Autoimmune Disease: Stop Your Body’s Self-Attack by Dr Mark Hyman

The fact that the incidence of autoimmune disease has tripled in the last few decades is concerning.

You’re probably familiar with the most common autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, type-1 diabetes, hypothyroidism, and psoriasis. But there are many more autoimmune diseases that affect the nervous system, joints and muscles, skin, endocrine gland, and heart.

Dr Mark Hyman believes that environmental toxins are a major cause of autoimmune disease and outlines a 9 point program.

9 Tips for Addressing Autoimmune Disease:

• Read The Autoimmune Epidemic. This book will tell you why we have this problem, and how to fix it.
• Find a functional medicine doctor who can help you address autoimmunity.
• Get tested for mercury and other heavy metals.
• Get tested for celiac disease (an autoimmune reaction to wheat and other gluten-containing grains), which causes over 60 autoimmune diseases. And consider eliminating other inflammatory foods from your diet such as dairy, eggs, corn and animal fats for a few weeks to see if it makes a different your symptoms.
• Take immune-balancing nutrients and supplements, including vitamin D, essential fats (like EPA/DHA and GLA), and probiotics.
• Practice deep relaxation daily through yoga, meditation, biofeedback, or anything that reverses the stress response.
• Practice the precautionary principle, which says that we should avoid anything with the potential for harm. In the US, something has to be proven harmful before it is taken off the market. In Europe, something has to be proven safe before it is allowed on the market. This is also known as “better safe than sorry.”
• Learn how to boost your body’s own detoxification system.
• By addressing the root causes of autoimmune disease, you can start feeling better and getting well today. 

Read the full article.

The Autoimmune Epidemic. Hailed by Mark Hyman, MD, as “a ray of light and hope” for autoimmune sufferers, this groundbreaking book provides research and solutions for those affected by autoimmune disorders including Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and more.

In the first book of its kind, journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa examines nearly 100 debilitating autoimmune diseases—such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis—that cause the body to destroy itself, mistakenly attacking healthy cells as the immune system fights off bacteria, viruses, and other invaders. As Nakazawa share the vivid, heartbreaking stories, including her own, of people living with these mysterious, chronic, and often hard-to-diagnose illnesses, she explores the alarming and unexpected connection between this deadly crisis and the countless environmental triggers we’re exposed to every day: heavy metals, toxins, pesticides, viruses, chemicals in the foods we eat, and more.

With the help of leading experts, Nakazawa explores revolutionary preventions, treatments, and cures emerging around the world and offers practical advice for protecting your immune system and reducing your risk of autoimmune disease in the future.

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