Autoimmune Disease
Updated Nov. 25th, 2022
The immune system is a powerful component of our bodies, and is responsible for regulating our internal cellular replication and for protecting us from insult from the outside world. It fights infections, clears out debris, and kills improperly replicating (precancerous) cells in our bodies. Unfortunately, sometimes this incredible power can be misdirected at our own healthy cells, in a process known as autoimmunity.
Development of the Immune System
Interestingly, humans are born without a full functioning immune system. We initially receive antibodies and other immune proteins through our mother’s milk, thus making her immunity our own for the first few months. As we develop, our natural immunity grows and our immune cells are trained to recognize “self” proteins, and to become tolerant to them. Thus, in healthy individuals, the immune cells will not react to the body’s cells, but only to those foreign particles that are “non-self”.
Immune Malfunction
When the cells of the immune system do not properly achieve tolerance to the body’s cells, or if that tolerance is lost along the way, a number of autoimmune conditions result. Ultimately, the type of autoimmune condition is determined by the cell type or body protein that the immune system begins to target.
Why does autoimmunity occur?
To this date, there has been no definitive theory on the cause of autoimmune reactions and disorders. There have been some instances of medications causing an autoimmune response, however. Many of the other theories emphasize a disruption in the immune systems response to stimuli. For example, one theory suggests that infections can cause the immune system to attack itself as if it were an invader, another theory is that certain foods cause similar defects in immune recognition. For more information, please see our Leaky Gut article. Energetic healers believe that autoimmunity is a manifestation of anger and conflict directed inward on the individual (self-hate). In this theory, the emotional energy from the conflict prompts the body’s immune system to attack cells.
Symptoms
The unique symptom-set of each autoimmune condition are caused by the particular tissue or tissues under attack, but there are some symptoms that are common across the board. Because the immune system is mounting such a large attack, there are a number of symptoms that we would commonly associate with “feeling sick” and “run down”. Common experiences are: headache, fatigue, body aches, lightheartedness, nausea, fever, and malaise. Any combination of these symptoms may be present.
How can I prevent autoimmunity?
Unfortunately, because we do not yet understand the causes of autoimmune reactions, it is difficult to ensure prevention. We do, however, understand how to help reduce the risk of inflammation. Many things have been shown to help reduce the risk of autoimmune flare-ups. Maintaining healthy liver function is an excellent way to help ensure the smooth functioning of the immune system and to prevent future flares of autoimmunity. For more information, please see our Liver Health article. Avoiding allergenic foods, and protecting the gut can also help to reduce autoimmunity, as over 70% of our immune system is actually located in our gut. For more information, please see our Leaky Gut article. It is of paramount importance to regulate the immune system by supporting its healthy function and preventing improper responses. For more information, please see our Immune System Support article.
AUTOIMMUNE CONDITIONS
Celiac Disease
Interestingly, the cause of Celiac Disease has actually been established. When the intestinal lining is exposed to gluten, it causes an autoimmune cascade that quickly destroys the absorptive surface. This leaves the body unable to properly absorb nutrients, resulting in malabsorption and multiple nutrient deficiences. For more information, please see our Celiac article.
Lupus (SLE)
When the autoimmune attack is directed at the skin, organs, and joints, it causes a condition called systemic lupus erythematosus. This can lead to arthritis-like symptoms, scarring of the skin, and eventually organ damage. The most common diagnostic sign of Lupus is a “butterfly rash” across the cheeks and nose. For more information, please see our Lupus article.
Psoriasis
A silvery-scaled rash is the characteristic sign of psoriasis. It is caused by an immune attack against the skin cells. This condition is not life-threatening but can have a significant impact on social interaction and self-esteem. For more information, please see our Psoriasis article.
Addison’s Disease
Autoimmunity against the adrenal glands results in a reduced ability of the body to produce a number of steroid hormones. This results in a group of ambiguous symptoms such as: fatigue, fever, weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and joint pain. For more information, please see our Adrenal Disorders article.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
Like most autoimmune conditions, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is not completely understood. It consists of an autoimmune response against the joints and joint cartilage that causes redness, swelling, and stiffness. This can eventually lead to degeneration of the joints and loss of joint function. For more information, please see our Rheumatoid Arthritis article.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
When the autoimmune response is directed against the myelin sheath surrounding our nerves, it can cause a number of problems. Without a protective nerve sheath, nerve transmissions can be lost, or “crossed wires” can occur. This results in episodes of blindness, dizziness, muscle weakness, numbness, stiffness, and pain. Eventually, complete loss of function can occur. For more information, please see our Multiple Sclerosis article.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Two conditions fit under the umbrella term known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD); these conditions are Crohn’s Disease and Colitis. The symptoms of both conditions are caused by an autoimmune attack against the intestinal lining. It is unclear whether this is an overzealous response against a pathogen, or if it is a frank autoimmune attack against the body’s cells. For more information, please see our Inflammatory Bowel Disease article.
Autoimmune Thyroiditis
There are two major autoimmune attacks against the thyroid, one causes Grave’s Disease, and the other results in Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. In each case, the function of the thyroid becomes compromised, which results in a number of metabolic disturbances. For more information, please see our articles on Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and Grave’s Disease.
I have two autoimmunities - MS and Hashimotos Thyroiditis. It's hard to know sometimes which symptom is caused by which condition! I've worked hard at getting my guts in shape, eliminating gluten, cow dairy (a test showed I'm not allergic to goat dairy, oddly enough) and other various foods like pork and chicken (which I can eat in small quantities, on alternate days). One odd thing I've found that really helps is Vitamin B1, or Thiamine. The other thing that is crucial is following a Paleo or AIP diet, hard though it is. Over the past few years I've managed to reduce my thyroid antibodies from over 6000 to under 300, so whatever I'm doing is working.
Hello Jacki,
Thank you for sharing your journey. We're glad our articles could help you better understand your health concerns.
Have a healthy day!
It started for me 20 years ago from intense and prolonged emotional stress. Adding to it was antidepress drugs, big increase in carbs/sugars ALL ( including stress) of which caused an imbalance in my gut bacteria which in turn caused leaky gut and many fullbody symptoms. Malnutrition naturally accompanied this and i became a chronic mess. Education of the problem followed by avoidance of trigger foods, stressors, and with intro of balanced exercise, STRETCHING ( key) and juicing greens daily slowly turned things around. To summarize… Get gut in good order. Kill off yeasts and bad bacteria while increase the good guys. Feed them. They tend to convert greens and psyllium into essential ENYMES which are critical to reverse the condition. Do full body stretching, work up to Yoga if you can. This does WONDERS!!
Hello Gary,
Thank you for sharing. Our gut health is linked to so many other parts of our body and can cause many other health issues. We're glad you've figured out a regimen that's helping you gain control of your health.
Stay well!
Autoimmune disease is so scary! It's scary because our bodies are so powerful and it would suck to have it work against us. It's also scary that there is no known cause nor treatment, just management. I hope more research is being conducted to help discover missing links and to hopefully someday discover what the causes are so that we can get some solutions and cures! Hopefully there are many methods out there that help managing these easier.
Hello RoseWithThorns,
Thank you for sharing, autoimmune diseases are complex, and we hope this article helped you find some supplements that can help control your health concern. Check out our healthy recipes, low inflammatory foods are good at supporting autoimmune conditions.
https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/healthy-recipes/
Have a healthy day!
I am a PhD student currently studying the community of bacteria that reside in the human GI tract (eg the microbiome), autoimmune disease, and sexual dimorphism in how these two interact. I think that this is a well-written article for the public on the topic of autoimmunity, so I appreciate you providing this resource. One additional note that I would consider adding here is that autoimmune diseases are far more common in females than males. That said, great article: clear, simple, and captures key points!
Hello, Rachel,
Thank you, we are glad you enjoyed this article by our team of naturopaths. We work hard to provide natural health knowledge to empower our customers to take control of their health with natural supplements. Since you've been enjoying our articles, we think you will like the information on our Youtube channel as well, feel free to check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClBjYPog9j0VY0gcIt-Tq2Q
Have a healthy day!
Great article about not-so-great conditions. Thanks for spreading awareness!
Hello Natalie,
We are glad you enjoyed reading our article on Autoimmune Disease and natural remedies that can help manage symptoms and support the root cause. If you'd like to explore more about the supplement recommendations in this article, check them out under our supplement articles page: https://www.nationalnutrition.ca/articles/supplements/
Have a healthy day.