Hello

I was diagnosed with RA about 6 months ago. I kept getting flare ups in my knees (elbows hurt too). They started me on methotrexate which I hate because of side effects. When I discovered keto, I was doing it for weight loss but notice I was feeling better and I started reducing my medicine. Today I feel the best I've felt in months (maybe a couple years). My therapist also stated to me that my body would need to heal before losing significant weight. In any event I feel great. Weight Loss, now, seem to be a welcomed side effect.

Gosh there was so much information.
Having watched both the autoimmunity series (Betrayal) and this series, there is a LOT of overlap of root causes. In the Q&A, Dr. Wentz mentioned a new book she was going to put out soon that covers Root Cause protocols for Hasimotos and Graves. The main causes are Leaky Gut, Hidden Infections, Food Sensitivities, Toxins, and Stress. I'm willing to bet that once that resource comes out, autoimmune patients can use it to address their own root causes, since, as I mentioned, the root causes overlap quite a bit. I've done a lot of research. The basis of many many remissions in various autoimmune disease are discovering root causes and addressing them.

In the mean time...
causes:
Leaky Gut:
food sensitivities which cause intestinal permeability allowing food proteins which sometimes look like body tissues to get into the bloodstream causing an autoimmune reaction due to molecular mimicry. 80% are caused by bad glutens (wheat gluten), dairy, and soy. The rest could be uncovered by a strict food elimination AIP protocol which goes further to uncover egg, seed, nut, coffee, chocolate, nightshade veggies, and other sensitivities missed by protocols like Paleo.

Nutrient deficiencies: caused by LOW stomach acid which keeps nutrients from being broken down into absorbable forms. Also leaky gut, food sensitivities, and infections can keep you from absorbing nutrients.


SIBO: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

Candida or Parasites

Toxins: BPA, bad chemicals from personal care products accidentally ingested, bad chemicals in foods, fluoride, and etc. Dental amalgams can poison you with mercury. Some foods are contaminated just from living on this trashed earth of ours. So watch food quality as best you can. If you can't, support liver function with something like N-aceytl cysteine (NAC) supplements.

Infections: like Candida, h. pylori, latent Epstein-Barr, or parasites

Toxins:
Just like ingesting bad chemicals from products, you can aspirate by breathing and absorb through the skin these chemicals and pollutants.

Stress:
A stressful life which includes exposure to the above. That's stress to the body as well. Get enough sleep (lack of sleep is a stressor.) Too much caffeine or alcohol are stressors.

So as you can see, a lot of this ties back into the GUT.
What doesn't falls into the internal or external stress category.

So using your library to look at books on autoimmune protocols (OVERDRIVE being one resource) for Dr. Amy Meyers Autoimmune or Thyroid protocol, Dr. Tom O'Bryan has a book. Sarah Ballantyne. Dr. Wentz's current book on Hashimoto's and the root causes. Or listen to autoimmune podcasts by these drs. and similar can get you the information you want.

If you have any specific questions, on say supplement recs, I might be able to remember a few.

Remember that EVERY HUMAN (and this is the exact language used in studies that support this) gets temporary intestinal permeability from gluten ingestion. Every. Human. Normal people heals damage quickly. The problem is whether or not you are genetically predisposed to a sensitivity to gluten as to whether or not your gut can recover quickly enough to prevent leaky gut to the degree that causes an autoimmune reaction. Gluten proteins look a lot like body tissue proteins. Once the sentinels are activated, your immune system will attack anything that looks like them. (Molecular mimicry). Once the gut is breached, other foods get into the blood. Some of those sensitivities can be overcome once leaky gut is fixed and the immune system calms, but gluten intolerance is forever. Your body remembers gluten. Other foods it can sometimes eventually forget if the gut is fixed. This is why you should wait until you've done an exhaustive elimination and reintroduction before having any expensive blood or stool labs done. Your body will become sensitive to many many foods while the floodgates are still open. When you close them for awhile, then you'll get more accurate readings. That's the time to do it: when you think you have eliminated everything, but still have symptoms. That's when you jump down more rare rabbitholes. This avoids wasting time and money (and such waste is more stress, right?

Heal the gut by: staying away from gluten. Every exposure pisses off the immune system for up to 3 months, sometimes more. Take L-glutamine (1tsp three times daily), collagen (bone broth or from hydrolyzed collagen), digestive enzymes, good probiotics (a 10-20 or 15-20 broad spectrum one is good, fermented foods (non-dairy yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir), and perhaps Betaine HCl with pepsin. The enzymes and the Betaine help you digest your food into an easier digested form to aid in healing of the gut lining which also helps you absorb more nutrients. If you suspect candida or SIBO or parasites, being proactive with oregano oil supplements or saccromyces boulardii (yeast based probiotic) can help, but these are something that may require testing. And if you determine SIBO may actually be the cause, you'll need to ditch any lactobacillus probiotics, and focus on soil-based probiotics and s. boulardii. Doctors have antibiotics they can try, but these are things you can do on your own.

If you apply these and still get stuck, say improve but not 100%, or just plain not enough for you, you'll need a naturopathic doctor, integrative doc, or functional medicine practioner to help. For example if you do an elimination protocol and heal your gut permeability (you think) but there are still some nagging symptoms, then you might need help from that kind of practitioner.


This is just my take-aways from it all. I'm certain I've forgotten something.
Pardon any typos, I'm a busy bacon today.