You may not think that autoimmunity is an issue for you because you don’t have a formal diagnosis or revealing symptoms. You may believe that you’re healthy because you “never get sick” and eat some organic food. What you may not know is that 50 million Americans suffer from autoimmune diseases, and it costs just under 100 billion dollars a year, that is 50 billion dollars more than cancer costs in one year in our country.
According to Johns Hopkins Autoimmune Disease Research Center: They are a special threat to women; about 75% of the patients are women. Autoimmune diseases are among the ten leading causes of death among women in all age groups up to 65.
Autoimmune diseases have a broad spectrum of impact and can affect any organ, gland, or tissue – basically any part of your body. Autoimmune issues occur when your body’s immune system accidentally identifies a part of your body as a bad guy or foreign invader, and slowly begins to destroy that tissue. In essence, it has misidentified a part of itself and is slowly killing it (you). This kind of confusion doesn’t just happen out of the blue. There have been years of preventable immune dysfunctions leading up to it. Being unaware, hiding your eyes, or being in complete denial won’t protect you from increasing the spread of this serious First World disease.
Any autoimmune disease begins with autoimmunity, which is a pre-diagnosable disease state. They often have a subtle onset and can take years to manifest, but are causing you ongoing moderate to severe tissue damage. This will eventually lead to a diagnosis and full blown autoimmune disease with tissue, gland or organ destruction. I’ve had an autoimmune disease called Hoshimotos Thyroiditis. About 90% of all thyroid disorders are actually autoimmune issues but they are left misdiagnosed or undiagnosed until such extensive damage is done to the thyroid gland that it’s difficult to fully recover. I suffered for years before I discovered what was really going on and I’d like to protect you from the hell I went through.
Western medicine claims to not have many answers about autoimmune issues and no cure in sight. However, holistic and functional healthcare providers do have access to more information and support. Autoimmunity and full blown autoimmune diseases are symptoms of a deeper issue, and Autoimmunity is just one of the many symptoms that may arise from a maladjusted immune system. Unlike Western medicine which often focuses on masking symptoms, I want to get to the root. Autoimmune issues are red flags that point to a dysfunctional immune system. Other such symptoms range from annoying allergies, food sensitivities, or repeated infections, even cancer. Never getting sick may seem like you’re doing ok, when in fact it is a sign of an under active immune system and may be the beginning of an autoimmune issue. It takes a well regulated, strong, and balanced immune system to create a fever and kill a bunch of bad bugs in you. A fever is one of the most natural anti-cancer reactions your body can produce. It’s a time when your white blood cells are ten-fold and they are kicking the bad bugs arses. You don’t want to suppress that with Tylenol, which shuts off an important immune response and doesn’t allow your body to do what it was designed to do.
There is hope! Western medical science has proved this but doesn’t yet understand its full implications. Your gut is the throne of your immune function. In next week’s blog I will offer more insight about the importance of a healthy gut and share a case study of a patient I was able to help.
Blessings of Vibrant Health,
Kristin Grayce