The Autoimmune Spectrum: How to Prevent and Reverse Autoimmune Disease

Table of Contents:

1. Autoimmunity: When Your Immune System Attacks You
2. The Real Root Cause of Autoimmune Disease and Inflammation
3. Understanding the Autoimmune Spectrum
4. My Personal Journey With Autoimmunity
5. The Myers Way® for Life
   1. Pillar I: Heal Your Gut
   2. Pillar II: Remove Gluten, Grains, and Legumes
   3. Pillar III: Tame the Toxins
   4. Pillar IV: Heal Your Infections and Relieve Your Stress
6. FAQs

Conventional medicine often treats autoimmunity as a black-and-white diagnosis. You either have an autoimmune disease or you do not. If you do, you are told to expect lifelong symptoms and medication. That’s it, and you are supposed to just accept it! I experienced this firsthand with my own diagnosis of Graves’ disease.

However, I am here to shed light on another way to view autoimmune disease and inflammation. I call it the Autoimmune Spectrum. Inflammation determines where you fall on that spectrum. When you reduce inflammation and address the root cause, you can move in the right direction.

I introduced this concept in my book, The Autoimmune Solution, and expanded it in The Autoimmune Solution™ Protocol. This approach is the foundation of functional medicine for autoimmune disease and the core of what I call The Myers Way®.

If you are searching for answers and wondering whether autoimmune disease can be reversed, you are in the right place. This is the root cause approach that transformed my health and the health of thousands of my patients.

Autoimmunity: When Your Immune System Attacks You

Autoimmunity occurs when your immune system targets healthy tissue. A healthy immune system identifies bacteria and viruses as threats. In autoimmune disease, that recognition system breaks down. Essentially, your immune system goes rogue!

Your immune system may attack your thyroid in Hashimoto’s. It may attack your joints in rheumatoid arthritis. It may attack the protective coating of nerve cells in multiple sclerosis. These are different diagnoses, but they share the same root problem: immune dysfunction and chronic inflammation.

Research shows that if you have one autoimmune condition, your risk of developing another increases. That is why focusing on one organ as conventional medicine does, misses the bigger picture. 

This is where functional medicine for autoimmune disease differs. Instead of masking symptoms, we ask why the immune system became dysregulated in the first place?

The Real Root Cause of Autoimmune Disease and Inflammation

Chronic inflammation drives autoimmunity. In my clinical experience, five primary triggers fuel inflammation:

• An inflammatory diet

• Leaky gut
  

• Toxin exposure

• Chronic infections
  

• Chronic stress
  

Genetics play a role. Studies suggest genes account for roughly 25 percent of autoimmune risk. The remaining 75 percent relates to environment and lifestyle factors. (1) That is empowering because we were previously led to believe it was mostly our genetics to blame.

When you reduce inflammatory triggers, you can shift your position on the Autoimmune Spectrum. This means understanding the environment and lifestyle adjustments that need to be made. Even if you have already been diagnosed, improvement and management are very possible!

Understanding the Autoimmune Spectrum

The Autoimmune Spectrum ranges from optimal immune balance to diagnosed autoimmune disease.

At the lowest end, inflammation is minimal. You may experience occasional fatigue or digestive discomfort. These symptoms are often dismissed. They are early warning signs.

In the middle range, chronic inflammation increases. You may notice joint pain, skin issues, allergies, weight gain, or brain fog. Lab tests may still appear “normal.” Risk for autoimmune disease rises.

At the highest end, autoimmune disease is diagnosed. Conventional treatment often focuses on immune suppression. My approach focuses on calming inflammation and restoring immune balance.

By addressing root causes, many people can improve symptoms and overall immune health.

My Personal Journey With Autoimmunity

Right before I wrote my second New York Times Bestseller, “The Thyroid Connection,” I was at the healthiest point of the Autoimmune Spectrum™. I was feeling great, and all of my autoimmune markers were negative. However, life happens and it’s easy to get off track.

My travel increased, diet expanded, and environmental exposures changed. I later discovered mold in my home, causing my inflammatory markers to rise. Of course, as you might have guessed, my symptoms returned.

Learn about my experience with mold exposure on this episode of Take Back Your Health™ Podcast.

This experience reinforced a powerful lesson: autoimmunity is dynamic. You can move in either direction on the spectrum. The key is returning to the fundamentals every time you experience a “flare” or symptoms.

That is why I developed The Myers Way® and The Autoimmune Solution™ Protocol. 

The Myers Way® for Life

The important lesson in my story is that life happens to all of us. Even the healthiest people can move in the wrong direction on the Autoimmune Spectrum. They also experience symptoms again because of circumstances that are out of our control.

That is why it is so important to remember that you always have the power. You can work your way back down the Autoimmune Spectrum by getting 100% back on board with The Myers Way®.

I call my program The Myers Way® because it really is a way of life. Life may throw you a curveball. However, you can control your place on the Autoimmune Spectrum using the four pillars of The Myers Way®.

Pillar I: Heal Your Gut

Did you know that 80% of your immune system is located in your gut. Without a healthy gut, you can’t have a healthy immune system. Without a healthy immune system, you’re open to infections, inflammation, and autoimmune disease. When your gut loses the ability to discriminate between the good and the bad bacteria, you have a leaky gut. (2) You can address your gut by following the 4Rs:

1. Remove: Eliminate inflammatory foods that contribute to gut imbalance, such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, and eggs. You’ll also need to ditch toxic foods, including sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.

2. Restore: Add back in the essential ingredients for proper digestion and absorption that have been depleted by your previous diet, medications (such as antacids), chronic illness, or aging. This includes adding in digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and bile salts supplements that are required for proper digestion.

3. Reinoculate: Restore beneficial bacteria to reestablish a healthy gut microbiome balance of good bacteria. This can be accomplished by taking a probiotic supplement that contains beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species.

4. Repair: Providing the nutrients necessary to help the gut repair itself is essential. My most comprehensive weapon against leaky gut is Leaky Gut Revive® powder, which contains powerful gut repairing ingredients such as L-glutamine, aloe, deglycyrrhizinated licorice, arabinogalactan, slippery elm and marshmallow root.

Learn more from the man who discovered Leaky Gut Syndrome on this episode of Take Back Your Health™ Podcast.

Pillar II: Remove Gluten, Grains, and Legumes

Leaky gut puts you on the Autoimmune Spectrum, which is why healing your gut is the first pillar. Once you’ve healed your gut, it’s time to make lifestyle and dietary changes to put you on the path toward optimal health. One of the best ways to do that is through diet, by eliminating foods that are causing inflammation and damage to your intestinal tract. These include gluten (3), grains, and legumes. 

Grains, pseudo-grains (quinoa), and legumes contain similar proteins as gluten and dairy that contribute to leaky gut by damaging intestinal cells, opening the tight junctions of the gut lining, and feeding unfriendly bacteria to create gut dysbiosis.

If you are following an elimination diet and determined that you don’t have a sensitivity, you can reintroduce them. Grains, pseudograins, legumes, and a few other foods will likely need to stay out of your diet for good. I don’t recommend that anyone add gluten back into their diet.

Pillar III: Tame the Toxins

For most people, about 80% of the healing occurs after addressing pillars I and II. If you haven’t fallen back on the Autoimmune Spectrum, you need to dig deeper and reduce exposure to toxins. A toxin is any substance that is poisonous to your body. It includes heavy metals such as mercury, industrial chemicals in household products, and pesticides. Toxins even lurk in your body products.

We breathe, eat, drink, and absorb toxins. Each exposure adds to your body’s toxic burden. If you have a leaky gut, a poor diet, infections, and stress, even the smallest exposure can overwhelm your toxic burden. When you reach this level, you fall down the Autoimmune Spectrum. 

Here are the best solutions to address your toxic burden:

1. Clean your air. You may not be able to clean the air outside, but you can keep the air inside your home as toxin-free as possible. I recommend getting a HEPA filter for your home and office. I use AirDoctor® purifiers, which use HEPA technology that is more effective than traditional HEPA filters.

2. Clean your water. Install water filters on your sinks and shower taps. I myself have a full-house filtration system from Aquasana. Avoid drinking out of plastic bottles (even BPA-free plastics).

3. Buy clean food. Eat organic whenever possible. It can be expensive, so when you can only buy some things organic, buy grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and wild-caught seafood.

4. Buy clean body products. Many personal care products are made with endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can be absorbed through your skin.

Pillar IV: Heal Your Infections and Relieve Your Stress

When I saw a patient who had not experienced a full reversal of their symptoms after addressing Pillars I and II, I knew we had more work to do! Once toxins in Pillar III were addressed, I focused on underlying infections and stress. Some common infections included Herpes simplex (HSV) and Epstein-Barr (EBV).

Stress is also important to mention. Stress is a release of hormones that your body produces when it’s met with a challenge. Cortisol is the number one stress hormone. When you’re in a stressful situation, cortisol tells your immune system to buckle up for a fight. Your immune system responds by producing inflammation, and then cortisol signals your immune system to calm down when the danger has passed.

When you have constant stressors in your life, your immune system never gets a break and your inflammatory immune response is activated for too long. Eventually, your immune system goes rogue and attacks healthy tissues. 

Here are a few of my favorite daily strategies to manage stres:  

• Controlled Breathing: Take a moment to practice diaphragmatic breathing. Meditation is a great tool to help reduce your stress.

• Dance: In the words of Taylor Swift, just “Shake it Off.” Just moving your body can help you literally “shake off” your stress.

• Music: Listening to music for a half hour can reduce your cortisol levels.

• Gentle exercise: Try yoga, or a long walk in a natural setting.

The Final Word: Take Back Your Health™

A diagnosis of autoimmune disease is not a life sentence. I have seen thousands of patients with autoimmunity ask me, can autoimmune disease be reversed? It all starts by addressing the root causes of inflammation.

When you support your gut health, reduce toxins, manage stress, and use targeted nutritional support by following The Autoimmune Solution™ Protocol, you can promote immune balance and improve your quality of life.

If you are ready to begin, start with The Autoimmune Solution™ Protocol. Your immune system can regain balance. Your body has an incredible capacity to heal when given the right support and tools.

FAQs

• What is the Autoimmune Spectrum?
  The Autoimmune Spectrum is a framework I developed to explain how autoimmune disease exists on a continuum driven by inflammation. Rather than a black-and-white diagnosis, your immune health exists on a scale, and where you fall on that spectrum can change based on your diet, gut health, toxin exposure, infections, and stress levels.
• Can autoimmune disease be reversed?
  Yes. While conventional medicine often treats autoimmune disease as a lifelong sentence, I have seen thousands of patients reduce their symptoms and move back down the Autoimmune Spectrum by addressing the root causes of inflammation through The Myers Way®.
• How do I know where I fall on the Autoimmune Spectrum?
  Your position on the spectrum is largely determined by your level of chronic inflammation. Early signs such as fatigue, digestive issues, brain fog, joint pain, and skin problems can all indicate that inflammation is building, even before a formal autoimmune diagnosis.
• What is functional medicine for autoimmune disease?
  Functional medicine approaches autoimmune disease as a problem of the immune system rather than a problem of a single organ. Instead of suppressing symptoms, the goal is to identify and address the root causes of immune dysfunction, including diet, gut health, toxins, infections, and stress.
• How do I prevent autoimmune disease?
  The most powerful way to prevent autoimmune disease is to reduce chronic inflammation before it progresses. That means supporting your gut health, removing inflammatory foods such as gluten and dairy, taming your toxic burden, addressing underlying infections, and relieving chronic stress through the four pillars of The Myers Way®.