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LIVING WITH AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

Through functional medicine Dr.Autoimmunegirl focuses on the underlying causes of autoimmune disease and the impact inflammation and gut health have on autoimmune disease management.

As a health and wellness professional Dr.Autoimmunegirl is on a mission to help you get to the root cause of autoimmune disease through education, empowerment, and support.

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Learn about the various processes that effect the immune system, gut health and inflammation and their impact on autoimmune disease.

@drautoimmunegirl

Learn more about your immune system and how it plays a role in your daily life. Stay up to date with me on my journey to heal!

So now what are we talking about with inflammation

So now what are we talking about with inflammation?
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Systemic low grade inflammation is a common denominator in the pathophysiology of most chronic diseases and some types of cancer
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According to the WHO these chronic disease are responsible for 70% of all deaths globally and in the US $47 trillion lost in GDP worldwide
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Did you know: one of the Sustainable Development Goal targets set by the United Nations is to percent 1/3 of chronic disease death by year 2030
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WELL HOW THE HECK DO WE EXPECT TO DO THAT?
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How can we reduce inflammation which is cause so many chronic illnesses⁉️
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🛑Remove: foods that promote #sibo : Simple sugars and complex carbs quickly digested such as refined white flour and white potatoes
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🛑Remove: #highsugar foods - cause imunosuppression for 2-4 hours after eating
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🛑Remove: high-fat foods - especially foods with arachidonic acid and saturated fats ( #dairy and animal fat primarily)
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🛑Remove: food allergens- can form immune complexes and lead to inflammation
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🛑Remove: emotional #stress and #toxicrelationships relationships - they promote inflammation, impair wound healing, and promote immunosuppression
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✅Increase #fiber : Fiber pulls toxins from the #gut and acts like a broom to sweep them out
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✅Increase #phytonutrients : found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds act as anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, which quench inflammation
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✅Increase exercise: 1) Adipose tissue (fat) is pro-inflammatory; 2) #exercising muscle reduces inflammation improves insulin sensitivity
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✅Increase Vitamin D: reduces inflammation, #autoimmunedisease , and slows progression of osteoarthritis
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We have to do our part and take control of our health to decrease the incidence of chronic disease worldwide - THIS IS THE PANDEMIC THAT WE NEED TO GAIN CONTROL OF!!!!
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#integrativemedicine #functionalmedicine #integrativenutrition #functionalnutrition #antiinflammatory #antiinflammatorydiet #inflammation #inflammatory #rootcause #rootcausemedicine #chronicdisease #chronicdiseases #chronicillnesswarrior #chronicillness #chronicillnessawareness #inflammatory

By now I think most of you know your gut plays an

By now I think most of you know your gut plays an integral role in your immune system.
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We are born with protection by #antibodies passed on by our mothers and a limited number of bacteria in our gut.
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The essential task of the immune system is to maintain a balance between reaction and tolerance. What's critical to this is a diverse #gutflora established in early life with many types of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms, as it teaches the cells of the immune system that not everything is bad.
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An unbalanced bacterial flora with for instance too many opportunistic pathogens can shift the immune system to an increased #inflammatory state
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Ok lets talk diet - and how we influence this!
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A variety of factors have been proposed to favor autoimmune development such as decrease pathogen exposure, smoke, hormones, stress, pollutants, dietary components and obesity
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Focusing on diet, it’s a direct link to our gut microbiota
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Diet alters the gut microbial composition. Gut bacteria and their metabolites regulate pro-inflammatory and regulatory T cell responses in the gut, which could lead to disease development
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Standard American diet vs. #mediterraneandiet
📍SAD: affects the composition of your gut bacteria and causes low grade chronic inflammation that alters your metabolic status. The high caloric intake, and high levels of salt and cholesterol, leads to obesity, increased secretion of pro-inflammatory adipokines and cytokines. These changes are associated with a decreased Treg and higher Th17
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📍MD: supports the growth of bacterial species that, by the production of immunomodulatory metabolites, promotes increased Treg over Th17 cell development in the intestine
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Th1 and Th17 are pro-inflammatory cytokines that are associated with the development of #autoimmune disorders
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Increasing Tregs:
📍Meditation
📍Yoga
📍Nutrition
📍Vitamin A
📍Vitamin D
📍probiotics (Bifidobacterium)
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You are what you eat, and your gut is the key to immune health!
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#probiotics #prebiotics #goodbacteria #leakygut #guthealth #guthealing #guthealthmatters #healyourgut #immunesystem #immuneboosting #immunesupport #immunehealth #immunebooster #probiotic #probioticos

Quercetin is a widely distributed plant flavonoid.

Quercetin is a widely distributed plant flavonoid. Its main natural sources in foods are vegetables such as onions, the most studied quercetin containing foods, and broccoli; fruits (apples, berry crops, and grapes); some herbs; tea; and wine
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I actually take it for allergies and has many studies to it’s benefits here!
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Why are we hearing talk about this flavonoid in conjunction with Co..V..?
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Studies have shown that quercetin has the ability to chelate zinc ions and act as a zinc ionophore. Which means it draws zinc into the cell and therefore has antiviral activity against RNA viruses
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Quercetin has been studied in various types and models of viral infection
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Mechanism of Anti-viral Activity:
1️⃣Inhibiting virus entry - this has been observed with H1N1 and rhinovirus in vitro and in vivo
2️⃣Interfering the DNA and RNA polymerases
3️⃣Inhibition of reverse transcriptase - in-vitro studies have shown its ability to inhibit crucial enzymes in viral replication
4️⃣Inhibit Proteases
5️⃣Blocking virus assembly
6️⃣Immunomodulatory properties: stimulates Th1 and downregulates Th2
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In addition it's benefits may be improved when used with vitamin C
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Quercetin spontaneously oxidizes to form O-semiquinone and O-quinone/quinone methide (QQ), these metabolites can be toxic and be PRO-oxidant rather than ANTI-oxidant. That’s where Vitamin C, as an antioxidant, plays a role by scavenging these metabolites while quercetin exerts its antiviral effect.
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Quercetin and VitaminC together could be a strategy for prevention and treatment of several respiratory viruses. The blockage of virus entry represents a key strategy and quercetin stops viral membrane fusion for both influenza and SARS-Cov in-vitro
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While majority of the studies are in vitro, a few highlighted in this review were done in humans and demonstrated promising results
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I did come across a study currently being conducted on clinicaltrials.gov for quercetin and vitamin C, for Cov19. I am anxiously awaiting the results to be published next month!
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Reference: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01451
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#quercetin #immunesupport #immunebooster #immunesystem #immunehealth #immuneboosting #functionalmedicine

DONE AND DONE! _ I am officially hanging up

DONE  AND  DONE!
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I am officially hanging up my Master's Degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine! This will definitely be the last degree, since I have no more space on the wall,ha!
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I have so many new followers, so I wanted to reintroduce myself and credentials
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So, hello, I'm Donna, and the face behind Drautoimmunegirl! The mission behind my blog is to utilize my learnings from conventional medicine and functional medicine to provide a balanced approach to health and wellness. I personally believe there is a disconnect and a between both practices of medicine that needs to be bridged!
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I received my Doctorate in Pharmacy from @ferrisstateu, and I continued my training by completing a residency program at the Detroit Medical Center. I spent about 10 years in clinical practice doing medication therapy management.  In speaking to patients with chronic illness I was blown away by how little they knew about managing their disease through lifestyle.  This led me to pursue a masters in nutrition, which I started and then stopped, switching gears to my MBA to align with my future goals!
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BUT THEN, in 2015, it all came back around full circle when I was diagnosed with Hashimotos. My diagnosis took me right back to my passion to understand how I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition. And so, I completed my Master's in Nutrition and Functional Medicine from @univwesternstates
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My purpose is to share reputable scientific information in a simplified format.  When I was searching for answers, it was so hard to trust the sources of information, and so I took it upon myself to be THE source!
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This is just the first step with a future that holds so much more!
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Thank you so much for following. Please support my mission by sharing my page with your friends, families, in your stories, and to anyone you think would benefit from the information I collate and disseminate!
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#autoimmunedisease #autoimmunepaleo #autoimmune #autoimmuneprotocol #autoimmunewarrior #hashimotosdisease #hashimotos #hashimotoswarrior #hypothyroidism #hashimotosthyroiditis #thyroid #hypothyroidmom #hypothyroid #integrativemedicine #functionalmedicine #functionalpharmacy #pharmacist

Organic farming, in general, is characterized by i

Organic farming, in general, is characterized by its restriction against the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. This basic understanding has led to two main hypotheses
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1️⃣The first hypothesis considers the impact of the different fertilization practices on plant metabolism. Due to the fact that synthetic fertilizers offer more bioavailable sources of nitrogen, plants develop faster, and all plant resources go to growth purposes and not to the production of secondary metabolites such as polyphenols that have the nutritional benefits
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2️⃣The second hypothesis is related to the plants exposure to stressful situations, such as attacks from various insects, weeds and plant pathogens, leads to an increase of natural defense substances, such as phenolic compounds. This happens when pesticides are NOT used
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So with that being said what's the benefit of phenolic content in organic fruits and vegetables?
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Many studies report that plant phenolic compounds have ✅anticarcinogenic, ✅anti-inflammatory,✅antimicrobial, ✅antioxidant, ✅antihypertensive, ✅immune modulating, ✅cardioprotective, and ✅analgesic proprieties
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Other reasons for organic food consumption:
1️⃣Less exposure to antibiotic resistant bacteria
2️⃣Natural pesticides defense system activation (plant's own phytochemicals)
3️⃣Avoiding loss of nutritional value of fresh fruits and vegetables because organic products have a lower shelf life compared to conventional ones
4️⃣Certified according to rigorous standards
5️⃣Organic farming systems are environmentally friendly
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And for those of you looking to increase #quercetin, a randomized study found (https://doi.org/10.1021/jf030217n)Higher quercetin excretion after a three-week organic diet compared to conventional food!
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#antioxidants #antioxidant #antiinflammatory #antiinflammatorydiet #inflammation #inflammatory #eatwholefoods #microbiome #nutrientdense #healthynutrition #foodasmedicine #foodmedicine #organic #organicgardening #organicfarming #polyphenols #polyphenols酵素 #pesticides #pesticidefree

Gut and oral microflora are important factors in t

Gut and oral microflora are important factors in the pathogenesis and development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
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Gut bacteria have been recognized as an autoimmune trigger for RA for decades
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A review was completed to review the existing evidence of probiotics in rheumatoid
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Reduced and elevated gut bacteria were found in RA patients as follow:
Elevated:
📍Clostridium perfringens type A
📍Enterobacterium
📍Staphylococcus
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Reduced:
📍Bifidobacterium
📍Bacteroides
📍Lactobacillus
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Probiotics mainly exert their beneficial effects through the following three methods:
1️⃣antimicrobial effects
2️⃣enhancement of mucosal barrier integrity
3️⃣immune modulation
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Several experimental and clinical studies have shown that some probiotics, particularly Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, have beneficial effects on inflammatory and autoimmune diseases
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The results from a meta-analysis (https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENG.2017.01.006) showed that the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 was reduced and the expression of IL-10 was elevated in the probiotic intervention group
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L. casei and L. acidophilus showed significantly down-regulated pro-inflammatory cytokines and up-regulated anti-inflammatory cytokines (P < 0.0001)
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The trends of probiotics reducing inflammatory reactions imply that probiotics may have some effect on the remission of early and mild RA patients
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Please share your experiences?
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#rheumatoidarthritis #ra #rheumatoid #rheumatoidarthritiswarrior #autoimmunedisease #autoimmunepaleo #autoimmune #autoimmuneprotocol #aip #autoimmunewarrior #leakygut #guthealth #guthealing #guthealthmatters #healyourgut #probiotics #prebiotics #goodbacteria #lactobacillus #bifidobacterium #probiotic #probioticsupplements #probioticos #rheumatoidarthritiswarrior

I've been asked this question a lot, so I thought

I've been asked this question a lot, so I thought why not review the evidence of how this drug works. I'm not providing my opinion, so don’t ask! Simply sharing the Science!
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Did you know the half-life is 40-50 days!? That is the amount of time it takes for the concentration of a drug to reduced by 1/2
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It also has a slow onset of action that might take weeks to reach maximal activity with prolonged effects after its stopped
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This drug is considered to function as immunomodulatory rather than immunosuppressant and utilized to treat several autoimmune conditions
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So how does it work?
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Being a weak base it accumulates within acidic vesicles such as lysosomes and inhibits their function
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Lysosomes are organelles in our cells that function to remove waste such as food particles, old cell parts and microorganisms (viruses and bacteria)
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Interfering with lysosomal activity might inhibit the function of lymphocytes (T-cells, B-cells etc.)
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Lysosomes don’t only remove "waste" but they are also involved in antigen processing which indirectly activates the immune system
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By interfering with lysosomes you can see we downregulate the immune system, a beneficial mechanism in some autoimmune conditions
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Hydroxychloroquine also interferes with Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling
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TLR signals stimulate the production of cytokines, so as a result HQ reduces cytokine production by T cells and B cells such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF, this leads to anti-inflammatory effects
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In addition HQ has characteristics of a zinc ionophore which means it brings in extracellular zinc to intracellular lysosomes. The combination of the two inside the lysosome leads to apoptosis (cell death)
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It's important to remember that with any intervention targeting the immune system, the mechanism is dependent on the context of what we are treating (ie: the inflammatory condition and the affected tissues/organs)
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Hope you found this information helpful, please share to educate others!
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#hydroxychloroquine #immunesystem #immunehealth #autoimmunedisease #autoimmune #plaquenil #educateyourself #dontbeignorant #pharmacist #pharmacists #pharmacist💊 #pharmacistlife

Hippocrates also said “bad digestion is the root

Hippocrates also said “bad digestion is the root of all evil”
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While this insightful statement was thousands of years ago, research has traditionally been focused on pathogenic gut microbes and NOT on the role of gut microbes in homeostasis and pathogenesis
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BUT we are finally seeing some changes on the horizon!
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The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has established the Center for Gut Microbiome Research and Education.
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The mission of this organization is to “advance research and education on the gut microbiome in human health and disease.”
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Its only taken thousands of years but here we are folks!!! Better late than never!
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#probiotics #prebiotics #goodbacteria #integrativemedicine #functionalmedicine #integrativenutrition #functionalnutrition #leakygut #guthealth #guthealing #guthealthmatters #healyourgut #guthealthy #gutmicrobiome #microbiota #microbiotaintestinal #coloncleanse #digestion #digestivehealth #digestivesystem #digestiveissues #digestivesupport #digestionsupport #ibd #inflammatoryboweldisease #crohnsdisease

Challenge accepted #blackwhitechallenge Thank you

Challenge accepted #blackwhitechallenge Thank you @drmarleneshaw and @tarannum_q @di_stef7 for nominating me!
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Empowered women empower women!
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I nominate @sueb580 @nicolette_todor @tushi_xo @the_agist @lifestyle_of_drlama
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#womenempoweringwomen #womenpower #powerofwomen #womensupportingwomen #womeninspiringwomen #womenforwomen #womeninspiration #womenoftheworld #womenstrong #gogirl #girlsupportinggirls #girlssupportgirls #supportgirls #proudwoman #sheinspiresme #empowerher #womenofimpact #womeninleadership #womenwholead

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