How can acupuncture help with autoimmune conditions?
According to much research, 3 things must exist in order to develop any autoimmune condition: 1) genetic predisposition, 2) environmental trigger (such as food, virus, chemical…), and 3) development over time of Leaky Gut (intestinal permeability). When I work with someone with an autoimmune disease, I do my best to determine the degree of impact from 2 and 3, as we currently don’t seem to have impact on 1. Then I design a Treatment Plan for that individual that includes any necessary diet changes, nutritional support and often acupuncture during the initial phases of autoimmunity reversal. The acupuncture is used to assist with the body’s adjustment to the dietary changes, for stress management, and to help reduce hormonal upsets. The benefits of having acupuncture early in the treatment plan implementation are significant compared to not having it, based on my clinical experience with patients over the years.
Does everyone have Leaky Gut if they are suffering with an autoimmune condition?
In my educated opinion, I believe that anyone who continues to suffer poor health while dealing with a confirmed autoimmune condition is still overlooking Leaky Gut issues. If the intestinal lining is overly permeable, which is should not be, then undigested food particles, pesticides and other toxins, bacteria and so on can enter the bloodstream unimpeded, thus stimulating the immune system to deal with those foreign particles. After enough time doing this, in simple terms the immune system fatigues, likely the liver and kidneys do as well, and confusion can occur when the immune system mistakes self body cells/enzymes/receptors etc as similar enough to marked particles that shouldn’t have been in the bloodstream, and destroy self as well as foreign matter. This over activity needs to be turned off or at least significantly decreased. The known way to do this at this point in the evolution of medicine, is to heal the Leaky Gut lining so foreign particles have lessened access to the bloodstream and the immune system can relax and rebuild.
This of course doesn’t affect any viral infections in the body outside of the gut, nor does it take into account toxins stored in the body. However, it does prevent a lot of overstimulation of the immune system and therefore damage to self matter. Then by improving digestion, increasing nutrition access to cells, rebuilding hormone systems to better health all helps the body manage even the viral and toxin loads over time, which helps manage the autoimmunity that much more. There are people who have healed their digestive tracts to such a degree that you’d never know they’d been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. This to me is very encouraging and keeps me studying to find the best ways to prevent autoimmunity or at least reverse damage from autoimmunity.
Can I have Leaky Gut issues but not have an autoimmune condition?
Absolutely you can be dealing with chronic gut issues and still not have developed an autoimmune condition. Remember, according to much research, 3 things must exist in order to develop any autoimmune condition: 1) genetic predisposition, 2) environmental trigger (such as food, virus, chemical…), and 3) development over time of Leaky Gut (intestinal permeability). Even if 2 and 3 exist, the research suggests you are less likely to develop autoimmunity without 1 present. But you can certainly have a lot of health issues with 1 and 2 in existence. I deal with patients frequently who deal with food sensitivities, allergies, gas, bloating, chronic constipation or diarrhea, depression (often related to gut issues), migraines (often related to gut issues), and so on. I use a combination of TCM and FM when figuring out the underlying root causes of these chronic complaints and to design a Treatment Plan to help them improve their health.
What if I take medications to treat my autoimmune condition?
If you currently take medications to treat your autoimmune condition, please continue to follow instructions and take them. I never interfere with your medical doctor’s choice to medicate. However, there are many things you have the power to control that may help you manage your symptoms more effectively and eventually possibly lower your medication dosages, after consulting with your medical doctor. I do my best to empower you with knowledge and advice so you feel empowered to practice Self Health. Realizing that paying better attention to what you put into your body, understanding more what happens to it once it’s there, and being consistent with self care, will always improve your overall health. This is always a good thing! I believe knowledge is very powerful. Once you understand what recent research is showing for autoimmunity reversal and management, I have little doubt you will be inspired to engage in Self Health strategies to improve your quality of life, even while taking medications.