An Autoimmune Diagnosis. It’s not something any of us would ever want, but it’s an increasingly frequent experience … one I’ve experienced personally and through which I’ve supported countless clients.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates up to 23.5 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease and the prevalence is rising. The AARDA claims that actually 50 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease when properly accounting for variables in epidemiology studies. This breaksdown to 1 out of 12 women, and 1 out of 24 men having an autoimmune disease.
Compare this to the National Cancer Institute’s estimate of just over 15 million Americans living with a cancer diagnosis and you get a sense of the gravity of the situation.
Sadly, despite the prevelance of autoimmune disease, research is severly underfunded with only $591 million dollars spent by NIH on Autoimmune Disease research, compared to $6.1 billion spent on cancer. Yet, health cost of Autoimmune diseases when considered collectively is $100 billion, compared to $50 billion for cancer.
If you are among those who’ve received an Autoimmune diagnosis, I’m here to give you hope: there is so much we can do from a functional perspective to help you heal, bring your autoimmunity into remission, and even reverse the disease process.
In today’s video, I share the most important first dietary steps you can make when given an Autoimmune Diagnosis. While these things might not take you the whole distance, they are critical first steps you’ll need to do regardless of the disease and regardless of the deeper work you do with your practitioner.
Know someone with an autoimmune disease? Please forward this post to them to help them start the healing process.
If you’ve been diagnosed with an Autoimmune disease and are looking for a functional practitioner, apply to do one-on-one work with Margaret here.
Or to find another qualified practitioner, click here.
With the right tools and support, an autoimmune diagnosis can be a part of your past, not your future.
Other questions for Margaret or Chef James? Post them in the comments below and we’ll respond in an upcoming video post.
Work one-on-one with Margaret
If you’ve been diagnosed with an Autoimmune disease and are looking for a functional practitioner, apply to do one-on-one work with Margaret.
Thank you so much for this information. Since being diagnosed with gestational diabetes in my pregnancy two years ago, I have been fascinated by how foods impact my body. I have since been breastfeeding and now pregnant again and unsure of whether I have GD again. In the meantime, I am watching what I eat and doing occasional blood glusose tests.
Anyway, my biggest concern is my hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed 5 years ago and have been on varying levels of medication. It took me 3 years to get pregnant, and I had to increase my dosage for both pregnancies.
I am anxious to get help beyond “take this pill”, especially since I am convinced that my body has potential to heal. My questions are:
1. Where might I go to find references for a functional practitioner in my area (Laurel, MD)?
2. Should I wait until after the baby comes to seek out a practitioner?
Thanks!
Laura
Hi Laura,
Thank you for commenting. So glad our content is resonating with you. To answer your questions,
1) Regarding a functional practitioner, I am able to work with clients all over the world, so if you’d like to see if we are a fit, please feel free to fill out an application here
If you’d prefer to work with someone specifically in your area, please write to us at info@eatnakedkitchen.com with some more specifics of what you’re looking for and I’ll try to pair you up with someone. It is sometimes challenging matching you up with someone directly in your city so you may need to be open to working with someone remotely (via Skype) if you’d like to work with a referral from me. All support can be done remotely (ie test are sent to you through the mail, etc) so care and attention to your needs won’t be sacrificed from working with someone remotely.
2) No you should not wait. Key to work with someone immediately particularly with hypothyroidism.
Thank you Margaret for your wonderful information ! I have spent the past TWO months fighting a horrible yeast infection….my doctor said my immune system was “off”. So, many creams & pills later, it is finally getting under control….your information about an auto-immune disease diet …. may just work for me too? I also have hypothyroidism….. not one doctor has given me the information you have…..so thank you, I am going to eliminate the foods in your suggestions!
Bless you!