I'm a big believer in the gut-immune system connection. I've observed that with my own boy. However, there is no real good science there, yet. This is an area that could use some grants. While every philanthropist wants to cure cancer, it seems like there is a lot of good science out there in the need of investment.
I'm currently seeing a functional medicine MD recommended by my rheumatologist. Functional medicine doctors are really into the gut-immune side and my rheumatologist says he's seen some amazing results. I've been on an elimination diet for about 2 months without results, but in almost every paleo/aip/whole30/pfd cookbook I've been reading, the author's bio says something about recovering from autoimmune disease through diet.
One thing that helped me (though I'm not yet finished recovering from a period of high stress) was to do the things that strengthen the gut barrier. As long as the barrier is permeable for large particles, you will have foreign objects floating around and your immune system attacking them. Here is a very long article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604320/#!po=2....
Specifically, strains like Bifidus Longum are beneficial, and of course reducing stress (negative outlook etc) is. The article particularly stresses efficacy of 5-HTP, but I've not tried that yet. IMO very overlooked one: weak stomach acid. My symptoms get WAY better if I consistently use vinegar and supplement zinc.
Interesting, that is what my doctor said as well. I did test positive for SIBO, so I am currently taking rifaximin which should help. I had a friend with various vague problems as well and he said he felt 75% better after getting treated for SIBO and candida. I've also been taking digestive enzymes, betaine hcl and iberogast but they don't seem to being doing anything.
Before I started seeing this doctor, I did take VSL #3 which greatly helped my relatively mild stomach/digestive problems, but did nothing else. I know there are quite a few people with severe Crohn's/UC that have achieved remission by taking massive amounts of it daily.
Problem is, except from some prebiotic supplements and cultured micro organisms, there is not much money to be had, and therefore will not be funded broadly.
