Nearly 24 million Americans have an autoimmune disorder. This includes diseases like type 1 diabetes, Graves Disease, Hashimoto’s Disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis…and yes, our very own celiac disease.
March is Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) describes autoimmune diseases this way: “In an autoimmune reaction, antibodies and immune cells target the body’s own healthy tissues by mistake, signaling the body to attack them.” Basically the body attacks itself.
Here on The Savvy Celiac we have covered details on which diseases are considered an autoimmune disease. We also covered why AI diseases happen more often in women.
Each single autoimmune disease is, for the most part, rare. But when you put them all in one category, it actually amounts to 5-8% of the American population having an AI disease.
Autoimmune is in the Genes
When family members have an autoimmune disease, other family members are at higher risk. During an interview earlier this month with Noel Rose, MD, PhD, Director of Johns Hopkins Center for Autoimmune Disease Research, I asked him if we should be freaking out because of the genetic component?
“Risk in general is low…so definitely don’t freak out, but be aware,” Rose says. The risk for family members is 2-4 times higher generally. “If you have a family history, autoimmune is a potential problem. Your physician should be aware of your family history.”
Why Autoimmune Diseases are increasing
Dr, Rose also says over the last 20 years, autoimmune diseases are on the increase.
“It’s too steady to be a genetic change,” Rose says. “We think it is probably something in our lifestyle, this could be exposure to substances in the diet, environment or the absence of something …like infection during early childhood.” He believes HOW we live may very well be the culprit.
How to prevent an Autoimmune Disease
So can you really prevent an autoimmune disease 100%? Probably not. But there are things you can do to reduce your chances of getting an autoimmune disease. Rose recommends you keep a healthy lifestyle and that may either keep an autoimmune disease at bay or make you better able to handle the disease should it happen to you.
Healthy lifestyle tips:
- Keep weight down
- Exercise regularly
- Well-balanced diet
- Don’t smoke
If you have celiac disease in your family history you may wonder, as I have, would going on a gluten free diet keep other autoimmune disorders away?
Rose says don’t go gluten free if you don’t need to. “We don’t treat for a disease that doesn’t exist,” Rose says. “You certainly know from your family what the symptoms are. If you show signs and see your physician and get tested.” If you are positive for celiac, only then should you go gluten free.
If you think you may have an autoimmune disease, Rose says know the signs. “The most obvious one is fatigue. More than just tired. Fatigued to the point of not being able to do daily work.” But pay attention to other major changes in your body, they could also be signs.
*note: I am not a physician. If you have questions about autoimmune disease for you or someone in your family, please consult your medical provider
Tags: autoimmune, awareness, celiac, diabetes, disease, disorder, graves, Hashimoto, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis
April 8th, 2014 at 12:26 pm
Now ain’t that just like a doctor?
“We don’t treat for a disease that doesn’t exist,” Rose says.
This is the classic AMA paradigm that says you should only treat disease, not maintain health. Sorry, that whole paradigm should be scrapped. Why? Just look at what that approach to treating disease has done to our health and our health care system.
If you are at risk of getting celiac, why in the world would you passively sit around and wait? What about the possibility that you have ‘silent celiac’, an eroded gut with no visible manifestations? At the very least, you should get a blood test to see if you have elevated anti-bodies and/or the genetic markers. Then depending on the results, you might be able to get a head start on treatment. Why wait until you manifest with one of those deadly autoimmune diseases? Well, at least then you can get ‘treated’ I guess. (sorry for the sarcasm, but it fits)