From celiac to asthma to eczema, how did autoimmune diseases become so common?

[marmar]

From celiac to asthma to eczema, how did autoimmune diseases become so common?
A new UK study finds that 10 percent of the population has autoimmune disorders like celiac disease

By NICOLE KARLIS
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED MAY 11, 2023 5:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) Twenty years ago, seeing the acronym "GF" on a cafe menu might provoke head-scratching; nowadays, "GF" is the near-universally recognized shorthand for gluten-free. That well-known acronym is a testament to the incredible rise in the number of people with the chronic autoimmune condition known as celiac disease — now, as many as 2 million Americans, or 1% of people on Earth.

The reasons that celiac disease became so common are not entirely known. Some experts speculate that it has to do merely with awareness and an improvement in diagnoses; others believe it is a reaction to modern flours having more types of compounds that trigger immune reactions.

Whatever the reason, new research suggests the prevalence of celiac may merely be a piece of a rising trend of autoimmune disorders. In a new study published in The Lancet. researchers estimate that one in ten people have an autoimmune disorder — with more women being affected than men. The huge study involved 22 million people.

Autoimmune diseases, which occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the body, include type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, asthma, eczema and rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers looked at a large dataset of anonymized electronic health records in the United Kingdom of 22 million individuals to identify 19 of the most common autoimmune disorders. Their goal was to identify who is affected the most by these conditions, how some coexist with each other, and whether or not some are on the rise. ...............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/05/11/from-celiac-to-asthma-to-eczema-how-did-autoimmune-diseases-become-so-common/

[bucolic_frolic]

1. I place my bet on the plethora of new substances in our food chain

Seems to me I recall reading there were new grains as early as the 1880s, but then WWII added trans fats, the 1970s new corn and wheat strains, new oils, now GMO, add in the pesticides, plastics, impurities, additives, stretchers, artificial flavorings, sugars. If you eat it for enough generations, do genetic alterations, allergy-susceptibilities get passed on?

That being said, reducing oil, starches, and sugars can reduce inflammation. So can fasting a couple days a month. Green smoothies aren't a bad idea. Get nutrients from quality food, unprocessed food, natural food.

[2naSalit]

2. Processed foods.

And many of the unprocessed foods we get from large producers are of lesser nutrient value than years ago. A constant diet of less nutrients will catch up after a few generations.

[Scrivener7]

3. This. And I especially vote for the plastics and pesticides.

Sadly, those are not avoidable.

[appalachiablue]

8. +1

[Aristus]

4. That, and the fact that "fad" diseases have been around forever.

For a while there, seemingly everyone had a 'gluten allergy' or reported a peanut allergy. While these things definitely exist, I think too many people think "Okay, gluten allergy; that sounds like a cool thing to have", and report it without any evidence to show for the assertion.

Some of it may be helicopter parenting. Mommy tells Junior's teacher that: "My boy has a peanut allergy. And you need to remember his special needs!" Junior goes on to munch happily on PB&J sandwiches with no ill health.

Shoot, my grandson's SO insists he has a peanut allergy, but eats JIF Creamy with no ill effect. He said (not kidding), that he avoids JIF Chunky because it has peanuts in it. He says his mother told him he has a peanut allergy, but that's clearly not the case.

For a while there, it seemed like every one of my patients reported a history of fibromyalgia. I've never seen a more popular fad disease. They offered no support for their assertion; no diagnostic testing, no diagnosis from a rheumatologist, nothing. They just heard the term somewhere, and ran with it. Some people report fibromyalgia in order to score opioid medications. I just refer them to rheumatology.

The frustrating thing in all this is that these are all very real conditions that require proper testing, diagnosing, treatment, and monitoring. But people coming into the clinic just after watching Oprah host a group of gluten allergy patients is just too much to handle.

And don't even get me started on ADD and ADHD.

Some people leap far too quickly to something pathogenic when it is simply a character trait. I'm a neatnik; I like things neat and tidy. Some people will smile and say "A little OCD, huh?" No. OCD is a crippling condition that causes anguish and misery in the people who suffer from it. I just like things neat and clean.

[Easterncedar]

7. Yes. Pathologizing is a problem

We no longer see the broad range of personality traits as normal. It’s a loss in so many ways.

[Rebl2]

5. I have had

Rheumatoid arthritis since around ten years of age. It took about a year and a half to diagnose. This was back in the sixties. My Mom always said it started after a particularly bad infection. I don’t remember that, and I don’t know that doctors looked at that closely.

[IbogaProject]

6. Yeasts and Milk derivatives

Virulent yeasts are expanding from the excessive use of antibiotics in animal agriculture. This is leading to manure having those yeasts getting on vegetables. The modern 'prewashed' bagged vegetables are irradiated and I think the yeasts are surviving. Also our federal dairy subsidies and buying surplus milk is being turned into cheese and Milk power. These are rampant food additives. One part of milk protein inflames the immune system. These create a one two punch on top of the widespread contamination of roundup in our staple grains, which causes leaky gut.
I went through it all with hives 20 years ago. I stopped eating red leaf lettuce, reduced yeast for awhile and reduced wheat briefly. Also a medical resident doctor advised me to clear our apartment of dust mites, which was an involved process. I recovered and now just eat some Candex if I start relapsing. I also try to avoid restaurant salads and get cooked vegetables at restaurants. I eat mostly spelt bread but don't avoid or fear eating wheat when I want to. Most people with wheat issues are mildly intolerant not truly celiac, which is an aggressive allergic attack like asthma.