Gut Health and Autoimmune Disease: Leaky Gut, Butyrate and 8 Other Causes

Roughly 80% of your immune system is in the gut. That makes gut health in autoimmune disease a key place to look. Intestinal permeability skews T cells toward pro-inflammatory types, while butyrate-producing bacteria support anti-inflammatory Tregs. When the gut is off, it is perhaps the primary trigger of autoimmunity. It is one of 10 key causes, and each one can be addressed.

Autoimmune diseases can be massively improved, if you know how to approach them properly. Here are 10 key causes of autoimmunity and what to do about them.

1. Gut Health and Autoimmune Disease: Intestinal Permeability

Intestinal permeability (leaky gut) leads to inflammation systemically. It skews T cells away from anti-inflammatory types and toward pro-inflammatory types.

I have written about the signs of poor gut health if you want to check where your gut stands.

I have also covered lactoferrin benefits for gut health and leaky gut in a separate post.

2. Butyrate-Producing Bacteria and T Cell Balance

Butyrate-producing bacteria in the gut microbiome are vital to keep T cells in check, with more anti-inflammatory Tregs. Low butyrate production impairs the immune response.

Butyrate has multiple direct anti-inflammatory effects on other tissues as well.

I have written more about a natural, root-cause approach to SIBO and gut dysbiosis.

3. Cortisol, Adrenaline and Tissue Damage

Seemingly paradoxically, glucocorticoids are given to treat these conditions. Yet in the long run cortisol can actually enhance the inflammatory response to tissue damage.

These tissues can become damaged due to excessive adrenaline. They then leak pro-inflammatory damage-associated molecular patterns, which drive inflammation.

4. Mastering Estrogen

Autoimmune conditions are much more common in women than in men, and estrogen seems to be a culprit.

Estrogen in excess can have pro-inflammatory effects on the immune system, especially in conditions like lupus.

This is not true for all autoimmune conditions. In some cases, like MS, estrogen can have a protective effect. But the bottom line is it needs to be kept in check.

5. Mitochondrial Function

If your mitochondria aren't working properly:

• Immune cells reprogram to become more inflammatory
• They generate more inflammatory components
• They cannot generate enough energy to resolve inflammation

The inflammatory state is one of mitochondrial dysfunction.

I have covered supplements that improve mitochondrial function in a separate post.

6. Vagus Nerve Optimization

The vagus nerve is our primary parasympathetic (calming) nerve.

It connects to various tissues that harbor immune cells. It signals to them to calm down and promote anti-inflammatory effects.

This is critical in autoimmunity.

7. Differentiating Nutrients

The immune system has cells that divide and differentiate rapidly.

These processes require lots of nutrients in order to work properly.

Without them, immune cells can't become their proper form and can get stuck in the inflammatory state.

8. Omega 3 / 6 Balance

Omega 3 fats (grass fed beef, pastured eggs, seafood) metabolize into mediators known as resolvins. These help to halt the inflammatory processes.

Omega 6s (pork, chicken, seed oils) do the opposite. They metabolize into pro-inflammatory mediators.

They compete with each other. So the ratio between them is a key determinant of the inflammatory response.

9. Lymph Optimization

Your lymphatic system is imperative for clearing out cellular debris that can trigger the inflammatory processes.

It also ensures that lymph fluid and immune cells are moving to lymph nodes, where they can properly mature.

No flow = more inflammation.

10. Reactive Oxygen Species

The production of reactive oxygen species is perhaps the most fundamental trigger of inflammation.

Within cells, these molecules (ROS) trigger the activation of the master inflammatory regulator NF-κB. NF-κB is responsible for every single inflammatory process in autoimmunity.

Autoimmunity sucks, but it is treatable and fixable with the right approach.

FAQ

How is gut health linked to autoimmune disease?

Leaky gut and low butyrate production both push T cells toward inflammation.

Why are autoimmune conditions more common in women?

Estrogen seems to be a culprit. It needs to be kept in check.

Which foods provide omega 3 and which provide omega 6?

Omega 3: grass fed beef, pastured eggs, seafood. Omega 6: pork, chicken, seed oils.