Dr. Taylor Krick

09/03/2026

PSYCHOBIOTICS. You're going to be hearing this word a lot more, so let me break it down for you.
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A psychobiotic isn't just any probiotic — it's a specific live organism that, when taken in the right amount, actually produces a measurable mental health benefit. We're talking about strains that make neurotransmitters like GABA, serotonin, and dopamine directly in your gut, calm your HPA axis (your stress response system), and reduce the neuroinflammation driving anxiety, brain fog, and low mood.
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Here's what stood out to me most in the research: certain gut bacteria produce GABA — your brain's primary calming neurotransmitter — as a survival mechanism to protect themselves from acid stress. In other words, your gut bacteria calm you down as a side effect of their own biology. This isn't speculation — it's published, peer-reviewed science.
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Clinical trials on strains like Lactobacillus helveticus + Bifidobacterium longum and Bifidobacterium longum 1714 have shown real reductions in cortisol, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in a matter of weeks.
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But here's what I tell every client: psychobiotics work best as part of a full gut-brain protocol — not a standalone solution. That means removing what's harming your gut first (dysbiosis, infections, inflammatory foods), repairing the gut lining, then reintroducing the right strains for your specific pattern.

In episode 89 of The Autoimmune Doc Podcast , I go deep on the gut-brain axis, the vagus nerve, and how psychobiotics fit into the bigger picture of mental and gut health.

Comment 89 and I can send you that episode if this topic fascinates you as well!

09/02/2026

https://youtu.be/8Did8W6TfwM

Could inflammation in your gut be contributing to anxiety, brain fo...

09/02/2026

Ever wonder why gut issues so often show up alongside anxiety, brain fog, or trouble sleeping? It's not a coincidence. It's biology.
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I talk a lot about the gut-brain connection in my practice, and here's the foundation: your gut has its own nervous system, often called the "second brain." It contains over 500 million neurons and is in constant, two-way communication with your actual brain through the gut-brain axis.
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Most people have heard of the vagus nerve as the key connector — but I want you to know that's only one piece of the puzzle. Your microbiome, intestinal lining, immune cells, and hormones are all sending signals that shape how your brain functions.
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Here's what I see really driving the connection:
→ Gut dysbiosis and bacterial or yeast overgrowth
→ Leaky gut and intestinal permeability
→ Mast cell activation and histamine overload
→ Chronic stress, poor sleep, and inflammatory foods

These triggers can lead to enteric neuroinflammation — inflammation that starts in the gut but affects brain function, mood, and stress resilience.

Even more fascinating to me: your gut bacteria help produce and regulate key neurotransmitters like GABA, serotonin, dopamine, and acetylcholine. This is where "psychobiotics" come in — specific probiotic strains I'm watching closely for their impact on mental health.

But I always remind my clients: not all probiotics are created equal. Sometimes you have to "pull the weeds before you plant the seeds" — meaning I need to address underlying infections or overgrowth before probiotics can actually be effective.
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In this episode of The Autoimmune Doc Podcast, I break down the enteric nervous system, the vagus nerve, gut inflammation's link to anxiety and brain fog, psychobiotics, and how functional testing can guide truly individualized gut-brain support.

Comment "89" below and I'll send you the direct link to listen.

08/29/2026

Alzheimer's is often talked about as if it has one cause. The research doesn't support that.

What the literature actually shows is more like a bucket model: multiple, independent drivers that each contribute a little, and disease shows up once the bucket overflows.

Six of those contributing factors, based on peer-reviewed studies I've reviewed on my YouTube channel:

— Brain infections (fungal and viral pathogens found in Alzheimer's brain tissue)
— Gut dysbiosis and disruption of the gut-brain axis
— ALDH2 enzyme dysfunction and impaired mitochondrial energy production
— Chronic pesticide exposure
— Chronic stress and mast cell activation
— Long-term toxin bioaccumulation (heavy metals, solvents, flame retardants)

None of these is "the" cause. But each is a variable most people can actually influence.

I wrote a full breakdown connecting these six mechanisms, with links to the studies and video reviews behind each one.

Comment BUCKET and I'll send you the link.

Dementia RootCauseMedicine

08/28/2026

Researchers examined brain tissue from 11 Alzheimer's patients.
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Fungal cells were found in every single one — in the frontal cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, and choroid plexus.
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The control brains? Completely clean. Zero fungal material.
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Fungi were even found inside blood vessels, which may explain the vascular damage seen in most Alzheimer's cases.
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DNA sequencing identified multiple fungal species, including Candida albicans and Malassezia. Different patients had different combinations — possibly explaining why symptoms and severity vary so much from person to person.

💡 For years, research has focused on amyloid plaques as the cause of Alzheimer's. But those drug trials keep failing.

This study points to something else: a slow, chronic fungal infection quietly damaging the brain for years before symptoms ever appear.

Researchers are now calling for antifungal treatment trials.

Source: Pisa et al., "Different Brain Regions are Infected with Fungi in Alzheimer's Disease," Scientific Reports (2015).

08/26/2026

Awareness around this matters more than people realize: how everyday environmental exposures affect fertility.
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A review published in Seminars in Reproductive Medicine breaks down how chemicals like BPA, phthalates, pesticides, and dioxins impact reproductive health in both men and women — from s***m quality to conditions like PCOS and endometriosis.
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BPA and pesticides showed some of the most consistent effects. Triclosan and parabens are still murky — more research needed.

This isn't about fear, it's about awareness. The products we use, the water we drink, the air we breathe — it all adds up more than we think.

Comment FERTILITY and I will send you the link to the review article

📚 Source: Chiang et al., Seminars in Reproductive Medicine (2017)

08/25/2026

Did you know? Male factors are documented to be involved in nearly half of all infertility cases — yet oxidative stress, one of the biggest drivers, is rarely talked about.
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Oxidative stress occurs when oxidants and antioxidants fall out of balance in the body, leading to two major effects: s***m DNA damage and peroxidation of the s***m cell membrane lipids.
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This imbalance is linked to declines in s***m quality, motility, progressive motility, s***matogenesis, testicular volume, acrosome reaction, viability, capacitation, and s***m concentration — as well as an increased risk of miscarriage and child development abnormalities.

📚 As documented in:
Cannarella, R. et al. "Diet and Nutritional Factors in Male (In)fertility—Underestimated Factors." J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9(5), 1400. doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051400
ASRM/AUA Male Infertility Guidelines

08/21/2026

The gut-brain axis isn't theoretical — it's a well-documented, bidirectional communication system, and this review lays out the mechanisms clearly .
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Your gut runs its own nervous system (the ENS — 500 million neurons), constantly signaling to your brain through the vagus nerve, your HPA axis, and your gut microbiota. This isn't a one-way street either — stress reshapes your gut just as much as your gut influences your mental state.
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A few of the studies that make the strongest case:

→ Germ-free mice show a permanently exaggerated stress response — early microbial colonization directly calibrates your HPA axis and stress baseline

→ Lactobacillus rhamnosus altered anxiety-related GABA receptor activity in animal models, but the effect disappeared entirely once the vagus nerve was severed — confirming it as the primary signaling pathway

→ Gut microbiota composition shifted after just 2 hours of social stress — the gut-brain response is faster than most people assume

→ F***l microbiota transplants from IBS patients transferred visceral pain sensitivity to previously healthy rats — direct evidence that microbiota can drive, not just correlate with, GI dysfunction

This is why IBS is increasingly classified as a microbiome-gut-brain disorder rather than a purely digestive one — and why probiotic-targeted interventions are gaining traction as legitimate treatment strategies.

📚 Source: Carabotti et al., Annals of Gastroenterology, 2015

08/17/2026

This 2020 study looked at what happens in the brain when mold spores are inhaled, and the findings are worth talking about.

Here's what they found:

The setup: Mice were exposed to either toxic mold spores (Stachybotrys, aka "black mold"), non-toxic mold spore fragments (just the physical particles, no toxins), or a saline control.

What happened:

→ Immune activation in the brain. Toxic spore exposure triggered inflammatory markers (IL-1β) in the hippocampus — the brain's memory center.

→ Memory problems. Both toxic AND non-toxic spores caused noticeable deficits in contextual memory — meaning the ability to remember details tied to a specific place or situation.

→ Slowed brain cell growth. Mold exposure reduced neurogenesis — the brain's ability to grow new neurons — which is essential for learning and mood regulation.

→ More anxiety. Mice exposed to non-toxic spores showed increased anxiety-like behavior.

→ Increased pain sensitivity. Both spore types lowered pain thresholds.

Why this matters: The most surprising part? You didn't need the "toxic" mold to see effects. Even non-toxic mold particles — just the physical structure of the spore — were enough to trigger an immune response and impact memory and anxiety. This suggests your body may be reacting to mold exposure itself, not just the mycotoxins we usually hear about.

If you've ever felt foggy, anxious, more sensitive to pain, or "off" after being in a moldy environment — this research offers a biological explanation for why that's not "just in your head."

Study: Harding et al., 2020, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity

08/13/2026

Autoimmune symptoms rarely have one cause.
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A high ANA titer, chronic inflammation, or a Lyme diagnosis that isn't improving with treatment can often point to something deeper — toxin burden, gut imbalance, or immune dysregulation (TH1 vs. TH2).
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A few things worth knowing:

🧪 Stool testing (like GI Map or GI Effects) can reveal gut imbalances, but results can vary between labs — context matters more than the report alone.

🦠 If Lyme treatment isn't working, it doesn't always mean Lyme was the wrong diagnosis — it may mean other underlying factors (toxins, immune imbalance) haven't been addressed.

🧬 Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can reactivate silently, often tied to immune imbalance or parasites, and doesn't always show obvious symptoms.

🏚️ Mold illness can be assessed through blood and urine testing — mycotoxin antibodies and mold antibodies measure different things, and no single test confirms mold as the cause on its own.

Understanding the full picture — immune balance, toxin load, and gut health — is often more useful than chasing one label.