1. We all have a tendency to focus on the area giving us the most pain or symptoms, but this can be slightly misguided when it comes to autoimmune disease. For example, just because we are developing skin conditions with psoriasis and eczema doesn’t mean the problem is in our skin. If we’re having issues with digestive pain and diarrhea, the problem isn’t necessarily in our gut. Of course, having symptoms in those areas gives us information, but, as silly as this might sound, we need to remember that autoimmune conditions involves our IMMUNE system first.

There are numerous types of autoimmune diseases including autoimmune thyroid (Hashimoto’s, Graves), multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, IBS/IBD (Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis), rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, and more. While these might impact many different areas of our body such as our thyroid, brain, gut, skin, and joints, we need to remember that the reason these tissues are being damaged is because our immune system is acting improperly. Instead of destroying invaders like normal, our immune cells overreact to a stimulus and our own body gets hit in the crossfire.

Point is, pay attention to the area of symptoms, but understand that the immune system must be addressed if improvement is going to be made.

2. Our immune system has memory for the infectious agents that it comes in contact with, which is what allows us to better fight off similar “bugs” in the future. With autoimmunity, your immune system forms the same kind of memory profile for certain tissues or organs in our body. Unfortunately, you will always have immune memory for these tissues and whenever you have an immune flair up, you run the risk of more cell destruction and symptoms.

The good news is that just because your immune system has now marked parts of your own body as “the enemy,” it doesn’t mean you can’t do things to change immune function and reduce the attacks and symptoms. If you can better regulate your immune system then you can decrease symptoms and discomfort, and your body can begin to heal.

Autoimmunity does NOT mean your only choice is a lifetime of worsening health.

3. So how do we normalize our immune system so it isn’t so hypersensitive? The most important thing is to find the DRIVER or TRIGGER for immune dysregulation. The “driver” or “trigger” means that there is some kind of irritant, which is chronically activating our immune system and causing it to be hypersensitive. Just like when we catch a cold, our immune system responds to fight off the “bug” (i.e. the driver or trigger) and in the meantime, we get symptoms. When we have autoimmunity there is a “driver,” which can be the food we eat, toxins in our environment, or chronic infections, that continually activate or “drive” our immune system to try and fight off the invader. Unfortunately in this case, instead of having a runny nose, the symptom associated with the increased immune activity is damage to your own cells.

The first step in treatment is to figure out what the chronic irritant or driver is in our system and remove it. Seems simple, but it isn’t always so easy.

Our recommendation is to consider if you’ve had any serious infections in your past or have noticed chronic, low grade “flu like” symptoms. Take note of what you’re eating and write down if you have any changes in sleep, digestion, energy levels, bowel movements, abnormal sensations, etc. when you eat different foods. Consider your work environment for any potential environmental contaminants or metals that could impact immune function. Lastly, remember that even things like emotional stress or internal changes (abnormal gut bacteria) can also act as immunostimulants. If any of these areas are a problem for you, it may give insight into what is irritating your immune system.

In review, remember that autoimmune conditions are just that, IMMUNE conditions. Therefore they must be treated as such to get results. Secondly, just because you have an autoimmune condition doesn’t mean you will continually experience worsening symptoms and health. With proper treatment you can stop the destruction of your tissue and begin to heal. Keep in mind, although healing is possible, the immune memory for your own body will always be there. Lastly, find out your immune driver or trigger and remove it as soon as possible to help relieve the stress on the immune system.

As always, if you have any other questions feel free to give us a call at 206-824-8464 or email me at drbradbodle@gmail.com.

-Dr. B

Note: This information is designed for educational purposes only and should not be used in any other manner. It is not intended to substitute for informed medical advice.

The post Three Things You Should Know About Autoimmunity appeared first on Bodle Chiropractic and Integrative Health.

Unfortunately, this line of thinking can be a little off the mark.

For those who don’t know, insulin is like a messenger that is released from the pancreas. This messenger, once released, tells our body’s cells to increase their glucose uptake and slows the release of glucose from our liver. That means, if we have a meal that is high in carbohydrates, which breaks down into sugar, our body will release insulin to help prevent our blood sugar from getting too high.

By moving glucose from our blood stream and into our cells, it prevents the damage that can come from long term elevations in blood sugar that are well documented. Things like kidney disease, nerve damage, eye damage, and dementia.

Getting back to the original point, this mechanism occurs in every one of us each time we have a meal with refined carbohydrates or processed sugars. If we continue to eat this way on a consistent basis, our body will have to release high amounts of insulin over and over again, in an attempt to keep things at normal levels. This occurs even if we DON’T have diabetes.

Multiple problems begin to arise when we have these continuous insulin surges. Just like the boy who cried wolf, our cells stop responding to insulin when it is signaling to them all the time. The cells become less sensitive or INSULIN RESISTANT. This means that even though our insulin messenger is being released into the blood, the cells are essentially not paying attention anymore because they have heard the “wolf cry” so many times before.

To compensate, our pancreas begins to release MORE insulin in an effort to get the message across. Now, instead of speaking with cells and telling them to do their job, the pancreas is SHOUTING at them. This will work on a short term basis, but does not fix the problem and will eventually make the insulin resistance WORSE.

This sort of process can occur with people who are working long hours and not getting enough exercise or the person who is hardly eating and is relying on coffee and bagels just to get through their busy day. The point is, people who do not have even and steady blood sugar throughout the day can create a scenario where insulin spikes in response to high blood glucose and creates a negative cascade of physiology.

When insulin spikes, it begins to draws other systems into this unfortunate wind-up of symptoms. It promotes the enzyme uric acid synthase, which increases uric acid levels and gives people chronic, achy, widespread pain. It changes the function of the transporters that carry protein across our brain barrier and eventually become neurotransmitters. This can cause unstable emotional states and may be a component of depression and neurodegeneration. It starts converting glucose into fats, which increases our body’s fat stores, may lead to fatty liver, and increases our “bad” cholesterol. The increase in overall sugar load damages our arteries, gut, nerves, and brain.

We often call unstable blood sugar “the root of all evil” because as a basic fuel for all of our body’s cells, when it’s not being properly utilized, many systems may go awry. A simple analogy is to try driving you car without any gas. It simply doesn’t work.

The good news is that by following a diet that limits processed foods, sugars, and high carbohydrates, and focuses on eating fresh vegetables and fruit, clean proteins, wild caught fish, and healthy fats, these problems can be rectified and reversed. The body has a great ability to adapt and heal, but it needs to be provided the basic building blocks for it to do so.

-Dr. B

Note: This information is designed for educational purposes only and should not be used in any other manner. It is not intended to substitute for informed medical advice.

The post Blood Sugar and Elevated Insulin appeared first on Bodle Chiropractic and Integrative Health.

Regular exercise can help improve brain function, build new connections, improve memory, and prevent degeneration.

While some may debate what type of exercise is best, the most important thing is to find something YOU like and get out there and start moving!

Find a time either every day or every other day that works for you and stick with it. Get a workout buddy to help keep you accountable. Mornings are a dreaded time for many, but people often have increased success when they get their exercise in early. This avoids something “coming up” and interrupting their routine later in the day.

The post Exercise for a healthy, strong BRAIN! appeared first on Bodle Chiropractic and Integrative Health.