Autoimmunity

                             Mercury Dental Fillings and Autoimmunity

Dental fillings placed in the teeth of mice resulted in immune abnormalities associated with autoimmunity. Other metals including gold, arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, and silver can also promote autoimmunity. It appears that chronic exposure to the metals is required for the development of autoimmune reactions. Metals may become incorporated into tissues triggering immune attack against those tissues.

References:

Hultman, Per, et al, Adverse Immunological Effects and Autoimmunity Induced by Dental Amalgam and Alloy in Mice, FASEB Journal, 1994;8:1183-1190.

Bigazzi, Pierluigi E., Autoimmunity and Heavy Metals, Lupus, 1994;3:449-453.

Gluten and Autoimmunity

Introduction of gluten into the diet of a child in the first 3 months of life increased the risk of developing celiac disease five-fold. This is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own digestive tract. Gluten increases the permeability of the digestive tract leading to food intolerances and allergies.

References:

Norris JM, Barriga K, et al, Risk of Celiac Disease Autoimmunity and Timing of Gluten Introduction in the Diet of Infants at Increased Risk of Disease, JAMA, May 18, 2005;293(19):2343-2351. 

Nutrition and Autoimmunity

Deficiency of vitamin A increased the progression of autoimmune disease in animals that provide a model for lupus. The risk of autoimmunity against the cells that produce insulin in children appears to be inversely related to intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 deficiencies early in childhood may increase the risk of type 1 diabetes.  Dr. Jill Norris, Ph.D., from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, believes that the vitamin supplementation for infants helps prevent beta-cell autoimmunity leading to Type 1 diabetes.

Vitamin D deficiency is a key factor involved in the development of autoimmunity. The protein in milk can mimic the vitamin D receptor, thus allergy to milk can contribute to difficulty in utilizing vitamin D.

References:

Gershwin ME, Lentz DR, et al, Nutritional Factors and Autoimmunity: IV. Dietary Vitamin A Deprivation Induces a Selective Increase in IgM Autoantibodies and Hypergammaglobulinemia in New Zealand Black Mice, J Immunol, July, 1984;133(1):222-226.

Norris JM, Yin X, et al, Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake and islet autoimmunity in children at increased risk for type 1 diabetes, JAMA, 2007; 298(12): 1420-8.

Baker, Barbara,Infant Vitamins May Protect Against Diabetes, Family Practice News, July 15, 1996;4.

Embry AF, Vitamin D Supplementation in the Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis, J Orthomol Med, 2004;19(1):27-38.

Six Common Allergens

     An individual can have an allergic response to almost any food, inhalant, or physical substance coming in contact with the skin. One can even become sensitized to invisible electromagnetic fields.      The Big Six allergens are gluten, corn, dairy, soybeans, peanuts and eggs.
Gluten can cause serious damage including migraines, neuropathy, erosion of the digestive tract, and increased risk of dementia. Dairy products are more likely to result in congestion, breathing difficulty, and diarrhea.
     Physicians will often ask patients to avoid these six foods for a period of time. This is called an elimination diet. It may not result in avoidance of all allergens, but it can lighten the load on the immune system if one is sensitive to one or more of these foods.
     The barrel illustration has been used to portray the nature of allergy. Symptoms are not evident until the barrel overflows. In other words, the body is tolerant to exposure to allergens until we carry a load which is too heavy to handle. We then become ill. The severity of the response depends upon how great the total load exceeds coping capacity.
     The value of good nutrition and supplementation is that it increases the size of the barrel allowing us to have a greater tolerance for toxins and allergens we experience on a daily basis.

Antidepressants and Diabetes

     Antidepressant medications are associated with weight gain. Use of antidepressant medication for longer than 24 months has been associated with about a doubled risk for developing diabetes by Andersohn and associates as they studied 165,958 patients. This doubling of diabetes risk was true of both tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
     A recent British study of over a million patients by Katharine Barnard provided further support for the association between use of antidepressants and diabetes.
     Depression can often be addressed by simple nutritional measures such as avoiding sugar and coffee, supplementation with amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and avoiding allergens. Dr. Jonathan Wright found that half of his depressed patients were deficient in amino acids and improve when supplemented. Gluten intolerance is frequently associated with depression. Deficiency of both omega-3 fatty acids and also selenium is commonly found among those who are depressed.
References:
Link to recent British study on happy pills and diabetes
Andersohn, Frank, et al., Long--term use of antidepressants for depressive disorders and the risk of diabetes mellitus, Am. J. Psychiatry 2009;166:591-598.
Leung BM, Kaplan BJ, et al, "Prenatal micronutrient supplementation and postpartum depressive symptoms in a pregnancy cohort," BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2013 Jan 16; 13(1): 2; [Epub ahead of print].
Gosney MA, Hammond MF, et al,"Effect of Micronutrient Supplementation on Mood in Nursing Home Residents," Gerontology, 2008 May 8; [Epub ahead of print].