Natural aids against autoimmune diseases

Finding oneself today as doctors before an autoimmune disease means at once a challenge –in which the limits of our knowledge are felt– and a way of opening our eyes and hearts to the questions that are posed to us the sick, most of them declared incurable.

advances in immunology and also in the knowledge of the psyche They force us to ask new questions.such as: what does that disease mean, what is its purpose, with what intention does the body produce it, if in doing so it acts intelligently…

Many fellow physicians are clear about their treatment with corticosteroids and immunosuppressantsand perhaps they do not question anything, although it’s hard not to feel helpless For example, when faced with a patient with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), who becomes progressively paralyzed without knowing why.

If the police entered our house and insisted on destroying a room, it would be difficult to stop them. That’s what happens when the immune system fights body tissues as if they were a threat.

The striking differences between these ailments lead to study who suffers them in a particular way. Each patient presents a different clinic according to its peculiarities or even the associated diseases that it may experience.

Some, after one or two crises, improve dramatically.sometimes without treating them, and they do not appear again. Others, on the other hand, evolve chronically.

We then investigate where the cause lies: if it is environmental, if it has to do with lifestyle, what could be the diet, fasting or the plant that can help the most…

From the criteria of naturopathic medicine, I wonder about the self-healing capacity against these diseases.

The different types of autoimmune diseases

Is called systemic autoimmune diseases to which they occur when the body’s antibodies attack nonspecific organ antigens.

HE includes between them:

There are also local autoimmune syndromes. Unlike the systemic affect a particular tissue.

They can be character endocrine (type 1 diabetes, Addison’s disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis…), dermatological (pemphigus vulgaris) or hematological (autoimmune hemolytic anemia).

So they can also be included including ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, Graves’ disease, autoimmune hepatitis, myasthenia gravis, primary myxedema, neuropathies, celiac disease, uveitis…

We are not talking about minority ailments, quite the contrary: it is estimated that in rich countries they affect between 3 and 7% of the population. As we see, it is frequent diseases nowadays and some of them quite serious.

How does the immune system work?

the immune system It is not only a defense system, but also a tolerance system that It balances the organism with each other and with the outside.

When talking about the immune system we make an abstractionsince in practice the organism does not know systems, everything is related in itself, forming an identity.

To protect the essential quality of life, which is identity, the immune and neurological systems incorporate the environmentthat is, something that is not identical to themselves, but that allows them to balance their genetic peculiarity without compromising their integrity, responding to variations in the environment in which this living being moves.

The immune system has to discriminate between the structural elements of the organism and those that come from outside that can be dangerous.

Immunity and its types

They tend to differentiate two types of immunity:

Innate or non-specific immunity It has mechanisms present from birth: the skin protective barrier, sebaceous and sweat gland secretions, lacrimal lysozyme, mucus (respiratory, vaginal…), gastric juice, body flora or various types of blood cells. whites, among other elements.Adapted or specific immunity it is developed to act against each microbial agent or, better, against a structural element of them called antigen, or even fragments of that antigen: the antigenic determinants or epitopes. The arrival of a microorganism in the tissues can thus activate multiple immune reactions.

It is also possible to distinguish between primary response, when the body makes contact with the antigen for the first time, and secondary. Thanks to its memory, this system reacts quickly to the second or third contact.

This is achieved through the cellular immune responses and humorous:

The first is done above all through different T lymphocytes.The humoral depends on B lymphocytes, which produce protein molecules called antibodies. Antibodies are also called immunoglobulins (Ig)of which five groups can be distinguished, and gamma globulins.

From the first time of life each B lymphocyte prepares to act against a specific antigen. Other B lymphocytes become memory cells for a certain antibody.

The tolerance of the immune system: how to promote it?

The ability to accept the presence of elements of the organism and some that come from outside it’s called tolerance.

It has a genetic basis, but it develops in contact with the external environment. is established for the first six years of life, during the maturation of the immune system, and it happens in the thymus gland.

The thymus and its cells, T4 and T8 lymphocytes, come into contact with antigens bodily. The specific lymphocytes to attack them are deactivated by a detection mechanism, but since it is not possible for all of them to disappear, lymphocytes are generated that attack those that are potentially harmful.

Between self antigens that are more easily recognized by lymphocytes are the antigens of histocompatibility. If they have these same antigens transplants can be done of tissues. Otherwise, there will be rejection.

For the tolerance mechanism to occur it is necessary that the cells presenting the self antigens have histocompatibility antigens on their surface.

So, Helper T cells will recognize a foreign antigen as their own if it is presented to them together with a histocompatible antigen. If these histocompatibility antigens are modified, they will be attacked by cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

This tolerance can fail by different reasons:

Due to the thousands of toxic substances that today are part of the environment, including those of numerous products for domestic or work use. excessive “cleaning”including the widespread use of antibiotics: the immune system thus has many fewer microorganisms to deal with, matures less and can channel aggression towards the body. lack of space, which makes us less tolerant and exacerbates defense mechanisms. In The healing power of aggression (Ed.Robinbook), ruediger dahlke highlights how self-harm is common in situations of imprisonment, stress and repression of external aggressiveness. It is also observed in animals that have lost their freedom or group status.

Autoimmune diseases can occur due to the failure of some suppressor lymphocyte. A viral infection or a vaccination can also trigger them, when a foreign antigen binds with its own and the body attacks it by not recognizing it properly.

same thing happens if a histocompatibility antigen undergoes abnormal development or if a foreign antigen bears similarities to one’s own.

hormonal variations, more common in women also influence. In Graves-Basedow disease, the antibodies mimic the function of thyroid hormones, resulting in hyperthyroidism.

Antibodies are sometimes produced that attack disseminated antigens. in certain organs: in the kidney this causes glomerulonephritis, while in the joints it gives rise to rheumatoid arthritis.

The role of the marrow in the development of immunity

The bone marrow is the real and exclusive basis of identity. If we replace it in a graft, the identity is still in the marrow. This reflects the phylogenetic priority and supremacy of the pith, their intelligence is what determines who the stranger is.

The medulla identity defense mechanism It is rigid, to prevent the intrusion of foreign cells, but at the same time it is highly plastic and flexible, since it acquires new functions and adapts.

The ability to recognize own or foreign substances as non-aggressive and not trigger the production of antibodies against them is acquired and specific, it is not innate.

It develops throughout life, especially in the first two years. and in the womb. It is very important during this time to respect the Breastfeeding, and not introduce into the body substances that stimulate this system excessively or in a strange way.

In the fetal period, from the bone marrow and the thymus will split the information to eliminate or inactivate those lymphocytes with ability to react against the body’s own antigens. will also develop suppressor T8 lymphocytesresponsible for not developing a response against these antigens.

It is important how The neuroendocrine and immune systems are programmed at birth. And also know that they can be reprogrammed throughout life: You are not always allergic or suffer from an autoimmune disease. It can be changed.

Environmental factors, such as circadian rhythms between day and night, help in this programming, programming the hormonal cycles and the action of the bone marrow and through them, the immune system. Newborn baby animals have been observed to acquire circadian rhythms through breast milk, whatever the light-dark cycle.

Natural therapies for autoimmune diseases

General care and a healthy lifestyle are importantnot only to care for the sick and help them in their illness, but also to avoid side effects of the medications they use and for Improve your quality of life.

Instead of limiting themselves to treating these ailments with corticosteroids and immunosuppressive medication, naturopathic medicine tries to understand why the body behaves in a certain way; he also strives to respect the process and medicate just or as little as possible, avoiding adverse effects.

Many of these diseases have been classified as chronic and incurable, but in some the reality is quite different. Our immune system is highly plastic and can change over time, sometimes leading to healing. It helps to motivate yourself by knowing.

We know better the mechanisms of the psycho-neuro-endocrine-immune system, its relationship with the environment and the psyche. It is necessary to relate what we know and extract its usefulness. So we will see these diseases with new approaches that lead us to prevention and the proposal of new treatments.

It also provides the evidence of the effectiveness of a change in lifestyle in many of these diseases. This is the case with the efficacy of fasting, a vegetarian diet and hydrotherapy in…