Project Description
What is Auto-Immune disease?
Autoimmune diseases are characterized as disease processes in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. Auto-immune diseases can affect the brain, skin, intestines, joints, organs, blood vessels, etc.. Some well known auto-immune diseases are Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Chrohns Disease, and Psoriasis. There are however, numerous less known auto-immune diseases such as Scleroderma, Dermatomyositis, Sjogrens Syndrome, and others. The severity of auto-immune diseases can vary from mild and manageable, to debilitating and deadly.
How are Auto-Immune diseases diagnosed?
Generally speaking auto-immune diseases are diagnosed by some combination of physical examination, laboratory findings, and diagnostic testing such as X-ray, MRI, and CAT scan.
How are Auto-Immune diseases commonly treated?
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Non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)
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Corticosteroids
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Low dose chemotherapy
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Targeted Immune suppressing drugs
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These drugs can have serious side effects including bone loss, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes
Are Auto-Immune diseases considered genetic diseases?
No, auto-immune diseases are not genetic diseases. There are certain gene variations that can increase a persons risk of developing an auto-immune disease. However, it is important to remember that just because someone may have these gene variations does not mean that they will definitely develop an auto-immune disease. Important factors that affect “gene expression” play a significant role in weather or not a person will develop an auto-immune disease. These important factors are listed below. It is important to remember, your genes are not your destiny.
What causes Auto-Immune disease?
According to conventional american medicine the cause of auto-immune diseases is unknown. However, a careful analysis of the peer reviewed scientific literature reveals a number of important factors that can lead to the imbalanced and malfunctioning immune system seen in auto-immune disease. It is these important factors listed below that will ultimately determine whether or not a person will develop an auto-immune disease.
What are these important factors?
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Vitamin D deficiency
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Increased gastrointestinal permeability (Leaky Gut)
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Gastrointestinal microbial imbalances (bacteria, yeast, parasites, etc..)
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Adrenal gland dysfunction (the adrenal gland regulates the immune system)
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Environmental chemical exposure (pesticides, herbicides, industrial pollutants, etc..)
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Toxic metal exposure (mercury, aluminum, arsenic, etc…)
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Nutritional deficiencies
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Over consumption of inflammatory or potentially antigenic food molecules (gluten, partially hydrogenated fats, omega 6 polyunsaturated fats, lectins, advanced glycation end products, etc…), Europeans refer to some of these molecules as food toxicants
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Over consumption of high sugar and high carbohydrate processed foods (cake, cookies, pastry, soda, juice, pasta, bread, etc…)
What should a Comprehensive Holistic Health Protocol for Auto-Immune disease include?
A Comprehensive Holistic Health Protocol should always be customized to meet the unique needs of each person. Not only do people have different gene variations, but also differ in important lifestyle factors that affect their “gene expression”. A persons diet, stress levels, professional and family responsibilities, sleep patterns, exercise choices, as well as pre-exiting and concomitant medical conditions all significantly affect their overall health and therefore must be considered in health protocol design. Of the over 11,000 Customized Holistic Health Protocols we have designed in the last 27 years of clinical practice, no two have been exactly the same. An appropriate protocol should accomplish the following:
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Evaluate and Establish how many of the above factors are involved in each persons unique clinical situation
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Design and implement a Customized Dietary Plan (CDP) that will address the above factors involved in each persons condition
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Design and implement a Targeted Nutritional Supplementation (TNS) strategy that will address the above factors involved in each persons condition
