Autoimmune disease involves a process whereby the immune system mistakes part of the body as a foreign invader, and mounts an attack against it, damaging tissue. The most common autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, psoriasis, lupus, and Grave’s and Hashimoto’s diseases.

Prevalence of autoimmune disease is on the rise. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates as many as 23.5 million Americans may be afflicted with at least one autoimmune condition, up from 8.5 million in 1996. But even this estimate is low, since those numbers only consider 24 autoimmune conditions, when these illnesses actually number over 80.

Though genes do play a role in autoimmune diseases (they tend to run in families), environmental triggers are also involved and contribute to the increase in prevalence rates, according to Fred Miller, director of the Environmental Autoimmunity Group at the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. “Our gene sequences aren’t changing fast enough to account for the increases,” Miller says. “Yet our environment is—we’ve got 80,000 chemicals approved for use in commerce, but we know very little about their immune effects. Our lifestyles are also different than they were a few decades ago, and we’re eating more processed food.”

Environmental triggers of autoimmunity include: chemicals, infections, stress, hormones, drugs, diet, weight gain and behavior. Of these, chemicals are particularly concerning due to their prevalence in the environment and to the lack of safety testing and regulation. The following toxins have been linked to autoimmunity: polyaromatic hydrocarbons (found in air pollution), heavy metals (lead and mercury), trichloroethylene (an industrial solvent that contaminates our water and air) and asbestos (found in building materials of older buildings).

Studying the link between environmental toxins and any illness is difficult, but because there are so many autoimmune disease, and because each one has different features, studying the link between chemicals and each illness is particularly difficult. Scientists are calling for better ways to link autoimmune diseases together, as occurs with cancer, to increase funding and understanding of what factors trigger this complex of diseases.

In the meantime, reducing toxin exposure, following a healthy diet, and supporting the seven channels of elimination—colon, liver, lungs, lymph, kidneys, skin and blood—with regular internal cleansing is recommended to help reduce toxic burden.

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I like to call the proper balance of gut bacteria your “GPS”—your Gut Protection System. Your GPS works to: protect your intestinal lining; “crowd out” and neutralize the harmful bacteria; and influence the immune system so that it responds in the proper way to harmful invaders like bacteria, toxins, and even undigested food particles.

Your GPS might not be properly balanced—and you may not even know it. Sure, some people experience obvious digestive symptoms like gas and bloating, or heartburn, but some people don’t exhibit digestive symptoms, yet still have a gut imbalance. A malfunctioning GPS can have far-reaching health consequences. For example, many mood disorders, like depression and anxiety, are closely linked to gut health. Rheumatoid arthritis—how much further from the gut could you get?—is also known to be associated with gut imbalances. The list goes on and on. Read about it in my new book, The Road to Perfect Health, available exclusively through my PBS special of the same title. (Check your local PBS listings for show times.)

So, how does your GPS malfunction? Well, there are a number of ways. I’ll highlight some here:

Exposure to chemicals

• Certain medications (like antibiotics and acid-suppressing medications)
• Over processed and refined foods (I call them Dead Foods)
• Low stomach acid

In today’s world, it can be hard to avoid some of these triggers. That’s why it’s best to balance your gut with beneficial probiotic bacteria to get your GPS up and running. As I say: Balance your gut, heal your body.

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Celiac disease involves an autoimmune gut reaction to gluten proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. This reaction destroys the intestinal villi. Villi are the finger-like projections that line the small intestine, increasing the surface area of the intestine so that absorption of nutrients can be maximized. When the villi are destroyed, nutrient absorption is hindered, which can lead to serious health complications.

How serious? The autoimmune reaction of celiac (basically, the immune systems mistakes parts of the body as a foreign invader, and attacks the body’s own tissues) can lead to other autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid dysfunction.

A recent study has determined that the incidence of celiac disease has doubled every year since 1974, and it also increases with age. If people can develop celiac disease in their 50s and 60s, it indicates that the condition is likely caused by environmental factors.

One important possible environmental trigger of the disease that may be causing late-onset celiac is changes in the composition of gut bacteria. Researchers suggested that a greater understanding of these changes in the gut may allow for the development of a way to keep the disease on hold.

Our gut health is truly related to the health of the rest of the body. Start by healing your gut, and maintaining that health to build a strong foundation that the rest of the body can benefit from, well into our golden years.

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Ok folks, my weekly challenge involves a very interesting study from Boston University that I came across the other day that I want to share with you. The study looked at a technique known as expressive writing, which involves writing one’s thoughts and feelings about a certain issue. In this study, participants with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) expressed their thoughts and feelings about having IBS. They wrote for 30 minutes on four consecutive days.

Expressive writing was found to improve IBS severity and cognition in participants with longer-term duration of IBS. More studies are needed to confirm the potential for using this method in IBS treatment, but these preliminary results are hopeful.

It turns out that expressive writing has been found to be beneficial for a number of health conditions, like depression, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, chronic pain, chronic infection, and even length of hospital stay. How cool!

So, this week, if you are suffering from a chronic illness (especially IBS) take 30 minutes out of four days in a row to record your thoughts and feelings about it. Here is an excerpt from the instructions used in the study:

“…Feel free to really let go and explore your very deepest emotions and thoughts. You might tie your topic to your relationships with others, including parents, lovers, friends, or relatives, to your past, your present, your future, or to who you have been, who you would like to be, or who you are now…”

So get out a pen and paper (or your laptop) and let it all out. It may just make you feel better in the long run.

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Here’s something I thought you might find interesting: researchers at Harvard University Medical School recently discovered that bacteria in the gut can trigger the autoimmune response associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

In simple terms, an autoimmune response means that there’s an immune response in the body that goes astray, causing the body to attack its own tissues instead of a foreign invader, in this case causing the breakdown in healthy joint cartilage seen in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

So what does all this mean when it comes to the trillions of bacteria living in your digestive tract every day? It means that they can affect your whole body, sometimes even causing conditions nowhere near the gut, and it’s something I’ve been saying for years! Not only that, but more and more studies these days are proving me right, showing that many autoimmune conditions begin right in the gut.

This isn’t surprising, since more than 70% of your body’s immune defenses are found in the gut—and when things like digestive problems, gut bacteria imbalance and toxin overload put a strain on the immune system, it often leads to the development of autoimmune conditions. 

The folks at Harvard are planning to look at the effects of intestinal bacteria on other autoimmune conditions as well, including type 1 diabetes, so stay tuned! And remember to take good care of your gut!

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