Palmer Kippola

We spent a long weekend hiking like mountain goats up Shirley Canyon and Scott’s Peak trails in the Lake Tahoe - Alpine Meadows area. 🏔

Because of the elevation (8,500 ft), the wildflowers were in full glory like it was spring.🌼

So grateful for the energy to be able to scramble up steep rocks (the downhills were harder!) and to be with good friends in nature. 🌲👫👬🏽👫🏽🌲

As I reflect back to a time when my legs felt as heavy as lead and MS symptoms kept me sidelined and stressed, it seemed like a far off dream to be able to climb mountains. 🔮

Don’t ever give up on your dreams. Hope is real and full healing is possible. Don’t ever let anyone convince you otherwise. 🌈

Now I’d love to know what you look forward to doing once you beat autoimmune — or whatever else has you sidelined or not living your full potential.

With love and gratitude,

Palmer

Did you know that your oral health affects your WHOLE health?

🦷 Periodontal (gum) disease: a bacterial infection in
dental plaque linked to Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and
heart disease.

🦷 Dental amalgam (silver) fillings: 50% mercury, and
associated with CFS, MS, RA, lupus, Hashimoto’s,
Graves, and Alzheimer’s.

🦷 Root canals: dead tooth nerves harbor “focal”
infections which are associated with heart, kidney,
neurological, and autoimmune diseases & cancer.

🦷 Cavitations: holes left in the jawbone post tooth
extraction which harbor infections that overburden
the immune system.

My recommendation: Find a holistic or biological dentist at https://iabdm.org/ (https://iabdm.org/)

What is your experience with oral health and either poor health or vibrant health? Don’t overlook this
essential root cause.

Do your blood tests come back “normal,” yet something still feels off? This could be why...

When testing your thyroid function, many doctors will simply look at your TSH level, but that’s not enough to get the full picture and the answers you’re looking for.

There are eight key lab markers (blood tests) that can assess your thyroid function, and you may need to insist on getting a “comprehensive thyroid panel” instead of the typical TSH-only test, or order the full panel on your own. Sometimes ferritin is included but you often have to request it to be added.

Once you’ve gotten a comprehensive or FULL panel, be sure to advocate for yourself and check that they fall in an “optimal” range, not just “normal.” This requires educating yourself and possibly working with a ROOT CAUSE practitioner to help you determine WHY your numbers are not optimal.

Save this post so you know what tests to ask your doctor for, and comment below if you found this post helpful!

And for more simple healing strategies consider grabbing my book, Beat Autoimmune, which is chock full of healing resources you can revisit again and again.

The 5R program is a foundational gut-healing plan created by Dr. Joe Pizzorno, ND and the Institute of Functional Medicine to help you restore gut balance and function. Many who follow it, like I did, experience dramatic improvements in symptoms.

While it may appear easy to just move forward step-by-step, I know that moving through the steps can take longer than you hoped. Sometimes MUCH longer. And you may have no clue if you’re doing them right or at the right time.

There is a time and place, for example for probiotics. And, while you may think you’ve removed everything, are you sure you’ve cleared parasites and candida? And some of the steps can be done at the same time, but which?

If you are determined and committed to healing your gut, reversing an autoimmune disorder (or two...), and feeling good again, I invite you to book a free discovery and strategy call with me. I promise you will gain more clarity, confidence, and key insights during our call.

Link in bio or visit palmerkippola.com/apply to book our 30-minutes together!

Studies show, and the CDC confirms, that our EXPOSOME—the totality of exposures we experience from conception to death along with our associated biological response, NOT our genome—accounts for the vast majority of our health outcomes.

What you eat, drink, think, believe, and do accounts for 90%, while your genes account for up to 10% of the risk.

Every moment of every day we are faced with choices.

What should I eat? Will I go to bed earlier? How do I think about this? What beliefs are running the show? Do I want a better relationship...job...experience...?

YOU get to choose.

I hope this makes you feel empowered 💪

Did you know about 75% of your immune system resides in your gut—specifically inside the lining of your small intestines?

Autoimmunity is an immune system problem and anything that inflames or harms your gut harms your immune system.

Inflammatory SAD (standard american diet) foods create imbalances in gut bacteria (microbiome dysbiosis or gut imbalance), nutritional deficiencies, and hyper-intestinal permeability (a.k.a. “leaky gut”), which is the gateway to autoimmunity.

Many things can lead to a leaky gut: foods including gluten, dairy and sugar; infections like candida and Lyme disease co-infections; toxins including pesticides and medications like antibiotics; and chronic or traumatic stress.

But consider the case of gluten. At a cellular level, the gluten molecule happens to look like a thyroid molecule. Continue eating gluten, and if you’re predisposed, you may wind up with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

That’s the autoimmune cascade: environmental factor(s) including food, infections, toxins, and stress lead to a leaky gut, which leads to immune system reactions like food sensitivities, autoimmune expression and finally, full blown autoimmune disease.

Bottom line: the lining of your small intestine is arguably the most important barrier between you and the outside world. Maintaining the integrity of this barrier is crucial for maintaining your health and wellbeing.

For gut healing help, check out:

https://palmerkippola.com/gut-health/top-6-autoimmune-triggers-leaky-gut/

Sharing this inspirational client success story!

April told me that first call with me changed her life. 🥰

Looking back, it was a fraught time. She was an energetic thirty-something with two young children, a busy job, and a supportive husband. One day April awoke to blurry vision and pain above one eye and numbness on one side of her face. She was understandably terrified. A neurologist sent her for an MRI. Shortly thereafter, test results came to the house in an envelope announcing, “You have MS.” 😩

The neurologist insisted that April undergo a spinal tap and that she begin injectable medication immediately. Fortunately, I connected with April over Zoom before her second appointment with the neuro. 🙏

At the time, April had no idea MS was reversible, or that anything she was doing or had experienced in her life had contributed to its arrival. I did what I could to transmit the certainty that April could beat the MS, as long as she was willing to make some lifestyle changes and investigate her underlying root causes. 🌳

April had a lot of strong reasons for regaining her health and so she was willing to embark on the root cause path. She promised her doctor she’d return if the lifestyle changes didn’t work. She never returned for medication. 🤩

Today, April is a role model for her family who has gotten healthier too and her local community and beyond. We stay in touch and I am so grateful to have been even a small part of her journey to vibrant health. 🦋

It all started with a call. 📞

If you are committed and determined to be well, I can help: palmerkippola.com/apply 👍

I’ll sign off with this quote from April: “If I could beat MS you can too!” 🙌

So where do you even begin? You begin by getting curious....

Take a few minutes to reflect on each F.I.G.H.T.S. category. Contemplate your whole life.

FOOD: Have you been eating SAD (standard american diet) foods? And are you eating foods you’re sensitive to?

INFECTIONS: Could you have yeast overgrowth, parasites, Lyme co-infections, or any other chronic infections?

GUT HEALTH: Any constipation, diarrhea, or discomfort?

HORMONES: How about hormone imbalances (think low vitamin D, excess cortisol, PMS, man b***s, or hot flashes)?

TOXINS: What about meds like sleeping pills, anti-inflammatories, antidepressants? And do you have any mercury fillings?

STRESS: Do you feel chronically stressed or do you have unresolved emotional pain such as childhood trauma?

Put them all in the bucket. Don’t know? Just guess. Your goal will be to empty (or minimize) the bucket to heal.

Once you’ve done that I recommend you start with food, because food is the highest leverage category. My clients heal 60-80% of the way just by moving to an Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) food plan.

If you’re ready to commit to this journey of self-discovery and root cause healing, you might be a perfect match for Beat Autoimmune Academy, my online program where you’ll be guided through the biggest F.I.G.H.T.S. factors for full healing.

You can begin emptying your toxin bucket TODAY.

Learn more and sign up at BeatAutoimmuneAcademy.com to start today and receive $300 off.

Many factors cause the gut lining to become damaged, inflamed, and leaky. A leaky gut is the set up for large protein molecules, microbes, and toxins to enter your bloodstream, where they don’t belong. And your immune system, just doing its job, creates antibodies to tag these “dangerous invaders” for a search and destroy mission. 🔦

A domino effect of downstream problems ensues, including increased food sensitivities, the over-production of antibodies, which cause the immune system to overreact; and, due to the crazy, unfortunate process of molecular mimicry or the innocent bystander effect, leads to the advent of autoimmune conditions. 💥

What can you do? 🤷‍♀️🤷🏽

The first step in gut healing is the most important: REMOVE the things that are harming your gut. ➡️🪣

For help with the how to, check out my blog post: The Top 6 Autoimmune Triggers You Can Control: Leaky Gut (link in bio) 👍

Hi there! If you’re new here, I wanted to introduce myself and thought it would be fun to share a few facts about myself.

My name is Palmer Kippola and this is my book, Beat Autoimmune: The 6 Keys to Reverse Your Condition and Reclaim Your Health.

I wrote it after my 26 year battle with multiple sclerosis (MS) and many years of research to understand the ROOT CAUSES of and SOLUTIONS FOR autoimmune conditions. In addition to my book I work with clients 1:1 and created a self-guided online course with monthly live group coaching. It’s my hope that there is something out there for everyone.

Now for the fun facts...

1️⃣ I’m a competative pickleball player, so when I’m not working on my business you can typically find me drilling or playing on the PB court

2️⃣ I’m adopted, eternally grateful, and was born and raised in the beautiful state of California

3️⃣ My sun sign is a Leo

4️⃣ When I told my boyfriend, now husband of 20 years, about the MS his response was “and....we’ll figure it out!” - he’s a keeper (and avid pickleball player too :)

5️⃣ When I worked in Corporate America, I took a year-long sabatical and traveled around the world for six months by myself

NOW, would you tell me something about you?! Where are you from? What autoimmune condition are you working to reverse? What’s your sun sign? Most importantly, what do you dream of doing once you beat autoimmune?

P.S. You can find my book on Amazon. Grab it there and then download free bonuses at BeatAutoimmuneBook.com
 .

Hippocrates is reputed to have said it >2,000 years ago and modern research confirms it: All disease – and health – begins in the gut.

So, if you are dealing with an autoimmune condition (or conditions) or have any unwanted symptoms ANYWHERE in your body, whether aches and pains, numbness and tingling, brain fog, mood or memory issues, and/or migraines, chances are good that you’re also dealing with an imbalanced microbiome and a leaky gut, too.

You may protest that you don’t have digestive issues or an inflammatory bowel disorder so why do you need to heal your gut?

Turns out that the gut is ground central for everything else in your body, and inflammatory factors like SAD foods, foods you’re sensitive to, toxins, infections, medications, and even stress harm the microbiome and damage the gut lining, which is the pathway to autoimmune problems.

How do you heal your gut? Steps one, two, and three are to REMOVE the inflammatory things that are harming your gut.

We are dive deep into gut healing inside Beat Autoimmune Academy. Learn more and sign up at beatautoimmuneacademy.com.

To your good [gut] health!

Palmer
’s

Wishing you a Happy 4th of July filled with presence, peace, and celebration!

If these sound familiar, I have EXCITING NEWS:

📌 Aches and pains
📌 Numbness
📌 Tingling
📌 Gut issues
📌 Extra weight
📌 Poor sleep
📌 Low energy
📌 Hair loss
📌 ALL of the above

Freedom from inflammation, autoimmune symptoms, and suffering is not only possible, it’s a lot closer than you think! 😍

After reversing a two-decade course of MS, I did the research, became certified as a Functional Medicine health coach, worked with hundreds of clients, observed how people heal, created a framework for healing, and wrote a bestselling book with a powerful foreword by Mark Hyman, MD. My mission is to help people who are determined and committed to be well to shortcut their time to healing and THRIVING. 🦋

These are the 3 ways I can help:

1. Custom 1:1 Health Transformation Programs
2. My online program with group coaching: Beat Autoimmune Academy
3. My book, Beat Autoimmune: The 6 Keys to Reverse Your Condition and Reclaim Your Health ~ foreword by Mark Hyman, MD 🙌

No matter where you are on your journey or what you’ve been told, there is hope. 🌈 And no matter what, never ever ever give up. You are worth it and your best life awaits. 🔮

Choose the path that works best for you and DM me if you have any questions about how I can help. 👍

You’ve got this my fellow Autoimmune Warrior!

💗

Palmer

As we ease into summer mode, here are some easy ways to soak up nature’s healing benefits:

🌳Put your feet on the earth
🌳Walk barefoot
🌳Get some morning sun
🌳Sit in the garden
🌳Do some gardening
🌳Take a hike
🌳Stroll in the woods
🌳Go camping
🌳Swim where you can
🌳Can’t get outside? Open windows and let some fresh air in.

I’ll be playing pickleball in our local park this weekend!

How will you soak up some nature this weekend?

Read more about benefits and strategies here:
https://palmerkippola.com/stress/get-into-nature-to-heal-autoimmune/

💞

Palmer

You know how good you feel when you spend time in nature?

Research confirms nature’s profound health benefits including:

🍃Improved immune function
☀️Reduced inflammation
🌳Lowered blood pressure
🌷Lessened pain
🌊Improved vitality and mood
🐞Reduced anxiety
🍀Increased energy
🌈Etc etc etc...

It doesn’t take much time to reap the benefits of being in nature. And who knows, maybe it will save you a trip to the doctor!

For simple strategies to heal and reset your circadian rhythm, read my blog post: Get Into Nature To Heal Autoimmune.

https://palmerkippola.com/stress/get-into-nature-to-heal-autoimmune/

There is a time and place for both conventional and Functional Medicine.

If you are facing an acute or emergency situation like a broken bone, car accident, heart attack, or stroke, then you want conventional (allopathic) medicine.

If you are dealing with chronic health challenges like autoimmune disorders, diabetes, or dementia, you want a root cause-focused, or Functional Medicine approach.

Unfortunately, our medical model today is limited to treating symptoms with drugs or surgery. While the conventional medicine model is insurance-based, sadly, most conventional docs get little to no education about nutrition, let alone root cause resolution. Even specialists – all the “ologists” like rheumatologists, neurologists, and endocrinologists – are limited in their ability to help patients figure out and then resolve why they are sick in the first place. Their toolkits are limited to medication to help you MANAGE your condition(s).

Functional Medicine is systems medicine, focused on whole-person vitality. Our toolkits are larger and use a comprehensive approach to REVERSE and prevent chronic disease by addressing multiple root causes of disease. Functional Medicine seeks to restore healthy function through a personalized patient experience.

While Functional Medicine is not yet covered by insurance, the VERY good news is - you can make many of the essential lifestyle and environmental changes on your own.

It breaks my heart that Functional Medicine is inaccessible to most, which is why I created Beat Autoimmune Academy. I’ve condensed decades of personal experience reversing multiple sclerosis (MS) and clinical experience guiding clients to complete recovery, into a step-by-step, online program called Beat Autoimmune Academy, designed to fast-track your journey to vibrant health.

To ensure your success, I’m including live monthly small group coaching calls over Zoom. You’ll join a global, intentional and supportive healing community, eliminating guesswork, overwhelm, and struggling alone.

Interested? Check out Beat Autoimmune Academy and get started right away: https://beatautoimmuneacademy.com/

You've got this!

Palmer

Are you suffering silently? I know the feeling...

The first photo you see here is me at age 39. It’s my wedding day and one of the happiest days of my life. You can’t tell from the outside, but inside I was silently suffering - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Like many people dealing with autoimmune disorders you can’t always see symptoms or suffering on the outside.

On the inside I was dealing with numbness and tingling, zapping sensations, heavy legs, and lots of stress. I worried about my future, especially since I had been told by neurologists that I would be in a wheelchair or worse if I didn’t take medication. My dad told me not to tell anyone that I had MS otherwise they would perceive me as weak. So I soldiered on silently.

This is the kind of suffering that nobody should have to experience; especially not when there ARE in fact answers.

The second photo you see here is me today. A 50-something who is not just symptom and medication-free, but completely thriving and able to lift weights, hike, practice yoga, and play competitive pickleball – and that’s after 26 years of suffering silently.

A recent MRI and Cyrex lab test confirm that I have reversed the multiple sclerosis (MS). Over the past ten years, I’ve helped hundreds of people who used to suffer with an array of autoimmune conditions get well again and thrive.

There is no reason for you to suffer. Wherever you are on your healing journey there is hope for greater levels of healing and vitality. I can help and offer three paths with increasing levels of customization and care:

1) My book Beat Autoimmune has a powerful foreword by Mark Hyman, MD plus inspirational stories and evidence-based strategies

2) My online program, Beat Autoimmune Academy provides a step-by-step path to wellness with monthly live coaching

3) My customized one-on-one telemedicine programs include collaboration and comprehensive care with a skilled Naturopathic Doctor (ND)

Visit “How I can Help” through my website the best route for you:
https://palmerkippola.com/how-i-can-help/

You can do this!

Palmer

Just because you’re genetically predisposed to an autoimmune condition, DOES NOT mean you are destined to get one too..

Genes are just a blueprint for a possible outcome. Epigenetics (above the gene) control whether those genes get expressed. Put another way, genes represent up to 10% of your health outcomes. Your lifestyle and environmental factors are 90% responsible. Those inflammatory F.I.G.H.T.S.™ factors - Food, Infections, Gut imbalances, Hormone imbalances, Toxins, and Stress — create a leaky gut and must be removed.

I am genetically predisposed to MS - I will always have those genes, but when I removed my biggest environmental factors (root causes) of stress, gluten, cow dairy, and addressed childhood trauma, the MS stopped being expressed.

What do you believe are the root causes of your autoimmune condition? And, if you’re on a prevention path, what do you know you need to remove?”

Sometimes, we need to look beyond the advice of so-called ”experts” and take matters into our own hands.

The truth is, most conventional medical doctors focus on treating symptoms with medications. They don’t focus on WHY you have your condition in the first place. For that, you need to turn to root cause medicine, like Functional Medicine or Naturopathy.

Even well-intentioned and curious doctors don’t have all the answers, and we can’t expect them to. However, just because one doctor doesn’t have the answer doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

If I had listened to the half dozen neurologists who told me there was nothing I could do about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) except take medication, I would most likely be sidelined, stressed, and wheelchair-bound today.

Instead, I’m a thriving 50-something woman who plays competitive pickleball, a bestselling author, and a Functional Medicine Health Coach who has helped thousands recover from autoimmune conditions.

If you’re determined to find answers and reclaim your health and best life, you and I are not all that different. I was once in your shoes, and I found those answers, and now help people like you speed time to their best lives.

Learn more and book a free discovery call with me here: https://palmerkippola.com/functional-medicine-autoimmune-reversal-program/

We’ll explore your unique health challenges and goals and chart a path toward complete healing.

You can do this and I can help shortcut your time to good health.

💗

Palmer

Ready to find the root causes of your autoimmune challenges?

Here are top 12 autoimmune root causes.

Comment “top 12” and I’ll send you the list!

When a client comes to me and wants to resolve their autoimmune condition(s), these are the 6 KEYS we address together: F.I.G.H.T.S.™

Food: Discovering any sensitivities and removing toxic foods is a great place to start and can often alleviate symptoms relatively quickly.

Gut: After removing harmful foods, we have to heal the gut by treating imbalances, mending the lining, promoting microbial balance, and supporting detox organs.

Infections: Chronic imbalances like yeast overgrowth, excess parasites, and Lyme co-infections can overburden the immune system.

Toxins: The top of the pile is mycotoxins from mold exposure—past or present. Next are metals like mercury, lead, and aluminum, and chemicals like glyphosate and BPA. To heal, we MUST lower our toxic load.

Stress: Chonic stress MUST be addressed. What can you eliminate or delagate? And buried emotional pain from childhood trauma must be processed and digested. As we reduce stress we also increase daily JOY.

Hormones: Good news is that hormones are downstream from everything, so as you make changes and lower your toxic load, hormones shift toward balance.

What happens if you’re doing EVERYTHING right and you STILL feel bad? You’ve already identified your food sensitivities, gotten blood work done, and you’re still left feeling bloated, having aches and pains, low energy, brain fog, weight loss resistance, or hormonal imbalances…

That’s when it’s time to look a little deeper at when else is happening beneath the surface - things like stealthy infections that don’t easily show up on blood tests, like parasites, yeast, mold toxins, oral infections, or unresolved trauma, etc.

I know how overwhelming all of that can be to take on yourself - “Where should I even start?!” you may be wondering.

If this sounds like you, make sure you save this post so you don’t forget the key areas to look into. And, if you’re ready, willing, and determined to find a solution, book a 30-minute call with me to gain clairty and discuss next steps.

Link in bio.

My MS Healing Journey - In a Nutshell

When I was 19, my life took a turn.

Seemingly overnight, I went from a fun-loving and hard-working college student to a young woman on a mission to not become wheelchair bound due to an autoimmune diagnosis.

It all began one morning on my way to work when I felt a tingling sensation in the soles of my feet.

😳

The tingling crept up my body and by the afternoon I was sitting in a neurologist’s office hearing the words:

“I am 99 percent certain that you have multiple sclerosis.”

Followed by...

“If I’m right, there’s nothing you can do.”

⁉️

We were terrified.

Fortunately, I had a support system with a “we’re going to beat this thing” mentality, but that was just the beginning...

Between 1984 and 2010 I experienced full body numbness, optic neuritis, sensory challenges, heavy legs, profound fatigue, and more.

Over twenty-six years I saw half a dozen neurologists, each of whom told me the only answer was medication.

I decided to take matters into my own hands, conducting informal experiments of my own.

🕵️‍♀️

4 of the biggies included:

Experiment #1: Stress Reduction

Experiment #2: Low-Fat, Vegetarian Diets

Experiment #3: Medication

Experiment #4: Gut Healing

Some helped and some made things worse, but I was determined to understand WHY I got MS in the first place.

🌳

I call the gut healing experiment my “eureka experiment” because that, for me, was the last piece of the puzzle that led me to completely beat the MS... for good.

Since 2010 I’ve been symptom-free and no longer have heavy legs, profound fatigue, or feel like I’m plugged into an electrical socket 24/7.

More modern tests and MRI scans confirm that I no longer have MS.

🎉

I now understand that I will always have the genes for MS.

But the super exciting and empowering news -- thanks to epigenetics -- is we mostly control whether those genes get EXPRESSED.

Whether your autoimmune symptoms are more or less severe, you deserve to have answers, to understand WHY you have XZY condition(s); not another doctor telling you the best you can do is take medication that doesn’t solve root cause(s) and may cause unwanted effects.

🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋🏾‍♀️🙋🏿🙋‍♀️🙋🏻‍♀️

Reversing autoimmune conditions IS possible to do naturally and I’ve devoted my life’s work to helping others heal and experience the joy of life again without the constant frustration, fear, and anxiety of what’s going on in your body or what might get worse.

If you can relate, and you are committed and determined to be well, it would be an honor to support you on your journey to reclaim your health and best life.

Please visit palmerkippola.com to learn how I can help.

💗

Palmer