The country and increasingly the world is being gripped by an epidemic of autoimmune disease. These can vary across the whole health spectrum in terms of symptoms, making them very difficult diseases to diagnose. For this reason they are wreaking mass havoc in the medical industry which is struggling with misdiagnoses by the thousands, and of course this is impacting the patients severely! Misdiagnoses can lead to not only improper and ineffective treatments but can actually do more harm than good!
So its good for people to understand the root causes of autoimmune disease, the primary, ground zero symptoms so that they can know early on what disease they actually have and have a fighting chance to fix and reverse it.
These common-denominator symptoms are leaky gut and gut dysbiosis a.k.a. disrupted gut bacteria. Unfortunately this information is relatively new and isn't quite accepted by mainstream medicine which tends to be a decade or more behind. This lack of proper training is causing a massive financial burden on the industry and is a huge reason for skyrocketing premiums and overall healthcare costs. Simply put these people are not being cured and are becoming the sad recipients of chronic and life-long illness that requires expensive medications and treatment....often for life.
Here's the short story of how leaky gut works. Its not always this simple but people need simple explanations to avoid getting wrapped up in the medical system for decades.
Our food and water supply along with cosmetic products, household cleaners and other chemicals are wreaking havoc on our microbiome which is the complex ecosystem inside of the digestive tract which breaks down foods, forms the basic immune system structures, produces enzymes, vitamins, minerals and more. Normally this microbiome is a mix of different bacteria strains that keep each other in check.
Through all these poor foods, sodas, huge influxes of sugars, alcohol, prescription drugs, dirty water, antibiotics and more, the gut biome becomes disrupted meaning that the ratios of good to bad bacteria are put off. This causes discomfort, stomach pains and digestive issues as well as allowing other bacteria that are supposed to be in limited numbers to proliferate....for instance E.coli or candida
Image credited to www.amymyersmd.com
This overgrowth and dysbiosis, however, is just the beginning. The real problems start when due to the reduced immune system function, certain particles begin to punch holes in the digestive wall through what are known as tight junctions which are the "gatekeepers" between the digestive tract and the bloodstream! Simply put, very few things are supposed to get through these junctions.
When something like say, a partially digested protein, or a strain of bacteria, or a virus, or parasite...literally there are thousands of possibilities...when something gets into the blood stream that's not supposed to be there, the immune system is triggered at a heightened level. Its one thing for toxins to be in the digestive tract where they are sort of "trapped", but once they get into the blood, its like a burglary attempt and the immune system kicks into a higher gear to take care of the threat.
This is what is known as leaky gut and it is the primary cause of all types of problems, depending on what particle gets through and what organ it may find itself migrating to. For instance some heavy metals like aluminum migrate to fat cells and can end up lodging in the brain and causing neurological problems. Some things migrate to the thyroid and can cause Hashimoto's Disease. Some things migrate to the joints and cause rheumatoid arthritis.
So, what are some fixes for these autoimmune conditions? One obvious solution, or at least bandaid, is immunosuppressing drugs. They may work for a time, but eventually, if the leaky gut and underlying problems aren't addressed this is a recipe for lifelong chronic illness.
Cleaning up the diet and environment should be the first step. When I question my clients with autoimmune conditions we go through a rough look of their environment. There are lots of toxins and antibiotics in household shampoos, soaps, cleaners and of course hand soaps. One thing to do is replace these cleaners with natural alternatives. You can even make your own cleaner at home with lemon and vinegar. Shaving creams can contain propane and butane, so those should get the boot as well.
Starving the bad bacteria in our guts that love sugar is another strategy. Things like soda, candy, pasta and bleached flour may not be bad for some people but with autoimmune disease these can really cause problems. Remove them for the time being and try to get carbohydrates from higher fiber, lower sugar foods like asparagus, broccoli, spinach and other leafy greens.
Food allergens are extra dangerous for autoimmune sufferers and many people have bad reactions to these foods including stomach ache and vomiting. Dairy and gluten are two of the biggest offenders. Replace milk with goats milk, almond milk or quality soy protein. Soy protein sometimes gets a bad wrap, but the truth is that there are quality soy options, and then there is the processed soy oil that is in many products...the two are not the same. Personally I consume 2 soy-based meal shakes per day.
A quality water filter is paramount these days. There are so many toxins, undigestable medications and antibiotics in the drinking water...this adds up over time. A Berke water filtration system can be found online for about $300 and is well worth it, removing essentially every toxin you could think of.
So, if you're feeling digestive problems and strange symptoms, have a bunch of food allergies, achy joints, or just feel a lot of brain fog and low energy, you could be suffering from leaky gut and a disgruntled microbiome. Do some research on leaky gut and digestive health and find some options that will work for you and you could avoid a life-long chronic illness.
Ben Hetzel
Nutrition Specialist