How to Heal Autoimmune Disease Naturally   

Healing autoimmune diseases naturally with functional medicine involves adopting an anti-inflammatory diet rich in whole foods. While avoiding triggers like processed foods and gluten, supplementing with nutrients like vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, managing stress through techniques such as meditation and yoga, identifying and addressing root causes such as gut dysbiosis and chronic infections, supporting gut health with probiotics and prebiotics, aiding detoxification pathways with methods like infrared saunas, and collaborating with healthcare practitioners experienced in functional medicine for personalized guidance. This holistic approach requires patience and may vary in effectiveness, emphasizing the importance of individualized care and monitoring.  Looking to an autoimmune disease treatment without drugs, functional medicine plays a critical role

What are the Types of Autoimmunity?

Autoimmunity can be divided into 2 main categories.  The first type is organ specific, and an example of this is Hashimoto’s Disease.  This is a condition that affects the thyroid gland. Alternatively, an autoimmune disease can affect multiple organ systems. An example of this is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and it can result in widespread damage of multiple organs. 

What are the Consequences of Autoimmunity?

Autoimmune conditions can cause destruction of a specific cell type or tissue, stimulation of an organ causing excessive growth, or they can interfere with the function of organs or systems. 

The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) estimates that at least 50 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease; yet only a small fraction of them have been diagnosed. Most Americans suffering from autoimmune disease do not even know they have the condition and 75% of those suffering are women.  This “modern disease” has reached epidemic proportions and continues to grow. 

Despite its high prevalence, fewer than 6% of Americans can name an autoimmune disease. Many doctors struggle to even make diagnoses. The average autoimmune patient sees four doctors over the course of four years to get a proper diagnosis.

Healing Your Incredible Immune System Naturally

Our immune system is amazingly complex, and we are continually evolving in our understanding of how it works. The same goes with our knowledge of autoimmunity. The medical field is continually working to create medications to treat the symptoms of these conditions. One frustration for sufferers is that when it comes to conventional medicine, a person is not considered to have an autoimmune disease until certain parameters are met, namely a lab marker that is positive along with symptoms and sufficient damage before a diagnosis is made and treatment is administered.  Unfortunately, it is estimated that a person may experience symptoms for up to 10-15 years before receiving a positive diagnosis.  What this means is that most of those suffering are not getting any treatment.  

Traditional Approach to Autoimmune Treatment

Conventional medicine treatment has several limitations.  First, as mentioned above, is that the diagnosis is based on a very black and white criteria, leaving the vast majority of sufferers without treatment.  Second, the treatment is often in the form of immune suppressing medications. These drugs have a laundry list of significant side effects.  In addition, the treatment does not address the underlying cause of the disease.  The drug merely provides symptomatic relief and possibly a slowing down of the disease process (at a high cost).

Functional Approach to Autoimmune Treatment

When it comes to autoimmune conditions, it doesn’t matter what specific organ is being affected.  It is the imbalanced or dysregulated immune system that is the culprit.

Functional medicine takes a different approach to identifying and attempting to treat autoimmune disease naturally. There are many factors that could potentially play a part in the development of an autoimmune disease. These factors include, but are not limited to genetics, pathogens (viruses and such), toxicities (environmental exposure), diet (digestive system health) and lifestyle. Some of these factors are discussed below while others such as genetics and toxicities are beyond the scope of this article.

The focus how to treat autoimmune disease naturally should be on isolating what has caused and continues to cause the immune system to malfunction. This is important to understand; what continues to cause the immune system to malfunction!  Restoring balance and normal function to the immune system should be the goal of any treatment plan.

What Can Lead To an Autoimmunity?

Examples below, either alone or in combination, can lead to immune system dysregulation and autoimmunity:

Poor digestive system health

You may or may not have heard of the concept of ‘leaky gut.’ Essentially this consists of a breakdown in the integrity of the barrier between the gut and the rest of the body.  This barrier is meant to escort the nutrients into the blood while keeping the bad stuff (toxins, bugs, etc) from getting into the body.

Nutrient deficiencies

A nutrient depleted diet (Standard American Diet or SAD), as well as inadequate digestive function can lead to a problem of nutrient depletion. Without proper nutrition, the body can’t perform its essential functions.

Food intolerances

This can result from several factors like a compromise of gut barrier function due to consuming certain foods or toxins. Eating certain foods to excess can also create this phenomenon.  This type of food response is often seen along with other autoimmune symptoms and may play a part in the development of autoimmune disease.

Oxidative stress

Oxidative stress is created by an imbalance between antioxidants (vitamins, for example) and a high level of reactive oxygen species (free radicals) that results in damage to cells.

Glutathione collapse

Maintaining adequate amounts of this antioxidant is incredibly important to prevent damage in the body.  Glutathione can be depleted from poor diet, chronic disease, infection, and constant stress.

Methylation dysfunction

Methylation dysfunction is implicated in a vast array of health conditions. It plays multiple key roles in the human body and is vital to your well-being. The process contributes to detoxification, energy production, inflammation control, mood balancing, DNA repair, and glutathione production.  Elevated homocysteine is one blood marker that can signify that methylation may be impaired.  

Hormonal imbalances

Changes in your hormones can contribute to the onset of autoimmune disease.  In addition, autoimmune diseases can cause hormone insufficiency and imbalance. Estrogen and cortisol imbalances are just two hormones that are correlated with autoimmunity. 

Neurotransmitter imbalances

Although scientists have identified at least 100 different neurotransmitters, all with different functions in the body, dopamine, serotonin and epinephrine (adrenaline) imbalances are correlated with a number of autoimmune conditions.  Certain autoimmune conditions target certain neurotransmitters, but there is much that is still unknown about how imbalances may contribute to or be a result of autoimmunity.

Poor adrenal gland function

This is often the result of chronic and/or excessive stress. This can also result from the abrupt discontinuation of corticosteroid drugs. Addison’s disease is a specific autoimmune condition that results in destruction of the adrenal glands. 

Sleep Deprivation

Adequate sleep is critical to immune function. In addition to potentially hindering your immune function, sleep deprivation may pose many health risks including elevation of your risks of autoimmunity.

Chronic infections

Many autoimmune conditions are correlated with bacterial and/or viral infections. It is possible that chronic infections may contribute to the onset of many autoimmune conditions.

After reading the above, I hope you can see that autoimmunity is NOT just an immune system problem. The immune system is failing to maintain healthy balance and there are always underlying health problems that keep the immune system in an overwhelmed state of malfunction. Autoimmunity is often explained as an immune system that is “overactive” or “too strong.” This is not really an accurate description of what is occurring; a better explanation would be an immune system that is not being “regulated.” Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system is not able to regulate itself.  This system is extremely complex and powerful; it has the ability to save your life or kill you. The answer to autoimmunity is not to crush and disable it with drugs! 

Schedule An Appointment To Treat Your Autoimmune Disease Naturally

Better solutions do exist!  A functional medicine physician can help you identify underlying factors that may be causing immune system imbalance.  They can also help restore normal function to body once again. If you or a loved one suffers with an autoimmune disease or if you are interested in being tested for autoimmune disease or immune system imbalance, contact our office.  For more information about functional medicine, Dr. Sharon Borkowski or autoimmunity please do not hesitate to contact our office.  We are looking forward to helping you treat autoimmune disease naturally. 

If you are looking for a functional medicine doctor in Chicago, Aurora, Plainfield, Mokena, St. Charles, Wheaton or Orland Park,  please contact us today!

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources.