The Top 3 Foods to Prevent and Reverse Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune diseases are on the rise. In fact, they affect between 25-50 million Americans. I personally have had two autoimmune diseases, MS and CRPS. Because they all have different names and affect different parts and functions of the body, they are often not recognized as autoimmune diseases, and the treatment for each condition varies.

While medications may improve or suppress some autoimmune symptoms, if the actual cause is not identified, it is very difficult to reverse or cure the autoimmune disease itself. In addition, medications have many side effects that are unpleasant and can even become a condition of their own, requiring more medications to combat the side effects.

A solution to this problem is emerging. Functional Medicine physicians and practitioners now widely agree that the following four elements are at the root of all autoimmune diseases: poor diet, unhealthy gut (Leaky Gut), stress, and environmental toxins and a protocol for an effective treatment is taking shape, with excellent results.

Interestingly, I used this same protocol to reverse my MS and remain symptom free today, (except for the gluten removal, as gluten wasn’t the issue it is today back in the 80’s). I also used a nutritional and stress management approach to reverse my CRPS (acquired after surgery, which was even worse than the MS).

 

This article addresses some of the nutritional causes of autoimmunity, and briefly discusses 3 of the top foods that should be avoided – as they contribute to poor gut health, one of the main causes of autoimmunity.

Let’s look at three of the main toxins and inflammation-causing foods in our SAD:

1. Sugar

How does sugar cause autoimmunity? Sugar weakens the immune system by prompting your cells to create inflammation. According to Health Services at Columbia University, when you eat 100 grams of sugar, about as much sugar as you find in a 1 liter bottle of soda, your white blood cells are 40 percent less effective at killing germs. This can cripple your immune system for up to 5 hours after eating sugar!

The second reason sugar is so deadly is that it impacts your white blood cells by competing for space with Vitamin C in your cells. Linus Pauling did research in the 1970s to find out how the body uses Vitamin C. They discovered that white blood cells need Vitamin C to destroy bacteria and viruses. Sugar and Vitamin C are similar in their chemical structure. When you eat sugar, it directly competes for space in your immune cells with Vitamin C! The more sugar in your system, the less Vitamin C can get into your white blood cells. Sugar DOES NOT help your immune system fight infection at all, and results in a weakened immune system.

 

2. Gluten

Modern day agricultural practices include something called genetic modification.  When the genes in the seeds of corn, soy, and wheat are altered in a laboratory, in order to grow larger grains and to be more resistant to disease, they now contain proteins that are not natural to the plant. Studies have found that these proteins are extremely difficult to digest which causes heartburn, reflux, bloating, constipation, and diarrhoea.

Gluten is found in wheat, barley, and kamut; and genetic modification has made it stronger and more concentrated. This has led to many of the food allergies over the past few decades. If you’re wondering why a common food we have been eating for a long time is now suddenly bad for you, it is because gluten is actually relatively new to our diet. Until the last 10 thousand years or so, humans were hunter/gatherers, eating mostly meat, fish, fats, vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts.

Another reason grain products have become hard to digest and unhealthy is that processing removes the fiber and many nutrients to give them a longer shelf life. This has made food more available, but has had the negative effect of making it unhealthy and hard to digest.

 

3. Dairy

Dairy products cause inflammation in many people.

Inflammation has been identified as the “root cause” of all diseases by many prominent physicians and researchers: See article here.

The result of the SAD for many people has led to increased inflammation in the body and a newly recognized condition that contributes to autoimmune disease:

Leaky Gut

These 3 foods contribute to poor gut health, or what is now being called, Leaky Gut.

What is Leaky Gut? Leaky Gut describes a condition in the small intestines where there is increased intestinal permeability: Irritation to the gut lining causes the tight junctures in the intestinal barrier to let unwanted molecules of food, toxin, bacteria, into the bloodstream, and this causes immune reaction in the gut that can promote the development of autoimmunity. The result is that cells of the immune system get damaged and then get confused and make a mistake and attach to your own tissues or nervous system.