I had a hiccup with this blog post over the weekend, and you may be seeing it for a second time around. I apologize if I've inconvenienced anyone.
I’m beginning a three week food allergy test this morning that I’m really
excited about, so today’s post is a little different than what you’re used to
reading on my blog. It’s a bit odd I guess, but I awoke at 4 AM this morning
filled with hope and an overwhelming desire to share this story
with all of
you.
It’s important to me that you know this post is based on my
opinions. My opinions come from things I’ve researched and learned, but also on
my own experiences and my life. I’m not an expert, and I’m not recommending
any course of action for you other than to read. I’m simply sharing my story.
Why?
Well, about fifteen years ago I became sick with a fairly
common autoimmune illness that’s been getting
progressively worse in spite of traditional drug treatment, and new scientific
research is giving me hope that I might be able to improve my condition.
I found out it’s estimated over twenty million Americans are now
suffering from autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune disease is an umbrella term for
many illnesses, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, type I
diabetes, celiac disease, and a very long list of others.
Something alarming is going on here, and I think it’s worth writing about it.
I was about 45 years old when I got sick with Hashimoto’s
Thyroiditis. That’s a not uncommon condition for middle-aged women in which the
autoimmune system destroys our thyroid. My doctor said it was no big deal and I
just needed to take a little pill every day to replace what my thyroid used to
do. But it turns out it really was a big deal, because my thyroid disease was
the tip of an ice berg of an autoimmune disease that would effect my whole life,
not just my thyroid, over the next 15 years.
The purpose of a healthy immune system is to protect the body
from illness by attacking invaders, like cold and flu bugs. It sends out
fighter cells to rid us of those invaders. The “fight” between the immune
system cells and invader cells causes inflammation in our tissues, and that
inflammation is what causes achy muscles and joints when you have the cold or flu.
With a healthy immune system, the inflammation is temporary and a good thing.
The traditional theory explained to me by my doctor about
autoimmune disease is that the immune system for some unknown reason becomes
over protective and mistakes the body’s own cells for invaders. So, in my case,
my immune system destroyed my healthy thyroid because it mistook it for
invading cells. That was the beginning
of a 15 year long “fight” going on in my body between my overactive immune
system cells attacking make-believe invader cells. The battle causes a constant
inflammation that makes me feel like I have the flu everyday and that has damaged my
joints and tissues.
The traditional way to treat autoimmune diseases is to
suppress the immune system to decrease the inflammation. The problem with this
is that by suppressing the immune system to not attack healthy cells, it may
also no longer adequately protect us against bad cells, like cancer. Which is
why in the ads for the immune system suppressants, you hear all those warnings
about the possibility of increased infections and other illnesses. I can’t
afford that drug anyway, so I just take Ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation and
pain. I take lots and lots of it. Every single day.
You may have noticed in your own dealings with the medical
community that the traditional way to approach illness in our country is to
treat the symptoms. For instance, I had thyroid disease, so it was treated
with synthetic thyroid hormone and Ibuprofen. No one ever talked about trying to
cure it. There was some “unknown reason” women’s immune systems went whacky,
but finding out why or trying to cure it wasn’t ever an option given to me.
Treatment with drugs was.
In the past ten years or so, there is a new kind of doctor
in the medical community, called a functional doctor. These doctors don’t just
treat disease symptoms; they also look for causes and cures. They’ve been studying
autoimmune diseases from a new angle, and there is now scientific evidence that
immune systems haven’t been going whacky and making mistakes attacking our own
healthy bodies for unknown reasons. Our immune systems have been doing exactly what
they’re designed to do, trying to keep us healthy by attacking real honest to
goodness unhealthy invaders that no one had discovered yet.
But what kind of unhealthy invaders could be attacking over twenty million
immune systems?
Research is showing that for many of us, our immune systems are attacking the FOOD
we’re eating. Surprising and scary, right? I know what good nutrition is and have always fed my family a
balanced diet of what I thought were healthy whole grains, vegetables, fruit,
protein and fats, but our immune systems don’t seem to recognize much of our typical
American food from the corner grocery store as food anymore. Not everyone is
affected, of course, but twenty million Americans is certainly cause for
concern.
Food is not always the only culprit in some autoimmune disease. Stress seems to be a trigger
that pushes some immune systems beyond their limits and into rejection. I had been a very healthy woman until I suddenly got autoimmune disease. But at that time I was also a full time senior in college beginning an extremely stressful internship while keeping house and raising two little girls. I loved all of it, but it might have been a bit too much for my body.
The test I’m starting today is a three week long food
allergy test. It’s a pretty simple test with no trips to an allergist or needle
pricks. I’m just removing gluten, corn, soy, and dairy (common problem foods) from my diet for three
weeks, and then I’ll reintroduce each food one at a time and see if my body has
any negative reaction to each one. The theory on which the test is based is that my
digestive system has been damaged by the food I eat, and my immune system is
overwhelmed by that damage, as well as by some of the food itself. First, my
digestive system will begin to heal and become stronger, and then the test will
help me identify which foods I'm sensitive to and can stop eating permanently to hopefully reduce the
inflammation and damage in my tissues and joints from my immune system rejecting them.
I’m now hopeful that armed with this new scientific evidence I can treat my disease through a healthy diet. I will always have to take synthetic thyroid hormone because my thyroid gland is damaged beyond repair, but I'm hoping to reduce my other symptoms so I can stop taking Ibuprofen to manage my pain. Research is showing
that people in early stages of autoimmune disease may be able to heal the tissue damage to their bodies, though, and even be cured.
It’s too late for me, but not for everyone. And that’s why I’m
writing this blog post and telling my story.
So many young children today suffer from allergies that were
rare when I was a child. Could it be the first signs of their young immune
systems rejecting the food they’re eating? Are we gambling with our children’s
future health by continuing to trust that the people who provide our food know what’s best for
our bodies and have our best interests at heart?
It’s not easy to purchase healthy food in our country
because our government doesn’t ban from grocery store shelves genetically
modified foods and additives that science has proven to be unhealthy, nor does
it require labels. In the United States you have to work hard at eating healthy, and you have to be vigilant.
Americans typically spend a smaller percentage of
the family income on food than is spent in many other countries where genetically modified food and harmful additives are banned. Healthy food often simply takes more effort and costs more to produce. Can Americans give up their
cable TV or a vacation or a smartphone to spend the money on healthy organic non-GMO food for
their families?
Should they?
Is it
worth it?
I can only answer for myself. If I’d only known when they were little, I’d have
gladly taken the time, gone without, and spent the money on healthy food for the chance to protect
my young daughters from a possibility of future autoimmune disease.
 |
| My own girls, all grown up. |
Thank you so
much for reading my story. I hope you find it helpful when choosing a healthy diet for your own family.
And to my daughters: I wish I’d known, and I love you!
{Note: For the science, rather than my opinion, behind what’s been
happening to our food over the past fifty years and how our bodies aren’t
coping with it, I recommend The Immune
System Recovery Plan by Susan Blum, M.D., M.P.H. and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.}
