Autoimmunity has been termed one of the biggest growing public health concerns of recent years. A study carried out last year and published in the Lancet found, that up to 10% of the UK population have a diagnosed autoimmune condition
The topic of autoimmunity has already attracted much attention in recent years, and I only anticipate this filtering more into mainstream knowledge as time goes on, partly because not everything that behaves like an autoimmune condition, has enough evidence to be medically classified as such. *Cough cough* fibromyalgia springs to mind here and I’m sure we’ll be hearing the same about endometriosis.
Today we’ll be exploring what we mean by an autoimmune condition, why are they so difficult to diagnose and what kind of lifestyle change can we start to implement to have an impact.
What is an Autoimmune Disease?
What is autoimmunity and why should you care about it? In its simplest meaning, an autoimmune disease is a condition where the body’s immune system starts to identify its own healthy tissue as problematic and needing to be destroyed.
When an immune response is mounted by the body and specific immune cells are released, they start to break down healthy tissue, which negatively impacts cellular and organ function in the body. Each autoimmune condition tends to target specific tissues. For example, in coeliac disease the villi, found in the small intestine, are affected; In rheumatoid arthritis, it is the tissue that line the joints that are targeted; In Multiple Sclerosis, it is the myelin, which coats the nerves that is targeted.
Diagnosis of an Autoimmune Condition
The nature of autoimmune diseases means that the symptoms are non-specific. Often, someone will have had multiple visits to their doctor reporting symptoms that may be difficult to connect and trace back to a single cause. A 10-minute appointment (the length of a standard GP appointment) is also not enough time to delve into a thorough health history and uncover any stressful life experiences that may have been a contributing factor to the presentation. There is also no single diagnostic test available for autoimmune conditions. Approaching your doctor with a clear timeline of symptom onset and particular events that could be triggers, can help your doctor decide whether a referral for further specialist investigation is warranted. Medical treatment options vary depending on the diagnosis and severity of symptoms, but from a lifestyle perspective, there are several areas to focus on.
How Does Lifestyle Impact Autoimmunity?
We can consider some of the factors that can lead to an autoimmune condition developing and use that information to manage the symptoms. From a nutritional therapy perspective (or functional medicine perspective) there are three factors that underpin an autoimmune condition arising. Firstly, genetics (do you have any blood relatives with an autoimmune diagnosis?) secondly, compromised gut health and thirdly a trigger for the immune response - this could be a virus, a toxin, a stressful event etc.
The goal is to optimise the conditions of the body, the internal landscape, & therefore reduce the impact or damage of the condition.
Lifestyle Changes to Manage Autoimmune Conditions
From a lifestyle perspective, there are several areas to focus on:
Identify and Manage Triggers
Manage Gut Health
Nourish Stress Response
How to Identify Triggers:
Something that you and your practitioners can work on is a timeline. This includes symptom onset & any significant life events in the lead up to onset. You can do the same for any flare ups that you may experience. Here are some examples of the kinds of things that my clients and I might consider (not an exhaustive list):
Any adverse childhood events (anything stressful - exams, bullying, death in the family, divorce, moving abroad), moving to a new city, children, loss of a job/redundancy, loss of or caring for a relative.
Daily chemical exposures: chemicals - tattoos, beauty procedures (peels, injectables), personal care products
New medication /change in formula of existing medications
Major illness
Surgical procedure
Food sensitivities
Manage Gut Health
The gut plays a crucial role in our immune system. It is the site where the immune system and the potential autoimmune triggers interact. The integrity of the gut wall, the mucosal layer and the microbiome composition are all areas that we can support through food + lifestyle interventions and potentially mitigate the chances of an autoimmune condition from arising. You can find more information on the microbiome here - https://www.hormoniously.com/blog/2022/6/28/meddling-with-the-microbiome.
If you are someone that has suffered with gut health symptoms for years, I would always recommend working with a practitioner as they will be able to brainstorm with you and use their expertise to support you to make informed choices.
The very basics are to support the mechanics of digestion:
chew your food
don’t dilute your digestion with too much water while you’re eating
Choose foods that nourish your gut lining
bone broth
stewed apples
medicinal mushrooms like Lion’s Mane
Eat to support your microbiome –
rainbow vegetables and fruits,
dairy products with live cultures (if you can tolerate them),
fermented foods – start with very small amounts e.g. 50ml kefir or 1tsp kimchi and slowly build up tolerance
ManagE Stress Response
Unfortunately, when we are told that stress can be contributing to a health issue and we are sent away without further insight or suggestions to implement, we can feel like we have been dismissed. However, by learning more about the adrenals and stress response, we can have a positive influence on our symptoms.
A stressful event can be a trigger for an autoimmune condition, living with an autoimmune condition is also objectively more stressful than not having one – we therefore need to consider a dysregulated stress response and learn how we can manage that.
Managing our stress response is something that can give us back our power. By this I mean, being conscious of our circadian rhythm - when our cortisol is naturally high, and when we expect to see it reduce throughout the day, as well as the things we do/eat or engage in that stimulate a stress response in the body. Also, making sure that we are regularly engaging in practices that help to nourish us and restore our stress response. Be very conscious that many activities that are labelled as “good stress” will not be beneficial if your stress response is struggling to mount an appropriate response to these stressors – your body cannot differentiate between good stress and any other stressors. Nourish your response before you start to challenge it again. More information on your stress response here - https://www.hormoniously.com/blog/2024/5/31/what-does-rest-actually-mean
Real Life Examples of Nourishing the Stress Response:
If we can handle caffeine, sticking to 1 coffee per day in the morning (after breakfast).
Practicing some breathing exercises throughout your day - for example the physiological sigh [ 2 in breaths & a long outbreath] a few times throughout the day to send a message to the brain that the body is safe.
A warm bath or shower in the evening before bed
An afternoon nap
A guided meditation
Laughing with a trusted friend
Spending time in nature
A massage or reflexology session
Autoimmune conditions are incredibly complex, and the examples provided above are very broad starting points, some of which might not work for you as an individual.
As always, working with a practitioner who can support you to understand your individual health challenges and help you communicate with your medical team is recommended. If there are conditions you would like to know more about, please let us know as we would love to create more blog topics delving deeper.