What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning that the immune system attacks its own body (specifically the joints, but can also damage your eyes and other organs). Life with rheumatoid arthritis can be miserable — the aches, the burn, the feeling of stiffness that lasts throughout the day — but there is hope!
Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms
Do you suspect or know that you have rheumatoid arthritis? Symptoms may include:
- Tender, warm, swollen joints
- Joint stiffness that is usually worse in the mornings and after inactivity
- Fatigue
- Fever
- Loss of appetite
- Brain fog or loss of mental clarity
- Depression
Triggers for Rheumatoid Arthritis
What can trigger or fuel rheumatoid arthritis?
- Gluten intolerance or food sensitivities
- Viral infections like Epstein Barr virus (EBV)
- Chemical toxins, especially cigarette smoke
- Stress/cortisol
- Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
- Poor dental health
- Hormone fluctuations
How Can Dr. Autoimmune Help?
Many of our clients have been told they will “have to live with it”, or “to just deal with the side effects” of pharmaceuticals. But if you are fed up with your current situation and medical management, there is another way!
Functional medicine is an approach that looks at the entire body (structural, metabolic and neurologic health). We can understand a patient’s complete health situation and discover underlying triggers that may be the actual culprit behind your rheumatoid arthritis.
All autoimmune diseases start in the gut. We design custom plans of dietary intervention, supplements and lifestyle recommendations to help heal the gut and support the immune system. In supporting these fundamental functions of the digestive tract we can reduce inflammation and see dramatic changes in symptoms.
Finding the Root Cause
We know that autoimmunity requires 3 things to develop:
- Genetic predisposition
- Leaky gut (a.k.a intestinal permeability)
- An environmental trigger
It All Starts in the Gut!
Our small intestine consists of 25 feet of tubing, the inside surface area being equivalent to that of a doubles tennis court!
Proteins called “tight junctions” prevent a flood of material into the gut. Low vitamin D levels coupled with inflammation in the gut starts to widen the space between cells, allowing materials (bacteria and food) to start seeping through. This triggers inflammation and as antibodies are formed against your own tissue.
