AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE: Hashimoto’s/ Rheumatoid Arthritis/ Psoriasis/ Lupus

👉🏼It can take 4.5 years and 4-5 specialists before receiving an Autoimmune diagnosis for most!
👉🏼And 45% of patients with autoimmunity are labeled as “complainers” in the early part of the disease!
👉🏼The prevalence of autoimmune disease has increased dramatically over the last 30 years affecting 1 in 9 women and 1 in 12 adults.

Hashimoto’s and Graves disease is the most prevalent autoimmune disease followed by Psoriasis and third on the list is Rheumatoid Arthritis causing chronic, debilitating dysfunction in those who suffer from these diseases.

⚡While much of the traditional treatment for autoimmune disease is aimed at relieving the pain or symptoms through immune-suppressing medications, the Functional Medicine approach offers an alternative to symptom suppression by addressing the underlying mechanisms that cause autoimmunity, together we can prevent, and in some cases reverse autoimmune diseases.

⚡My personal experience with Hashimoto’s is a close one. Of the eight close family members, four have hypothyroidism. While hypothyroidism cannot be reversed, my husband was able to put his Hashimoto’s into long-term remission by identifying and removing the trigger and feeling like himself again!

Have you heard of the Autoimmune Triad? 

The three factors that all autoimmune conditions have in common could be summed up with this quote:

Your genetics load the gun BUT Your lifestyle and environment pulls the trigger.” 

The triad explains what causes your immune system to go rogue and attack your own tissues.

Genetic predisposition + Lifestyle and environmental Triggers (Infection or Stress or Chemical) + Leaky gut = Autoimmunity

An increasing incidence of Leaky Gut is hypothesized as being the contributor to increasing autoimmunity prevalence. 

So with the functional approach, the goal is to stop the attack and put the condition into remission by addressing the factors that “pull the trigger”:

  • Chronic Infections (Parasitic or Bacterial or Viral)
  • Impaired Gut-Brain Axis
  • Stress – physical or mental
  • Toxicity (Heavy metals or mold)
  • Nutrient Deficiencies
To understand more about the basics of Functional Medicine approach point you to a research article below:
 
Autoimmune disease is complex and has many moving pieces to the puzzle as you can imagine. 
We follow an Add and Remove Protocol to address the imbalance in Autoimmune triad with a personalized plan to heal and reverse it by going back to the basics by:

🧘‍♀️ Decompressing Stress

😴 Optimizing Sleep

🥙 Balancing Blood Sugar

🦠 Healing the Gut

💦 Detoxing

💊 Correcting Deficiencies

⚖️ Balancing Hormones