Viruses and Autoimmunity

If you are a human, living and breathing on this planet, then you have already discovered that viruses are everywhere.  

Sometimes you get sick from them and sometimes you don’t. Have you ever wondered why?  

Some people can clear these viruses out of the body easily after their cold or flu, while in other’s the virus can persist and run amok causing problems like autoimmune disease. How does that happen?  

This issue is important whether or not you have an autoimmune condition because persisting, active viruses can cause ongoing symptoms like fatigue, too.  

Let me explain.  

We are all exposed to viruses.  

A healthy immune system should be able to respond to the infection and take care of business, clearing out the virus after a self-limited short illness. I think of a robust and well functioning immune system as the product of good “soil” within your body.  

Another name for the inner soil that grows your immune system is your terrain, which is part of a larger ecosystem that determines the functioning of, well, every system in your body..  (note the gardening metaphors).

If you have good inner terrain, you will “grow” normal functioning immune cells that can clear out the viruses. If you don’t, then they can persist. We believe there is a genetic predisposition that allows viruses to persist and trigger autoimmunity.  

But that’s not all that’s going on. Twin studies have shown us that two people with the same genetics and the same triggering virus, can have two completely different responses, all because of their terrain.

By the way, you can repair your immune system terrain with me LIVE beginning Tuesday, October 16th → The Immune Recovery Challenge Begins!

How do Viruses Trigger Autoimmunity?

When viruses linger in the body (again, most often because of terrain issues), it is called “chronic persistence.” This leads to an ongoing antiviral immune response, which can trigger autoimmunity in a few ways.

First, the chronic antiviral immune response at some point moves from being focused on the virus to targeting your own tissue. This can be because the immune response becomes less specific and it spreads to other tissues.

Second, autoimmunity happens because the virus is inside your cells or damaging them and your immune system appropriately is attacking the cells to get at the virus.

And finally, as the virus continues to spread its “proteins” around your body, there is mistaken identity as these proteins can look like your own tissue. We call this molecular mimicry.  

But you can see, no matter the mechanism, to prevent and treat autoimmunity that has been triggered by viruses, you want to make sure your immune terrain is functioning well so that the viruses are cleared out and not allowed to become chronic persisters.

Here is how to improve your terrain to create a robust and healthy immune system to clear out viruses:

1. Nutrition:  
   1. Anti-inflammatory diet: whole foods rich in antioxidants, low in sugar, animal and processed fats;  elimination of foods that trigger inflammation including gluten and gmo foods. Less animal, more vegetable.
      
2. Balanced hormones:  
   1. Stress system and adrenals are balanced and resilient
   2. Sex hormones:  good estrogen metabolism; adequate androgens to balance estrogens
3. Healthy Gut:  
   1. Intestinal ecosystem:  adequate beneficial bacteria, good barrier function
   2. Digestion:  stomach acid, bile acids, pancreatic enzymes
4. Well functioning liver:
   1. Maintain a low toxic load
   2. Clean up environment and make sure biotransformation pathways through liver are working well
   3. Support Estrogen detox pathways

Remember, you can’t avoid viruses! They are everywhere. Instead we work on creating resilience in the immune system so that the viruses don’t become chronic. To do this, we focus on the terrain of the immune system, which leads to the 4-step Immune System Recovery Plan, the focus of my first book on autoimmunity.

How You Can Repair Your Immune System with Me

I am teaching the Immune Recovery Challenge online beginning next week. It is the step-by-step companion to my book, The Immune System Recovery Plan. During the course, you will follow the 4-Step Immune System Recovery Plan together with me LIVE, using video and live coaching. It is a wonderful opportunity, and I hope you’ll join me!  

>>Yes, I Want to Repair My Immune System LIVE With Dr. Blum<<

If you haven’t read The Immune System Recovery Plan, you can find it HERE. In print around the world, it has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people including my patients in my private practice.

References:  

Vieira et al.  Diet, microbiotia, and autoimmune diseases.  Lupus 2014 23: 518

Getts, D, et al.  Virus, infection, antiviral immunity, and autoimmunity.  Immunol Rev. 2013 September; 224 (1): 197-209.

Vanderlugt, C, and Miller, S.  Epitope spreading in immune-mediated diseases: implications for immunotherapy. Nature Reviews Immunology 2, 85–95 (1 February 2002)