Page 2 - Why Are Autoimmune Diseases So Common

• Up-regulated immune system issues are things like allergies, asthma, and all autoimmune
diseases.

• Down-regulated immune system issues are colds, flus, infections, recurrent infections,
and cancers.

“When somebody loses their immune system balance and starts to move away from it—both up
and down—they start developing problems at one end or the other,” explains Dr. Bilstrom.
“Eventually they have problems at both ends. And, as time continues to march on, the body starts
adding new things to the old things. If someone develops one autoimmune disease, they are more
likely to develop a second and a third.”

What causes an imbalanced immune system?
Vitamin deficiencies, hormone deficiencies or imbalances, chronic infections, toxicity, and
especially problems with the gut and intestines are the major causes of an imbalanced immune
system.

“Unfortunately, we live in a very toxic world,” says Dr. Bilstrom, “and we’re being inundated
with heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, and those kind of things every day.”

The gut or intestines are an important central mechanism for all of the other causes of immune
system imbalance. If the gut becomes disrupted, it becomes increasingly difficult to digest food
and get the appropriate amount of vitamins and minerals, causing a vitamin deficiency. If the gut
is not functioning properly, it becomes difficult to balance hormones, and the gut actually makes
hormones like insulin and melatonin, which help to regulate so many important bodily functions.
When the gut is thrown off kilter, the body also has a difficult time getting rid of toxins.

“Our bodies produce internally generated toxins, or endotoxins,” says Dr. Bilstrom. “Every cell
in our body creates these toxic by-products of metabolism every day. We have to get rid of those
things. An example of how toxic these by-products of metabolism can be is one toxin that we
have to get rid of through our breath. We need oxygen. We wouldn’t get very far without
oxygen. But the by-product of oxygen metabolism is carbon dioxide. If we can’t get rid of it, we
will die. There are also tens of thousands of environmental toxins that can get into our systems
and create problems.” When the gut is dysfunctional, and toxins can’t be eliminated, they
accumulate in the body and overtime this can cause serious problems.

When the gut is thrown off balance, it directly affects the immune system, too, because 80
percent of the immune system surrounds the gut. When the gut is affected, the immune system
will be affected and that’s how chronic infections develop.

“What’s interesting is that, in many cases, you can see the start of an imbalanced immune system
at a young age,” says Dr. Bilstrom. “In children or teenagers what you may see are allergies,
asthma, or maybe an autoimmune disease like eczema. And, recurrent infections could occur,
such as ear infections, strep throat, sinus infections, urinary tract infections, or even
mononucleosis.”