Healthy Foods Strengthen the Immune System
Good Gut Health Strengthens Immunity
Advancing in years often brings changes to body health, and ailments that were non existing before start showing up. Constant allergies causing frequent flus are some pointers to changing health. I question the immune system’s strength when colds and flu keep recurring after every few months.
The health of the gut determines the strength of our immune system, so to minimize the list of autoimmune diseases, gut’s health comes into play. People are often encouraged to boost and strengthen their immunity in order to avoid becoming the victims to common ailments. A strong immune system is considered as ‘the inner doctor’ working to defend the body against invaders.
Autoimmune diseases are a group of chronic pathologies (that is, of long duration and slow progression) in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s healthy cells, thus destroying healthy organs.
This is because the immune system does not distinguish that these tissues are the body’s own, but detects and recognizes them as foreign agents.
At present, a specific cause for the development of autoimmune diseases has not yet been established, although it has been claimed that they have a tendency to be inherited.
Other factors that can activate the immune system and trigger their appearance are: Infections by bacteria and viruses, administration of certain drugs and vaccines, environmental, psychological and/or climatic elements, chemical agents, certain foods, nutritional deficiencies, hygienic habits, tobacco intake, hormonal alterations, etc.
As we can see, their causes are very broad, and this, together with the fact that there are more than 80 different types of autoimmune diseases, makes their diagnosis a somewhat complex task for health personnel.
The type of autoimmune disease a person presents will depend on the organ and tissue that is being affected. The most common pathologies include: Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Type 1 Diabetes, Celiac disease, Psoriasis, Multiple Sclerosis, Addison’s disease, Graves’ disease, among many others.
On the other hand, the symptoms presented by the patient will vary depending on the autoimmune pathology he/she suffers from, but in general they usually manifest muscle and joint pain, weakness, fatigue, malaise, fever and inflammation, whose intensity varies according to the aggressiveness of the disease and how far it has progressed.
In order to make an accurate diagnosis of an autoimmune pathology, the physician must have a broad knowledge of the characteristic signs and symptoms of each disease in order to relate them to those that the patient is suffering from. To achieve this, it is first necessary to take the patient’s medical history, which reflects his/her personal and family history, characteristics of the disease, other diseases, drugs administered, habits, etc. After this, complementary clinical studies are indicated according to the presumptive diagnoses. These may be blood and stool tests, x-rays, ultrasounds, etc.
Autoimmune Muscle Disease
This is a group of autoimmune diseases that affect and compromise the proper functioning of skeletal muscle. The individual suffering from them may experience inflammation and weakness as the immune system produces antibodies that alter the nerve signals to the muscles.
Some of these are: Myasthenia gravis in which there is weakening of the muscles that we control and move at will. Myositis which is divided into polymyositis and dermatomyositis. The first one affects the muscles adjacent to the trunk of the body and the second one produces a rash on the skin.
Autoimmune Blood Disorders
In these disorders, antibodies produced by the immune system can attack and affect blood vessels: arteries, veins and capillaries, red blood cells and platelets. These include autoimmune hemolytic anemia, vasculitis or idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
The clinical manifestations can range from inflammation to more severe and complex clinical conditions such as in polyarteritis nodosa where there may be ischemia and necrosis of the arteries.
Also included are autoimmune diseases such as scleroderma, which mainly affects the skin but can also involve the blood vessels.
Autoimmune Hair Loss
Although there are different autoimmune diseases that produce diffuse hair loss such as lupus erythematosus or Gougerot-Sjögren’s syndrome, when this loss is due to an autoimmune disease it is usually mainly due to alopecia areata.
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In alopecia areata the immune system affects the hair follicle which produces areas completely devoid of hair. It should be noted that when it comes to this condition only certain areas of the head are affected because when the hair loss is in the entire scalp is an alopecia areata totalis and when it also affects the body hair is an alopecia areata universalis.
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When it comes to alopecia areata universalis, the loss of hair from the nostrils, eyelashes, eyebrows and body can increase the probability of suffering from infections by microorganisms, since one of the body’s defensive barriers is not present and therefore we are more exposed to dust particles, fungi and germs. We are also more susceptible to damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays and prone to sunburn.
Autoimmune Protocol Diet
The purpose of this dietary protocol is mainly to reduce the painful symptomatology and inflammation that usually manifests in autoimmune diseases. It is based on the elimination and replacement of certain foods that could be causing imbalances in the intestinal microbiota.
Modifying the diet in addition to achieving a balance in the microbiota also promotes the regeneration of affected intestinal tissues, which in turn decreases immune activity.
Ideally, foods such as vegetables (with the exception of eggplants, potatoes or tomatoes), fish with a high content of omega 3, lean meats, olive oil, among others, should be abundant. And among those that are usually eliminated are: nuts, eggs, dairy products, refined sugars, coffee and gluten products.
Once a period of time has elapsed, which can range from two months to more, and the individual presents an improvement in symptoms, the gradual reintroduction of the eliminated foods begins (one at a time).
The purpose of this is to evaluate the level of tolerance to the food, to recognize which foods trigger the symptoms of the autoimmune disease and to maintain those that do not trigger any symptoms.
Autoimmune Protocol Diet
The purpose of this dietary protocol is mainly to reduce the painful symptomatology and inflammation that usually manifests in autoimmune diseases. It is based on the elimination and replacement of certain foods that could be causing imbalances in the intestinal microbiota.
Modifying the diet in addition to achieving a balance in the microbiota also promotes the regeneration of affected intestinal tissues, which in turn decreases immune activity.
Ideally, foods such as vegetables (with the exception of eggplants, potatoes or tomatoes), fish with a high content of omega 3, lean meats, olive oil, among others, should be abundant. And among those that are usually eliminated are: nuts, eggs, dairy products, refined sugars, coffee and gluten products.
Once a period of time has elapsed, which can range from two months to more, and the individual presents an improvement in symptoms, the gradual reintroduction of the eliminated foods begins (one at a time).
The purpose of this is to evaluate the level of tolerance to the food, to recognize which foods trigger the symptoms of the autoimmune disease and to maintain those that do not trigger any symptoms.
Autoimmune Disease Cure
Autoimmune disorders, being chronic conditions, have no cure, so they must be treated for life. Because of this, their therapy is focused on controlling the signs and symptoms, slowing down the evolution of the disease and avoiding complications.
The treatment to be indicated will depend on the type of autoimmune disease the individual is suffering from, since each one of them is different from the other. Likewise, it is essential that the diagnosis of the disease is made at an early stage in order to avoid the appearance of irreversible damage to the affected tissues.
To achieve control of the condition it is necessary to adhere to and comply with the pharmacological treatment indicated by the clinician (usually anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids), make changes in diet and modify habits. In addition to this we can also rely on alternative treatments such as naturopathic medicine in which herbs and roots such as green and black tea and ginger are used.
Treatment based on natural remedies is an ideal ally for clinical treatment since many of the herbs used have anti-inflammatory properties, thus improving the quality of life and well-being of the individual.
