AutoImmune Conditions 2

Last time we discussed the importance of barrier assessment and treatment in autoimmune conditions.

We are built with an intestinal and lung mucosal barrier, and a blood brain barrier, which is truly the first line of immune defense. Once compromised, via stress, chronic antigen exposure, alcohol, pain relievers, and even sugar, your immune system begins to react to simple processes like eating and breathing.

STEP 3
Adrenal stress physiology is often a part of autoimmune conditions. If you weren’t stressed out before the condition, the continuous immune attack will stress out your adrenals. So either way, it must be addressed.

The adrenal stress physiology affects nearly every tissue in your body, from digestion, joint repair, and immune balance. Chronic stress will imbalance your immune system even in the absence of a antigen.

The adrenal glands have a daily cycle, much like the ovaries have a 28 day cycle. As such, we must test adrenal output throughout the day in order to assess the rhythm.

We want to know your output levels of cortisol and DHEA, the two main hormones of the adrenals, and the rhythm of cortisol throughout the day.

Normally the cortisol output is high in the morning, partially as a result of awakening, and partially as a result of its blood sugar regulating effects overnight during a sleeping fast. The glands release cortisol to maintain blood sugar.

So, this has a great deal to do with your sleep cycles as well. If you can’t fall asleep or wake through the night, you most probably have an adrenal output or rhythm problem.

Taking this further, your diet during the day has an effect on the adrenals. If you skip meals, eat sugary or starchy foods, you will end up driving the adrenal stress physiology as a result of this secondary effect on blood sugar regulation.

If you eat high fiber carbohydrates, moderate protein, and regular meals, there is very little drive into the adrenals because you are regulating blood sugar the old fashioned way, by feeding your body with healthy foods.

Once the immune activation is eliminated by removal of antigens, and healing barrier compromises, the correction of adrenal physiology is a much easier process, and requires treating the output with phosphatidyl serine or licorice root, depending on whether it is a high output or low output. Then treating the rhythm with herbal adaptogens which work directly on the brain and hypothalamus to regulate or re-regulate the rhythm.

There are also nutritional components that need to be covered, such as B6, Pantothenic Acid, choline, and others that allow the adrenals to perform as well.

Next we will cover the final step of treating autoimmune conditions and restoring your health to near perfect once again.

STEP 4

Once the antigen, barriers, and adrenal physiology have been assessed and corrected, the immune system can be dealt with directly.

This is the exciting news for natural medicine, where only natural supplements, plants and antioxidants have proven to truly shift immune balance and stop the destructive effects on your own body parts.

The medical alternative, (and as I often say, "When did natural become the alternative") is full on immune suppression using chemo drugs or cortisone. Not ideal for a healthy return to life.

Restoring immune balance requires looking at all the immune cells and treating your specific version of imbalance. This gets into looking at T regulatory cells, T suppressor cells, Natural Killer cells, T helper cells, and T killer cells.

No, I don’t expect you to know your immune system to that detail, that’s my job right!?

The readers digest version is that we have to pull the immune attack back, and balance the T and B cells.

Vitamin D and Glutathione therapy are effective at pulling back the attack.

Powerful antioxidants such as resveratrol, pine bark, grape seed, and others are effective at shifting from T cell dominance to balanced T and B cell immunity.

Your traditional immune supporters, such as Echinacea, Astragalus, and immune enhancing mushrooms are effective at shifting from B cell dominance to balanced T and B cell immunity.

The key is knowing which way you want to go, as shifting into or toward a dominance will activate the immune attack on your own cells. You will realize it pretty quickly as you feel worse in a few days time.