The Root Cause Triad Explained
Most diagnoses are simply labels — names for clusters of symptoms like chronic fatigue, irritable bowel, or autoimmunity.
They tell us what is happening, not why.
After years in Family Medicine, I saw that treating symptoms and adding medications wasn’t helping patients heal.
So I began asking different questions:
What if those symptoms are signals, not problems?
What if true healing means tracing them upstream?
That inquiry became The Root Cause Triad — the framework guiding every patient journey at Restorative Medicine Center.
Why the Root Cause Triad Exists
If you’ve seen me as a patient, you’ve likely seen the diagram — three upstream circles feeding into immune imbalance and cascading into the symptoms we recognize downstream. It’s more than a visual; it’s fifteen years of root-cause medicine distilled into one model.
The Triad keeps us focused on how those upstream pieces connect and where lasting healing truly begins. It’s the lens I use to interpret labs, guide treatment, and remind patients why we don’t chase symptoms — we work upstream.
The Three Root Causes — and How They Interconnect
At the top of the diagram are the three main upstream drivers of illness:
- Stress Response Dysregulation
- Toxins and Biotoxins
- Stealth Microbes
They each play a role — but they also amplify one another constantly.
Stress Response Dysregulation
Your nervous system sets the tone for healing.
When the brain’s threat center (amygdala) stays on high alert, the body gets stuck in fight, flight, or freeze.
In this state, it’s hard to repair, detoxify, or regulate immunity.
Chronic illness itself can rewire the system — not because of weakness, but survival.
A body that never feels safe cannot heal.
Toxins and Biotoxins
These include both environmental chemicals and toxins produced by living organisms.
- They inflame the system and burden mitochondria — the body’s energy engines.
- Mold toxins can heighten stress circuits and suppress immunity, allowing stealth microbes to thrive.
Toxins don’t just make people sick — they make them more reactive.
That’s why detoxification must involve the whole system, not just the liver.
Stealth Microbes
Stealth infections quietly drain immune resources and fuel inflammation.
Examples include:
- Borrelia (Lyme), Babesia, Bartonella
- Fungal overgrowths such as Candida or Aspergillus
These microbes release biotoxins, worsening the load and reinforcing stress-toxin loops.
How They Interconnect
- Toxins make it harder to control microbes.
- Microbes generate more toxins.
- Stress physiology amplifies both.
This is why chronic illness is complex — and why the Triad matters. The three root causes cannot be separated.
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Why We Treat All Three Fronts at Once
Patients often ask, “What are we doing for my sleep?” or “When will my fatigue improve?”
The answer: everything we’re doing addresses it — just not in the old way.
Focusing on one symptom keeps us downstream.
When we balance stress, detox pathways, and microbes together, we correct the upstream inputs that drive illness.
Healing happens when all three systems shift — gently, at once. That’s when sleep restores, inflammation quiets, and resilience returns.
Midstream — Where Things Get Stuck
The midstream zone is the point where the immune system loses its rhythm and can’t return to baseline. It’s the tipping point between imbalance and illness — where chronic conditions like CIRS, Biotoxin Illness, and Cell Danger Response take hold.
Our work begins here: identifying and releasing what keeps the system stuck, so the body can find its rhythm again.
Downstream — The Consequences We Recognize
As dysfunction continues, it flows downstream into inflammation, allergies, autoimmunity, and immune suppression — the stage where most traditional medicine operates.
But treating the diagnosis alone means staying downstream. The Root Cause Triad guides us to look upstream, where lasting change — and true healing — begin.
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An Evolving Framework
The Root Cause Triad is a living model — one that grows with new science and with what I continue to learn from patients.
It reminds us that symptoms are not random or broken; they’re feedback — the body’s language for imbalance.
When we listen upstream, we finally understand what the body has been saying all along.
Ready to start listening to what your body’s been trying to say? Let’s explore your story together.