Autoimmune

You may have heard of “autoimmune diseases” but what exactly are they or what does that mean? 

An autoimmune disease is where the body has launched an attack against itself or a specific part of the body. So the body’s natural defense system can’t tell the difference between your own cells and foreign cells, causing the body to mistakenly attack normal cells. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect a wide range of body parts.

The immune system normally guards against pathogens like bacteria and viruses. When it senses these foreign invaders, it sends out an army of fighter cells to attack them.

Normally, the immune system can tell the difference between foreign cells and your own cells.

But in an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells. Some autoimmune diseases target only one organ. Like Type 1 diabetes damages the pancreas. Other diseases, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affect the whole body.

There are many theories as to what causes an autoimmune disease to occur, but most agree there is some connection between nutrition and gut health integrity.

A “Western diet” is suspected risk factor for developing an autoimmune disease. Eating high-fat, high-sugar, and highly processed foods is thought to be linked to inflammation, which might set off an immune response by damaging the gut lining and cell functionality.

A 2015 study focused on another theory called the hygiene hypothesis. Because of vaccines, hand sanitizers and antiseptics, children today (and even adults) aren’t exposed to as many germs as they were in the past. The lack of exposure could make their immune system prone to overreact to harmless substances through being deficient in important bacterial species (and regular exposure to chemicals).

Symptoms of an autoimmune disease are;

The most common autoimmune diseases in women are:

• Rheumatoid arthritis, a form of arthritis that attacks the joints
• Psoriasis, a condition marked by thick, scaly patches of skin
• Psoriatic arthritis, a type of arthritis affecting some people with psoriasis
• Lupus, a disease that damages areas of the body that include joints, skin and organs
• Thyroid diseases, including Graves’ disease, where the body makes too much thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism), and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where it doesn’t make enough (hypothyroidism) of the hormone
• Multiple sclerosis 
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) 
• Celiac disease 
• And to many peoples surprise, type 1 diabetes mellitus, is when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Maintaining and healing the gut integrity is one of the biggest things you can do in regards to autoimmune disease. 

If you suspect you may have an autoimmune issue, you should consult your health care practitioner. Then work on stacking conditions in your favor and healing your body. The Thyroid guide and Immune guide that you have here on this platform are great resources for you. They have many tips and advice that will help support you immune system and body.

Low hanging fruit to start healing your body against autoimmune disease;

No single test can diagnose most autoimmune diseases. You and your doctor will use a combination of tests, your symptoms/biomarkers, and physical examination to diagnose you.

The antinuclear antibody test (ANA) is often one of the first tests that doctors use when symptoms suggest an autoimmune disease. A positive test means you may have one of these diseases, but it won’t confirm exactly which one you have or if you have one for sure.

Other tests look for specific autoantibodies produced in certain autoimmune diseases. Your doctor might also do nonspecific tests to check for the inflammation these diseases produce in the body. But lets not get to that stage and continue stacking conditions in your favor, right?!