Conditions
Autoimmune conditions
Conventional treatment for autoimmunity is good at suppressing the immune response. It is less interested in why the response started, or what keeps driving it. Both questions are worth asking.
Alongside, not instead of
If you are under a rheumatologist or on disease-modifying medication, stay there. I work alongside specialist care, and I will not advise you to stop treatment that is controlling your disease.
What I add is investigation of the drivers: gut barrier function, chronic infection, nutrient status, hormonal change, stress physiology and exposures. Reducing the load on an over-activated immune system is a reasonable aim in parallel with treating the disease itself.
What tends to be worth investigating
Gut function comes up repeatedly, and the association between intestinal permeability and autoimmunity is one of the better supported parts of this field.
Vitamin D status, thyroid antibodies where relevant, chronic viral reactivation, and food reactions that are genuinely driving inflammation rather than merely suspected of it.
A realistic aim
Autoimmune disease is not usually cured. The realistic aims are better symptom control, fewer flares, and in some cases reducing the medication burden with your specialist agreeing to it.
Claims that autoimmunity can be reversed through diet alone are not supported by evidence, and I will not make them.
Common questions
How does a root-cause approach differ from conventional treatment for autoimmune conditions?
Conventional treatment controls the immune response, and does it well. A root-cause approach asks, in parallel, what is adding to the load on the immune system in your case, such as gut problems, chronic infection, nutrient deficiency, poor sleep or ongoing stress, and addresses those. The two work together. One is not a substitute for the other.
Will I have to stop my medication?
No. I will not advise you to stop treatment that is controlling your disease. If your condition improves enough that a reduction becomes reasonable, that is a decision for your specialist, made with them.
Can diet cure autoimmune disease?
No. Diet can help some people with symptoms and flares, and in some conditions, such as coeliac disease, it is the treatment. But the claim that diet alone reverses autoimmune disease is not supported by evidence.
Related
Discuss your case with Dr Greenland
A short discovery call is the usual starting point. It costs nothing, and it is the fastest way to find out whether this approach fits your situation.