We all know what immunity means- it’s our body’s defense mechanism that prevents us from foreign antigens, and germs, and fights with those when entered into the body to damage our system. Ideally, our immune system is designed to fight any object that is a threat to our system and is infectious in nature, since our immune cells are trained since birth to recognize foreign objects and innate cells differently, the acquired immunity with the practice of years makes our defense system stronger as we grow. This process of normal immunity is one of the signs of a healthy body. 

Now, what would happen if this entire mechanism of defense mistakenly starts recognizing our own body cells as foreign objects as a threat to the system? Since those immune cells are trained to attack any threatful object, they would eventually start shooting and even killing the wrongly identified system cells and tissues. This is the simple understanding of what any auto-immune disorder would do to the body. 

Next, let us understand how and why this happens. There could be various reasons for our immune cells to get confused, some of the common ones are

• Genetic disorders where hereditary immune cells are weak or abnormal
• Environmental causes (pollution, exposure to harmful chemicals or toxins) 
• Lifestyle causes like stress, unhealthy lifestyle
• Hormonal issues (women are more susceptible to autoimmune conditions than men) 
• During childbearing years there are major changes in the hormones that make women prone to developing autoimmune conditions. 
• Certain infections could also lead to the development of auto-immune disorders by triggering immune cells in a different way and making them confused. 
• Chronic inflammation is triggered by any of the above reasons. 

An auto-immune disorder may include

• The destruction of tissues and cells 
• Abnormal growth of an organ 
• Changes in organ function 

Although auto-immune triggers can attack any organ or tissue in the body, the most common organs which gets affected are: 

• Skin 
• Joints 
• Endocrine glands
• Muscles 
• Red blood cells 
• Blood vessels 

When immunity is compromised in autoimmune disorders, a few common symptoms start to appear manifesting as an overload on physiology and stressful organ functions such as fatigue, muscle pains, redness or swelling in joints or other areas of the body, feeling feverish for no obvious reason, lethargy or dullness, skin rashes, hair loss, etc. Since these are quite common symptoms it becomes quite challenging to pinpoint or identify as a particular disease. When these symptoms do not get resolved for a long time one should consider getting examined thoroughly to detect any auto-immune activity in the system.

The biggest challenge with autoimmune disorders is that they are likely to stay for a lifetime once they are triggered and if cured, there are chances of relapse whenever any favorable condition appears for the disease to be manifested. An understanding of what makes auto-immune disorders develop can help us to prevent such conditions in most cases. 

Most common causes of auto-immune triggers

Stress

Stress can affect various physiological processes. Excessive or chronic stress leads to the trigger of neuroendocrine hormones that may lead to immune dysregulation. 

Poor gut health

The innermost lining of our gut is the largest organ that comes in contact with foreign antigens through food and water or whatever we consume. It allows the nutrients to be passed onto the blood but at the same time needs to filter the harmful organisms and unwanted antigens. This complicated role is played by the gut microbiota, intestinal immunity, and other cells. Abuse of gut health through unhygienic foods, over usage of anti-biotics, unhealthy food or malnourished foods, ignoring food allergies and excessive stress lead to the weakening of these barriers and intestinal immunity which may get molded as auto-immune disorders. 

The fact that needs to be noted here is that excessive psychological stress and compromised gut health always go in a vicious cycle and the latter part can not be isolated from the former one in order to understand the course of disease and reversal.  

Hormonal imbalances

Hormone disorders and auto-immune conditions have a direct effect mutually. Many hormonal imbalances also mimic auto-immune symptoms. Since women are more likely to have their hormones off the track post their 30s, autoimmunity linked to such conditions also prevails amongst women like autoimmune thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Any high or low levels of hormones behave as a physiological stressor to the neurological system which triggers an immune chain reaction. 

Toxin overload

We receive toxins from various sources like faulty food and water, junk food items, adultered food, chemicals and preservatives in foods a lot may more. Apart from this, our own body also creates certain toxic compounds that are metabolic wastes formed as byproducts of normal physiological mechanisms. An excess or continuous exposure to any of these is a good irritation and exhaustion to our immunity which tries to regularly eliminate these unwanted materials. 

Genetic predisposition

A few autoimmune disorders may run as hereditary and passed on to the next generation e.g. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes, graves disease, etc. 

How to prevent autoimmune conditions. 

Since it is quite a blurry line between the exact cause of the autoimmune condition, being aware of certain lifestyle choices one can prevent and manage autoimmune conditions the cause be any of the above such as: 

Toxic free diet

Consuming foods that are natural plant-based foods ensures the least metabolites which reduce toxic overload on the system, the phytonutrients present in plant-based foods also act as healing and functional foods which improve organ functioning. 

Keeping a check on your hormones

Be aware of any hormonal imbalances and fix the issues soon it gets detected. In women, evidence like irregular periods, changes in weight for no obvious reason, and thyroid abnormalities need to be monitored and treated immediately as soon as such conditions arise. 

Keep your gut happy

Consume foods that are easy to digest, are gut-friendly, and do not overload your digestion. Also be mindful of chewing your food properly, eating 10 percent lesser than your appetite, and not indulging in any foods if you are allergic or intolerant to them. 

Stress management

Last but not least, stress management will act like an umbrella that will take care of your hormone health, and gut health and make your system function appropriately. Being aware of your thoughts and emotions, including activities that meditation, breathing exercises, hobby pursuing, etc can help immensely to your mental health. 

What to do if you have an auto-immune condition: 

• Observe the above-mentioned lifestyle changes and try to implement them if they are not a part of your routine.
• Avoid consuming medications if not prescribed to you. 
• Include superfoods that help to reduce auto-immune reactions like turmeric, black pepper, and herbs like rosemary, thyme, and lavender as teas. Include probiotic foods in a regular diet to enhance gut health. 
• Practice guided meditation daily before bedtime to enhance the quality of sleep and stress management. 
• Maintain an active lifestyle and include a few aerobic exercises like walking, yoga, swimming, etc that suits your preferences and stamina. 
• Practice deep breathing exercises regularly to start your day that improves your lung functions and oxygen supply to the cells. 

The cases of auto-immune disorders have been gradually increasing and causes have been linked to modern lifestyle, faulty diet, excess stress, toxins, etc. though autoimmune disorders comprise a huge number of diseases, adopting effective lifestyle management can manage or sometimes reverse these conditions. An integrated approach of modern and traditional medicines, nutritional science and most importantly being aware of our natural healing power and promoting it with an anti-inflammatory and toxin-free lifestyle has been found highly effective in dealing with and treating these disorders.