Autoimmunity - why your doctor is missing the point
The Silent War Within
Imagine waking up one morning, experiencing an unexpected level of tiredness accompanied by achy joints and an enduring feeling of fatigue. You might brush it off as the result of a physically demanding day or the beginning of a typical cold. But these seemingly innocuous symptoms could be the whispers of an autoimmune disorder, a silent battle happening within your body.
Your Body’s Civil War: Autoimmunity
Autoimmunity is when your body’s defence system attacks its own cells instead of protecting them, resulting in various symptoms that affect different parts of your body, such as your skin, joints, and organs.
The Many Faces of Autoimmunity
Were you aware that there exist over 80 distinct autoimmune disorders? Even though you may be aware of well-known conditions like type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, less well-known conditions like Guillain-Barre syndrome and scleroderma can negatively affect your health. The fact that your immune system mistakenly attacks your own cells unites these disorders despite their differences.
The Enigma of Autoimmunity: Beyond the Surface
In the context of traditional medicine, autoimmune diseases have often posed a mystery in terms of their underlying causes. However, contemporary scientific investigations have started unravelling the intricate web of factors involved. It is now widely accepted that autoimmune diseases result from a complex interaction between genetics, environment, and the delicate balance of immune regulation. This knowledge implies that merely suppressing the immune response might not resolve the underlying problem.
In functional medicine, we delve deeper, aiming to identify and address the root causes before applying treatments or fixating on diagnosis. Let’s explore these three underlying root causes of autoimmunity:
Environmental Factors: The Unseen Triggers
Environmental toxins like heavy metals, pesticides, and specific medications can have an adverse effect on your immune system. For instance, crystalline silica exposure at work raises the risk of ANCA-related diseases, systemic sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Infections: The Invisible Enemy
Autoimmune disorders have been associated with bacterial and viral infections. For instance, the Epstein-Barr virus and rheumatoid arthritis are related, whereas type 1 diabetes and hepatitis A are unrelated.
Gut Microbiota: The Delicate Balance
There is growing evidence that the commensal bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract (the gut microbiota) influence the development of autoimmunity. An abnormal ratio of pathogenic bacteria or yeast can lead to dysbiosis, inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, and autoimmunity.
Environmental Toxins: The Silent Threat
Environmental toxins, comprising heavy metals, pesticides, and certain pharmaceutical drugs, wield a considerable influence over the operation of your immune system. Occupationally exposed individuals to crystalline silica face an elevated risk of developing conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and diseases associated with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA).
Pesticides: The Hidden Danger
Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive link between organochlorine pesticides with the development of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, hypothyroidism, Parkinson’s disease, and more.
Navigating the Use of Medications: A Two-Sided Coin
Understanding the relationship between pharmaceutical drugs and autoimmune disorders requires recognizing their dual nature. For instance, Allopurinol, prescribed to alleviate gout symptoms, carries the risk of immune hemolytic anaemia, while Captopril, utilised for hypertension management, has the potential to trigger autoimmune thrombocytopenia. Deciphering this medication puzzle is essential for informed decision-making.
Dietary Factors: The Role of Nutrition
Your food choices carry tremendous weight in shaping your overall health and can have a substantial impact on the likelihood of autoimmune diseases. To minimise the risk of autoimmunity, it’s important to be mindful of harmful dietary factors, including gluten, inadequate vitamin D levels, lactose intolerance, and the exposure to food industry xenobiotics like additives and pesticides.
A Functional Approach to Autoimmunity
The functional medicine approach to treating autoimmune disorders involves comprehensive laboratory investigations to pinpoint and determine both extrinsic and intrinsic causative factors. These factors can induce or promote the development of autoimmunity. Once identified, we can proceed to remove these offenders with research-based detoxification protocols, epigenetics, diet, and lifestyle changes.
Keeping Your Body Healthy
Maintaining good physical health is essential for managing autoimmune diseases. By removing harmful substances from your body, such as heavy metals, plastics, pesticides, and other chemicals, detoxification plays a crucial part in this process. We use soft oral chelators like cilantro extract, humic acid, MSM, DMSA, glutathione, sulforaphane, Ca-d-glucarate, and specific minerals to avoid nutrient depletion during chelation.
Dietary changes are also crucial for you. We often recommend a gluten and dairy-free diet, as gluten is involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, and dairy can mimic its effects. To repair your gut, we need to rebuild normal pH with diluted chloric acid & pepsin, rebuild digestion, and rebuild the immune barrier sIgA with botanicals, colostrum, amino acids, and vitamin D, among others.
The Balancing Act of Treatment
Managing autoimmune disorders can be a balancing act. On one hand, you have an overactive immune response damaging healthy tissue. One key aspect to bear in mind is that treatments for autoimmune disorders typically involve suppressing your immune system, which can compromise its ability to fend off infections. It’s akin to performing a high-wire act, skillfully managing the autoimmune response while ensuring your body remains resilient against harmful microbes.
A Journey, Not a Destination: Living with Autoimmunity
Living with an autoimmune disorder can be challenging. Autoimmune disorder symptoms can come and go, frequently manifesting as “flares” accompanied by periods of improvement. Although not knowing when symptoms will appear can be frustrating, learning about your medical condition and collaborating closely with a medical professional can assist you in supervising symptoms and improving your quality of life.
Early Detection: The First Step Towards Management
Remember, early detection is key in managing autoimmune disorders. Your body communicates with you through symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, skin rashes, or unexplained weight changes. Acknowledging and sharing these signs with your healthcare provider is essential for effective management. Remember, you know your body best, and taking the initiative to seek professional advice shows that you value your health and are dedicated to finding answers.
You Are More Than Your Disorder
Autoimmune disorders may disrupt aspects of your life, but they do not diminish your potential or determine your worth. By effectively managing your symptoms and seeking the necessary care, you can overcome obstacles and embrace a life filled with purpose and joy. Keep in mind that support is available to you. Connect with others, ask for help, and believe in your resilience.
In this journey of understanding and managing autoimmunity, remember that knowledge is power. The more you understand about your condition, the better equipped you’ll be to manage it. Stay informed, stay proactive, and remember, you are more than your disorder.