Autoimmune Disease Root Causes
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED Episode 148:
Download Autoimmune Revolution Kickstart https://audreychristie.com/autoimmune
Root Cause Revolution Membership
________________________________
Autoimmune Disease Root Causes: It's not what you think
Rough Transcript (listening is best + has more information)
Hey friends, Today we are digging a little deeper into the root causes of autoimmune disease. Last week we talked about what some of the symptoms are and my unpopular opinion on diagnoses.
So often I hear, "I am inflamed. That is my root cause." I’m sorry to tell you - inflammation is not the root cause. And so anything you are doing to reduce inflammation that isn’t treating the autoimmune disease root cause IS making your condition worse. And that goes for all chronic illnesses and symptoms that just aren’t getting better
Intro
Welcome if this is your first time listening - I’m Audrey Christie - I’m a functional and integrative nurse nutritionist and energy medicine practitioner. I help women start their very own Autoimmune Revolution so you can stop chasing symptoms and learn how to heal your body from autoimmune disease.
We are currently enrolling the Waitlist for the Root Cause Revolution - Are you in? If you are interested in DIY’ing your own revolution with my help and the support of a small community- this is your chance to get in or get in on the list for next time at https://audreychristie.com/membership
What that means is you get my help and support, my secret steps, formulas, tailored protocols to heal your body from its root (whether you are just not feeling your best or have multiple diagnoses) it’s a lot like working 1:1 with me but you get the support of the group.
Okay...let's dig in.
Autoimmune Disease Root Cause is NOT Inflammation
In episode 147, we talked about autoimmune disease symptoms, more specifically at what point you should begin to suspect an autoimmune disease. I dropped some unpopular opinions about diagnosis there - so you may want to give a listen for the full thing but the gist is that - a diagnosis - well, is NOT important.
Since that went over so well, I thought I would add to this unpopular opinion roll and let you know that along with a diagnosis NOT being relevant to your healing at all - here’s another one for you…. Inflammation isn’t the root cause of your autoimmune condition, pain, chronic illness, symptoms that won’t go away. AND this one is the cake topper here, not to be the bearer of bad news but reducing your inflammation with stuff like NSAIDS or steroids or even natural stuff like curcumin and sometimes even nutrition is making it worse.
So if inflammation isn’t the root cause - and taking things to “reduce inflammation” is making it worse - what the heck do you do?
Let me preface all of this by saying that there is absolutely a time and place where inflammation may need to be reduced by holistic or conventional methods...temporarily. In acute conditions OR in a chronic condition that may lend itself to needing something urgent.
What is categorically WRONG is the long-term use of these methods and meds to squash inflammation long-term.
Let me introduce you to "Emily"...
I want to tell you about a client of mine, let’s call her Emily. (No, Emily isn’t her name.) Emily’s primary autoimmune condition is celiacs disease.
Interestingly - that was her primary autoimmune condition BUT do you know what came before that - about 10 years of chronic antacid and proton pump inhibitor use. Did you know that treatment of acid issues in the stomach commonly called acid reflex, with PPIs and antacids, can trigger autoimmunity? It can! I talk about it in episode 083, tune in here.
If you are taking PPIs or regularly using antacids, then definitely take a moment to take my class here, on getting off your heartburn meds for good.
Back to Emily, her celiac disease was treated with corticosteroids and a gluten-free diet. For years and years, she took steroids and even took a turn or two on biologics. Guess what happened next?
She developed a secondary autoimmune condition, rheumatoid arthritis. Yep - the number one best predictor of a second autoimmune disease - is a primary autoimmune disease with masked symptoms. And then by the time she got to me - she was well on her way to autoimmune thyroid.
So here we were sitting in my office, piecing together what went wrong and all Emily wanted to do was discuss how we could naturally stop her inflammation.
So I told Emily what I am telling you today, inflammation isn’t the cause of her issues - it's because she was diagnosed and treated instead of searching out the root cause and rebalancing aka healing her body.
I am happy to report that Emily is off her meds and well on her way to rebalancing her body now.
If inflammation isn't the root cause...what is?
Autoimmune disease is a tree with many roots. Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and you just have a symptom or a few symptoms or maybe you are suffering from a chronic diagnosis - like high blood pressure. There is no one cause of that happening in your human suit.
Energetic Disturbances
Dis-ease in the body starts way out in your energy field long before it manifests in the 3-D, in your human suit. Some of the most common energy disturbances include stress, EMF sensitivity, and other disturbances. Sometimes a trigger can be feeling responsible for the world’s problems (this can be on a large or small scale), carrying the world on your shoulders, overwhelmed by life, and conditional love (in childhood or later in life.)
Gut Issues
It’s now widely accepted that the immune system and your gut work very closely together. The majority of our immune system lives in our digestive system. So when the digestive system is impaired by anything, it has a direct impact on the immune system. This could be from nutrient deficiencies, consuming a diet based on ultra-processed foods, consuming foods that you are allergic to or sensitive to, alcohol abuse, or long-term medication dependence (over-the-counter or prescription).
Infections
These could be infections that you had officially, like strep or a cold virus. It could be something you didn’t know you had, as is often the case with Epstein Bar Virus or Lyme disease and its many co-infections.
Just take multiple sclerosis for example - there are over 24 viruses that the onset of multiple sclerosis has been linked to.
Rheumatoid has been linked to Lyme disease.
So if you don’t address those root causes - do you get better? Nope. You can mask the symptoms but unless you address it - you can’t get better - in fact, like Emily, you will get worse.
Parasites
I know - you are thinking WHAT? And many conventional practices would have you think that you don’t have any parasites, that it’s not common especially in modernized countries. I hate to break it to you - it is. Once my clients get to Phase 2 in their recovery where we start working on this stuff, I can’t tell you how many client portal messages I get - "OMG you will never believe what came out of me."
These parasites come from dirt and food.
Toxins
Toxins are everywhere in our environment. The majority of women apply and absorb about 80 toxins before they even leave the house in the morning. And no - you are not safe if you don’t wear makeup. There are toxins in your water, your furniture, your laundry, your clothes, the air, it is just very difficult to manage to stay away from them all. The most common ones are heavy metals, BPA, mercury, and mold. That is one reason I harp on drainage pathways so much you have to allow your body to get rid of that stuff like it is supposed to.
Dietary Triggers
This really ties back to digestive health because consuming foods that you are allergic to, intolerant of, or sensitive to creates damage and confusion for your immune system. The primary triggers for people are gluten, dairy, and eggs. This can be 1 or all 3. There are many other things you can be sensitive or allergic to, but these are the ones we see most often.
If you want to know what your specific triggers are - there is a simple at-home test for that!
Genetic Triggers
You have heard in previous episodes that autoimmune conditions are 1 part genetic, and I still stand by that, I don’t feel the evidence for that has changed. But the genetic trigger isn’t always what you think.
Just because your grandma had psoriasis or your mom or aunt doesn’t mean that you will. It could mean that given the right ingredients (some of which - like a diet - or exposures can run in families) you could end up with one, but empowered with the knowledge you can also prevent it.
More questions about autoimmune disease root causes?
If you have more questions about autoimmune disease root causes. I would love to have you join us in the Wellness Circle, my exclusive and free community to help women pursue holistic wellness, body, mind, and spirit and discussions around the Autoimmune Revolution Podcast and even some free office hours on Fridays to get your private questions answered - friends chronic disease is preventable and autoimmune disease is capable of being healed or put in remission (and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise you deserve to feel good!) You can get the direct link on the show notes page or at audreychristie.com/facebook
When you join the free Wellness circle you will also get my free guide to Kickstart your Root Cause Revolution - it has 5 steps to get you started on your very own Autoimmune Revolution and is newly updated to contain a safe approach to the first phase of healing I use with many of my clients working on energy and drainage.
To wrap this up...
To wrap this up - inflammation is not the root cause of autoimmune disease and finding your root cause is the first step to healing your body. If you are interested in taking that step head to the show notes page at audreychristie.com/148 to grab a free mini-consult in my virtual practice.
Know your autoimmune disease symptoms is so much more important than a diagnosis.
If you want to learn more about me, about how to implement these things into your life to feel better in simple practical, and sustainable ways - head over to AudreyChristie.com there’s free downloads, online courses, programs, and tons of resources to help you create your own health and wellness revolution.
Remember that I am always rooting for you friend and I am so grateful for you listening! See you next time!
Be well,