Hiya Smarties!
Check out this fabulous guest article by Mark Hyman, MD, to provide clarity on inflammation and autoimmune diseases from my blog archives.
This information is always timely. Hope it helps! Take it away, Mark…
Inflammation is a “hot” topic in medicine.
It appears connected to almost every known chronic disease: from heart disease to cancer, diabetes to obesity, autism to dementia and even depression. Other inflammatory diseases, such as allergies, asthma, arthritis and autoimmune disease, are increasing at dramatic rates. As physicians, we are trained to shut off inflammation with aspirin, anti-inflammatory medication, such as Advil or Motrin, steroids and increasingly more powerful immune-suppressing medication with serious side effects. But we are not trained to find and treat the underlying causes of inflammation in chronic disease. Hidden allergens, infections, environmental toxins, an inflammatory diet and stress are the real causes of these inflammatory conditions.
Autoimmune diseases now affect 24 million people and include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroid disease, inflammatory bowel disease and more. These are often addressed by powerful immune suppressing medication and not by addressing the cause. That’s like taking a lot of aspirin while you are standing on a tack. The treatment is not more aspirin or a strong immune suppressant but removing the tack.
If you want to cool off inflammation in the body, you must find the source. Treat the fire, not the smoke. In medicine, we are mostly taught to diagnose disease by symptoms, not by their underlying cause. Functional medicine is the emerging 21st century paradigm of systems medicine that teaches us to treat the cause, not only the symptoms, and to ask why you are sick, not only what disease you have.
Functional medicine is a different way of thinking about disease that helps us understand and treat the real causes of inflammation instead of finding clever ways to shut it down. Medicine as it is practiced today is like taking the battery out of a smoke detector while a fire burns down your house!
Autoimmune conditions are connected by one central biochemical process: a runaway immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.
Autoimmunity: What is an Autoimmune Disease and How It Occurs
We are facing an epidemic of allergies (60 million people), asthma (30 million people) and autoimmune disorders (24 million people). Autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, celiac disease, thyroid disease and the many other hard-to-classify syndromes in the 21st century. These are all autoimmune conditions, and at their root, they are connected by one central biochemical process: a runaway immune response also known as systemic inflammation that results in your body attacking its own tissues.
Your immune system is your defense against invaders. It is your internal army and has to clearly distinguish friend from foe — to know you from other. Autoimmunity occurs when your immune system gets confused and your own tissues get caught in friendly cross-fire. Your body is fighting something — an infection, a toxin, an allergen, a food or the stress response — and somehow it redirects its hostile attack on your joints, your brain, your thyroid, your gut, your skin or sometimes your whole body.
This immune confusion results from what is referred to as molecular mimicry. Conventional approaches don’t have a method for finding the insult causing the problem. Functional medicine provides a map to find out which molecule the cells are mimicking.
Interestingly, autoimmune disorders occur almost exclusively in developed countries. People in poor nations without modern amenities like running water, flushing toilets, washing machines and sterile backyards don’t get these diseases. If you grew up on a farm with lots of animals, you are also less likely to have any of these inflammatory disorders. Playing in the dirt, being dirty and being exposed to bugs and infections trains your immune system to recognize what is foreign and what is “you”.
In this country, autoimmune diseases are a huge health burden. They are the eighth leading cause of death among women, shortening the average patient’s lifespan by eight years. The annual health care cost for autoimmune diseases is $120 billion, representing nearly twice the economic health care burden of cancer (about $70 billion a year).1
Unfortunately, many of the conventional treatments available can make you feel worse. Anti-inflammatory drugs like Advil, steroids, immune suppressants like methotrexate, and the new TNF-alpha blockers like Enbrel or Remicade can lead to intestinal bleeding, kidney failure, depression, psychosis, osteoporosis, muscle loss, diabetes, infection and cancer.2
When used selectively, these drugs can help people get their lives back, but they are not a long-term solution. They shouldn’t be the end of treatment but a bridge to cool off inflammation while we treat the root cause of the disease.
If you have an autoimmune disease, here is what you need to think about and do.
Nine Steps for Treatment of Autoimmune Disease
1. Check for hidden infections — yeast, viruses, bacteria, Lyme, etc. — with the help of a doctor and treat them.
2. Check for hidden food allergens with IgG food testing or just try The UltraSimple Diet, which is designed to eliminate most food allergens.
3. Get tested for celiac disease with a blood test that any doctor can do.
4. Get checked for heavy metal toxicity. Mercury and other metals can cause autoimmunity.
5. Fix your gut.
6. Use nutrients, such as fish oil, vitamin C, vitamin D and probiotics, to help calm your immune response naturally.
7. Exercise regularly. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory.
8. Practice deep relaxation, like yoga, deep breathing, biofeedback or massage, because stress worsens the immune response.
9. Tell your doctor about Functional medicine and encourage him or her to get trained. Go to http://www.functionalmedicine.org/ for more information and to get a copy of the “Textbook for Functional Medicine”.
Give these steps a try and see if you don’t start feeling less inflamed. The answers are right in front of you. Treat the underlying causes of your illness and you will begin to experience vibrant health once more.
For more information on how to optimize your health, see Dr. Hyman’s website.
Now I’d like to hear from you. Have you been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease? How is your doctor treating you? Have you been frustrated by the medical advice that you’ve been given? What steps have you taken to get to the root of the problem, and what have your results been? Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.
Love and health,
References
1. Nakazawa, D. (2008). The Autoimmune Epidemic. Simon & Schuster. New York.
2. Siegel, C.A., Marden, S.M., Persing, S.M., et al. (2009). Risk of lymphoma associated with combination anti-tumor necrosis factor and immunomodulator therapy for the treatment of Crohn’s disease: a meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 7(8): 874-81.
My current rheumatologist diagnosed me with Sjogrens syndrome a little over a year ago after four years of symptoms. I’d asked for blood tests and went through six doctors before one actually listened to me and ordered the tests. First I was told I had lupus. Then she reneged and decided on Sjogrens with possible secondary fibromyalgia that became possible secondary syro-negative RA. She gave me Plaquinil to take twice daily which didn’t seem to do much. She never spoke to me about changing my diet, or my environment, and in fact told me that her goal was to make me “as comfortable as possible for as long as possible without changing [my] life.” Each time I went to her and complained of pain, constricted breathing, weight loss, brain fog, and even depression, she would either tell me to wait and see if the Plaquinil helped, or would suggest a stronger drug with more side effects. I refused the stronger drugs and let her believe I was choosing to wait and see. Then I went home and began to research every scrap of information I could find on my symptoms, the tests they had run on me and the diseases I was being labelled with. I ordered a copy of my medical records and poured over them, pulling every acronym I didn’t understand and plugging it into an internet search engine. I bought books, watch documentaries, read medical journals, followed patient and doctor blogs searching for anything that would help me. I found the anti-inflammatory diets on my own and tried them until I found something that worked. I cut down the chemicals in my home and in my immediate work environment. I began a regular exercise program that I now cannot imagine living without. I’m not cured by any stretch, but I feel a hundred times better than I had a year ago.
My husband and I are now trying to start a family with the help of a fertility specialist who is directly at odds with my rheumatologist. One would like me to stop taking the Plaquinil to ensure a healthy baby and the other fears I’ll fall apart if I stop taking it, refusing to even acknowledge that my diet, environment, and exercise changes have had any effect on my condition. I have given more blood for testing in the past month than I’ve given in the past two years combined and every result points to a person who is by far healthier than when she started. I take everything my doctors say with a grain of salt and do my own research. I’ve learned I cannot trust them to give me the kind of care I deserve and fear I may have to wage war with them once we have a little one to care for.
I found out after my 31 years of life that I’ve been in a constant state of inflammation due to a sever dairy allergy and psoriasis. It’s crazy that what I considered normal was a life long allergy. Modern Medicine needs to step it up so we don’t live like this anymore…..without a diagnosis. Functional Medicine is so promising!
thanks for your nice sharing
I was recently diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis. This came after 8 months of extreme pain, weakness and countless tests. The pain started weeks after the birth of my 2nd daughter. I thought it was just a rough recovery from my c-section but further tests (ESR and CRP) indicated extremely high inflammation levels and xrays and MRIs showed damage to my spine, pelvis and hips. I was on Prednisone (anywhere between 20-40 mg) for 3 months and then my rheumatologist put me on Enbrel once I was diagnosed. I’m on my 3rd week of shots. While it is helping with the pain, the possible side effects terrify me. And I’m not comfortable with the idea of being on anything for the rest of my life.
I read Crazy Sexy Diet about 4 months ago and have been juicing since. I’ve also been on a vegetarian diet for the last 2 months. I need to take a more comprehensive approach to my healing. I can’t accept the fact that there is no known cause, no cure and the long term treatment entails injecting myself with a host of horrible side effects. I am looking for a doctor who understands functional medicine and is willing to take the time to look at my big picture so we can deal with what’s really going on.
Thank you for your post. It is a game changer.
Kim D.
I am so glad you listed getting tested for Celiac in your 9 steps! I was diagnosed with Celiac almost 3 years ago now, and since then I’ve just poured myself into research soaking up everything I could learn about the body’s response to gluten. I am very lucky to have found a doctor who practices functional medicine that could diagnose me after years of going to a doctor who just told me to take my vitamins and that I was too young to possibly feel so tired.
However, I am so surprised how this disease seems to have more buzz in the general community than in the medical field. It doesn’t seem right that the majority of people I meet who have Celiac found out because they were self-diagnosed and then asked the doctor to be tested. When is modern medicine going to catch up with the average Celiac?
I became so frustrated that I changed my major to Health Science. I hope to someday be a sort of “Holistic” Dietician so I can help others like myself and hopefully be a bridge between the general population and the medical community.
That’s awesome Jamianne! Good luck with your studies.
I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 1998 and was on multiple medications for 10 years. I have now been off all RA meds for over 3 years as a result of changing my diet, being consistent with exercise (cardio and yoga), and seeing an acupuncturist occasionally. The only meat I eat is fish 1-3 times a week, the rest of the time eating whole foods including fruits, veggies, green smoothies/juices, whole grains. I still have limited mobility in my wrists and occasionally experience inflammation in those areas and I am working with a massage therapist to try to regain mobility although I am not sure if it will be possible at this point. I feel great, though, and am so thankful to be prescription free! I do take an omega 3-6-9 and also a calcium supplement daily.
I’ve had mild hypothyroidism for over 20 years (I’m now 39), but this last year it started going all sorts of crazy. An ANA test came back positive for an autoimmune disorder, but they can’t pinpoint it. In the last few years I have gone through massive stress, including an abusive relationship with a man I now believe had (has) Candida and passed it to me (along with some other lovely viruses). Large, daily doses of probiotics, coconut oil, and kombucha have gotten my yeast under control (finally!), but my thyroid is still flip-flopping. I take no meds but the thyroid replacements, eat like a monk (high raw, very alkaline, savvy vegan), and avoid stress (which I can barely tolerate now), but change is slow. I sometimes wonder if I’ve screwed myself up permanently. I would be interested to know if peri-menopause might be playing a role and what, if anything, can be done about it if it does.
I’ve had mild hypothyroidism for over 20 years (I’m now 39), but this last year it started going all sorts of crazy. An ANA test came back positive for an autoimmune disorder, but they can’t pinpoint it. In the last few years I have gone through massive stress, including an abusive relationship with a man I now believe had (has) Candida and passed it to me (along with some other lovely viruses). Large, daily doses of probiotics, coconut oil, and kombucha have gotten my yeast under control (finally!), but my thyroid is still flip-flopping. I take no meds but the thyroid replacements, eat like a monk (high raw, very alkaline, savvy vegan), and avoid stress (which I can barely tolerate now), but change is slow. I sometimes wonder if I’ve screwed myself up permanently. I would be interested to know if peri-menopause might be playing a role and what, if anything, can be done about it if it does.
Hi,
I have MS, I was diagnosed in Dec 2010 and started copaxone injections in Feb. I changed my diet to all organic, i take wheat grass, fish oil, B12, Vitamin D, Alpha lipoic acid, Tumeric pills and powder and also Acai pills and powder. I also try and exercise three times a week.
Thank you for this article
Thank you so much for mentioning Lyme Disease in your article. I’ve been infected since at least 1998. Started treatment in 2003 after a friend a country away mentioned it. Certainly no doctor in Ohio would help me. Two and a half years of oral antibiotics and 2 months of an IV, my Pennsylvania doctor finally got me to remission.
Last fall I relapsed and am again fighting for my life.
Lyme has taken half my thyroid, given me asthma, eczema, an extensive amount of allergies and asthma, such severe Endometriosis that I lost my uterus, severe Interstitial Cystitis, a constant spasming of muscles throughout my body, stabbing pains that constantly travel, loss of strength in the large muscles, constant GI issues, loss of vocabulary, brain fog . . . sadly, the list could go on and on.
One of my favorite doctors told me long ago, “you have to be your own doctor.” No one is ever going to be as vested as you.
This time around I’m looking more into the items you suggest and hoping that there will never again be a next time.
Kerrie
PS: Cant tell you how many times I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Doctors always wanting to treat symptoms but not finding the source.
I was diagnosed almost four years ago now with ‘Crohns’ – “the worst case of ulcers they had ever seen” – apparantly. With my weight at 42kg, I went on Steroids and battled on and off for two and a half years. Despite the doctors saying there is no cure and giving me more meds, I knew there was another way. It didn’t make sense to me that a healthy outdoors loving vegetarian should fall so hard. Then I found the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and ‘Crohn’s Boy’ (he has a website) that put me onto using large doses of B12 in ‘microdot’ form – ie by-passing all the damage in my gut so that my bone marrow can build up B12 reserves again – and make lots of healthy healing blood. These were large doses of B12, 10,000 + folic acid + B6 – all in an easy melt in your mouth table. I took one a day for over three months before I started to see a difference.
It has taken me 1 1/2 years and I am back to a very healthy weight (perhaps a little too healthy!), am still following a veggie version of the SCD, but I find that I can get away with cheating quite a bit without any side effects. I take B12 about once a fortnight now.There are still days when energy is suddenly low, but they are getting less and less frequent and I have no further side effects.
BTW My doctor said that it was only a matter of time before I relapse… (I no longer see this doctor!)
The key to my ‘cure’ was multi-faceted and mirrors alot of what is said in this article:
– Work on the inner you as well as the outside you (there is always an inner anguish even if you don’t think so at the beginning)
– Listen to your body – you know you better than anyone else
– Bann the detractors from your life
– research research research
– Auto immune seems to be a culmination of many different factors, track them down patiently and deal with them
– Have patience
I hope my story helps someone look at B12 and/or combination of an anti inflammatory diet.
Thanks Kris for all your support – your website was a light during dark days for me.
Susan.
I am only 17 and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes six months ago. I don’t know if I have any other autoimmune diseases or if I will come to be diagnosed with any in the future.
I eat a vegan diet (except for honey; I do eat that in very small amounts) and was a vegan before my diagnosis with diabetes. However, I don’t always eat whole foods as much as I should; I plan to cut out refined sugar and processed foods and see if my insulin needs fall.
I wish there was more information available on natural health & type 1 diabetes.
Last year I had a colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, lower endoscopy, some kind of ultasound where I walked for 3 hours before they checked my lower intestines(insurance insisted on this one)…swallowed a camera that took thousands of pictures…and got no answer…I have Crohn’s markers but it is not active. The dr’s nurse said don’t change your diet because that has no effect. It is auto immune. I also had c-dificil from too many antibiotics. I took about $18,000. worth of antibitotics to get rid of that. It took being dehydrated and a sharp ER nurse to find that and then it took 8 months to get it under control. My doctor did not treat me for the other problems, he just did the standard round of tests and when they came back negative….he just let me go on my own.
So I decided to change my diet. I went 100% vegan and 95% raw. I gave up all processed sugar, processed foods, gluten and foods that an IGg test 6 years ago showed I was allergic too. (Weird things like green beans, papaya, honey…) My symptoms went away immediately…like within 24 hours. I get sick again whenever I eat out and it isn’t really what they say it is. I should weigh about 120 lbs for what I eat and my fitness level. So, I know there is something else I am missing. I won’t be going back to a doctor to find out though.
I am working on reducing stress. I have eliminated wine, diet pills, sleeping pills, water pills, antibiotics, prednisone (I had severe sinus problems) and inflammation reducers. The only medicine I take now are bio identical hormones (had a hysterectomy when I was 35) and hydrocodone (only when I get a migraine).
I took a blood thinner for a year because my doctor did not read the test results right…he said I had a clotting condition…and it was just the opposite, I am a bleeder.
I had to find another doctor to take care of me when I was 35 and my ob/gyn told me he was writing my unbearable pain off to “pathological pain”. I ended up with a nice dr. who did my hysterectomy and scraped the endometriosis off my intestines for me.
I did not return to the dr. who diagnosed me with leaky gut syndrome 6 years ago …because she wanted me to rub my hormones on my arm 16 times a day. I should have returned to her because her diagnosis seems to be the most accurate for my gi problems.
I had my gall bladder removed by a very old dr. who had the shakes. I did not meet him until after he did my surgery. That was dumb on my part. He nicked my liver and I have an 8″ incision where he had to open me up to stop my bleeding. He did save my life.
Writing all this was good for me. I was going to get one of those mesh slings for my bladder. This has reminded me that I should avoid hospitals and drs. unless it is ABSOLUTELY necessary. I am going to cancel the procedure….thank you.
I don’t know how you tell who to trust. I try to read everything I can….it would be nice to have a doctor who practiced functional medicine instead of just finding out what you have and getting rid of it. I would like to find out what caused the problem and how to eliminate the problem…not the body part. Maybe there should be a functional digest and self treat. (Never mind…that is probably a bad idea: )
Thanks for what you do.
check your thyroid! i was told i was within “range” for years [been on meds for two and feel great] sadly all the stress and sickness had made me worse in some area but taking 6 months to heal ,vamp up working out and fix me :0) good luck xoxo
I have Graves Disease and have had it since the end of 2008. I have a great doctor though–she lets me dose myself by how I feel, and then always checks w/ the bloodwork (I’m most always, if not always, able to be accurate w/ this as I have a heart rate monitor and rely on it, and digestion etc.) and has been a big proponent of a diet of non-processed foods. She suggested a gluten free diet in January, and my levels, have steadily improved since. Of course, every summer my levels get better and I can go off the anti-thyroid meds, and then in winter, the Graves comes back w/ a fury. We will know about a year from now if this gluten free diet has helped. I have been juicing around 5 days a week since March, and I have been a runner and a yoga practitioner for years. I do yoga 3-6 days a week, and run 3-4. I have been a vegetarian for years, but recently added a little meat back into the diet after going gluten free. I have one aunt with 4 autoimmune diseases, and the other with 2. Graves is my only autoimmune disease so far, and I’m hoping to keep it that way, and still hope for remission. If things continue going up and down, my doctor says she will push for RAI. For some reason I don’t want to do that–but who knows, maybe that would make life easier??
I’ve had psoriasis since I was a child and it has increasing gotten worse over the years. I have been prescribed every medication used to “treat” psoriasis-including light therapy. All work temporarily but ultimately make me feel worse overall. I’ve generally found dermatologists to be insensitive and at times insulting (one told me if I “gave it over to Jesus” I would be cured). None of them seem to listen-only throw a fistful of prescriptions at you and wish you good day after less than five minutes in the office. A few years ago, after a particularly troubling visit to the doctor, I turned to an Ayurvedic doctor who has helped IMMENSELY! The system of Ayurveda treats illness with a change in diet and sometimes herbs. Taking gluten out of my diet has seemed to help (I don’t have celiac), as well as refined sugar. I still have symptoms but they have decreased by more than 50%.
I became a vegan summer of 09 Currently Anemic and taling iron prescription Not happy with progress exhausted Iron level 40 Eating liver Cooking out of iron skillets Want more options
I have psoriasis, severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthiris, on my hands.arms, knees, nd feet. I have tried everything from methostrexate and enbrel to light therapy and homeopathics. The enbrel quit working so rather than go on Humira I am trying to treat the cause. I recently visited a N.D. and had a delayed food allergy test done. I am eliminating the foods that I reacted to for 90 days. This has been challenging as it has caused me to change my entire life style I am truly happy to be making these changes but I have not seen any results as of yet and its been almost 21 days I know it can take time and I am committed to the changes.
Hi Stacey,
Have you read Dr. Pagano’s book, Healing Psoriasis? It is excellent and tells you how to treat yourself naturally. I have symptoms of psoriasis as well and have been following his protocol as well as Jason Vale’s Skin Programme (which you can download for free on his website!!) and have been seeing results in just over 2 weeks. I do not have severe symptoms of psoriasis but the patches I do have are on my face (third eye actually ha ha!) and under my right breast. The patches are less red, no itching, and are healing. Giving thanks!!! Healing our guts is key! I will also be doing a parasite cleanse in a few weeks, as I think I have some of those unwanted guests hanging around as well (world traveler). Check your public library for the book 🙂 Good luck dear!
15 years ago, 8 months after pregnancy, I was diagnosed with Graves’ Diease and treated with radio active iodine, twice which ablated my Thyroid. Right or Wrong, it was done. Then 8 years later I ended up with Celiac with DH. Still to this day, my immune system attacks “cross reactive” foods, like potatoes and rice. For over 3 months, my lymph nodes are swollen and rock hard, lymph blood work is off, hives at all my joints, etc. Even a hypoallergenic diet/lifestyle can’t reboot my immune system. Knowing I have a new undiagnosed autoimmune issue, I find it immpossible to correct my immune system. And what about genetics? My mother had type 1 diabetes. I know family history is a factor. I would do anything for a cure. God knows the restricted diet I’ve been on is a desperate attempt to have a normal life.
You didn’t mention gum disease as a source of inflammation but for me it has been a serious problem. Just prior to my lung cancer diagnosis 3 years ago I had several gum infections. since my treatment I have had none. I brush with an electric toothbrush and floss regularly and have enjoyed extraordinary good health. Certainly I do many other things to ensure my continued good health but when I don’t take care of my mouth inflammation is invited into my body.
Can’t speak for its effectiveness for anyone else, but for me a “paleo” type diet (not as bloody red meat-centric as it sounds) has helped my rheumatoid arthritis symptoms for six months now. The RA was bad enough that it eroded my ulna two years ago and I now have titanium where bone used to be! I’ve also continued methotrexate. The key to the paleo diet for me is removing grains, while eating plenty of vegetables, fruit and protein (chicken, fish, eggs). I think it’s all about gut health, the flora populating our guts, what can and can’t be digested there depending on our particular bodies, and what might lead to “leaky gut” syndrome and therefore some of the autoimmune diseases you mention. Loren Cordain at Colorado State is studying this and has written some fascinating papers that are easily found on the internet, if anyone is interested.