Probably the most common description of autoimmune disease is that it is a condition that occurs when the "body attacks itself". This definition doesn't even begin to encompass what autoimmunity really is. This disease is much more than inflammation caused by body "attacking itself".

A more accurate definition of autoimmunity is that it is a modern disease created by greed. The fact is that an autoimmune condition doesn't just "happen" to you. It is both passively and actively created by your lifestyle and the greedy practices of food manufacturers, who lace your meals with toxins. You eat, drink, and expose your way to immune dysfunction. With little exception, everything you put into your mouth, your surroundings, and even the air you breathe is either making you healthier or sicker.

How much control can you actually have over immune dysfunction? Let's consider "the sunburn analogy".

When was the last time that you had a sunburn? At that time, did you consider your sunburn a terrible disease over which you had no control? Of course not! Most likely you accepted the sunburn as a natural consequence to prolonged sun exposure. Although painful, the burn was not a mysterious malady of unknown origin, but your body doing exactly what it was designed to do under those particular circumstances. I am sure you realize that the answer to not walking through life with red, irritated, or blistered skin is protecting yourself from the sun's damaging rays. Keep your skin in a safe environment and you will avoid the pain that a sunburn brings.

Autoimmunity is a lot like a sunburn. It is also a natural consequence brought about by certain conditions in the environment. Only in this case, I am referring to the internal environment of the body. The often painful result is the immune system turning against the body's own tissue. Controlling those circumstances is more complicated than simply avoiding prolonged sun exposure, but the individual can control them. The goal is to change the internal environment and by doing so, avoid the pain caused by the immune system turning against the body.

What you may or may not realize is that autoimmunity occurs naturally in everyone to some degree. However, cells that are capable of attacking the body's own tissue are kept under control by the body in an ideal environment. Genetics can also play a role in whether or not the body is likely to attack itself.

Just as your genetic make up can cause greater susceptibility to burning in the sun, your genes can make you more susceptible to autoimmunity. However, genetics do not guarantee that you will develop any type of what the world calls autoimmune disease. According to the researchers at the University of Utah, genetics aren't everything. In the case of identical twins, when one twin develops MS, there is only a 30% chance of the other (genetically identical) twin also being diagnosed with the disease. A separate study showed the incidence of lupus between identical twins even lower at 24%. With Rheumatoid Arthritis, there is a 1 in 4 chance.

Why does one twin get sick and not the other the majority of the time? It is the same as one redheaded, fair-skinned twin who went out in the sun and got a sunburn, while the other avoided sun exposure and did not get burned. The answer is the environment. The twins with MS, lupus, and arthritis had allowed an internal environment that was conducive to autoimmunity.

According to immunologist, Dr. Jesse Stoff, there are five key things that damage the body's internal environment (terrain). They are:

1. poor eating habits and nutrition

2. man-made toxins in our environment

3. disease causing organisms and the toxins they produce

4. trauma on the immune system from things like x-ray radiation and cross country flights

5. stress

The immune system, like most of the body, requires balance to function properly. T-helper 1 (Th1) cells and T-helper 2 cells (Th2) help regulate the body's response to foreign invaders. Th1 uses white blood cells to go after viruses and cancer cells. Th2 immune cells use antibodies to go after bacteria. Normally, the body strikes a balance by switching back and forth between Th1 and Th2. In a person with an autoimmune disorder, one dominates and suppresses the other. Trans fats, mercury and other heavy metals, sugar and processed foods, alcohol, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, and stress are part of a modern lifestyle that can disrupt the Th1/Th2 balance.

Th1 dominance in women is associated with autoimmunity and recurrent miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, children in the autism spectrum tend to be Th1 dominant. Besides autoimmunity, Th2 dominance is characterized by a tendency toward allergies, frequent colds and viral infections, and cancer.

Both Th1 and Th2 cells make a protein substance known as cytokines. Cytokines cause inflammation. This inflammation should be a temporary response to injury or infection. Cytokines are a necessary part of our immunity. It is the overproduction (too many) of certain small cytokine molecules that leads to the invasion and inflammation of an organ or body system.

In the brain, cytokines can cause behavioral changes. They can either prompt or worsen depression, anxiety, or anorexia. They may cause a person to become withdrawn. Cytokines create fatigue and interfere with sleep patterns. They are one thing responsible for what has been termed "brain fog."

Autoimmune conditions are named or categorized according to where in the body cytokines are being overproduced and how the disease manifests itself. For example, an overproduction of these cytokines in the joints causing pain and swelling is called Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). It may go by different names and occur in different places in the body, but ultimately, autoimmunity is one disease with many different faces.