004 - The 5 Drivers of Autoimmunity
04/11/21 • 32 min
This is an important episode. When you understand what could be driving your autoimmunity, you have your solutions - STOP SCRATCHING! (listen to the episode if that doesn't make sense!) Many things have been associated with the onset or exacerbation of autoimmune disease, but this easy-to-understand concept (as originally taught by Dr. Tom Culleton DC) really simplifies The 5 Drivers of Autoimmune Disease, which are:
1 - Foods and Gut Health. It's now well-established that leaky gut and food sensitivities can cause or contribute to autoimmune disease, and this is an important first place to start. This can be addressed through lab testing or dietary protocols such as an Elimination Diet or Autoimmune Paleo Protocol, as discussed in this episode, and on several related videos on our website.
2 - Toxins. Toxins disrupt the immune system, create a stress response, and lead to inflammation. Toxins can both induce and exacerbate autoimmunity, including Mercury, Aluminum, BPA in plastics, air pollution in general, mold and mycotoxins, and many more. These can be tested through Cyrex Array 11 or through various other testing forms that are discussed in the episode. Detox Detox Detox!!
3 - Stress. Almost anyone with an autoimmune process going on can tell you that stress makes it worse. Stress can't be avoided, but it can be MANAGED. Stress is not just job, life, bills, relationships, but there is also physical stress (head trauma or other injuries, sedentary lifestyle, overtraining) and toxic stress (see #2) that triggers the same stress response from the pituitary that will flare inflammation, decrease immune defenses, and make autoimmunity worse.
4 - Hormones. Hormone fluctuations can cause autoimmune flares, especially CORTISOL (and epinephrine aka adrenaline - the stress response), INSULIN and blood sugar spikes and/or crashes, and ESTROGEN, which is why autoimmunity often flares around puberty, pregnancy, and peri-menopause.
5 - Infections and Pathogens. Bugs such as COVID, influenza, Epstein-Barr Virus, Herpes Simplex Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Parvovirus, Lyme disease, Yersinia, H. Pylori, and many more are associated with autoimmunity. It's not always an "infection" like a weekend flu though.
“In many cases it is not a single infection but rather the ‘burden of infections’ from childhood that is responsible for the induction of autoimmunity.”
Infections and autoimmunity - friends or foes? Trends Immunology 2009 Aug 30(8) 409-14 Kivity et al.
Each autoimmune puzzle is different, but all 5 of these drivers need to be addressed for success!
This is an important episode. When you understand what could be driving your autoimmunity, you have your solutions - STOP SCRATCHING! (listen to the episode if that doesn't make sense!) Many things have been associated with the onset or exacerbation of autoimmune disease, but this easy-to-understand concept (as originally taught by Dr. Tom Culleton DC) really simplifies The 5 Drivers of Autoimmune Disease, which are:
1 - Foods and Gut Health. It's now well-established that leaky gut and food sensitivities can cause or contribute to autoimmune disease, and this is an important first place to start. This can be addressed through lab testing or dietary protocols such as an Elimination Diet or Autoimmune Paleo Protocol, as discussed in this episode, and on several related videos on our website.
2 - Toxins. Toxins disrupt the immune system, create a stress response, and lead to inflammation. Toxins can both induce and exacerbate autoimmunity, including Mercury, Aluminum, BPA in plastics, air pollution in general, mold and mycotoxins, and many more. These can be tested through Cyrex Array 11 or through various other testing forms that are discussed in the episode. Detox Detox Detox!!
3 - Stress. Almost anyone with an autoimmune process going on can tell you that stress makes it worse. Stress can't be avoided, but it can be MANAGED. Stress is not just job, life, bills, relationships, but there is also physical stress (head trauma or other injuries, sedentary lifestyle, overtraining) and toxic stress (see #2) that triggers the same stress response from the pituitary that will flare inflammation, decrease immune defenses, and make autoimmunity worse.
4 - Hormones. Hormone fluctuations can cause autoimmune flares, especially CORTISOL (and epinephrine aka adrenaline - the stress response), INSULIN and blood sugar spikes and/or crashes, and ESTROGEN, which is why autoimmunity often flares around puberty, pregnancy, and peri-menopause.
5 - Infections and Pathogens. Bugs such as COVID, influenza, Epstein-Barr Virus, Herpes Simplex Virus, Cytomegalovirus, Parvovirus, Lyme disease, Yersinia, H. Pylori, and many more are associated with autoimmunity. It's not always an "infection" like a weekend flu though.
“In many cases it is not a single infection but rather the ‘burden of infections’ from childhood that is responsible for the induction of autoimmunity.”
Infections and autoimmunity - friends or foes? Trends Immunology 2009 Aug 30(8) 409-14 Kivity et al.
Each autoimmune puzzle is different, but all 5 of these drivers need to be addressed for success!
Previous Episode
003 - The 3 Stages of Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune disease doesn't just "happen", it takes time to develop. This development happens in 3 stages, and many people are in the early stages!
Stage 1 - "Silent" Autoimmunity - self-tissue antibodies are present indicating an autoimmune process, but no symptoms are noticed yet.
Stage 2 - Autoimmune Reactivity - antibodies are present and symptoms are occurring, but the damage has not progressed far enough to be diagnostic for MS, RA, etc. This is where many people suffer, because their doctors tell them nothing is wrong but yet they still have a lot of symptoms!
Stage 3 - Autoimmune Disease - full-blown diagnosis of autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Hashimoto's, Celiac, Crohn's, Psoriasis, Parkinson's, Diabetes, or about 100 other different names they have for various autoimmune diseases.
Next Episode
006 - Tissue Specific vs. Systemic Autoimmunity
Autoimmunity can be classified as either Tissue-Specific or Systemic, and it makes a big difference!
Tissue-Specific (or protein or enzyme-specific) means that autoimmunity is attacking a specific protein or enzyme that is expressed in a certain tissue - For example enzymes expressed in the thyroid, proteins in your brain, the digestive lining, or in connective tissue - that is TISSUE-SPECIFIC. If this process continues, it will damage THAT TISSUE - your thyroid, your brain, your stomach, your gut.
Systemic autoimmunity means that the attack isn't concentrated in one tissue, but rather could be attacking your whole body, or SYSTEMIC. The best example is Lupus, which is diagnosed partially by detecting Anti-Nuclear Antibodies. Every cell in your body has a nucleus, you don't want your immune system attacking it!
In this episode I go through examples of each type of autoimmunity and antibodies that can be measured for each. There is a lot to this episode, but it's really important to know when addressing your own autoimmune case!
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