.
What Is Autoimmune Disease?
The immune system normally identifies potential threats such as viruses and bacteria while protecting the body’s own tissues. In autoimmune disease, that process becomes disrupted. The immune system may begin attacking healthy cells, tissues, or organs (1).
The resulting autoimmune response varies by condition. Some disorders primarily affect one organ, while others can involve several parts of the body.
Common autoimmune or closely related immune-mediated conditions include:
Hashimoto's disease, which damages the thyroid and can lead to hypothyroidism
Rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory autoimmune disease that primarily affects the joints
Lupus, which can affect several organs and tissues
Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, which involve the skin and, with psoriatic arthritis, the joints
Celiac disease, in which gluten triggers an immune reaction that damages the small intestine
Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
Type 1 diabetes, in which immune activity destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas
Multiple sclerosis, an immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system
These conditions do not share one universal cause or treatment. Even people with the same diagnosis can experience different symptoms and patterns of disease activity.
Who Is Autoimmune Care For?
hol+ supports adults living with diagnosed autoimmune conditions and people whose persistent symptoms warrant further medical evaluation.
Patients may seek care for:
Difficulty managing symptoms alongside conventional treatment
Autoimmune disease symptoms can overlap with many other medical conditions. Fatigue, digestive problems, skin changes, and joint symptoms do not by themselves establish that someone has an autoimmune disorder. Evaluation begins with symptoms and medical history rather than assuming immune dysregulation is responsible.
Patients may also seek an autoimmune disease doctor who can provide broader nutrition and lifestyle support alongside appropriate specialty care.
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How We Help
Factors We Evaluate
Most autoimmune diseases cannot be reduced to one identifiable root cause. Depending on the condition, susceptibility may involve genetics, immune regulation, environmental factors, and other biological influences. hol+ evaluates the factors that may be relevant to the individual patient.
Genetics and Family History
Genetic susceptibility varies by disease. Having family members with certain autoimmune conditions can place someone at higher risk, but family history does not mean disease will develop.
Hashimoto’s disease, for example, is more common among people whose relatives have the condition (2).
Immune Regulation and Inflammation
Different autoimmune diseases involve different disruptions in immune regulation. Evaluation may consider the established diagnosis, current treatment, and whether symptoms suggest active disease or another explanation.
The goal is not to “boost” immune activity or treat immune system dysregulation as one uniform problem. Chronic inflammation is involved in many autoimmune conditions, but inflammation and autoimmunity are not interchangeable. Infection, injury, metabolic disease, and other processes can also cause inflammation. This distinction is important when evaluating inflammation and autoimmune disease together.
Learn more about inflammation.
Gut Health and Nutrition
The interplay between gut health and autoimmune disease is complex. Conditions such as celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease directly involve the gastrointestinal tract, while researchers continue to study how the microbiome interacts with genes, immune activity, and environmental factors in other conditions.
Studies have identified microbiome differences in people with inflammatory bowel disease, but the gut microbiome and autoimmune disease should not be reduced to a simple cause-and-effect relationship (3).
Nutrition can also affect energy, digestive health, and nutrient status. An autoimmune nutrition plan should reflect the individual diagnosis rather than impose one restrictive diet on everyone.
Explore digestive health and nutrition counseling.
Hormones, Stress, and Sleep
The relationship between autoimmune disease and hormones differs by condition and patient. Hormonal changes may overlap with thyroid function, metabolism, sleep, or symptoms without being the cause of an autoimmune disorder.
Autoimmune disease and stress can also intersect. Stress may disrupt sleep and recovery, and some patients notice changes in their symptoms during periods of increased stress. Stress management can support overall health without implying that stress caused the disease.
Sleep quality is considered for similar reasons. Poor or disrupted sleep can worsen fatigue and cognitive symptoms while making recovery more difficult.
Explore hormone balancing, cortisol and stress support, and insomnia and sleep.
Infection History and Environmental Exposures
Infections and environmental exposures are being studied in relation to specific autoimmune conditions.
Some factors may be associated with increasing the risk of a particular disease, but that does not prove a specific infection or exposure caused disease in an individual patient.
hol+ considers these factors when medically appropriate rather than assuming they explain every case.
The hol+ Approach Framework
hol+ uses a systems-based framework to organize the broader factors that may deserve attention:
Immune → Gut → Inflammation → Metabolism → Recovery
This framework helps organize care without suggesting that every autoimmune disease shares the same underlying cause.
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What we Offer
Foundational Areas of Autoimmune Health
Autoimmune conditions can affect more than one aspect of health, and the areas that deserve attention vary by diagnosis and patient. hol+ evaluates these foundations alongside necessary disease-specific treatment.
Gut + Immune Health
The digestive tract interacts closely with immune function, and some autoimmune or immune-mediated conditions directly affect the gastrointestinal system. Digestive conditions can also affect nutrient intake or absorption, making gut health relevant when gastrointestinal concerns are present. Evaluation focuses on clinically relevant digestive concerns rather than assuming every autoimmune disease begins in the gut.
- Evaluate persistent digestive symptoms, bowel changes, and known gastrointestinal conditions
- Consider nutrient absorption or targeted digestive testing when clinically appropriate
Explore digestive health.
Inflammation + Autoimmunity
Inflammation plays a role in many autoimmune diseases, but its meaning depends on the condition and the individual patient. Symptoms may reflect active disease or another underlying issue, including treatment-related effects. hol+ evaluates inflammatory symptoms and biomarkers in context.
- Review inflammatory patterns alongside diagnosis, symptoms, and current treatment
- Address modifiable factors that may contribute to overall inflammatory burden
Learn more about inflammation.
Nutrition + Nutrient Status
Autoimmune disease, digestive problems, medications, and dietary restrictions can affect nutritional status. Some patients also arrive after trying highly restrictive eating plans that may not match their diagnosis. Nutrition support focuses on meeting individual needs while correcting deficiencies and avoiding unnecessary dietary restriction.
- Build nutrition around the diagnosis, symptoms, and disease-specific dietary needs
- Identify and address clinically meaningful nutrient deficiencies when testing supports them
Explore nutrition counseling.
Stress + Autoimmune Symptoms
Stress does not explain autoimmune disease, but it can affect symptoms and recovery. Some patients notice that periods of greater stress overlap with changes in symptoms.
- Identify stress patterns that may coincide with symptoms or reduced recovery
- Incorporate sustainable stress-management and mind-body approaches when appropriate
Explore cortisol and stress support.
Sleep + Immune Regulation
Poor sleep can make symptoms and day-to-day recovery more difficult to manage. Sleep evaluation may identify habits or medical concerns that deserve attention alongside treatment.
- Review sleep quality, nighttime waking, insomnia, and recovery patterns
- Address sleep habits or possible sleep disorders based on the clinical picture
Explore insomnia and sleep.
Hormones + Autoimmune Disease
Hormonal health can intersect with thyroid function, metabolism, sleep, and symptom patterns. These relationships vary among autoimmune conditions, so hormone evaluation should be driven by symptoms and medical history.
- Evaluate thyroid and other hormonal concerns when clinically indicated
- Consider hormonal transitions within the patient’s broader health picture
Explore hormone balancing and thyroid disorders.
Metabolic Health + Inflammation
Blood sugar regulation and broader metabolic health can influence energy, cardiovascular risk, and inflammatory burden even when those concerns are separate from the autoimmune process itself.
- Review glucose and cardiometabolic markers when symptoms or risk factors support testing
- Use sustainable nutrition and movement strategies to support metabolic health
Explore metabolic and gut health.
Autoimmune Testing and Clinical Evaluation
Autoimmune testing depends on the disease being considered. There is no universal laboratory panel that can diagnose or rule out every autoimmune condition.
Evaluation may include:
- Standard blood work, such as a complete blood count and comprehensive metabolic panel
- Inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate when appropriate
- Disease-specific antibodies and other markers
- Thyroid testing, with relevant antibody testing when Hashimoto’s disease or another autoimmune thyroid condition is suspected
- Nutrient evaluation based on symptoms, diet, medications, and diagnosis
- Metabolic or digestive testing when the clinical picture supports it
Autoantibody results need context. A positive result does not always establish autoimmune disease, and a negative result does not always rule one out. Symptoms, examination findings, family history, imaging, and other tests may all contribute to diagnosis (4).
Some conditions require more specialized testing. Celiac disease, for example, is commonly evaluated with blood tests and small-intestinal biopsy. Patients generally need to continue eating gluten during diagnostic testing because starting a gluten-free diet beforehand can affect results (5).
Treatment options
Holistic Autoimmune Treatment Alongside Conventional Care
Holistic autoimmune treatment at hol+ is designed to complement medically appropriate disease-specific care. Different conditions require different treatments, and some need medication to prevent complications or limit tissue damage.
A patient with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, for example, may have very different treatment needs from someone with rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. The broader care plan should respect those disease-specific differences.
Integrative autoimmune care may include:
Functional medicine
Functional medicine: Evaluate broader factors affecting symptoms, nutritional status, digestion, metabolism, and recovery.
Conventional treatment
Conventional treatment: Continue appropriate medications, laboratory monitoring, imaging, and specialist visits.
Nutrition counseling
Nutrition counseling: Address dietary adequacy, nutrient deficiencies, and disease-specific requirements without automatically recommending broad elimination diets.
Lifestyle medicine
Lifestyle medicine: Support sustainable habits that promote movement, rest, and day-to-day well-being.
Targeted supplementation
Targeted supplementation: Correct deficiencies or provide other clinically appropriate support while considering medication interactions.
Acupuncture and mind-body care
Acupuncture and mind-body care: Use complementary approaches for appropriate symptom or stress support when indicated.
Specialist coordination
Specialist coordination: Connect care with rheumatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, dermatology, neurology, or other relevant specialties.
Patients seeking functional medicine autoimmune disease support may benefit from having wider health concerns considered alongside disease-specific treatment. hol+ provides that wider medical perspective while keeping appropriate specialist care central to the treatment plan.
Not sure where to start?
Schedule your free 15-minute consultation and we'll help you find the right path.
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Benefits of Treatment
Goals of Comprehensive Autoimmune Care
The goal is not to promise remission or “reverse” an autoimmune disorder. Comprehensive care can help patients understand the patterns influencing their health and support them during conventional treatment. It can also give the patient and care team a clearer framework for separating disease-specific concerns from other modifiable factors that may be affecting day-to-day well-being.
Goals may include:
Recognizing symptom and flare patterns
Building more sustainable sleep and stress-management habits
Improving nutritional status and addressing digestive concerns
Improving coordination among clinicians and treatments
Supporting energy and recovery
Changes in disease activity or disease progression still need to be evaluated using appropriate medical measures for the specific condition.
Risks and Considerations
Autoimmune diseases can have serious medical consequences. Some may cause permanent tissue or organ damage if disease activity is not adequately controlled. Rheumatoid arthritis, for example, can cause irreversible joint damage, making early diagnosis and appropriate treatment important (6).
Some autoimmune conditions require ongoing medical treatment to control disease activity or replace hormones the body does not produce adequately. Functional and complementary therapies should not automatically replace prescribed medications.
Supplements and herbal products can interact with prescription treatment. “Immune boosting” is also not an appropriate universal goal for autoimmune disease. Recommendations should reflect the patient’s diagnosis and existing treatment plan.
New or significantly worsening flare symptoms may require prompt evaluation. Severe breathing problems, chest pain, sudden neurological changes, significant gastrointestinal bleeding, or other potentially dangerous symptoms require urgent medical attention.
What to Expect as a Patient
The hol+ Patient Journey
The clinician reviews prior testing, specialist evaluations, treatment history, and current concerns.
Symptoms are reviewed over time to identify meaningful patterns and changes.
Current treatments are considered together to identify interactions, concerns, or gaps.
Relevant areas such as digestion, nutrition, inflammation, hormones, metabolism, stress, and sleep are reviewed.
Laboratory testing is chosen according to symptoms, diagnosis, and previous results.
Nutrition, lifestyle strategies, and appropriate integrative therapies are selected around the existing medical plan.
hol+ works alongside clinicians responsible for disease-specific diagnosis and treatment.
The plan can be adjusted as symptoms, test results, medications, or health needs change.
Not sure where to start?
Schedule your free 15-minute consultation and we'll help you find the right path.
Schedule a 15 Minute Consultation ➞
Why hol+ Is Different
Autoimmune disease can affect several areas of health at once. hol+ provides physician-led care designed to connect those concerns while keeping necessary conventional treatment central.
- Physician-led care: Medical evaluation and clinical decision-making guide the plan.
- Systems-based assessment: Gut health, inflammation, metabolism, hormones, nutrition, stress, and recovery can be considered together.
- Conventional care integration: hol+ works alongside prescribed treatment and relevant specialists.
- Power RX®: The hol+ methodology brings multiple systems of medicine into a whole-person framework.
- Medical oversight: Testing, supplements, medications, and complementary therapies are evaluated within the larger treatment plan.
This longer-term partnership can help patients build a more connected strategy for managing health.
Take the Next Step
Living with autoimmune disease can mean managing symptoms, medications, specialist appointments, and daily health concerns at the same time. hol+ brings those pieces into a physician-led whole-body evaluation while keeping conventional diagnosis and treatment central to care.
Build a more complete strategy for living with autoimmune disease.Book a 15 Min Consultation
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Medical Disclaimer
The contents of this website, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this website (“Content”), are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Patients should contact their physician or other qualified healthcare professional about symptoms, medications, supplements, or changes in treatment. Flares and new or worsening symptoms may require prompt medical evaluation.