Fix Your Gut Health! The 4 Foods Fueling Inflammation & Disease! - Dr Will Cole

Standard lab ranges are statistical averages of mostly unwell people, so ‘normal’ often means ‘common in sick populations.’ Functional medicine uses tighter, evidence-informed optimal ranges and more comprehensive labs to find early dysfunction. It asks, “What’s your most effective option with the least side effects?” and often starts with nutrition, gut health, and lifestyle before or alongside medication.

Inflammation itself is protective and necessary; the problem is when it becomes chronic—a ‘forest fire’ instead of a short, healing flare. Cole describes an inflammation spectrum: silent inflammation (abnormal labs, few symptoms), reactivity (fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, IBS, hormonal issues), and diagnosable disease (autoimmunity, type 2 diabetes, etc.). Addressing inflammation early with diet, stress management, and gut repair can prevent or reverse many conditions.

About 75% of the immune system and most serotonin (95%) and a large share of dopamine (50%) are produced in or regulated by the gut. Bacterial imbalances can increase systemic inflammation, alter hormone conversion (including thyroid hormone), and even drive food cravings because microbes ‘eat what we eat.’ Supporting the microbiome with fiber-rich vegetables, fermented foods, broths, and reducing inflammatory foods is essential for both physical and mental health.

Cole coins “shameflammation” to describe how self-criticism and unresolved emotional pain elevate inflammatory markers like IL‑6. Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) shows higher scores correlate with increased risk of autoimmune disease, mental illness, and metabolic disorders later in life. Studies of descendants of Ukrainian famine and Holocaust survivors reveal epigenetic changes (e.g., altered methylation) and higher disease risk, illustrating that trauma can be stored in cells and passed down—but he emphasizes that healing can be as inheritable as trauma.

Polyvagal theory maps how our autonomic nervous system moves among calm/connected states, fight‑or‑flight, and shutdown/hypervigilance. Many people are stuck in chronic sympathetic arousal, contributing to insulin resistance, autoimmunity, and anxiety. Practices such as meditation, breathwork, time in nature (“forest bathing”), and other “acts of stillness” improve vagal tone, strengthen the parasympathetic ‘rest-and-digest’ system, and indirectly support gut integrity and the microbiome.