By Dr.Amy Myers
Autoimmune conditions affect over 50
million Americans, a large percentage of whom are women. In fact, I
myself had an autoimmune diseases called
#Graves.
Autoimmune diseases are considered a top 10 leading cause of death in
women under the age of 65. They come in many different varieties,
including rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, thyroid disease, lupus,
psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and more, and can cause many different
types of symptoms all over the body that range from mild to severe in
nature. But what are they, what causes them, and how can they be
treated?
What are autoimmune diseases?
Although
there are many different types of autoimmune diseases and they can
affect many different organs, at their core they are all similar in that
they are an immune response caused by systemic
#inflammation
that leads your body to attack itself. Your immune system has a very
sophisticated system for keeping you safe that leads it to identify all
of the foreign substances that enter your body or that you come into
contact with. If your immune system deems anything dangerous, it will
produce antibodies to ward off the harmful intruders.
Autoimmune
diseases are born when your body is working hard to defend itself
against something potentially dangerous, such as an allergen, a toxin,
an infection, or even a food, and it fails to differentiate between the
intruder and parts of your own body. Mistaking certain types of tissues
for harmful substances, your body turns these antibodies against itself,
wreaking havoc on your organs.
What causes autoimmune diseases?
There
are many underlying factors that can cause people to develop an
autoimmune condition. There certainly is an underlying genetic
component. However, whether these genes get expressed or turned on is
actually caused by a host of other factors, such as toxins from heavy
metals like mercury or
mycotoxins from molds, infections like #
Candida,
Epstein-Barr and the herpes simplex virus, and most significantly,
chronic inflammation tied to food sensitivities — particularly
#glutenintolerance. There is a
significant link between autoimmune diseases and gluten intolerance.
10 Signs You May Have an Autoimmune Disease
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, especially a combination of several of them, you may have an autoimmune disease.
1. Joint pain, muscle
pain or weakness or a tremor
2. Weight loss, insomnia, heat intolerance or rapid heartbeat
3. Recurrent rashes or hives, sun-sensitivity, a butterfly-shaped rash across your nose and cheeks.
4. Difficulty concentrating or focusing
5. Feeling tired or fatigued, weight gain or cold intolerance
6. Hair loss or white patches on your skin or inside your mouth
7. Abdominal pain, blood or mucus in your stool, diarrhea or mouth ulcers
8. Dry eyes, mouth or skin
9. Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
10. Multiple miscarriages or blood clots
What should you do if you suspect you have an autoimmune disease?
If
you suspect that you have an autoimmune disease, the most important
steps to stopping and reversing your disease and symptoms are to
identify and then to treat the underlying cause. Conventional doctors
only treat the symptoms of autoimmune diseases; they don't look to find
the root cause. Often, they prescribe medications such as
anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, or immunosuppressants. All of these
treatments fail to address the underlying cause of the autoimmune
condition in the first place and, while they may be effective in the
short term, they are not a long-term solution. Treatments involving
#immunosuppressantdrugs increase the risk of severe infections and cancer when taken for long periods of time.
Identifying
which autoimmune disease is affecting you can be a difficult process.
Symptoms may be vague, and autoimmune diseases can present themselves in
so many different ways, affecting the thyroid, the brain, the skin, or
other organs. Working closely with a functional medicine physician to
review your family medical history, understanding your risk factors for
infections, food sensitivities and toxins, as well as listening to you
closely to discover how all of your symptoms are related is an essential
part of getting well. A functional medicine physician will help to
narrow down which labs they recommend in order to help find the root
cause of your condition.
What is my approach to treating and reversing autoimmune diseases?
My approach to a patient who has a known or suspected autoimmune disease is to immediately place them on a
#comprehensiveeliminationdiet to
remove the top twelve inflammatory foods. I also recommend that they
remove all grain and legumes from their diet if they think they can. #
Lectins in grains and legumes have been implicated in autoimmune diseases.
I order a
comprehensive stool test to look at levels of good bacteria, check for infections and leaky gut. I then apply a functional medicine
4R approach
to healing the gut. This is essential! More than 80% of your immune
system is in your gut. If you have an autoimmune disease, then by
definition you have a
#leakygut that needs to be repaired, otherwise you won't be able to reverse your condition.
I check blood levels for various antibodies and look for hidden or underlying infections.
After
I've done all of this, if the symptoms have not completely resolved I
look for hidden toxins like mercury and mycotoxins. If we find heavy
metals, I often will place the patient on oral chelation treatment. If
we find mycotoxins, I have the patient remediate their home.
I know from
personal experience
how overwhelming, confusing and scary a diagnosis of an autoimmune
disease can be. I also know that conventional medicine only offers
treatment of the symptoms, not a real solution to the disease.
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