The prevalence of autoimmune disease is on the rise with more than 23.5 million Americans being affected. A predicament exists in that our immune system, designed to protect us from disease and infection, is attempting to destroy the body it was meant to protect. They are a leading cause of death and disability, tend to run in families, and women account for 75% of the total amount diagnosed. What is truly hard to believe is that there are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases currently identified. Several of the conditions have very similar symptoms, thus making it very difficult to diagnose and distinguish which autoimmune disease is really present.
Some of the more common diseases include: Type 1 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Graves Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s Disease, Sjögren’s Syndrome and Psoriasis. Most autoimmune disorders affect certain types of tissue, glands, organs and cells throughout the body. For example, Multiple Sclerosis attacks the brain and Crohn’s Disease assaults the gut. Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis both affect connective tissues while Graves’s disease and Hoshimoto’s affects the endocrine system, primarily the thyroid gland.
The very thought of our body destroying itself creates puzzlement and leaves us searching for answers, but we are coming up short. Currently the only medical treatment is to prescribe immunosuppressive medications, such as Azathioprine, Cyclophosphamide, Cyclosporine, Mycophenolate, and Methotrexate. However, these drugs suppress not only the immune reaction but also the body’s ability to defend itself against other foreign substances, including microorganisms that cause infection and cancer cells. Consequently, the risk of contracting infections and cancer increases. Last year alone the revenue from these immunosuppressant medications represented 85% of total pharmaceutical sales.
We recognize that there are many possible causes of autoimmune disease including environmental pollutants, heavy metals, increased usage of pharmaceuticals (antibiotics), tainted water supplies and higher levels of emotional stress. The source of autoimmune disease still remains a mystery to this day…or does it? Perhaps we need to work in reverse in order to find a possible answer as to why it occurs.
Let us say you are sitting in your home and over time various lights, sporadically malfunction. At first you may just change the burnt out light bulbs. Then something strange happens, all the same lights burn out again in the next few days. You may be tempted to re-change the bulbs, however, after thinking more deeply; you should ask yourself this question. How could all of these lights continue to burn out day after day? Obviously the problem must be originating in the fuse box or electrical system, not in the lights themselves. Why do we not approach our health in the same manner? Instead of just treating the symptoms, we should be looking for the cause.
What controls, regulates and balances everything else in your body? Yes, the nervous system: the brain, the spinal cord, and the spinal nerves. The nervous system controls the immune system and the immune system is what has gone rogue in autoimmune situations. What is the reason that the immune system reverses its primary mission; from protecting our body to destroying it? Something is causing a trigger in the nervous system to short circuit the immune system. We need to explore alternative ideas and avenues of treatment for this pervasive condition.
Many diets today include processed foods which contain trans fats, artificial sweeteners, colors and flavors. These ingredients were not used nearly as much in the early to mid-1900s, which may explain why autoimmunity was very uncommon then. When these toxic foods are ingested they lead to digestive tract immune support failure which causes a disruption of the healthy intestinal environment and digression of assimilation of nutrients into the blood stream. This ultimately leads to bacterial, fungal, parasitic, viral, and /or yeast infections. These manifestations cause mucosal protective lining failure and fungus, and negative bacteria invade the intestinal wall causing permeability or Leaky-Gut. This resulting digestive failure further cripples the immune system by polluting the nervous system. When these toxins build up in the body the neurological regulators are disrupted and send aberrant signals to other areas such as the immune system causing confusion of its primary mission.
It is time to look to your foods and choose wisely. When a non-processed, organic whole food diet is implemented, inflammation is reduced. Realize that inflammation is one of the leading causes of ill health in our country today. If you currently suffer from autoimmunity, be proactive by making nutritional changes. Stay positive and be patient knowing that you are now addressing the cause and not just changing the light bulbs. To prevent and help treat this serious condition, concentrate on a diet that is devoid of poor nutrition in order to reduce neurological dysfunction. This will then allow the central nervous system to once again control the body’s systems, tissues and cells as it was designed to do.
Submitted by Dr. Patrick DeFrancesco who has been practicing chiropractic for 21 years in Glastonbury at the Chiropractic Health Center on 2934 Main Street. His main focus is wellness care for children to adults and he specializes in sports injury. See ad on page