Autoimmune disease refers to a group of diseases that are caused by an attack from the body’s immune system on a given tissue or organ. Autoimmune diseases include Hashimoto’s Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Eczema, Psoriasis and many others. Here are a few facts about autoimmune disease.

• Autoimmune disease is one of the top ten causes of death in women under the age of 65 and is the second highest cause of chronic illness in women in the United States (source). It affects more women than breast cancer and heart disease combined. Autoimmune diseases are increasing in the USA and worldwide.
• More people have autoimmune disease than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined.
• More than one hundred different autoimmune diseases have been identified and at least 40 additional diseases are believed to be autoimmune in nature. These are chronic diseases that are life threatening in many cases.
• They can affect any system or tissue in the body. Autoimmune disease can be difficult to diagnosis because they mimic many other types of diseases.
• Traditional medicine has little to offer in the treatment of autoimmune disease. Traditional medicine believes autoimmune disease to be incurable genetic diseases. Many people are put on a lifetime of hormones, or anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive medications, which do nothing to treat the underlying cause. Such treatments only try to suppress the symptoms. Conventional medical treatments also cause significant unpleasant and sometimes, dangerous side effects.

This is the bad news.

The good news is that using functional medicine, much can be done to correct, control and even reverse the problems caused by autoimmune illness.