What Are Autoimmune Diseases?
The notes I use in the video are posted below, in case you want to skip right to the good stuff. But apparently videos are the future of the internet. So here you go. :)
Autoimmune Diseases
Disclaimers: I’m not a practitioner this is my own understanding of autoimmune diseases from the limited personal research I’ve done on it myself. So think of this as a framework for autoimmunity but not an actual scientific explanation of it. As always, do your own research!
The Immune System:
1. It’s good! We need it, it protects us against disease
2. It works by detecting something foreign that it recognizes to be harmful to your body ,
3. When the immune system interprets something to be harmful, it sends signals through all sorts of processes to destroy it; one of them being inflammation – blood vessels leaking into the tissues to create swelling in a effort to isolate the harmful substance
Boom, drop the mic and walk away! Just joking, not really.
Notice I said when immune system interprets something as harmful it puts into action processes to destroy it. That means your immune system could be enacting an immune reaction to things that actually are not harmful.
Cat Dander
Tree Pollen
Peanuts
What the heck does Autoimmune mean?
1. Auto means “Self”
2. Self-Immune, the immune system is attacking itself and causing diseases of it’s own
3. WHAT? How dare it / I, if I’m attacking myself then I should fight that with battle weapons like antibiotics and immune suppressors! NoNoNo.
Your immune system isn’t attacking you for no reason and at random. So put the battle weapons away and start figuring out the underlying cause of the chronic inflammation that is at the root of your autoimmune disease.
So, what is the underlying cause of the chronic inflammation that is at the root of your autoimmune disease?
Two possibilities for you
1. Leaky Gut: Intestinal permeability – the gut has a barrier allowing some things to pass through it and others to stay where they should stay – inside the intestines, however with gut permeability the holes in your digestive system become larger and that allows particles to pass through the gut lining into the blood stream that aren’t supposed to be allowed to pass through. Thus the term “leaky”. Particles are leaking into your blood stream and allowed to sort of freely float around.
1. How did it get that way?
Certain proteins found in gluten and other grains as well as in sugars and some dairy products damage the intestinal wall
2. Why does it matter?
Particles floating in your blood stream recognized by the immune system as harmful but it can’t find it
3. What do I do about it?
Heal the gut!
i. Eliminate problematic foods by way of an elimination diet and consider the Autoimmune Protocol Diet
ii. Take a trusted Probiotic under the direction of a functional and integrative medicine practitioner
iii. Eat gut healing foods like bone broth and fermented vegetables
iv. Do your research
2. Chemical Intolerances
Did you know?? 80,000 synthetic (man-made) chemicals created since 1900, we are not built to be able to handle all of that!
Get two things straight:
naturally occurring chemicals does not = good for you.
Ex. Lead and Mercury
Everything is a chemical, google the chemical compounds of a Kiwi Fruit
So let’s stop using the word chemical and use the word toxins.
1. Imagine a toxin tolerance tank. A TTT
-exposure over time
- genetic factors
- stress level and how your body processes stress
You deplete your TTT.
2. Now, when you are exposed to a toxin, the toxin binds to your tissues and the immune system tags it for elimination. Tags what for elimination? Your tissues! Yes, the toxins on your tissues but the immune system can’t tell them apart so, your tissues.
3. What do you do about it?
i. Eliminate the use of toxins as much as possible in your everyday routine.
ii. Some things you can’t control but change the things you can control
iii. Replace toxic household and toiletry items with products that are free of toxins. More costly up front but if you can get your condition under control naturally that’s thousands of dollars saved over years of medical bills and prescription medication.
This has been an autoimmune moment with Stephanie Yeager
Disclaimers: I’m not a practitioner this is my own understanding of autoimmune diseases from the limited personal research I’ve done on it myself. So think of this as a framework for autoimmunity but not an actual scientific explanation of it. As always, do your own research!
The Immune System:
1. It’s good! We need it, it protects us against disease
2. It works by detecting something foreign that it recognizes to be harmful to your body ,
3. When the immune system interprets something to be harmful, it sends signals through all sorts of processes to destroy it; one of them being inflammation – blood vessels leaking into the tissues to create swelling in a effort to isolate the harmful substance
Boom, drop the mic and walk away! Just joking, not really.
Notice I said when immune system interprets something as harmful it puts into action processes to destroy it. That means your immune system could be enacting an immune reaction to things that actually are not harmful.
Cat Dander
Tree Pollen
Peanuts
What the heck does Autoimmune mean?
1. Auto means “Self”
2. Self-Immune, the immune system is attacking itself and causing diseases of it’s own
3. WHAT? How dare it / I, if I’m attacking myself then I should fight that with battle weapons like antibiotics and immune suppressors! NoNoNo.
Your immune system isn’t attacking you for no reason and at random. So put the battle weapons away and start figuring out the underlying cause of the chronic inflammation that is at the root of your autoimmune disease.
So, what is the underlying cause of the chronic inflammation that is at the root of your autoimmune disease?
Two possibilities for you
1. Leaky Gut: Intestinal permeability – the gut has a barrier allowing some things to pass through it and others to stay where they should stay – inside the intestines, however with gut permeability the holes in your digestive system become larger and that allows particles to pass through the gut lining into the blood stream that aren’t supposed to be allowed to pass through. Thus the term “leaky”. Particles are leaking into your blood stream and allowed to sort of freely float around.
1. How did it get that way?
Certain proteins found in gluten and other grains as well as in sugars and some dairy products damage the intestinal wall
2. Why does it matter?
Particles floating in your blood stream recognized by the immune system as harmful but it can’t find it
3. What do I do about it?
Heal the gut!
i. Eliminate problematic foods by way of an elimination diet and consider the Autoimmune Protocol Diet
ii. Take a trusted Probiotic under the direction of a functional and integrative medicine practitioner
iii. Eat gut healing foods like bone broth and fermented vegetables
iv. Do your research
2. Chemical Intolerances
Did you know?? 80,000 synthetic (man-made) chemicals created since 1900, we are not built to be able to handle all of that!
Get two things straight:
naturally occurring chemicals does not = good for you.
Ex. Lead and Mercury
Everything is a chemical, google the chemical compounds of a Kiwi Fruit
So let’s stop using the word chemical and use the word toxins.
1. Imagine a toxin tolerance tank. A TTT
-exposure over time
- genetic factors
- stress level and how your body processes stress
You deplete your TTT.
2. Now, when you are exposed to a toxin, the toxin binds to your tissues and the immune system tags it for elimination. Tags what for elimination? Your tissues! Yes, the toxins on your tissues but the immune system can’t tell them apart so, your tissues.
3. What do you do about it?
i. Eliminate the use of toxins as much as possible in your everyday routine.
ii. Some things you can’t control but change the things you can control
iii. Replace toxic household and toiletry items with products that are free of toxins. More costly up front but if you can get your condition under control naturally that’s thousands of dollars saved over years of medical bills and prescription medication.
This has been an autoimmune moment with Stephanie Yeager