Autoimmune

Your immune system and your gut bacteria

Your immune system is the main link between your gut bacteria and their influence on your health and disease. You were born with a naïve immune system and at first you were protected by antibodies from your mother. However, your immune cells needed to be educated further and your gut microbes took on that role. The support for your immune system from your gut microbes continues throughout your life and hence the health of your gut has a direct impact on the health of your immune system.

Since the balance of bacteria in your gut influences the balance of your immune system, an unbalanced bacterial flora (with for instance too many opportunistic pathogens), can shift your immune system to an increased inflammatory state with a so-called “leaky gut”. This inflammatory state may then affect other body systems and increase your risk of obesity, depression and autoimmune conditions. And it is this inflammatory state that people with autoimmune disorders find themselves in.

Autoimmune – what does it mean?

Autoimmune is a disease where instead of your immune system protecting your body from invaders, it turns around and attacks your cells, tissues and organs. It is not a cold or the flu where you will eventually recover, it just feels like you are in a constant state of flu and you will never get better. Sleeping 10 hours doesn’t help as you wake up every morning feeling like you’ve been hit by a bus and it just takes you ages to get going, but you never fully get going. Painful joints, muscles and bones, dry skin, hair loss, mood swings, and depression are all part and parcel of each day and you seem to pick up every bug that is going around.

There are currently around 80 diagnosed autoimmune diseases and this continues to rise, and if you are labelled with one you probably have another two or three. There are days where, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t smile for anyone. So anyone suffering with Asthma, Addison’s disease, Endometriosis, M.E, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MCAD, Sjogren’s, Scleroderma, Hashimoto Disease, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, Sarcoidosis, Hepatitis, Raynaud’s Disease, Diabetes, Celiac, CROHN’S, Ulcerative Colitis and every other autoimmune disease, I applaud you for making it through each day.