With autoimmune diagnoses on the rise and over 80 million Americans affected by this disease, it is important to understand and be aware of certain symptoms that lead to autoimmune disease. With increased understanding and awareness we can learn how to manage it so we can sustain a healthy lifestyle.

The current question is: What is the cause of the rise in autoimmune disease? Is this due to diet? Environmental factors? Other? This article will present some insights into the possible reasons for this change and its effect on us as individuals. With Autoimmune diseases affecting over 80 million Americans, it is clearly a HUGE issue!

Q: What exactly is Autoimmune disease?

A: Autoimmune disease is caused by the immune system attacking one’s own body as if it were an invading disease.

Conventional medicine uses pharmaceuticals to treat symptoms of autoimmune disease but fails to answer one question:

Why does the part of the body intended to protect us i.e., the immune system turn against us and begin attacking us?

The loss of this immune regulation is often part of autoimmune disease. In general, autoimmune disease starts due to a combination of processes. Sometimes it is one main issue, but most of the time it seems to be a collection of issues that finally tip the system out of tolerance and into attack mode. Typically this is a combination of genetic susceptibility, dysbiosis, leaky gut, toxins, infections and/or immune reactive foods.

Food can be a factor in the development of autoimmune conditions in the body. For example, if there is an influx of protein or peptide to an  unbalanced micro environment that will set someone up for autoimmune response issues. We have changed a lot of things over the years that affect the quality of our food. For instance, the way we grow grain causing differing patterns in the consumption of protein. These different protein compositions in our food today are vastly different than they were 100 years ago because of the industrial food revolution. We use tremendous amounts of pesticides that create signals to the immune system that something is not right.

Another important component would be our lifestyles. We work a lot, we carry emotional stress, at times drink more than we should, and often don’t get the proper amount of sleep. You put all of those things into consideration– and you get an unhappy internal environment.

Genetics and environmental factors are the main reasons why there are people who do well with grains, dairy, etc., and why others become reactive to those foods. There are foods that are actually deeply healing for those who are dealing with an autoimmune disease. People who follow a very clean and plant focused diet such as the mediterranean diet, seem to have the best results for those who are dealing with autoimmune symptoms. For most people, what tends to help the most are fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Combining the two can be tremendously beneficial for your gut. Certain fiber and omegas include a blend of organic psyllium, chia seeds, and ground flax. One very easy and convenient way to include them in your diet is to include them in a smoothie.

Functional Medicine applies a personalized approach to treating autoimmune disease by finding the root cause of autoimmune disease. As with many other health issues, a good place to start to address the underlying problem would be to clean up the diet. Food can either be very healing or it can be detrimental to your health. Could you have a grain (gluten) allergy(?), is your consumption of meat higher than is healthy(?), etc. These and other related questions are issues that a functional medicine practitioner may be able to investigate for you to find the root cause of your autoimmune system not functioning properly. For more information on functional medicine approaches to autoimmune disease, https://drhyman.com/blog/2022/09/19/dp-ep328/ and https://imcwc.com/autoimmune-disease/.