Autoimmune disease are the next health epidemic. I have blogged on this topic several times in the past because I am autoimmune (psoriasis) and I have successfully treated autoimmune conditions with functional medicine. Using functional medicine, you can virtually make an autoimmune condition inactive to the point you have no symptoms. This is not a mystery folks, autoimmune conditions are due to a hypersensitive immune system that has recognized your own tissue as a target to be destroyed. Once the autoimmune process has been turned on, it can not be turned off, but it can be down regulated to the point of having little to no symptoms.
The conventional medical approach to treating autoimmune conditions is typically strong immune suppressants that crush your immune system to the point that it becomes so weak, you can’t attack yourself or any bug or virus that you may come in contact with. So let me propose another approach that I believe is better…why don’t we try to identify why the immune system is attacking the body and try and stop the process which is driving autoimmunity? Let’s address the cause of the problem and not just treat symptoms.
So, I’m sure you would like to know how to do this…identify what’s causing an immune problem and work from there to dampen the expression of the autoimmune disease naturally…. so here we go.
1) Try to understand how an autoimmune process begins.
– The leading theory behind autoimmune processes is that they are the result of something called “leaky gut”, and folks, this theory is right, we just don’t yet have the research to conclusively proving it, but clinically treating what causes a “leaky gut” does wonders at helping autoimmune conditions. A leaky gut is just that, a porous or leaking gut that allows rotting, digesting food back into the blood stream before it should be there, resulting in an immune response due to an unrecognizable or foreign invader.
2) What causes “leaky gut”?
– The gut becomes leaky from food allergies, bacteria, parasites, yeast, excessive cortisol, inadequate cortisol, heavy metal toxicity, etc… This is where the investagative process begins to determine what’s causing the leaky gut so we can best determine how to treat it. If food is the problem guess what, don’t eat the food. If bacteria or a parasite is the problem kill it. If you have a cortisol problem, then you need to treat it appropriately with diet, lifestyle changes and temporary nutraceuticals. Once identified treat the problem appropriately then heal the gut.
3) How do you heal a leaky gut?
– Remove the source of inflammation that is breaking down the gut barrier then support the gut with natural supplements to heal the GI tract. For me, the source of inflammation is primarily night shades. Night shades are a group of vegetable and fruits (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and egg plants…not a complete list) that contain “lectins”, chemical that can break down the gut barrier in some people. Lucky me, no salsa, or red sauce, basically I can’t eat a lot of common foods that I like. But guess what, do I want to eat food for emotional satisfaction, or do I want to be serious about my life and step up to the plate, exercise self control and be healthy for me and my family? You need to ask yourself this question if you’re autoimmune, because many people are so emotionally attached to their food, that they would rather die a slow and painful death rather than remove night shades, wheat products, dairy products or eggs from their diet…whichever is causing their problem. As for me, I don’t care if I eat cardboard (not an approved food for those that are autoimmune) as long as I feel great, and can enjoy life. I want to be around for my family and hopefully help a lot of people along the way.
I work with people around the world with autoimmune conditions. I practice functional medicine in Hickory, NC and utilize advanced diagnostic lab testing to discover the drivers of disease processes. Once you know the cause of the problem, it’s much easier to help your body heal naturally, rather than address the symptoms alone. For more information you can reach me at drshook@FEAofNC.com, or at (828) 324-0800 for a complimentary five minute consultation.
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