Lifestyle and Functional Medicine

Welcome back my friends to the show that never, ends. We’re so happy you could attend. Come inside, come inside! ~ Emerson Lake and Palmer Welcome to our first of many blogs from Vaughtchiropractic.com, Prosperity and Happiness! Ohmmm!

Auto Immune Diseases: The hidden epidemic, what you don’t know may be killing you!

Everyone knows the devastating effects of Heart Disease and Cancer in the U.S., after all, those are the #1 and #2 reasons why we American get sick and die . . . right? Chronic health conditions account for 85% of all U.S. health care spending. I’m here to share with you today that there is an unforeseen contributor to the chronic health care dilemma and it’s called Autoimmune Disease. The reason we don’t see much attention being drawn towards autoimmunity issues is because of the compartmentalizing of the various 100 plus different autoimmune diseases by our medical community. Examples: (Hashimotos thyroiditis, Graves disease treated as hypo or hyper thyroidism by an endocrinologist), (Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, juvenile arthritis all lumped under “arthritis” and seen by an Rheumatologist), or (multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, cerebellar ataxia all lumped under neurological conditions and seen by a neurologist) also (Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis, celiac disease lumped as GI issues and seen by a gastroenterologist). The list goes on, do you see what I mean? Since all autoimmune diseases have a common etiology (a beginning) they should be classified as such. If we approach autoimmune disease this way we realize now, collectively, it’s the third leading cause of why we get sick and die. Taken together, the number of Americans suffering from autoimmune diseases is now 24 to 50 million. This rivals heart disease and cancer put together! Now, given that it has been recently discovered that the initiation stage of heart disease has an autoimmune component, and that many cancers are also autoimmune mediated, we could theoretically say that autoimmune disease is the number 1 reason people get sick and die. All disease is eventually autoimmune related!

What causes autoimmune diseases, you may you ask? There is an accumulation of events that propagate an autoimmune response. First, you have to have the genes which predispose you to have an autoimmune disease (although expression is another blog). Secondly, you need a triggering factor or exposure (food, heavy metals, viral, bacterial, parasites). Thirdly, you need a hyper-permeable intestinal mucosa (leaky gut). And finally a patient has to address a light mismatch in their environment. (A future blog). A perfect storm so to speak. Once our guts become “leaky” these triggers and larger food particles can now pass through our thin, single-layer thick, gut mucosal lining into our Gastro-associated lymphoid tissue or ‘GALT’ for short. The GALT is where 70-80% of

our immune system resides. Our GALT system, (with its antibody defense mechanism), is very good at tagging for elimination the invaders that shouldn’t be there. The problem that arrives from this is that a lot of these foreign proteins have some protein sequences similar to our very own tissue, and after possibly decades long assaults like this, the body can mistakenly start to tag its own tissue for elimination, thinking it is a foreign invader (something called molecular mimicry). Although we cannot do anything about our genes, we can do something about their expression and the remission of these autoimmune diseases. How can this be accomplished? By removing the triggers and healing the gut. If the triggers are removed and our gut mucosal healed and sealed, we can then remit the inflammatory immune response of autoimmunity. Our future blogs will address these triggers, along with leaky gut, proper diet and supplementation, and the 7 essentials of care and support for the autoimmune community, to which I belong. Like Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine said, “All Disease Begins in the Gut”. That is the first place to start when you are assessing whether or not you are dealing with an autoimmune disease. I am looking forward to bringing you weekly information via our blogs. If your health is suffering and you’re wondering if you are part of the growing number of autoimmune sufferers . . . what do you do? You can start by initially assessing your gut permeability and possible triggers with our free Gluten Sensitivity Questionnaire. A poor score may be indicative of an autoimmune issue. The Vibrant Wellness “Wheat Zoomer” will further assess your health condition by confirming any sensitivities. Contact us with any questions you may have. You can order your personal test kit from us via email, or stop by our office.

I am a Certified Gluten Free Practitioner and I’m available via Skype or phone for any autoimmune conditions you made need help in addressing.

Yours in heath,

Dr. Ron Vaught