Canadians have one of the highest rates of autoimmune disease prevalence in the world. Normally the immune system does not attack the self. In autoimmune disease, the immune system loses its ability to distinguish self  vs. non-self molecules and attacks its own cells. The attack can be directed to a specific tissue (eg pancreas with diabetes type 1) or a large number of tissues (eg heart, lung, kidney, etc with systemic lupus erythematosus ).

There are many theories as to how and why autoimmune diseases originate. Some of them include genetic predisposition, microbial infections, heavy metals, vaccinations,and other toxins in the environment (drugs, hormones, toxins).Females are much more likely to develop an auto-immune illness due to higher estrogen levels which can alter immune response. Stress can play a role in the development of an autoimmune disease. Scientific studies have shown that stress-triggered neuroendocrine hormones lead to immune dysregulation which results in AI disease by altering and amplifying cytokine production (messenger molecules that direct other immune cells). Stress can definitely aggravate autoimmune disease so overall balance in the face of stress is incredibly important in the management of any AI disease.

The initial diagnosis of an autoimmune disease may be missed as patients often present with vague or non-specific symptoms like fatigue, joint pain, low grade fever or generalized achiness. It is important as a patient to be persistent with your medical doctor if you just don’t feel right. Often there is something going on so don’t ignore your symptoms even if they are vague. Trust your intuition. The first time I went to my doctor because I didn’t feel quite right, there was nothing found and I was made to feel like I was a hypochondriac. Bloodwork that can help pinpoint an autoimmune disease would include ANA, presence of Rheumatoid Factor, anti DNA antibodies, C-reactive protein amongst others.

One can speculate that somewhere in the history there was a trauma; this is often during childhood. The trauma can be emotional as well as physical specifically involving the gastrointestinal system. With a leaky gut situation, the self and non-self are in contact. All autoimmune disease patients have had a breach of the mucosa of their intestines at some time which has resulted in an immune system that does not react appropriately when an antigen is presented at the intestinal level. I will use myself as an example to illustrate this particular scenario. I had a serious clostridium difficile infection when I was 16 years old which required hospitalization and IV antibiotics for a week. I went on to develop an autoimmune disease in my early twenties (that I did not know about until I was in my 30’s). The point is I had an infection which compromised my gastrointestinal integrity and had I known about the necessity of supporting my gastrointestinal lining back then, I don’t believe I would have developed an AI disease.

There are many factors that can support the gut lining otherwise known as gastrointestinal integrity- the best one being probiotic bacteria.  Specific strains of probiotic bacteria can influence the balance of the immune system and help regulate it. Healing the gut is imperative if you have an autoimmune disease.Addressing dysbiosis is crucial and I will talk about this next in part 2. If you have an autoimmune disease and want to discuss complementary approaches to treatment of it, please book an appointment to discuss. I always recommend that my patients also have a medical doctor for co-management of serious disease.

It is important to remind people that anything you choose to ingest often has a positive and negative benefit to it.  Although I drink green smoothies daily and believe they are a great way to help alkalinize your pH daily, some caution for the general population might be warranted in terms of ingesting them in excess.

Drinking green vegetables which are full of fiber feed all bacteria in your gut- both good and bad. If you have been on courses of antibiotics in your life, taken birth control pills or other medications, you likely have some bad bacteria in your system. Certainly digestive disturbances like gas or bloating would be some indication that you might benefit from more good bacteria in your system.  There is a strong gut-brain axis so feeding bad bacteria could lead to the generation of toxins that negatively affect your mental health. (Stool tests can help determine the ratios of good to bad bacteria but in many instances supplementing with good bacteria can influence the ratio favoring the good). I read some reports of people having bad bacteria in their system- bacteria that feed on iron for instance can make people more susceptible to iron- deficiency anemia. There are herbs that can kill bad bacteria- please book an appointment to discuss this with me. You can read my post on probiotic bacteria to refresh your memory about the importance of bacteria.

Drinking green smoothies without rotating the greens you put in them is not ideal. For instance, the brassica family which includes kale, collards, arugula, broccoli, and others can act as goitrogens in those with low thyroid function if ingested in excess. I probably would not recommend green smoothies for people with questionable thyroid function (both low and high).Because of the oxalates in spinach, those susceptible to calcium oxalate kidney stones would be at risk ingesting green smoothies all the time. In fact, I would not recommend green smoothies at all for those folks. There are positive benefits for most of the population from drinking green smoothies such as higher intake of minerals including calcium and magnesium, a considerable increase in vegetable fiber, more energy (chlorophyll, a pigment found in plants mimics hemoglobin in the blood thus green smoothies give you more life energy) and more hydration for your tissues, thus some tips to making your experience better are warranted.

Buy organic greens for maximal benefit; otherwise they are high in pesticides. Rotate the greens you put in your smoothies every 2 weeks if possible. For two weeks, choose kale and romaine lettuce; the next two weeks choose spinach and leaf lettuce; the next two weeks choose parsley and bok choy; the next 2 weeks choose collards and chard. These are ideas only. if you can think of other greens you really like then add them into your rotation…Then add other veggies to the basic greens selected; choose cucumbers (peel if not organic), organic celery, organic apples, kiwi (if you like extra fruit) and 1/2 avocado for healthy fat. I add fresh peeled ginger root (1 – 2 cm) and I have been known to add other herbs like fresh organic sage or fresh cilantro. I always add a glass of water to the basic mix and blend in a decent blender. I use the Ninja blender from Canadian tire which is affordable and effective to blend greens. Other people like to use Vita-mix blenders.

Since I have been drinking green smoothies, I have more energy and I have more stable blood sugar. I have more color in my face and my immune system is stronger. Try them out and post a comment about your experience on my blog…

We all have grown up with a lot of conditioning and programming due to the influences of those around us; our parents, our cultural roots, our educational upbringing or the society in which we were raised. As a result of these influences, we have all developed our own unique belief systems that determine how our life is created each and every day. When I was diagnosed with M.S. in 2003, I spent two years in contemplation of my life path and the factors that had influenced me. You might say the the disease woke me up and acted as a catalyst for my own personal transformation. In fact, I have written a book on this experience and I plan on self- publishing this year. The M.S. was a huge gift because it started a path of self search for me that was deeply insightful and awakened a state of joy in myself that did not exist before my diagnosis.

What I didn’t realize is that this state of personal transformation is happening to a lot of people all over the world. I have realized that almost everyone is waking up in their own lives in their own way; this is part of the evolutionary shift in people’s consciousness well underway right now that will culminate in the year 2012. I am seeing the shift in all of my patients in different ways. I don’t share my own personal beliefs about this state of awakening because that is not my job as a naturopath to talk about this sort of thing. I may be a silent observer but I see that people’s hearts are opening more to others in their lives, many are more aware of determining the factors that make their own personal heart sing so that they can live more authentically and most people are doing a lot of self searching. I see that people that are challenged right now whether it be financially, professionally, personally, or with regards to their health are being forced to do a lot of self searching. That is the gift inherent in any challenge- pain whether it be mental, emotional, physical or spiritual is a great motivator. It motivates you to search for the answers to your own well being.  Each person’s journey is unique but we all share the need for compassion and understanding from others especially in a difficult time.

In this time, we are being challenged to rewrite our own script for our life. We are not to settle for what we were raised to believe about life or to look to others to validate our own need for self acceptance or belief in ourself. Our basic worthiness must come from within. If you look to the external world to validate you at this time you will likely feel disappointed. You must believe in yourself and your ability to have a better life whether it be financially in terms of abundance, personally in terms of relationships, physically in terms of health and well being and even spiritually whatever that connection looks like to you.

It is time to claim your worthiness, your goodness, your sparkly light, your healthy vibrant self who is capable of accomplishing anything that you set your mind/body/spirit to at this time in your life. The question is how do you want to rewrite your script to reflect more of who you are?  How can you live your life more authentically and align yourself internally with your own inherent goodness so that you can share the highest most divine expression of yourself with the world and touch others around you with your love and kindness? I dare you to rewrite your script this year…you can do it!