Could Hashimoto’s autoimmunity be the reason for other autoimmune diseases?

Fact: If you have one autoimmune condition, you are more likely to have, or develop a second one. (Yes, Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition)

If you don’t take care of your Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s Autoimmunity), you can develop other autoimmune diseases, scientists say. A study conducted recently has revealed that every sixth patient who has Hashimoto disease, suffers from some other autoimmune disease at the same time. The most common among them are:

• atrophic gastritis, a state of chronic inflammation of the stomach tissues
• vitiligo, losing the skin pigment
• celiac disease
• antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, which can be the cause of blood clots in blood vessels, miscarriages, and even stillbirths
• multiple sclerosis, a state when the immune system attacks your nervous system

Obviously, Hashimoto is also an autoimmune disease. In its case, immune system attacks the thyroid gland, resulting in the symptoms of thyroid malfunction, which include gaining excess weight, low temperature of limbs (both feet and hands), chronic depression, tiredness, and excessive loss of hair. Only in the USA around 90% of people having hypothyroidism suffer from Hashimoto’s.

The study included more than 1500 patients with chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, and 16% of them had an additional autoimmune disease. According to the medical examinations, those people also had poor absorption of T4, chronic anemia which could not be explained, and problems with pregnancy, mainly miscarriages. Naturally, the treatment with thyroid hormones may counterbalance the malfunction of the affected organ. However, the reason of it, which is the autoimmune condition, still remains unchanged.

Take care of your Hashimoto’s thyroiditis to prevent other autoimmune diseases – Hashimoto’s Autoimmunity

Considering the nature of this disease, first of all one should pay attention to the autoimmune disease. The main problem with autoimmune disease is with the immune system. The immune system becomes so unbalanced that it attacks the tissues of the body. Luckily, recent research has provided us with methods of restoring the fragile balance of the immune system, with the goal of decreasing and dampening autoimmune tissue destruction.

Get rid of gluten – Hashimoto’s Autoimmunity

The first step to tame your disease is to eliminate the gluten intake by changing your diet. Gluten is known to cause a strong reaction from the immune system in many people. What is more, the studies have shown a connection between gluten consumption and development of autoimmune diseases, including Hashimoto’s. A person who has gluten intolerance which is not diagnosed yet, and eats gluten on a regular basis, puts their immune system in the constant emergency state. It can cause not only chronic inflammation, but also can unbalance the immune system, causing autoimmune diseases.

Stick to autoimmune diet – Hashimoto’s Autoimmunity

The majority of people with an active autoimmune condition also suffer from an intestinal problem called intestinal permeability, or leaky gut. It affects the walls of bowels making them too porous, which allows bacteria, undigested foods and other unwanted things into the bloodstream, where they often trigger additional inflammation.

To suppress your autoimmune disease, you should take care of your gut. One of the first things you should do is to follow a special autoimmune diet, at least temporarily. It is aimed at excluding the foods which may cause the acute reaction from the immune system. A lot of patients with Hashimoto’s disease reveal that they feel much better eliminating not only gluten, but also other foods, like corn or dairy. Some doctors and dietitians advise to choose additional supplements of herbal origin to stimulate restoring the guts. In my office we order specialized food sensitivity testing to determine what foods you are reacting to.

If needed, go beyond just dieting – Hashimoto’s Autoimmunity

However, at times just sticking to a diet may be not enough, and more intensive treatment may be required. Treatment of the chronic inflammation processes or restoring the immune balance can include figuring out what is the main trigger of autoimmune disease, be it some infection, a toxin or anything else.

If you want to receive more information about the Hashimoto hypothyroidism and autoimmune disease prevention, you can contact our office.