 Conditions that suggest Autoimmune Tendency:
Risk factors for Autoimmune Tendency:
Autoimmune Tendency can lead to:
Recommendations and treatments for Autoimmune Tendency: | |  | | | Diet |  Therapeutic Fasting | Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D. has spent much of his professional life treating disease by fasting his patients. He has an entire chapter in his book, Fasting and Eating for Health, dedicated to the subject of autoimmune disease. He is convinced that fasting with subsequent dietary changes is a much superior approach to autoimmune disease than conventional treatments. |
 Gluten-free Diet| | Some doctors have found that a higher than normal percentage of patients with autoimmune disorders are allergic to gluten/gliadin and dairy products. Complete avoidance should be tried for at least one month to see if benefits will occur. |
Dairy Products Avoidance |
Digestion |
Hydrochloric Acid (Trial) |
Lab Tests/Rule-Outs |
Test Copper Levels| | In cases of autoimmune disease, where therapy is often less than satisfactory, copper insufficiency should be investigated until additional studies confirm any link. The following quote is by John Johnson (iThyroid.com):
"There is very little scientific evidence that copper is involved in immune system function, but it is my belief that copper deficiency is the principal nutritional deficiency involved in autoimmune diseases. Approximately 80% of the people who suffer from autoimmune diseases are women. The most important nutrient that women need more of than men is copper. Any nutritional detective who is trying to find the culprit in autoimmune diseases should first suspect copper. Women need more copper and get autoimmune diseases more frequently. Men need less copper and generally don’t get autoimmune disease. Copper deficiency is the obvious suspect." |
Test for DHEA| | Some doctors report finding that a high percentage of patients with autoimmune disorders are also deficient in DHEA, and should be tested. |
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KEY | | Weak or unproven link |  | | Strong or generally accepted link |  | | Proven definite or direct link | | | Likely to help | | | Highly recommended |
GLOSSARY
Antibody (Antibodies)
A type of serum protein (globulin) synthesized by white blood cells of the lymphoid type in response to an antigenic (foreign substance) stimulus. Antibodies are complex substances formed to neutralize or destroy these antigens in the blood. Antibody activity normally fights infection but can be damaging in allergies and a group of diseases that are called autoimmune diseases.
Autoimmune Disease (Autoimmune, Autoimmunity)
One of a large group of diseases in which the immune system turns against the body's own cells, tissues and organs, leading to chronic and often deadly conditions. Examples include multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, Bright's disease and diabetes.
Chronic (Chronicity)
Usually referring to chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Copper
An essential mineral that is a component of several important enzymes in the body and is essential to good health. Copper is found in all body tissues. Copper deficiency leads to a variety of abnormalities, including anemia, skeletal defects, degeneration of the nervous system, reproductive failure, pronounced cardiovascular lesions, elevated blood cholesterol, impaired immunity and defects in the pigmentation and structure of hair. Copper is involved in iron incorporation into hemoglobin. It is also involved with vitamin C in the formation of collagen and the proper functioning in central nervous system. More than a dozen enzymes have been found to contain copper. The best studied are superoxide dismutase (SOD), cytochrome C oxidase, catalase, dopamine hydroxylase, uricase, tryptophan dioxygenase, lecithinase and other monoamine and diamine oxidases.
DHEA (DHEA-S)
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a steroid produced by the adrenal glands and is the most abundant one found in humans. DHEA may be transformed into testosterone, estrogen or other steroids. It is found in the body as DHEA or in the sulfated form known as DHEA-S. One form is converted into the other as needed.
Histamine
A chemical in the body tissues, produced by the breakdown of histidine. It is released in allergic reactions and causes widening of capillaries, decreased blood pressure, increased release of gastric juice, fluid leakage forming itchy skin and hives, and tightening of smooth muscles of the bronchial tube and uterus. Histamine is the chemical that drives the initial acute allergic reaction, causing itching, swelling and congestion.
Hypochlorhydria (Hypochlorhydric)
The condition of having low hydrochloric acid levels in the stomach, often the cause of digestive disorders.
Immune System (Immune Response, Immunity)
A complex that protects the body from disease organisms and other foreign bodies. The system includes the humoral immune response and the cell-mediated response. The immune system also protects the body from invasion by making local barriers and inflammation. The process may involve acquired immunity (the ability to learn and remember a specific infectious agent), or innate immunity (the genetically programmed system of responses that attack, digest, remove, and initiate inflammation and tissue healing).
Manganese
An essential mineral found in trace amounts in tissues of the body. Adults normally contain an average of 10 to 20mg of manganese in their bodies, most of which is contained in bone, the liver and the kidneys. Manganese is essential to several critical enzymes necessary for energy production, bone and blood formation, nerve function and protein metabolism. It is involved in the metabolism of fats and glucose, the production of cholesterol and it allows the body to use thiamine and Vitamin E. It is also involved in the building and degrading of proteins and nucleic acid, biogenic amine metabolism, which involves the transmitting of nerve impulses.
Mast Cells
These are a group of cells that line the capillaries of tissues that come in contact with the outside, for example skin, sinuses, and lung mucosa. They, like their first cousin basophils, are produced in the red bone marrow and migrate to the appropriate tissues, where they stay. They bind IgE, supply the histamine and heparin response that gives you a healing inflammation, and cause allergies.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (Chemical Hypersensitivity, Environmental Illness, MCS)
The diagnostic label of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is being applied increasingly, although definition of the phenomenon is elusive. MCS has become more widely known and increasingly controversial as more patients receive the label. Persons with the label of multiple chemical sensitivity are said to suffer multisystem illnesses as a result of contact with - or proximity to - a spectrum of substances, including airborne agents. These may include both recognized pollutants and other pollutants ordinarily considered harmless. Some doctors believe that MCS is a purely psychological issue. Others, however, counter that the disorder can cause the kinds of problems that keep those who are affected from leading a normal life.
Smooth Muscle (Involuntary Muscle)
The human body contains 2 types of muscle - smooth muscle and striated (skeletal) muscle. Smooth muscle is found in our internal organs such as stomach, intestines, blood vessels, or uterus (womb) and causes them to contract. These muscles are involuntary - that is, we don't control their movement.
Stomach
A hollow, muscular, J-shaped pouch located in the upper part of the abdomen to the left of the midline. The upper end (fundus) is large and dome-shaped; the area just below the fundus is called the body of the stomach. The fundus and the body are often referred to as the cardiac portion of the stomach. The lower (pyloric) portion curves downward and to the right and includes the antrum and the pylorus. The function of the stomach is to begin digestion by physically breaking down food received from the esophagus. The tissues of the stomach wall are composed of three types of muscle fibers: circular, longitudinal and oblique. These fibers create structural elasticity and contractibility, both of which are needed for digestion. The stomach mucosa contains cells which secrete hydrochloric acid and this in turn activates the other gastric enzymes pepsin and rennin. To protect itself from being destroyed by its own enzymes, the stomach’s mucous lining must constantly regenerate itself.
Urticaria (Hives)
Commonly known as hives, urticaria is one of the most common dermatological conditions seen by allergists. Urticaria is not just an allergic disease, however. It can be caused by metabolic diseases, medications, infectious diseases, autoimmune disease, or physical sensitivity. Traditional allergies to foods or medications as well as viral illness are frequent causes of acute urticaria which usually lasts only a few hours but may last up to 6 weeks. Chronic urticaria (lasting more than 6 weeks) is more complex, given the vast number of potential triggers. Symptoms include sudden onset; initial itching; then swelling of the surface of the skin into red or skin-colored welts (wheals) with clearly defined edges; welts turn white on touching; new welts develop when the skin is scratched; usually disappear within minutes or hours. Welts enlarge, change shape, spread or join together to form large flat raised areas.
Zinc
An essential trace mineral. The functions of zinc are enzymatic. There are over 70 metalloenzymes known to require zinc for their functions. The main biochemicals in which zinc has been found to be necessary include: enzymes and enzymatic function, protein synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. Zinc is a constituent of insulin and male reproductive fluid. Zinc is necessary for the proper metabolism of alcohol, to get rid of the lactic acid that builds up in working muscles and to transfer it to the lungs. Zinc is involved in the health of the immune system, assists vitamin A utilization and is involved in the formation of bone and teeth.
Last updated: Nov 08, 2009
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