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The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

sciencedaily.com

11–20 of 87 posts

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#11
I went to an ayurvedic doctor (in India, my friend insisted) and he said the exact same thing. He even said all allergy problems arise because of issuees in the digestive tract. At the time I thought he was just saying it but who knows there might be some truth in what he said.

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#13
post #10
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did her endocrinologist prescribe her antibiotic? I'm asking this because I have Hashimoto's myself and none of the endocrinologists I've seen recommended anything else besides levothyroxine.

No, she and my dad just did their own research online and gave it a try. Seems to have worked out really well for her. Her goiter shrank and she had to reduce her thyroid meds. Low dose doxycycline seems who tolerated, and has an interesting side effect of reducing inflammation to near zero in the body (CRP levels of actually zero). Given the role of inflammation in heart disease, that might be helpful for longevity…

This is why we have drug resistant bacteria, in a nutshell. Glad your mother's health is better, but if even a small number of people started following this regimen, it would be come useless in a relatively small number of years.

edit: I would love it if just one person could tell me how I'm wrong instead of downvoting. Long term low dose antibiotic treatment (doxy is a tetracycline) is how this happens. If you look up how I'm wrong before downvoting, I suspect you will end up not doing so, and perhaps learn something new.

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#14
The gut is the new "great unknown." Understanding it takes a more holistic approach. Western medicine / science is typically not very holistic-centric.

It's not going to surprise me if many of the cures / remedies offered by "non traditional medicine" (read: lessons from human history) little by litte get more credit for their worthiness.

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#16
post #11

I went to an ayurvedic doctor (in India, my friend insisted) and he said the exact same thing. He even said all allergy problems arise because of issuees in the digestive tract. At the time I thought he was just saying it but who knows there might be some truth in what he said.

> I went to an ayurvedic doctor

“Ayurveda medicine is considered pseudoscientific” [1].

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda third paragraph

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#17

The gut is the new "great unknown." Understanding it takes a more holistic approach. Western medicine / science is typically not very holistic-centric. It's not going to surprise me if many of the cures / remedies offered by "non traditional medicine" (read: lessons from human history) little by litte get more credit for their worthiness.

I don't know why people are downvoting you. Things like microbiome, calorie restriction, diet, and water fasting are very promising "non-traditional" areas for dealing with systemic inflammation, and they definitely can work. Researchers should be paying more attention to those areas. Doctors often have no good answers for those diseases -- they often don't even diagnose them promptly and correctly.

There is some research, but not enough yet. And some of the previous studies were not designed well. I'd put water fasting in a "non-traditional" approach that should be looked at more closely, though many other "non-traditional" things, like homeopathy, have been debunked.

This is very interesting:

https://news.usc.edu/63669/fasting-triggers-stem-cell-regene...

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#18
If anyone is interested in a way to treat E. gallinarum—and other potentially pathogens—without antibiotics, you should look into phage therapy. Phages are viruses that attack specific bacteria, have been used for decades, are commercially available (even on Amazon) and are generally considered safe for human consumption.

Granted, phage therapy typically targets gut pathogens, and in this study the E. gallinarum had traveled to other parts of the body. But many people I have talked to who use phage therapy have reported improved symptoms and in some cases even reversal of autoimmune disease.

And yes, phages that you can buy today without a prescription target Enterococcus bacteria, which includes E. gallinarum.

The gut is a wonderful, mysterious place that most of us neglect.

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#19
post #12

Another reason why water fasting is highly effective at curing many diseases.

> water fasting is highly effective at curing many diseases Has this been demonstrated?

I don't know about "curing" but it can be surprisingly effective for systemic inflammation. I think it's one of the most promising areas for autoimmune research.

https://news.usc.edu/63669/fasting-triggers-stem-cell-regene...

Re: The enemy within: Gut bacteria drive autoimmune disease

#20

If anyone is interested in a way to treat E. gallinarum—and other potentially pathogens—without antibiotics, you should look into phage therapy. Phages are viruses that attack specific bacteria, have been used for decades, are commercially available (even on Amazon) and are generally considered safe for human consumption. Granted, phage therapy typically targets gut pathogens, and in this study the E. gallinarum had…

Sounds interesting, but how would you know which species to attack?
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