Nutritional Therapy for Autoimmune Disease
posted 28th February 2025
Nutrition can play a critical role in the management of symptoms caused by different autoimmune diseases. By making dietary changes, you can reduce overall chronic inflammation, support your immune system and improve your overall health and well-being.
What are Autoimmune Diseases?
They are conditions which can be grouped together as they occur when the body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. Normally, the immune system would not do this as it is designed to protect the body from harmful invaders. These would be things like viruses and bacteria. However, in autoimmune diseases, the immune system becomes confused and sees the healthy tissue as an invader.
Common Autoimmune Diseases
Some common autoimmune diseases are lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, coeliac disease, autoimmune thyroid diseases and type 1 diabetes. However, there are thought to be nearly 100 different autoimmune conditions and they can affect any part of the body. They are thought to effect 3-5% of the global population and 78% of autoimmune patients are female. Having one autoimmune disease means you are more likely to develop another.
The Root Cause of Autoimmune Disease
There is usually a genetic predisposition for an autoimmune disease and they can often be triggered by a viral illness or a stressful event. There is also a strong link between allergies, histamine, hormone imbalances and autoimmune disease. However, it is often the body’s environment that drives the autoimmune response. This includes things like nutrient status, gut barrier health and the gut microbiome, food sensitivities and intolerances, exposure to toxins, medications, heavy metals or moulds and oxidative stress. These can all contribute to chronic inflammation.
How can Nutritional Therapy Help?
The conventional medicine approach to autoimmune disease is usually to provide medication to lower inflammation and suppress the immune system. These medications often have many side effects. Nutritional therapy uses foods and sometimes supplements to support the body and help bring the immune system naturally back into balance. Following an anti-inflammatory autoimmune protocol can make a fundamental difference to the development of an autoimmune disease. Lifestyle changes to support stress, balance hormones and assist detoxification pathways are also recommended.
Functional Testing
Functional testing can provide extremely helpful insight into the environment of the body which is driving autoimmune inflammation.
- Food Intolerance Profiles - these help identify specific foods which are driving chronic inflammation.
- Gut Health and Microbiome Tests - these help identify pathogenic bacteria which could also be driving inflammation and releasing toxins into the bloodstream. They also provide detailed information on digestion, absorption and elimination including the health of the gut lining. This can be linked to hormone imbalances and histamine intolerance.
- Genetic Analysis - This can establish genetic weaknesses in areas including methylation, hormone production, detoxification and nutrient status which may need specific nutritional support.
- Viral Testing - This can be used to identify specific viruses in the body which could be driving an autoimmune response such as Epstein Barr Virus or Covid 19 spike proteins.
A Functional Nutritional Therapy approach can therefore provide extremely valuable insight into what is driving an autoimmune disease and natural support to calm the immune system allowing the body to heal and recover. The approach is also vital to prevent the development of other autoimmune conditions.
For further information about a Nutritional Therapy consultation please contact Medicinal Eating or email Janine at info@medicinaleating.co.uk.
