The chronic illness link no one's talking about

60% of Americans are living with chronic disease. Let's chat about it.

Hello friends!

Over the past few years, I’ve had so many conversations with people who are struggling with mysterious, persistent health issues. Think rashes that won’t go away, food sensitivities that seem to multiply overnight, fatigue that sticks around despite getting 10 hours of sleep a night.

Today, 60% of Americans live with at least one chronic condition, and 40% have two or more. That’s insane! And makes it clear that autoimmune disease is definitely on the rise. For many people, the journey to find answers is frustrating and filled with medical gaslighting, especially when your labs are “normal,” but you still feel awful.

That’s why I was so excited to have Michelle Shapiro on the podcast today. Michelle is a registered integrative and functional dietitian who has helped thousands of clients heal longstanding gut, immune, and anxiety issues. She’s also the creator of the Highly Sensitive Body Hub and host of the Quiet the Diet podcast.

We cover so much ground on today’s ep, but one of Michelle’s ideas completely reframed how I think about chronic illness, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since:

Your nervous system might be keeping you sick, even after the trigger is gone

Chronic conditions like long COVID, autoimmune flares, and even food sensitivities aren’t always caused by ongoing damage. Instead, Michelle explains, many of them are perpetuated by a body that got overwhelmed... and never got the signal that it’s safe again.

Here’s how she breaks it down:

🧠 The nervous system and immune system are in constant communication

When you get sick, your body turns on its immune defense. But for some people—especially those with what Michelle calls “highly sensitive bodies”—the nervous system freaks out about the intensity of those symptoms. That stress keeps your immune system on high alert, even when there’s no more danger.

🔁 It becomes a vicious cycle

You feel a symptom (dizziness, insomnia, bloating), your body reads that as a threat, your nervous system amps up, and your immune system fires again. The result? Flare after flare. In other words, you’re not imagining it; your body really is stuck in a loop of self-protection that’s no longer serving you.

🪫 You can’t heal if you don’t feel safe

Michelle argues that true healing doesn’t just happen through supplements and strict diets—it starts with creating internal safety. That might mean working on your mindset, tracking flares, or just sitting with uncomfortable feelings for two minutes instead of reaching for your phone (easier said than done, I know!). This is nervous system work in real life—and it’s deeply, powerfully healing.

From the episode:

“Long COVID is not from organ damage. It's from an immune and nervous system response…Why is it that your body still thinks you're sick when you’re not? It's literally that your body is so scared about what happened during COVID, that it keeps those immune systems, that immune system on guard the entire time.”

The takeaway:

If you’re dealing with chronic symptoms, it’s easy to feel like your body is broken. But your body isn’t malfunctioning, it’s protecting you! To start your healing journey, track your flares. Michelle suggests keeping a simple log of what you ate, did, and felt, along with your symptoms, rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Over time, patterns emerge. You’ll learn your triggers, see your progress (because we forget how far we’ve come!), and you’ll start to understand the unique language your body is speaking.

For more from Michelle, including her take on which popular wellness tools might be backfiring, the real root of long COVID, and why antihistamines might be more helpful than you think, listen to today’s episode of The Liz Moody Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

Love you guys!

Xo,
Liz

P.S. Paid subscribers always get a list of episode takeaways, along with the full episode transcript. Plus, we have fun and insightful bonus issues every Friday—this week, we’re diving into the NAD trend to find out if it’s really the “fountain of youth” the wellness world says it is.

Key takeaways