I unconsciously held this information in our autoimmunity blog discussions till last.  This was the result of the highly emotionally charged discussion regarding the SARS-CoV2 pandemic and vaccination in the back of my mind.  A fair analysis supports the point that each camp makes: When all the data is examined, both points are true.  This […]

Several past studies have found a correlation between the presence of PTSD and the risk of multiple autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis.  There has also been suggestion that PTSD was associated with a significantly elevated risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PTSD is the result of […]

Too much appeasing of a sweet tooth has been associated with an increased risk of developing autoimmunity.  While higher sugar consumption may do so, artificial sweeteners appear to increase the risk similarly.  This is a significant concern as either sugars or artificial sweeteners are added to almost all processed foods. Humans have 3 primary taste […]

This title may sound like some form of double talk but it is a reality.  I had a stark example of this concept last weekend traveling to Easton Maryland for our annual goose hunt with my grandson.  Traveling the 185 miles up the Virginia and Maryland Eastern Shore I traveled through this large expanse of […]

In the previous blogs we have discussed the role of the “exposome” which are the environmental factors we are exposed to that may contribute to autoimmunity.  One of the more common and important factors is diet/food.  This process involves an immune reaction against a food particle such as a peptide that then spreads to attacking […]

As we discussed in the previous blog post, disruption of the single cell intestinal barrier which separates the immune layer from the contents of the intestinal lumen is a known component to the onset of autoimmunity.  A leaky gut barrier allows highly inflammatory and immune activating bacterial particles called lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to flood into the […]

The first line of defense in the body against invaders that can abnormally activate the immune system are our physical barriers such as the skin and intestinal barrier.  The intestinal barrier is especially important for multiple reasons: If this barrier is “breached” the body is flooded with factors that activate inflammation and antibody production to […]

One of a Few Common Chronic Diseases That We Are Now More Likely to Face Advances in research have helped the U.S. enjoy decreasing rates of several chronic diseases over the past 3 decades.  Autoimmune disease has been a notable exception to this trend increasing rather dramatically.  This trend has been broad with sharp increases […]

In the last several blogs we looked at the research on the human microbiome which corresponds to the onset of the many diseases that become more prevalent with age.  Keep in mind “with age” does not mean after the age of 60-70 but rather gradually beginning between age 30-40. This shift is hallmarked by the […]

In the previous blogs we discussed the interesting work on altering the microbiome with fecal medical transplant (FMT) to correct inflammation, inflammatory related disease, diabetes, and other chronic health problems.  The results are pretty dramatic.  The problem is that FMT requires endoscopy/colonoscopy, cost and further FDA approval.  Right now it is only approved to treat […]