Tuesday, October 22, 2013

The Autoimmune Protocol

I find this article particularly interesting as it points to the fact that the medical world tends to isolate the autoimmune diseases when, however, they really should be considered together as they all are the result of rewritten DNA which causes the body to attack its own tissue. Also, autoimmune diseases all stem from deficiencies and/or bacteria, and of course the bacteria runs wild because of the deficiencies ... causing a giant chain reaction to ensue, therefore, the importance of having a "protocol" to treat the deficiencies AND the bacteria to reduce or eliminate the attack.

A very insightful article, but I do want to point out that I do not endorse the supplements listed here. My take on supplements, unless they are in their most natural whole and living form, which 97% of the supplements aren't but are chemical creations by pharmaceutical companies, is that they add to the chemical load in the blood, which the liver has to clean, causing further stress to the liver. I promote careful selection of whole foods, oils in their natural state like in the nut or avocado, and eating as much raw as possible to load the body up on enzymes which support digestion, metabolism, etc. In any regard, the following article has some good insights and discussion of vitamins and minerals needed to support a healthy immune system and to counter-respond to the autoimmune attack. 

It is not ironic at all that autoimmune protocol is very similar to protocols for eliminating systemic candida from the body, especially as untreated candida bacteria is clearly a route to an autoimmune disease. Entries I've already written related to the this connection are: Infectious Diseases: Candida Species, Daily Candida-expunging Protocol, Biamonte Ctr - Treating Candida, part I, Biamonte Ctr, Treating Candida, part II, and a very interesting entry, The 5 Stages of Candida, as well as a few entries indirectly connected too.

The Autoimmune Protocol by Regerative Nutrition

Introduction

Autoimmune diseases result from the body's immune system being incorrectly activated to defend against organs, tissues or substances that are naturally present in the body. These body components are attacked by the immune system as if they were bodily invaders. Essentially, the body attacks it's own cells. There are many different autoimmune conditions (over 100), just like there are many cancers, however unlike cancers, each autoimmune condition tends to be individually named and treated as a singular condition rather than grouped together under the auspices of "autoimmune". Regardless of what organ or part(s) of the body come under attack (and hence the name given to the condition) there are common underlying contributing factors with all autoimmune diseases. It is these underlying factors that we seek to address. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad, stepped, approach to dealing with the underlying factors of autoimmune conditions. We also provide recommendations that are specific to many autoimmune conditions, these recommendations can be found in the health conditions list here, but these recommendations are made for support of the main protocol detailed here, not in place of it.



Natural Vitamins & Minerals

Autoimmune conditions include but are not limited to:


Lupus, Type 1 Diabetes, Scleroderma, Celiac, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, Autoimmune Hepatitis, Graves' Disease, Myasthenia Gravis, Myositis, Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS), Uveitis, Polymyositis, Raynaud's Disease, Demyelinating Neuropathies, Osteo-Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis (also the rarer forms of arthritis e.g. Reiter's, Behcet's and Sjogrens Syndromes), Ankylosing Spondylitis, Migraine and cluster headaches, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, M.E. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Asthma, Psoriasis, Macular Degeneration, Hypertension, Sciatica, Prostrate Inflammation, Emphysema, Cystitis (especially Interstitial Cystitis) and all inflammatory bowel diseases.
Many other chronic health disorders are increasingly being recognized as having an auto-immune component, including diseases traditionally recognized as 'degenerative' such as Alzheimer's and certain Circulatory Disorders.

The underlying causes of autoimmune diseases

1. Infections known and unknown
Infections of various types, known and unknown (but usually Candida Albicans overgrowth) contribute to auto-immune disorders. Eliminating these chronic infections, even if you don't know they are there, is essential to achieve freedom from or at least amelioration of auto-immune disorders.

2. Heavy metals and other toxins
After infections, the most important and prevalent underlying cause of autoimmune disorders is body toxicity (heavy metals, pesticides etc).

The Autoimmune Protocol 

Step 1 :  Essential supplementation for Support through the stages of elimination
It is beneficial to start with these remedies as the first step, as they will calm the immune system before you start on the elimination of underlying causes. By calming the immune system initially one should be more able to tackle the requirements of the coming stages of elimination. These remedies should be maintained throughout all steps of the programme. We suggest that these be introduced at least 2 weeks before you proceed with Step 2, longer if after 2 weeks you are not yet responding and demonstrating a noticably calmer immune response.

Step 1 should also include one of the anti-infection remedies from Step 2. We suggest that Iodine be selected, as you will use this throughout all 4 steps.

Step 2Dealing with the underlying infection(s)

We have complete information on dealing with infections in our separate article here.
In brief, this article suggests the use of the following specific anti-infection remedies/supplements:-
Supporting the action of these above remedies is dealt with in Section 1 of the article which relates to boosting the immune system. In brief, this article suggests the use of the following remedies/supplements:-
Note: Remember to continue with the Step 1 remedies throughout this step.
There are some additional measures that can be taken in dealing with Candida Albicans overgrowth. Please see the full article here.

Note on Iodine: this should be continued after the completion of step 2, as it has a continuing role in immune system function. For more details of its use in this regard see Step 4 below, where you may wish to replace or enhance the Lugol's solution with Seagreens, another source of Iodine with the additional benefits of many nutrients and trace elements.

Step 3 Dealing with the underlying toxicity

We have complete information on dealing with heavy metal toxicity etc. in our separate article here.
In brief, this article suggests the use of some of the remedies you will already be using at this point with one additional remedy/supplement:-
Deep Cell Detox is a combination remedy, consisting of Seagreens, MSM, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl L Carnitine.

Note: Remember to continue the Step 1 remedies throughout this step and the Iodine from Step 2.

Step 4 Normalising and supporting the immune system

Research suggests that the three most important, identifiable, components for immune system integrity are Vitamin D, Iodine and Vitamin C. It is commonly believed, by researchers, that deficiencies in these three immune system essentials are widespread, to the point that the vast majority of people living in northern climates are significantly deficient. In addition, Zell Immunocomplex is an essential broad-acting nutritional remedy for rapidly creating a competent immune system. Seagreens is a useful but non-essential add on to the protocol at this point. It can be introduced to either replace or supplement the Iodine.

By the end of Step 3 you will already be using all 4 of these supplements. At this point, these 4 are all you need, however for continuing improvements to your overall health we would suggest that as a minimum you adopt the Core Regime Essentials, better still the full Core Regime.