If you do show signs of autoimmune dysfunction or are diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, managing symptoms is important to help you feel better and also to calm potentially damaging inflammation , which is a hallmark in most autoimmune conditions.
At Parsley Health, doctors are often able to catch the early symptoms of autoimmune diseases and help manage or reverse the condition without the need for medication. In people who are on prescription medications for autoimmune disease, they are often able to help patients reduce or eliminate the need for medication, though in some cases, medication is needed and treatment will focus on symptom management.
The lifestyle changes that your doctor may recommend for managing symptoms include an elimination diet, which can help identify food triggers for your flares, and ways to manage stress, since for many people, their diseases flare under stress. Your functional medicine doctor may also look for micronutrient deficiencies and recommend dietary changes , herbal supplements , and detox and cleanse regimens to help your immune system calm down, says Dr. Jacobson. In Ayurvedic medicine, a clean diet combined with yoga, meditation , and body treatments helps reduce rheumatoid arthritis symptoms or even eliminate them, she says, though it’s not known how food and lifestyle changes have this effect or why antibody levels go down. Body therapies like massage, acupuncture, and infrared sauna may also be helpful, she adds.
Yoga and meditation can be so important because there’s cross-talk between your immune and nervous systems, and you want them to remain balanced, explains Dr. Jacobson. “The reason I emphasize yoga is that it links breath, movement, and intent,” she says. “Breath practices get us in nervous system balance.” That’s crucial to making sure you can get in and out of a “fight or flight” state quickly, to avoid prolonged exposure to stress hormones and keep steady, because “an overactive mind revs up the body.”
In addition to herbs, another therapy being explored is a low dose of naltrexone, a drug that in higher doses helps people recover from addiction by blocking opioid receptors. In people with autoimmune diseases it might help with GI symptoms, pain, joint symptoms, and brain fog , says Dr. Jacobson. Research suggests that it may help improve quality of life in people with Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel condition), rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis (a central nervous system disease) and reduce itching in people with systemic sclerosis (a form of scleroderma, a disease that affects the skin and connective tissues).
Since the early signs of many autoimmune diseases—fatigue, bloating—may be vague and common, people commonly push them aside or think they’re not worth telling their doctor about. “People ignore GI symptoms their whole lives!” says Dr. Jacobson. But women, in particular, need to be hypervigilant, because working with a doctor before your symptoms increase in severity, is ideal, she says.
Marnie is a freelance writer with experience covering health, food, nutrition, fitness, and personal finance for publications including Shape, Good Housekeeping, Men's Journal, Women's Health, and more. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
Parsley Health is available to all women Team Members (and eligible spouses and dependents 18+) who are enrolled in an Anthem or Cigna health plan through Hilton.
Parsley Health is Hilton's virtual women's health benefit whose medical team treats the root cause of symptoms and conditions by getting to know you on a deeper level, identifying risk factors, and creating a health plan just for you.
The content contained in this blog has been provided for informational and educational purposes only. Parsley Health's goal is to offer valuable insights and information related to functional medicine. However, the information contained in this blog is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should not be treated as such. To read this blog's full disclaimer, please click here .
These confidential and proprietary materials are provided for informational purposes only, do not constitute legal or other professional advice and are an optional resource for Franchisees. They are prepared for the benefit of Hilton managed hotels; Hilton makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or fitness for a particular purpose. Franchisees should consult with their own advisors before using them and may need to make modifications to reflect hotel specific circumstances, changes in environment and/or legal requirements. “Team Members” refers to employees of the Franchisee owner or management company, which is responsible for all hotel decisions, including, but not limited to, employment and pricing decisions. Hilton does not intend to exercise any direction, oversight, or control over Franchisee policies or procedures.