Autoimmunity and Chronic Illness
The Stats
Autoimmunity is one of the most rapidly growing categories of conditions. There are currently 700 million people worldwide suffering from autoimmune disease and it is the most common health condition in the United States affecting over 60 million people. This number is followed by heart disease, 25 million people, and cancer, 12 million people.
These numbers have skyrocketed in the last few decades. Combined with the fact that autoimmunity is difficult to diagnose, and most have antibodies well before blaring symptoms, it is estimated that far more people actually have autoimmunity than these numbers portray.
The Definition
Autoimmunity is when the body’s immune system is in overdrive. Thinking that the healthy tissues in your own body are foreign invaders, like a virus, bad bacteria, parasites, etc, the immune system creates antibodies to “protect” you. While the immune system thinks it is helping, its misguided attempts are attacking healthy tissue. Wherever your weakest link, be it your thyroid, muscle tissue, gastrointestinal tract, or other, this determines which type of autoimmunity you have.
How You Get Autoimmunity
Three things are needed for autoimmunity to take place:
1) genetics
2) intestinal permeability (leaky gut) or gut dysbiosis which create systemic inflammation
3) some stressor on the body i.e., infection, child birth, chemical exposure, car wreck, emotional event, etc.… in order for the gene to be expressed.
Genetics
We can’t help our genetics, unfortunately. Although science is working on it, what we get is what we get. However, we can influence whether or not our genes are “expressed”. That’s right, we might have the gene for one or more autoimmune conditions but how we treat our bodies and live our lives determines if that gene actually turns on or stays off. This is why all chronic symptoms, if not addressed, turn into autoimmunity. The inflammation creating those symptoms is the same that will allow genes to rear their little heads.
In other words, genetics don’t determine your future. Your diet & lifestyle do (epigenetics).
Epigenetics
Epi, the Greek prefix meaning above/on/over, or I’ll take liberties and use dominate. So, epigenetics includes all things that are over, and completely responsible for, your gene expression. Examples on this list of epigenetics include: food, environment, stress level, thoughts, activity, etc., all things which profoundly influence our physiology thereby our genetic expression.
Other Chronic Illness
Obesity, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes have also risen significantly in the last few decades. Because autoimmune conditions, as well as these three health conditions, are predominantly, if not solely, influenced by epigenetics, they have become lumped under one umbrella in today’s health world. For this reason, they are worth mentioning. If you, or someone in your life, is looking to remove medication and truly heal the body, this is where you belong.
Chronic Symptoms
Oddly, and because they are so common, chronic health conditions are almost accepted as normal parts of life: fatigue, pain, depression, obesity, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, high blood pressure, etc. In the words of many Functional Practitioners at present, “symptoms may be common, but they are not normal.”
Symptoms, are your body’s way of speaking to you. If you choose to listen, they are telling you that something is wrong inside your body. Symptoms are the last straw when your body cannot compensate further. Dr. Michael Gaeta writes, “All chronic symptoms, if not resolved, turn into autoimmunity.”
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