Treating Autoimmune and Chronic Inflammation Diseases
Hello Everyone. Inflammation plays a critical part in many chronic diseases, like autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases, like multiple sclerosis.
The great news is, as I always say, chronic inflammation can be lowered by manipulating the gut microbiota.
For this post, I will remind you about the power of the bugs inside your tummy and the link with multiple sclerosis. Run it by your neurologist!
What Is Multiple Sclerosis?
Gut Microbiota and Inflammation
How Do You Change Your Gut Bacteria?
Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis
Reduce Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases
Best Diet for Autoimmune Diseases
What Is Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis is a multi-factorial, complex chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that can be unpredictable. It is an inflammatory CNS (central nervous system) disease. As with many conditions, no two people have the same symptoms.
Depending on which part of the central nervous system has been affected will affect symptoms. This nerve damage increases the symptoms of multiple sclerosis over time. Balance, coordination, vision, muscles, memory, and emotions could be affected.
One of my clients was diagnosed with MS at 34, a typical age to be diagnosed with MS. She used to suffer from loss of sensation, tingling in both hands and legs, anxiety attacks, and depression. She couldn’t walk for long without needing to sit down and rest. She felt physically and mentally exhausted before she embarked on Eat Burn Sleep. I know how that feels. It can also take a tremendous emotional toll.
MS can be genetic. Environmental factors like lack of exercise, smoking, unhealthy eating, and microbial and viral infections can all play a part in the development, course, and progression of MS.
Dr. Hafler, a professor at Yale School of Medicine, states: “While it was always clear that MS was an inflammatory autoimmune disease, one of the major surprises in the field of medicine has been the role of inflammation in different diseases, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. We now understand it plays a critical part.”
Dr. Hafler and his researchers discovered that myelin-reactive T-cells were highly inflammatory and likely to cause disease.
Gut Microbiota and Inflammation
The 100 trillion bacteria in your gut (microbiota) undergo many changes throughout your life. What gut bacteria you start out with changes are influenced by environment, diet, and lifestyle factors.
Stresses change your microbiota. Medication changes your bacteria, what you eat and drink, and whether you are exposed to toxins. Plus, who you live with alters your microbiota!
Have a read of NSAIDS, Gut Health & Inflammation, Painkillers Not Helping Your Headaches?, and Side Effects of Antibiotics & IBD.
A diverse, balanced gut microbiota also promotes a beautiful, protective, anti-inflammatory environment within the intestines. Here, 70% of our immune cells live (GALT – gut-associated lymphoid tissue).
When balanced, these amazing bugs that live within our tummies can inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria cause an inflammatory state, which can cause various diseases.
An inflammatory state means that your immune system becomes dysregulated.
The role of gut microbiota is crucial because of its impact on regulating and maintaining the normal function of the innate immune system.
How Do You Change Your Gut Bacteria?
We all have some bad bugs in our tummy, which are necessary, but we need to promote the good guys, not the bad guys, to keep the environment anti-inflammatory and protective.
Members: the lists of foods and compounds that change the composition of gut bacteria into a pro-inflammatory state are listed in the Red Food Lists.
The nutrients you need to promote anti-inflammatory action to protect yourself and reduce inflammation are listed in the Eating Out Guide and the personalized advice section. (It’s good to keep refreshed for when you are not following the recipes and are away from home because Eat Burn Sleep research is continuous!).
What you feed your gut bacteria may affect your multiple sclerosis. What you expose yourself to affects your gut bacteria.
Gut Bacteria and Multiple Sclerosis
Gut microbiota has been studied extensively in Multiple Sclerosis. There are certain bacteria distinct to multiple sclerosis shown consistently. Which also connects the gut imbalance with a pro-inflammatory state and a regulatory effect in human T cells. Chen et al. (2016), for instance.
Gut microbiota appears to play an essential role in the pathogenesis of MS. It may be involved in modulating the host’s immune system, altering the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, triggering autoimmune demyelination, and interacting directly with different cell types present in the central nervous system – Schepici et al. (2019).
Reduce Inflammation and Autoimmune Diseases
It was the continuous word ‘inflammation’ from doctors reading out my test results that became the seed of Eat Burn Sleep over a decade ago.
I had to research and understand everything because the prognosis wasn’t good, and I just felt exasperated.
By modulating my gut health and getting the microbiota balance right, I was able to put my autoimmune diseases into remission. It wasn’t easy because there is more to it than just what you eat.
Believe me, I tried all of the popular diets and suggestions in my desperation to have control over my health and start living happily again. As anyone knows, health challenges can take over your life.
The physical damage I experienced from diets like Keto was hard, but I had to give everything a try in my quest. I thought I had hit on the right one until I experienced that they were temporary measures.
Best Diet for Autoimmune Diseases
Anyway, it took me a long time to research to get the perfect diet and lifestyle to control my autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammation. Bearing in mind that the diet and lifestyle had to be exciting. Health was the most important, of course, but I knew I had to have things to look forward to, eat and drink, and do.
Food is life; it had to be delicious, and there had to be cake, coffee, and a glass of wine (although I am seriously debating whether I like the after-effects the next day, lately!).
Needless to say, I didn’t want a bland, restrictive diet and lifestyle.
Long story short, this anti-inflammatory lifestyle – Eat Burn Sleep was born, which I am very passionate about. I got there in the end and couldn’t keep it to myself.
Have you tried these inflammation-reducing recipes: Cream of Broccoli & Zucchini Soup, Apple & Cinnamon Cake, and Yalda’s Niçoise Salad?
You may not be able to cure your multiple sclerosis, but you can put it into remission, and you certainly may be able to live well (really well) with it.
As always, I am sending healthy, happy wishes to you all.
