Imagine your body as a bucket. Every source of inflammation you’re exposed to adds a few drops, or sometimes a big splash, into that bucket. When the bucket is only partially full, your body can manage; you feel well and resilient. But when the bucket starts to overflow, that’s when symptoms appear — fatigue, pain, digestive issues, hormonal changes, brain fog, and autoimmune flares.

Different Buckets, Different Drops

Here’s the important part: everyone’s bucket and the drops that fill it are different.

For one person, it might be unmanaged stress and poor sleep. For another, it could be food sensitivities, chronic infections, blood sugar swings, or hormonal imbalances. Environmental toxins, mold exposure, nutrient deficiencies, or gut imbalances can also contribute. And because every body’s genetics, immune system, and life experiences are unique, the “mix” of inflammation triggers — and how full the bucket gets — will look different for everyone.

Finding Your Triggers

The good news is that we can investigate what’s filling your bucket. Through a detailed health history, functional testing, and personalized assessment, we can identify the biggest contributors to inflammation in your body.

This might include:

• Evaluating gut health (microbiome balance, intestinal permeability, infections)
• Assessing blood sugar and insulin regulation
• Identifying nutrient imbalances or deficiencies
• Reviewing environmental exposures and detoxification capacity
• Understanding stress response and sleep quality
• Supporting hormonal and immune balance

Once we uncover your main “inflammatory drops,” we can begin to drain the bucket — reducing triggers and strengthening your body’s ability to handle stressors more effectively.

Building Resilience, Not Perfection

The goal isn’t to eliminate every possible trigger — that’s impossible (and stressful!). Instead, we focus on building resilience. When your inflammation bucket has more room, your body can handle life’s inevitable stressors — a late night, a stressful week, or a dietary slip — without spiraling into a flare or setback.

The Takeaway

Your symptoms aren’t random — they’re signals from an overflowing bucket. By understanding what’s filling it and taking steps to drain it, we can reduce inflammation, improve symptoms, and help your body feel balanced and strong again.

At Roots Naturopathic, Dr. Marie Nowlan, ND created the Beyond Autoimmunity Method to help women with autoimmune conditions do exactly that — through a comprehensive, compassionate approach that restores balance across the gut, hormones, mitochondria, and immune system.