Autoimmune Responses

"More than 80 diseases occur as a result of the immune system attacking the body’s own organs, tissues, and cells. Some of the more common autoimmune diseases include type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and inflammatory bowel disease."
"Although the causes of many autoimmune diseases remain unknown, a person’s genes in combination with infections and other environmental exposures are likely to play a significant role in disease development. Treatments are available for many autoimmune diseases, but cures have yet to be discovered."
"The chronic and debilitating nature of these diseases, which can lead to high medical costs and reduced quality of life, is a burden on patients and also affects their families and communities.
"Although researchers have made considerable progress in understanding how the immune system causes organ, tissue, and cell injury in autoimmune diseases, much remains to be learned. By supporting a broad range of basic, preclinical, and clinical research in autoimmune diseases, NIAID enhances understanding of the causes of these diseases, the genetic factors that make people susceptible to them, and the regulatory mechanisms that control the production of self-destructive antibodies."
National Instituttes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, U.S.A.

 This is a scanning electron micrograph of a human T lymphocyte (also called a T cell) from the immune system of a healthy donor. 

Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Roughly 23.5 million people living in the United States are plagued with chronic conditions brought on from an autoimmune condition. And while their condition can be diagnosed as such and treatment recommended, whatever it was that caused the onset of that condition remains a mystery. Type 1 diabetes is included in that group of autoimmune diseases; something has caused the body's immune system to attack insulin-producing beta cells in the Islets of Langerhans. Scientists conjecture that a genetic predisposition to the disease is involved, and some environmental factor has set it off.

As with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, celiac disease, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease. These are the most well-known of the diseases that exemplify an autoimmune condition but they represent only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, with another 80 conditions much less well-known. The mechanism involved in the immune system targeting its own healthy cells is mystifying but, according to the National Institutes of Health:
"...There is a growing consensus that autoimmune diseases likely result from interactions between genetic and environmental factors..." 

According to some studies, certain genes may predispose someone to particular autoimmune diseases, a conclusion bolstered by the reality that many of these diseases appear in a family as a common factor of inheritance. On the other hand, while people in a family grouping may all inherit the same gene that predisposes for a certain disease, this does not necessarily translate to everyone in that family grouping certain to be diagnosed with that disease's onset.

The gene is there, and can be likened to wood piled up into a neat bundle ready to be kindled into a bonfire as soon as a match is applied. In the human body with a genetic trait to predisposing toward onset of a familial malady, the conditions to enable the malady to flare into existence must be met. The predisposition will always be there, but if the trigger to arouse the body into a full-blown disease onset does not occur, neither will the disease. The key is both circumstances, opportunity and on the other hand, a healthy body resistant to onset.

Although there are no guarantees that leading a healthy lifestyle will in the end help to avoid disease onset, it does produce a healthier body, better able to cope with an autoimmune disease onset should one arise. There are studies that suggest that aiming for a healthy lifestyle may ensure the immune system remains balanced; less focus on leading a healthy lifestyle may result in the immune system overreacting; low vitamin D levels have been implicated as a risk factor for multiple sclerosis, for example.

Just as obesity has been linked to a number of autoimmune diseases, including Type 2 diabetes, multiple-sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. All manner of autoimmune flare-ups have also been attributed to stress and anxiety levels. Dietary choices can come into play in achieving a healthy outcome in any event; the right nutrients to maintain a healthy weight, manage stress, and to ensure that a good night's sleep is a regular event to prevent a flare-up of autoimmunity gone berserk.

The human gut is viewed as critical in reacting when allergic or toxic things enter our bodies; 70 percent of the immune system lies in and around the gut, identifying it as linked distinctly to the immune system. Eliminating foods that inflame the gut and limiting unnecessary medications that have the potential to alter the bacteria balance in the gut seems a good place to start. Along with that, selecting foods that have a positive impact on reducing inflammation.

Foods that may cause inflammation:

• Sugar
• Refine carbohydrates
• Trans fats
• Omega 6 fatty acids
• Processed foods and meat
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Artificial Sweeteners
• Food dyes

AlexPro9500/iStock/Thinkstock

Foods known to reduce inflammation:

• Leafy greens
• Fruits such as blueberries, strawberries and blackberries
• Fatty fish, high in omega 3 fatty acids
• Olive oil
• Aocados
• Nuts and seeds
• Herbs and spices such as turmeric, cumin and garlic
• Vitamin D