Why Do I Feel So Good (Or Bad) During Pregnancy?
Pregnancy and Autoimmunity Many women with autoimmune diseases experience a lessening of symptoms during their pregnancy, only to relapse after the baby is born. Or, the opposite may happen, where autoimmune disease symptoms worsen during pregnancy. Maybe you have heard of this phenomenon or even experienced it yourself. As we continue to celebrate Mothers’ Day, […]
Autoimmunity and the Earth
The idea that humans are separate from the natural world is a new one. Humans and nature evolved together, developing and perfecting symbiotic (mutually-beneficial) relationships over 6 million years. Has our recent separation led to an increase in health issues, particularly autoimmunity? The environment around us affects the environment within us, including our microbiome (the […]
Autoimmunity Is Rising- Have You Been Tested?
What are Antinuclear Antibodies? Antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) are antibodies (proteins that our body creates to fight infections) that are made to attack our own body, or “autoantibodies”. The prefix ‘auto-’ means ‘self’. So, autoantibodies are antibodies against the self, and an autoimmune disease occurs when someone’s immune system is attacking their body using autoantibodies. Examples […]
A Rude Awakening
As a child, were you covered in pink calamine lotion after proclaiming “it itches?” Did your mom soak you in a bath with oatmeal to soften and dissolve those scabs that came after a bout of chickenpox? Mine did. Professor Ronald Goldsteinm, a member of the BIU’s Mina and Everand Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences […]
In with Black Cumin Seed Oil, Out with Inflammation
Also known as black caraway and referenced in many scriptural texts, black cumin is a flowering plant found throughout Southwest Asia, parts of the Mediterranean and Africa. This magical oil has a long history of use in diverse culinary and medicinal traditions. Black seed oil is extracted from N. sativa seeds, and has been used […]