Different Factors Contribute to Autoimmunity, but Gluten Sensitivity Is a Common One

Joanne, 43, received a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and gluten sensitivity from her functional medicine doctor. Her doctor placed her on a leaky gut diet that eliminated gluten and all grains and prescribed multiple supplements for leaky gut, and high doses of vitamin D and probiotics. The protocol resulted in modest improvements, but she still suffered from symptoms. She always felt fatigued, especially in the afternoon and after meals. Some days, her symptoms returned full force even though she followed her diet and took her supplements.

She started to feel hopeless and confused, partly because her doctor gave her the impression that her autoimmunity would go into remission when she fixed her leaky gut.

Joanne’s story is like many other patients’ stories I have heard over the years. Unfortunately, Joanne’s functional medicine doctor may have been a bit naïve about clinical realities. This happens with practitioners with little experience treating chronically ill patients. Many learn at seminars that if they can cure their patient’s leaky gut, they can cure their autoimmunity. Unfortunately, the leaky gut model of autoimmunity is not as simple as many practitioners and autoimmune patients realize.

Autoimmunity is a complex web of vicious cycles that requires significant lifestyle changes. Although leaky gut and gluten sensitivity are typical factors in this complex web, they are not the only factors. Every autoimmune case is unique, and the management of each case depends on the mechanisms involved.

The Many Causes of Autoimmunity

When it comes to what causes autoimmunity, the media gives the impression that this terrible mystery strikes without rhyme or reason. Newspaper articles frequently fall back on the “hygiene hypothesis,” the notion that we develop autoimmune diseases because we are too clean. Although that can play a role, it’s much more complex than that, and I’m not sure we can point to any one factor. In exhaustively reading the scientific literature on this topic over the years, I have found that many factors play a role in autoimmune disease. It’s not necessarily that a single factor—gluten, an environmental toxin, infection, leaky gut, genetics, pregnancy, a major life stressor—is the giant hammer that delivers the blow of autoimmunity, but rather that that factor is only the final nudge that sends an already precariously balanced immune system into a downward spiral of self-attack.

Managing autoimmunity is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Ten people with the same autoimmune disease, such as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis, will have acquired it through different circumstances and require different approaches to manage it.

If you understand the various factors that play a role in autoimmunity, you have more knowledge to manage your own case. Everyone may employ a few of the same general strategies, but the key is knowing which applies to you, which ones to use first, and how to fine-tune your care based on your response.  If any disease in the world needs a personalized medicine approach, it is an autoimmune disease.

For instance, take a person with Hashimoto’s whose blood sugar is out of control. She swings between symptoms of high blood sugar (falling asleep after meals) to low blood sugar (getting irritable and spaced out between meals), has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, eats a high-carb diet, and gets crazy sugar cravings. Managing blood sugar might be a good place to begin her journey. Blood sugar surges increase inflammatory immune signalers (interleukin-17) that promote autoimmunity.

A different person with Hashimoto’s may have had a past head injury and has noticed she hasn’t been entirely the same since. She has difficulty swallowing, doesn’t seem to make enough saliva, and struggles with poor digestion and constipation. Communication between the brain and the organs may be poor for this person, perpetuating a leaky gut that promotes her autoimmunity. Brain injury has been shown to cause intestinal permeability by reducing the inputs from the brainstem to the gut. She may improve by stimulating her vagus nerve, which connects the brain to the digestive organs, through daily vagus nerve exercises.

A third person has pale nail beds, chronic fungal nail infections, cold hands and feet, and low blood pressure. His initial focus may be on improving circulation so that his blood, which carries nutrients, oxygen, and immune cells, can better reach the hands, feet, and brain.

And yet another person has multiple food sensitivities, skin rashes, achy joints, and is always bloated and gassy. She may focus first on repairing leaky gut or managing small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and loss of oral tolerance.

With so many approaches to autoimmunity, knowing where to begin unraveling the web requires careful thought and trial and error. Sometimes you simply have to work through various approaches until you find the ones that make the biggest difference. One person may need to address multiple factors, while someone else simply needs to adopt a gluten-free diet.

How Gluten, Leaky Gut, and Autoimmunity Intersect

The functional medicine doctor described above may have been a little too optimistic, but they were on the right track. You should always address the potential for leaky gut and gluten sensitivity because they are so commonly found in autoimmune conditions. Likewise, those with leaky gut or gluten sensitivity should always address the potential for autoimmunity.

Gluten Sensitivity and Autoimmunity

Wheat is not the same plant it was when our grandparents ate it. Because of the way it is altered through hybridization, sprayed with pesticides, stored, and processed today, many people’s bodies now recognize it as a new protein (antigen) and have an inflammatory reaction to it. Recent studies have found that gluten sensitivity is much more prevalent than previously thought.

In a study published in the scientific journal, Nutrients, my colleagues and I sampled 400 healthy blood donors. Of those, we identified 16 percent who tested positive for gluten sensitivity when screened with a complete gluten protein screen (alpha-gliadin, gamma gliadin, beta gliadin, agglutinin, glutemorphin, etc.). This is a significantly higher prevalence than the current estimation that only 1 to 2 percent of the population has celiac disease.

These 16 percent are more likely to show up in a doctor’s office with unexplainable chronic symptoms. Gluten has been linked in the literature with 55 diseases, most of which are autoimmune. Countless patient testimonials and practitioner case studies show it plays a central role in many cases of autoimmunity. Modern wheat has been altered and processed to the point it is very immune reactive and inflammatory in the human body. In fact, the rate of gluten sensitivity has increased by 400 percent in the last 50 years.

In my clinical experience, a gluten-free diet is a cornerstone in managing many cases of autoimmunity.

Because gluten intolerance frequently damages the gut, it often leads to other food sensitivities. As undigested food particles slip through the damaged gut wall and into the bloodstream, the immune system tags them for attack, creating sensitivities to these foods. We often see patients who have developed a sensitivity to other grains, such as rice, amaranth, teff, or millet, which people eat more of when embarking on a gluten-free diet. It’s important to screen for these along with cross-reactive foods or follow the leaky gut diet during a gut repair program. Otherwise simply eliminating gluten alone may not have any effect on helping you manage your autoimmunity.

If you struggle with autoimmunity, I can’t emphasize enough how important an anti-inflammatory diet that does not trigger immune reactions is to your success.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.

Datis Kharrazian, Ph.D., DHSc, DC, MS, MMSc, FACN, is a Harvard Medical School trained, award-winning clinical research scientist, academic professor, and world-renowned functional medicine healthcare provider. He develops patient and practitioner education and resources in the areas of autoimmune, neurological, and unidentified chronic diseases using non-pharmaceutical applications.

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