Do you suffer from an autoimmune disease, if you do, you are not alone. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, there are over 80 autoimmune diseases, affecting millions of people, dishing out such mayhem as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, type 1 diabetes and many more.

Let's start with understanding autoimmune dysfunction

Our immune system, is intended to protect us from illness and harmful substances called antigens. Normally, the immune system in response to antigens such as bacteria, viruses and toxins, produces antibodies that affix themselves to the antigens, ultimately destroying them and removing them from the body. Characteristics of a autoimmune disorder is when the immune system cannot differentiate antigens from normal cells. As a result, turns on itself trying to annihilate normal healthy tissue.

In alliance with our immune system is inflammation.

Inflammation fights side by side in defense by warding off such bad guys as germs and toxins. When the enemy shows up such as viruses or parasites inflammation attacks the trespassers and surrounds tissue that may have been debilitated or infected. It then subsides so the healing can begin. As defiant a soldier inflammation can be, it too can also spin out of balance by not getting the proper message from the commanding officer to stop the fight; not shutting off!

Such an aggressive defense team interwoven so carefully together for our good, can and does sometimes lead to the declaration of war as the body turns on itself assaulting normal healthy muscles and tissue. This in turn continually sounds the alarm for inflammation to continue the attack becoming ongoing and excessive!

As researchers and medical professionals continue to work on answers. What can be done to protect the body from chronic inflammation? They know that inflammation does have a big impact on chronic diseases. Inflammation is a very dangerous enemy indeed.

There is hope on the horizon to lessen the affects of inflammation, and it comes in the form of natural alternatives, such as diet, exercise, losing excess fat, and taking certain nutritional supplements.

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