Alice Nicholls, The Whole Daily
Thyroid Nation

The rate of those living with Autoimmune disease is steadily rising.

In Australia and New Zealand 1 in every 20 people have some form of Autoimmune Disease and there are now more than 50 million Americans living with Autoimmune Disease.

Many people diagnosed with Autoimmune disease will take medication prescribed by their physician without further thought. Band-aiding the symptoms of the disease instead of truly healing the body so that they can find their best level of health.

When we look at Autoimmune Diseases such as Graves, Crohn’s, celiac, Hashimoto’s, rheumatoid arthritis (and also common Autoimmune diseases like acne and IBS) from a holistic perspective, it’s imperative to understand the most common triggers so that we can focus on making better choices for our health.

Here is a list of the Top 7 Triggers if Autoimmune Disease 

*There are more triggers and underlying causes of AI, these are simply some of the most prevalent.

#1. Gluten

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, spelt, oats, barley and rye. Mark Hyman famously wrote about gluten ‘What you don’t know might kill you‘, about this damaging Autoimmune irritant. In pre-industrialised days, gluten didn’t harm as many as it does today because the preparation of the grain was very different and the inflammatory protein was more gentle by the time we ingested it. Today’s processed grains are highly inflammatory and eaten at nearly every mealtime by the vase majority of us.

#2. Sugar

Sugar dysregulation is one of the most common causes of digestive dysfunction, wreaking havoc on the immune system and potentially  triggering Autoimmune disease. Blood sugar imbalances also contribute to leaky gut syndrome, a perforation in the lining of the digestive tract whereby food particles can leech into the bloodstream and cause severe inflammation. This adds to an already weakened immunity by compromising the release of cortisol – which helps to regulate our blood insulin levels.

Spiking the blood insulin levels with sugar constantly creates a merry-go-round of negative effect, adding to the propensity of worsening or triggering Autoimmune Disease.

#3. Stress

Studies have shown Autoimmune disease flares when chronic stress reduces the effectiveness of cortisol regulating the inflammatory response. The cells of our immune system can become insensitive to cortisol’s regulatory effect, leading to inflammation and triggering the development of Autoimmune Disease.

Over 90% of our happiness hormones are created in our digestive system. When we cause our digestive system upset with a poor diet we can also experience brain fog, pain, fatigue, poor sleep, anxiety, or endocrine dysfunction exasperating our feelings of stress and not recognising this as coming from our digestive system.

#4. Dairy

The milk protein casein, found in all dairy products can cause inflammation in the digestive tract and trigger Autoimmune Disease. Dairy sugar Lactose causes digestive inflammation in a large percentage of adults – most of them unaware of it – triggering Autoimmune Disease in the process. Most people past the age of being weaned as a baby, lack intestinal lactase which digests the lactose in dairy.

While it is best to completely remove dairy from the diet of Autoimmune Disease sufferers, some people can re-introduce fermented dairy, some full fat yogurts, kefir and clarified dairy such as ghee.

#5. Hydrolysed oils

Autoimmune diseases are exasperated by the consumption of hydrogenated vegetable oils or trans-fatty acids from the usage of hydrogenated oils. In the USA, currently, nearly 35-40% of the total calories consumed come from dietary fats and/or of lipid origin. Hydrogenated oils (those which are treated with hydrogen to prolong shelf life) are known to increase inflammation in the body, leading to a weakened immune system.

#6. Unbalanced microbiome

A large portion of our immune system resides in out microbiome. Think about the microbiome as a village inside our bodies teaming with trillions of bacteria all working together to try to create harmony and health within our body. Our microbiome also controls the output of over 90% of the hormones we create that control our brain and emotions (such as serotonin, the ‘happiness’ hormone). It is more than likely that sufferers of depression also have some form of Autoimmune condition, driven by the imbalance in the microbiome. Unbalanced microbiome can be affected by infection, use of prescription or recreational drugs, poor diet and stress.

#7. Environmental toxins

Most people are exposed to astounding amounts of pollution today. Over 80,000 synthetic or toxic chemicals have been introduced into our society since 1900, and only 550 of these have been tested for safety. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), about 2.5 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released yearly by large industrial facilities. And 6 million pounds of mercury are poured into our air every year. Many of the foods we eat are preserved using chemicals tested to a ‘safety’ point of ingestion,  yet not in consideration at the amount of other or the same chemicals we ingest in the one meal or single day.

Cleaning agents, pest control, and pollution are all adding to the workload our body has to remain in good health.

What can we do?

People who suffer from autoimmune disease should seek holistic support such as that from nutritionists and naturopaths and research powerful nutritional healing practices such as adopting an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant eating strategy aimed at decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress and promoting a healthy immune balance. We then need to add whole, clean food, nutrients, exercise, stress management, clean water and oxygen, a sense of community, connection, and meaning. Only then will we see a real decrease in Autoimmune Disease and it’s affects on health.

About the Author

Alice Nicholls is a Nutritional Medicine student, Certified Holistic Health Coach and Life Transformation Coach who specialises in supporting women to connect their emotional and physical health so they can live a fulfilled life. “I want to see women move from a beige existence of always wanting something that only exists in the future – skinny, happy, acceptance, love – and love their journey today. I’m exceptionally passionate about sharing the tools to achieve that.” Learn more about Alice at her amazing website, TheWholeDaily.au. Be sure to check her out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, too!

**This article originally featured on TheWholeDaily.au**

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