It seems as though the number of people afflicted with autoimmune disease has been increasing over the years. An autoimmune reaction causes our system to attack itself, causing a systemic antigen/antibody response.
We know what it is; we simply don't completely understand why it occurs. Many are familiar with such autoimmune diseases as Sjogren's ( Venus Williams is someone famous dealing with this), rheumatoid arthritis, Grave's and SLE, but I'm guessing that many aren't aware of such conditions as Hashimoto's Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, Multiple Sclerosis, Type 1 Diabetes and Chronic Active Hepatitis are also among the many conditions that have been identified as autoimmune diseases.
In order for autoimmunity to occur, the body must be exposed to some toxic "initial trigger" causing a state of heightened immune alterness that is directed to the areas where tissue damage is occurring. The result is a loss of the normal relationship with the body's own microbiome (unique genetic material), causing an antigenic protein production.
Foreign microbes that overgrow and destroy our healthy gut bacteria contain gene sequences in common with many of our own gene sequences. This is called, "molecular mimicry." The microbes produce proteins that antigenically resemble the host (human) proteins. Human protein cells and microbes can have structural similarities. Under the right conditions, a cross-reactive immune response against the body may result. When foreign microbe overgrowth occurs simultaneously with significant and/or prolonged exposure to "danger," the result is that our system attacks to rid itself of the foreign intruder. Unfortunately, an antigen/antibody response targets our own body. The danger/alarm signals are known as "alarmins." Alarmins can be caused by trauma, infection, toxicity, ischemia and excessive, prolonged emotional/ mental stress (causing the "fright/flight" adrenal response).
Something as seemingly simple as a chronic UTI can cause an overgrowth of a bacterium called Klebsiella pneumoniae nitrogenase. Under certain conditions, this bacterium's genetic material can mimic (and genetically replace) a very important gut bacterium that may lead to an autoimmune disease process. The chance of this happening in a test tube is about 1 in 20 million. Studies have shown that the chance of molecular mimicry causing an autoimmune dysfunction in a person is only around 1 in 200!
The single most important thing we can do to keep our gut in balance is to give our body the food that it needs to keep our native flora healthy. Remember, probiotics from supplements and foods only affect our acquired flora...not the bacteria in our large intestine that mitigate 70% of the immune system...those we were given by our mothers and can only be replenished by very specific nutrients.
Dr. Esther
drkollars@gmail.com
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