Autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s immune system becomes confused and attacks healthy cells and tissues. There are multiple possible causes of autoimmune disease including genetics, inflammation from the “Western diet”, viral infections, bacterial infections, exposure to chemicals in the environment, and chronic stress. The question to ask with all autoimmune disease is – what is irritating the immune system?
Leaky Gut and Autoimmunity
Seventy percent of our immune system is located in the digestive tract, so your diet and digestive health play a major role in influencing autoimmune disease. Leaky gut syndrome is a condition where the linings of the gastrointestinal tract break down and there is an increase in inflammation and intestinal permeability. The immune system can be irritated by inflammatory triggers from foods in the diet as well as intestinal bacteria. Leaky gut syndrome can be a precursor to the development of autoimmune disease.
Testing and Assessment
Food Sensitivity Testing and Comprehensive Stool Analysis, which looks at the microbiome of the gut, can be helpful to determining if digestive inflammation is a contributing factor to an autoimmune disease. Cortisol hormone levels should also be assessed to determine if chronic stress may be playing a role in autoimmune disease. In addition, basic blood work that can assess vitamin D deficiency, B vitamin deficiencies, iron deficiencies, zinc, copper and magnesium levels is important.
Our Holistic Approach
This approach takes a more thorough evaluation of a patient’s health. Our goal is to identify the underlying causes of autoimmune disease, remove obstacles to healing, decrease inflammation in the body, and support the body to re-establish homeostasis. This type of care is helpful for Hashimoto’s disease or Grave’s disease (autoimmune thyroid disease), Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, type I diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and Lupus.
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