Transcript: Could Your Gut Be The Root Of Your Autoimmune Disease?
Right, let’s get down to business. So you’ve just been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
If you’re looking for answers, your gut may not be the first place you look. However, in the last 10 years, the microbiome has begun to be recognised as a key player in the autoimmune process.
The microbiome is a primary component of the immune system as 70% resides within the gut! That’s a heck of a lot of immune cells in the gut!
The microbiome is the controller of how the immune system operates and is the initial part of your arsenal to control offending invaders.
When the good bacteria in your gut are not properly nurtured and cared for, harmful bacteria and fungi take over. For example, the bacteria Lactobacillus helps to keep the immune system in check by releasing compounds which have a suppressive effect on the immune system. If you have less Lactobacillus, the suppressive effect is gone.
This decrease in good bacteria and increase in pathogenic bacteria can send the immune system into overdrive, firing off a cascade of inflammatory chemicals that cause you to develop chronic inflammation and in time, an autoimmune disease.
So say you go to a doctor and get some blood tests done and the blood tests show that you are on the autoimmune spectrum. What this really indicates is a catastrophic failure of your microbiome in allowing too many pathogenic bacteria to activate genes for inflammation, leaky gut and autoimmunity.
Let’s step on the brakes there and look at what autoimmune disease actually is.
Autoimmune disease is where your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body’s tissues and organs. Normally, when a virus or bacterial infection begins to invade the body, your body’s immune response is to produce antibodies that work against these harmful microorganisms. But with autoimmunity, the body creates autoantibodies that end up attacking the cells they’re meant to protect.
You may be thinking, it sounds serious; it mustn’t be that common. Think again.
The US Department of Health and Human Services reports that more than 23.5 million Americans live with an autoimmune disease! Let’s let those figures sink in!
Now, in order for someone to develop an autoimmune disease, there has to be three essential components or pillars present.
- Firstly, there has to be a genetic predisposition. Certain genes make individuals more likely to develop an autoimmune disease. If you have an autoimmune disease, there is a high percentage that someone else in your family also carries the gene.
- Secondly, there has to be a trigger, such as a specific antigen or protein that the immune system marks as a threat (real or not) which sets off an inflammatory cascade. This could include offending foods, moulds, pesticides, preservatives or additives or even stress. In the case of Coeliac disease, the trigger is gluten for example.
- Finally, you have to have leaky gut, which is where your gut wall becomes porous and allows pathogens, toxins, waste products, food proteins and more to enter your bloodstream. This incites an immune response and leads to inflammation, putting you at a higher risk of developing autoimmunity.
So in case you didn’t pick up what I’m trying to get at- when it comes to treating an autoimmune disease, addressing your gut health is paramount.
But don’t worry, I won’t leave you in the dark on just how to do that. If you want to know how to treat your autoimmune disease, then don’t ignore this video here. I want to give you the keys on how to unlock the autoimmune conundrum and put a stop to that inflammatory cascade that is sending your immune system crazy.
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