Auto-Immune Disease

Autoimmune diseases have increased dramatically worldwide since World War II.  This rapid increase coincided with the production and use of chemicals both in industrial countries and agriculture, as well as the ease of travel from region to region and continent to continent, making the transfer of a pathogen or pathogens from one part of the world to another much easier than ever before. Although autoimmune disease has a nexus in genetics, the triggers of autoimmunity are often environmental. The number of possible environmental triggers is vast and includes chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and molds.

The post-WWII is seeing a pandemic that includes more than 80 autoimmune disorders and increases in both the incidence and prevalence of autoimmune disorders such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and type I diabetes.  In the United States, autoimmune disease is more commonly found in women and is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in female children and women of all age groups. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that 23.5 million Americans have an autoimmune disease while cancer affects 13 million Americans.

As mentioned above, genetic predispositions, environmental factors, and gut dysbiosis have all contributed to the development of autoimmune diseases.  In general, autoimmunity develops over time, but is detectable in the peripheral blood in the form of circulating autoantibodies.  Early stages of autoimmune disease include symptoms such as: fatigue, low-grade fever, muscle and joint aches, and malaise; advanced stages include symptoms that become debilitating.  In some cases, preventive therapies aimed at removing offending triggers can reverse the progression of the autoimmune disorder with the possibility of eliminating the autoimmune disease all together.

There are many triggers for autoimmunity, such as: chemical toxicants, heavy metals, viruses, bacteria, emotional stress, and drugs.  One particularly invasive trigger is the modern diet.

The Modern Diet

For generations, humans ate food seasonally and shortly after harvesting.  When we were lucky, we consumed meat that was generally caught in the wild.  Over the past few decades though, our food has undergone a major modification.  Science learned to manipulate viral and cellular processes to create new strains of grains (wheat, rice, soy, corn, etc.).  The process is called genetic modification and the resultant products, genetically modified organisms (GMOs).  The United States is a prolific user of GMOs relative to the rest of the world.  In addition, modern agriculture uses many chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides, and insecticides for crops such as fruits and vegetables.  Modern livestock is routinely injected with hormones, antibiotics, and heavy metals, which are passed along the food chain in dairy and meat products.  In order to increase market appeal, “food” is augmented with artificial preservatives, colorings, and flavorings, and artificial sweeteners. Plasticizers in food and beverage containers are exposing humans and the environment to xenobiotics, which is causing abnormal hormonal responses and the widespread use of antibiotics, antacids, proton pump inhibitors, histamine 2 blockers, and other drugs are attempting to deal with the symptoms of our toxic world.

It is probably impossible to eliminate all the toxins we encounter in the world today, which is why it is important to not only eat organic foods, but also keep our gut biome strong and healthy.  In order to keep persistent Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Campylobacter, Streptococcus, Leuconostoc, or yeasts likeCandida Albicansin check, we use Allimed.

Allicin and Allimed

Allimed® is stabilized allicin, which is formed when garlic is crushed.  Unfortunately, allicin is a volatile compound and unstable, which makes it difficult to consume naturally (especially in quantities that can really affect health).  A doctor and a scientist eventually found a way to keep allicin stable for extended periods of time.  Their patented-protected process creates Allisure® (stabilized allicin), which is the main ingredient in Allimed.