The Nutritional Institute

I’ve just come home after being part of the autoimmunity episode of the Real Health show on the Home Channel (channel 176 in S Africa) and I thought I would share some of the discussions with you.

What is autoimmunity (AI)? It is when the body has lost tolerance of ‘self’ and our immune system attacks certain tissues - examples are Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease (gut), Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and Thyroid Hashimoto’s Disease. However, many other health imbalances are thought by experts to have an AI component - examples are endometriosis and cardiovascular disease (injury to the blood vessels) and some neurodegenerative conditions.

I liken the immune system to the police force. I was living in London during the tragic 2005 underground bombings. On that fateful day, I was suddenly aware of police swarming everywhere and many police cars whizzing by in a frenzy. Within the police department, we have the ‘bobbies on the beat’ and then the special force officers who deal with highly confidential intelligence. In a controlled way, the special force units will dispatch sections of the police force to deal with isolated incidents that arise. But with such an unexpected attack on innocent people, every part of the police force kicked into action - some knowing what they were doing and being useful, while others would just be getting in the way. Imagine the police force operating that way every day - that’s akin to the immune system acting inappropriately and creating a perpetual state of inflammation, which gradually erodes certain tissues in the body.

AI certainly has a strong genetic component, with AI diseases following in families - not necessarily the same problems - e.g. Dad may have Rheumatoid Arthritis and his daughter may have Lupus. But, the environmental interaction with the appropriate genes is considered much more important than our predispositions. Environmental factors can be many: stress (physical, physiological and psychological), pollution and chemical exposure, poor sleep habits, eating the wrong foods for our bodies in the wrong qualities etc. 

Since my main focus is food now-a-days, I firstly look for food sensitivities and then try and elimination diet of these suspect foods. Common culprits are generally foods like wheat (sometimes extending to other gluten grains such as rye and barley), dairy (especially unfermented), corn (especially refined genetically modified), certain nuts, and sometimes eggs. As shown in the table, I then build up healthy anti-inflammatory foods such as fish, fish oils, seeds and seed oils, vegetables (looking for a variety of colour and texture), fruits (although not too many due to the sugar levels). We need more drastic action in some people with and AI condition, but I do this on a very individual basis - examples may be to remove grains and legumes from the diet and decrease sources of saturated fat, including red meat and dairy. 

Meanwhile, it’s important to heal the gut - I use various strategies to acidify the stomach, increase digestive enzymes, heal a leaky gut (porous gut lining) and increase healthy bacteria in the gut. Since about 70 per cent of the immune system is thought to lie in and around the gut, immune tolerance starts within this vital organ.

There is a term called molecular mimicry, which means that some foods carry a protein ‘flag’ on their outer membrane that is identified by the immune system as ‘foe’. Unfortunately, these proteins may mimic the protein found in certain tissues in our body, such as in our cartilage within joints. Thereby, by eating these foods on a regular basis, we stimulate a regular immune reaction against these tissues, meaning a degeneration of function over time. Additionally, some micro-organisms have protein flags that mimic certain body tissues, meaning that a potentially vital strategy in cases of AI is a deep gut cleanse and reinnoculation with supportive bacteria. 

To close, I’ll mention the mind. When I was a child, my Dad had ulcerative colitis - he tried everything he could from a nutritional perspective, plus he took various anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic drugs. Nothing seems to help until his GP wrote him a prescription for an anti-anxiety drug. He wasn’t anxious in the normal way that we think about it, but on reflection, his body systems were in an anxious state - and over-activated sympathetic nervous system, or fight or flight, as I’ve discussed before. Well, this simple step made all the difference to him and he was able to go on with life as normal. I have always remembered this early lesson and now I include an analysis of neurotransmitter levels as my first-line treatment of this complex problem - I don’t prescribe drugs, but I am able to intervene with a very interesting array of neurotransmitter supporting/balancing nutrients and herbs.

To see me discussing this topic with host Stacey Holland, chiropractor Dr Kevin Linton and homeopath Dr. Yeshantha Padayachee, tune in to Real Health on channel 176.