one autoimmune condition with potentially tens of millions more suffering without a proper diagnosis. Below are the top 10 most common autoimmune diseases ac- cording to The Autoimmune Registry:
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• Rheumatoid arthritis attacks the lin- ing of joints causing inflammation, joint pain and swelling.
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis attacks healthy thyroid tissue leading to hypothyroidism.
• Celiac disease attacks the lining of the small intestine anytime gluten is ingested.
• Graves’ disease stimulates your thy- roid to produce excess thyroid hor- mone, leading to hyperthyroidism.
• Type 1 diabetes mellitus attacks insulin producing cells in the pan- creas, reducing the body’s ability to properly produce insulin.
• Vitiligo attacks pigment-producing skin cells resulting in white patches on the skin.
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• Rheumatic fever starts with the strep throat virus then the body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue as well.
• Pernicious anemia/atrophic gastritis may arise from over activity of the immune system focused on attacking the stomach lining.
• Alopecia areata attacks healthy hair follicles leading to hair loss.
• Immune thrombocytopenic purpura attacks blood platelets leading to excessive bleeding and bruising.
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Other common autoimmune diseases include Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) which attacks joints, lungs, blood cells, nerves, and kidneys; Inflammatory bowel disease which attacks the lining of the small intestine (Crohn’s) or large intestine (ulcerative colitis); Multiple sclerosis (MS) which attacks the protective myelin sheaths of nerve cells; Guillain- Barre syndrome which attacks nerves controlling muscles in the legs, arms and upper body; Psoriasis which stimulates overproduction of skin cells; Myasthenia gravis which attacks nerves and prevents them from properly stimulating muscles; and Vasculitis which attacks and damages blood vessels.
Autoimmunity is essentially a hyper-
reactive immune system that gets suspi- cious very easily. Any small change is threatening. Imagine walking into your
house with a new hairdo but your fam- ily doesn’t recognize you and calls 911 thinking you’re an intruder. That is what happens with autoimmunity. Any slight change has your immune system call- ing in reinforcements. Because of this, conventional treatments for autoimmune diseases focus on suppressing the immune system. Medications are meant to weaken the immune system so it no longer attacks healthy cells. These drugs can feel like a life saver for many, but they do come with side effects. More importantly, they do not address why the immune system is in overdrive to begin with.
Although we still do not have any de-
finitive causes to all autoimmunity, rough- ly 70-95% of your risk for an autoimmune disease may be related to diet, toxin ex- posure and activity level. This means you have the power to greatly reduce your risk of immune dysfunction by understanding your food and environment.
Gut Health, Diet and Immunity Gut health and nutrition both influ-
ence how healthy your immune system is. Roughly 70% of your immune system is in your gut and your microbiota plays a key role in adaptive immunity. If you have taken several courses of antibiotics, eat a high sugar and/or refined carbohydrate diet or lack adequate fiber in your diet, your digestive tract and microbiota have taken a beating. Gut health can be com- promised by chronic and systemic inflam- mation which in turn sends your immune system in a downward spiral. Inflamma- tion damages your intestinal lining leading to leaky gut and a heightened immune response. Inflammation may also destroy Peyer’s patches, immune tissue in your intestinal lining, compromising your im- mune system. Additionally, all that inflam- matory damage can create an inhospitable environment for the good gut bacteria and invite pathogenic species to thrive. Un- controlled inflammation becomes a triple threat to your immune system.
Inflammation comes from many
sources, including food. A diet high in sugar, refined flours, processed foods, fried foods, artificial flavors, refined oils and trans fats while low in fiber, antioxi- dants and omega 3 fatty acids will set the stage for uncontrolled inflammation and increased risk for a heightened and con- fused immune system. One antioxidant in particular that will make or break your immune system is vitamin C. This vitamin helps regulate gene expression, supports
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