The Autoimmune Wellness Podcast

Episode 97: Integrative Rheumatology: Bridging Medicine, Nutrition & Lifestyle with Dr. Micah Yu
For many people living with autoimmune disease, seeing a rheumatologist can bring up a lot of uncertainty—especially if you want to incorporate nutrition and lifestyle alongside conventional medical care.
In this episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, Mickey Trescott is joined by Dr. Micah Yu, a quadruple board-certified physician specializing in rheumatology, internal medicine, integrative medicine, and functional medicine. Dr. Yu also lives with autoimmune arthritis himself, giving him a unique perspective as both physician and patient.
Together, they explore what integrative rheumatology actually looks like, why conventional medicine and lifestyle don't have to be an either/or choice, and how patients can build a healthcare team that supports the full picture of autoimmune health. They also discuss how to prepare for a rheumatology appointment, when medications may be necessary, and how nutrition and lifestyle can work alongside medical treatment.
In this episode, you'll learn:
How Dr. Yu's experience with gout and spondyloarthritis shaped his approach to medicine
What rheumatologists actually treat and why they often serve as "detectives" for complex cases
Common misconceptions about rheumatologists, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine
Why time constraints within conventional healthcare can make complex autoimmune care challenging
What integrative and functional rheumatology looks like in practice
Why medication and lifestyle interventions don't have to be mutually exclusive
How to prepare for a rheumatology appointment and make the most of limited time
Why tracking symptoms, medications, supplements, and your health history can help your physician
How patients and their prescribing providers can approach medication changes when health improves
Why building a multidisciplinary healthcare team can be valuable for autoimmune disease

Resources:
Dr. Lifestyle: https://drlifestyle.org
My Autoimmune MD: https://myautoimmunemd.com
Social Media: @MyAutoimmuneMD
Podcast: Autoimmune Alchemy

Episode Timeline:
00:00 – Why rheumatology and lifestyle medicine don't have to be either/or
02:15 – Introducing Dr. Micah Yu
03:41 – Dr. Yu's personal journey with autoimmune arthritis
07:40 – Rheumatology 101: What does a rheumatologist do?
10:15 – Common misconceptions about rheumatology
16:15 – What integrative and functional rheumatology looks like
19:40 – How to get the most out of a rheumatology appointment
22:02 – Combining medication with diet and lifestyle
25:27 – Hope for people living with autoimmune disease
27:34 – Dr. Yu's advice for building a healthcare team
28:22 – Wrap-up and where to follow Dr. Yu

Episode 96: Understanding Food Reactions: Why Foods Affect People Differently
One of the central goals of the Autoimmune Protocol is figuring out which foods work for you and which ones don’t. But when a symptom appears after eating a food, what actually counts as a food reaction—and does every reaction mean the same thing?
In this episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, Mickey Trescott explores the science of food reactions and why they can look so different from person to person. She breaks down the major categories of reactions, including food allergies, celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, digestive intolerances, and reactions to specific compounds in foods.
Mickey also explains why a reaction and its underlying mechanism aren’t necessarily the same thing, and why that distinction matters when personalizing your diet. She explores how dose, timing, preparation, digestive function, and other factors can influence food tolerance, plus why a reproducible reaction can still provide useful information even when science can’t yet explain exactly why it happens.
In this episode, you'll learn:
The many ways a food reaction can show up, including changes in autoimmune symptoms
The difference between a food reaction and its underlying biological mechanism
How food allergies, celiac disease, food sensitivities, and digestive intolerances differ
Why dose, timing, preparation, and digestive function can influence food tolerance
How compounds like histamine and sulfites can trigger symptoms in some people
Why meaningful food reactions can occur even when we don’t fully understand the mechanism
Why food reactions can be difficult to identify when symptoms fluctuate
How AIP elimination and reintroduction help identify the foods that work for you

Resources:
The Autoimmune Protocol: theautoimmuneprotocol.com
The New Autoimmune Protocol by Mickey Trescott

Episode Timeline:
00:00 – Understanding what constitutes a food reaction
03:24 – What can a food reaction actually look like?
07:29 – Food allergy: When the immune system reacts to food
15:22 – Gluten reactions: Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity
21:54 – Food intolerances: When digestion and absorption are the problem
27:35 – Reactions to compounds in food: When it isn’t the food itself
35:37 – Why food reactions can be so hard to figure out
40:06 – Bringing it back to AIP: Finding the foods that work for you
42:06 – Wrap-up and closing

Episode 95: Understanding Perimenopause: A Beginner’s Guide with Dr. Mariza Snyder
Perimenopause can feel especially confusing when you’re already living with autoimmune disease. Changes in sleep, mood, energy, inflammation, cognition, and even how your body responds to familiar strategies can leave you wondering: Is this an autoimmune flare, perimenopause, or both?
In this episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, Mickey Trescott is joined by functional medicine practitioner, bestselling author, and women’s hormone health expert Dr. Mariza Snyder for a Perimenopause 101 conversation designed to help women understand what’s actually happening during this transition.
Together, they explore when perimenopause can begin, the surprising symptoms that often appear before cycle changes, and why fluctuating estrogen and progesterone may be especially disruptive for women managing autoimmune disease. They also discuss the foundational role of nutrition, sleep, strength training, metabolic health, and stress resilience, plus where hormone replacement therapy may fit into a personalized approach.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What perimenopause is and why it can begin as early as the late 30s
Why symptoms can appear years before noticeable menstrual cycle changes
Common early symptoms, including anxiety, irritability, brain fog, sleep disruption, and mood changes
Why perimenopause and autoimmune flares can be difficult to distinguish
How estrogen and progesterone interact with immune regulation and inflammation
Why strategies that worked for years may suddenly feel less effective
How tracking symptoms alongside your menstrual cycle can reveal important patterns
Why blood sugar regulation, nutrition, sleep, strength, and stress resilience matter in perimenopause
Dr. Mariza’s “landing the plane” strategy for improving your nighttime routine
How to advocate for better perimenopause care and know when to seek additional support
Where hormone replacement therapy may fit alongside foundational lifestyle strategies
Why your needs may continue to change throughout the perimenopause transition

Resources:
Book: The Perimenopause Revolution
The Perimenopause Revolution resources: drmariza.com/book
Podcast: Energized with Dr. Mariza

Episode Timeline:
00:00 – Why perimenopause can be confusing with autoimmune disease
03:16 – Introducing Dr. Mariza Snyder
04:28 – Perimenopause 101: What are we dealing with?
10:28 – Common and surprising symptoms of perimenopause
17:14 – The perimenopause-autoimmune connection
23:22 – Why old strategies can stop working in perimenopause
28:27 – A foundational approach to perimenopause
35:28 – Knowing when to dig deeper and advocate for care
40:57 – Hormone replacement therapy in perimenopause
46:09 – Hope for autoimmune women navigating perimenopause

Episode 94: Food Nomad — Navigating the Emotional Journey of Autoimmune Disease with Imei Hsu
For many people, changing the way they eat because of autoimmune disease can feel like losing more than food. It can affect family traditions, cultural connection, travel, restaurants, and the simple feeling of belonging around a shared table.
In this episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, Mickey Trescott is joined by Bernice Imei Hsu, registered nurse, licensed mental health counselor, National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and AIP Certified Coach, to explore the emotional and cultural journey of living with dietary restrictions.
Five years after writing her Autoimmune Wellness article, "Bringing Culture Back to the Kitchen," Imei reflects on what she has learned about healing, reintroductions, adapting traditional foods, and becoming what she calls a "Food Nomad." Together, Mickey and Imei discuss why healing isn't simply about getting foods back. It's also about finding new ways to reconnect with culture, relationships, travel, and joy.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What Imei means by becoming a "Food Nomad"
Why dietary restrictions can affect identity, culture, and belonging
Why adapting cultural recipes can take years of experimentation
How reintroducing foods like soy helped Imei reconnect with family traditions
What Imei learned from experimenting with gluten-free sourdough and other foods
Why healing and food tolerance can continue evolving long after the elimination phase
Ways to navigate family gatherings when you can't eat traditional foods
How to give yourself permission to adapt traditions instead of perfectly recreating them
What it means to become the "keeper of the food flame"
Why grief around food and cultural traditions is a normal part of the autoimmune journey
How to hold onto hope when you're still early in elimination or reintroductions

Resources:
Bringing Culture Back to the Kitchen – Imei's original 2021 article on Autoimmune Wellness
Imei Hsu on Instagram: @everydaywithimei

Episode Timeline:
00:00 – Food, identity, belonging, and autoimmune disease
02:34 – Introducing Bernice Imei Hsu
03:39 – What it means to be a "Food Nomad"
06:17 – Revisiting "Bringing Culture Back to the Kitchen"
13:21 – The long game of healing and food reintroductions
18:19 – Gluten-free sourdough baking experiments
25:58 – Bringing culture back into the kitchen
31:48 – Food, belonging, and navigating relationships
37:55 – Giving yourself permission to adapt tradition
42:09 – Becoming the "keeper of the food flame"
46:12 – Encouragement for anyone grieving foods or traditions
48:24 – Wrap-up and where to follow Imei

Episode 93: Beyond the Studies — Results from the New Autoimmune Protocol Community
What happens when people put the Autoimmune Protocol into practice—not in a clinical trial, but in real life?
To celebrate the launch of The New Autoimmune Protocol, hundreds of readers joined a guided online community where they worked through the new Transition Phase, completed 30 days of either Core or Modified AIP, tracked their symptoms, and supported one another along the way.
In this episode of the Autoimmune Wellness Podcast, Mickey Trescott shares the results from this unique community experience. While this wasn't a formal research study, the symptom improvements closely mirrored many of the findings from published AIP research—and the participant stories reveal the power of preparation, accountability, and community support.
Together, these survey results offer a real-world look at what implementing AIP can look like, what people struggled with, what surprised them, and why healing is often about much more than food alone.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why Mickey created a guided community alongside The New Autoimmune Protocol
What surprised her most about who joined the program
Why the new Transition Phase helped participants feel more prepared for elimination
How overall autoimmune symptom severity changed after 30 days
Which symptoms improved the most, including digestion, energy, sleep, pain, and brain fog
Three standout participant stories that illustrate the range of real-world experiences
How these community results compare with published AIP research
Why symptom tracking is one of the most valuable tools during AIP
The importance of community support when implementing dietary change
How to join the ongoing Autoimmune Protocol community

Resources:
The New Autoimmune Protocol – Mickey Trescott's updated guide featuring the Transition Phase, Core and Modified AIP, and personalized reintroductions
The Autoimmune Protocol Community
Episode 59: The First Published AIP Study in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Episode 61: AIP and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Research
Episode 63: AIP IBD Gene Expression Study
Episode 65: New Hashimoto's Research from Poland
Episode 89: The First AIP Pilot Trial in Rheumatoid Arthritis with Julianne Taylor

Episode Timeline:
00:00 – Introduction and overview of the community experience
02:39 – Why Mickey created The New Autoimmune Protocol community
06:38 – Who joined the community?
09:45 – The new Transition Phase in action
14:33 – What happened after 30 days?
17:16 – Overall autoimmune symptom improvements
19:12 – Energy and sleep results
20:03 – Digestive health improvements
21:53 – Joint pain and inflammation
22:42 – Brain fog, skin, and other symptom changes
23:59 – Three standout participant stories
28:58 – Comparing community results to published research
32:06 – Mickey's biggest takeaways
36:26 – An invitation to join the ongoing community
40:11 – Wrap-up and closing