Autoimmune Disease Starts with Allergies

What is autoimmune disease and what do allergies have in common with autoimmune disease?

Autoimmune disease is a last stage adaptation to an over active immune response. When the immune system is over stimulated in the initial stages it manifests with allergies. If the root source of these allergies are not found and corrected (this is NOT with allergy shots or medications), then the allergies will eventually become chronic immune over stimulation and can transform into autoimmune disease.

In putting autoimmune disease and allergies in perspective of normal immune function, it is necessary to understand that allergies are an initial phase of immune over stimulation that are triggered from outside of the body whereas autoimmune reactions are a late phase of chronic immune over stimulation that occurs within the body causing damage to tissues, glands and organs. Both these reactions are from a hyper or exaggerated immune response. Cancer and recurrent infections on the other hand are a hypo or decreased immune system response from an insult either outside of the body or from inside the body. In the same pattern, if you do not heal the cause of the bacteria, virus, parasite, fungus or candida then the immune system drain can trigger a failure to contain the normal spontaneous cancer cell growth and turn into a full blown cancer colony called a malignant tumor.

Autoimmune diseases and where they originate from

• Multiple Sclerosis-nervous system
• Rheumatoid Arthritis-joints
• Crohn’s Colitis-bowel
• Diabetes-pancreas
• Hasimoto’s/Graves-thyroid
• Addison’s-adrenal
• Hepatitis-liver
• Nephritis-kidney
• Lupus- systemic, whole body
• Scleroderma-skin
• Vitiligo-skin
• Alopecia-skin
• Meniere’s-ear

Symptoms of Allergies/Sensitivities

1. Neck pain, back pain, stiffness, swelling or tightness of joints, arthritis-like pain, arm and leg aches and pains, headaches of all types including migraines
2. Indigestion, heart burn, gas, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, stomach ache, malabsorption, colic pain
3. Sore throats, stuffy nose, nasal congestion, sinusitis, post-nasal drip, cough, frequent colds or flu, asthma, bronchitis, earache, ringing in the ears, dark circles under the eyes
4. Acne, eczema, hives, rashes, and all types of skin disorders
5. Fatigue, hard to get up in the morning—even after enough sleep, fatigue 1-2 hours after eating, bladder problems, bed wetting, having to urinate frequently—even without fluid intake, feeling worse with weather changes, temperature changes and season changes

What causes Immune system dysfunction?

• Mental/emotional stress
• Leaky Gut Syndrome
• Malnutrition– either due to lack of digestion or consuming too many non- nutrient calories (overweight but starving for correct vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, phytochemicals)
• Toxicity
  • Exotoxins are from the environment-house dust contains 33 chemical that cause breast cancer
  • Endotoxins from maldigestion
  • Lack of oxygen– either due to improper lung function, anemia or because of acidic food intake along with high unhealthy fat consumption.
  • Lack of 4 hours of premidnight dark sleep
  • Lack of exercise: including cellular, lymphatic and cardiovascular
  • Dehydration- most Americans are dehydrated and are not even aware of it.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

Leaky gut is exactly what it sounds like.  The intestinal tract is like a fine screen or mesh, which only lets nutrients of a certain size through.  The nutrients then pass into the hepatic portal blood vessels, which can bring nutrients to the liver, your chemical detoxification plant.

In a leaky gut condition, the intestinal tract becomes inflamed and the selective permeability (letting only digested food particle through) breaks down. This allows the passage of not only normal digested nutrient building blocks (amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars from carbohydrates), but also the passage of larger food particles, like larger chain proteins, fats and carbohydrates, and toxins that were never meant to pass through. This can be likened to a window screen. If the screen is functioning properly with no holes in it, air will pass through, but the flies, mosquitoes and other bugs will not. In leaky gut, the intestinal barrier becomes inflamed. Instead of only letting the digested broken down food particles through, the larger food particles and toxins enter, causing the immune system to become weakened and over stimulated. This is like the screen that now has tears, making larger holes that allow all types of insects to get through.

This presents a few problems.

Larger chain proteins can trigger not only intestinal irritation and inflammation, but also all kinds of allergies, immune and autoimmune problems, and inflammatory joint conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. 

Leaky gut can also result in toxicity, since toxins leak through the “screen” of your intestinal wall (because of the larger holes produced by the inflammation). These toxins ultimately end up in the liver, your chemical detox plant. Unfortunately, your liver is then overburdened, and the toxins end up circulating throughout the body, causing havoc wherever they go. If the toxins deposit in the brain, you might have foggy thoughts, possible memory loss and/or confusion, and even the start of neurological disease like multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease. If the toxins deposit in the joints, you will have arthritic-type pains. If the toxins deposit in organs that produce white blood cells (WBCs), your immune system will be weakened, making you more susceptible to illness, including cancer.