Autoimmune Disease and Women

Did you know that 8 out of 10 people diagnosed with autoimmune disease are women? While men tend to be more susceptible to infectious disease than women, women are more at risk to be affected by autoimmune diseases and disorders. So we have to ask…

Why is it that women are most affected by these diseases?

What causes autoimmunity?

And most importantly, what can we do about it?

We are going to dive deep into all of that in this article.  But first, let’s find out what autoimmune diseases are.

What Are Autoimmune Diseases?

Our immune system is a great defense mechanism. It was designed to attack and repel any foreign substance or microorganism that enters our bodies. So, viruses, bacteria, and anything that should not be in our bodies will be attacked by our immune cells once they make their way in. However, there can be a malfunction sometimes. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s natural defense system, our immune system, gets confused and begins attacking our own normal cells. It may attack our joints, skin, organs, nervous system or other tissues.

Why Are Women Affected More?

Recent research shows that 80% of the patients being treated for autoimmune disease are women. In part, this could be because women are more likely to seek medical help. But that’s not a solid reason.

It is unknown why women tend to be more at risk but a couple of theories have suggested it could be as a result of genetic variations or hormonal changes. Let’s take a look at both considerations.

Genetics – The larger number of genes originating from the X chromosome creates a greater possibility of the occurrence of genetic mutations. Since women have two X chromosomes while men have only one, we may have a greater risk for genetic mutations and the onset of autoimmune disease.

Hormonal Changes – Since autoimmune seems to affect women more during the hormonal transitions of life including puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, there is a good possibility that these changes in hormonal balance may be a contributor.

What Are The Different Types Of Autoimmune Diseases?

There are over 100 known autoimmune diseases according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. The 10 most common autoimmune disorders include:

• Rheumatoid arthritis: This attacks the joints.
• Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis: Attacks the thyroid and slows the production of thyroid hormones, causing metabolism to decrease. It also brings about weight gain, sensitivity to cold, and hair loss.
• Celiac disease: Here, dietary gluten causes a release of a protein called zonulin. Zonulin regulates intestinal permeability. With the presence of gluten it triggers the tight junctions of the intestine to open allowing undigested food particles and gluten to leak into the blood stream.
• Grave’s disease: Cells attack the thyroid, causing it to overproduce its hormones and affect the body’s metabolism.
• Type 1 diabetes: Attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells within the pancreas.
• Psoriasis: Causes the skin to multiply too quickly, leading to inflamed patchy spots and white scales of plaque build-up
• Inflammatory bowel disease: Causes inflammation of the intestinal lining and can result in Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative colitis.
• Muscular sclerosis: Attacks the myelin sheath, the protective coating that surrounds nerve cells in the central nervous system.
• Lupus: Attacks joints and organs including kidneys, brain, and heart
• Addison’s Disease: Attacks the adrenal glands, primarily known for the production of cortisol, androgen hormones, and aldosterone, a necessary hormone for the balance of sodium and potassium in the bloodstream.

What Causes Autoimmune Diseases?

While researchers are still trying to understand the role genetics and hormones play in autoimmune diseases, we do know that an overactive immune system is a root cause when it comes to initiating the attack. How does the immune system become overwhelmed, confused, and overactive? It starts in the gut. Many foods in our modern diet that contain gluten, lectins and man-made chemicals that damage the gut lining and can cause an overgrowth of candida yeast and certain types of bad bacteria that can take over and colonize the intestines. The damage causes the normally tight junctions in the intestinal lining to open up and allow undigested food particles to “leak” into the bloodstream. As a result, the immune system goes to work to kill these foreign objects as undigested food should not be floating around in our bloodstream. It launches an attack but pretty soon we eat again and more food particles leak into the bloodstream. This continues till the immune system becomes confused. The immune system knows that these foreign particles should be gone but they keep showing up so it launches an all-out attack and sometimes mistakenly attacks our body’s normal healthy cells. The type of cells it attacks is dependent on our genetic susceptibility; based on what our parents and grandparents have passed on to us.

A Proven Solution For Autoimmune Diseases

Struggling with an autoimmune disease can be a tough situation. The good news is that you can get help. Many people with auto-immune disorders have been able to reduce and sometimes eliminate their symptoms with an autoimmune protocol. This protocol is a form of nutritional therapy that helps remove the biggest culprits, the foods that damage the gut, and replace those foods with foods that heal the gut to close up the gaps that are allowing undigested particles to leak through. It helps restore the gaps to the tight junctions they once were, only allowing fully digested nutrients to enter the bloodstream. Once these foods are removed and the gut is healed, the symptoms from autoimmune diseases tend to reduce and in some cases, may completely disappear.

This is where I can help. As a nutritional therapy practitioner, I help my clients implement a protocol that works with their lifestyle, removing the stressors that are damaging their gut and cause uncomfortable symptoms. And then adding in foods that heal and restore the gut lining. You’re not alone my friend. Autoimmune disease is affecting more and more people. I too have experienced autoimmune disorders including eczema (atopic dermatitis), rheumatoid arthritis at a young age and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).  The autoimmune protocol I follow has completely healed the eczema and, as long as I maintain my diet and protocol, I can keep the arthritis and IBS at bay.

For more information on how nutritional therapy can help autoimmune disease, click on this link to schedule a FREE Consultation and feel free to ask me all the questions!

 

Take care til then,

Lacee