Our immune systems are turning against us in a growing tide of internal rebellion.
Instead of attacking cancerous cells, viruses, bacteria and other pathogens, our immune systems are increasingly attacking our own bodies. More than a hundred different types of autoimmune diseases—from Type 1 diabetes to psoriasis—afflict millions of people. Around 50 million Americans suffer an autoimmune condition and 1 in 5 will be afflicted at some point, according to the Autoimmune Association (formerly the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association.)
Organ damage, pain, and years—sometimes decades—of misdiagnosis haunt the growing number of the afflicted.
This rise in autoimmunity should raise an alarm like few other health concerns. Why? For the same reason a nation quakes when its military turns on its own people; it's one thing to be attacked by foreign forces, but what can we do when attacked by our own defenses?
Research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology in 2022 found antinuclear antibodies, the most common biomarker of autoimmunity, have increased nearly 50 percent in the United States in less than 30 years...
No comments:
Post a Comment