Why Is Arthritis An Auto-Immune Disease?
An estimated one in five people in the U.
S.
suffer on a daily basis from arthritis.
Arthritis can attack and cause damage in a range of body parts including the joints, muscles, tissues, organs and skin.
The pain caused from arthritis may range from mild to debilitating, sometimes resulting in joint deformation if extremely severe.
1 The two forms of arthritis reviewed in this article are rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile arthritis.
They are both considered auto-immune diseases and are usually chronic.
1 Rheumatoid arthritis is a predominantly adult afflicting auto-immune disorder with potentially serious consequences.
Juvenile arthritis is also an auto-immune problem although juvenile arthritis tends to afflict toddlers and young children, in a seemingly random manner.
In both cases, the white blood cells of the body’s immune system lose their capacity to differentiate between the healthy cells of the body and foreign cells such as bacteria or viruses.
In mistaking the identity of its own cells for invaders, the immune system launches an attack releasing chemicals to rid the body of the cells that it sees as invaders.
The strong and potent chemicals released in the assault tend to damage more than just the target cells however.
The result is injury to the healthy tissue surrounding the attack and appears as inflammation and pain in the patient and is diagnosed as arthritis.
Normally, inflammation is a good thing, signaling that the body is repairing, cleaning and healing.
However, in the case of arthritis, the symptoms of redness, inflammation, and pain are actually indicators of the body attacking itself.
It seems as though the mix-up in these two forms of arthritis, as is the case in all auto-immune diseases, occurs when the body is no longer able to correctly differentiate between foreign cells and its own cells.
This usually involves changes along the cell membranes and is triggered by defective or missing signaling molecules known as glycoproteins.
Glycoproteins lie on the surface of cell membranes and are used in the body as a means of recognition “Hi, I’m part of you, don’t attack me!”, and as a means of communication, “Hey, stop spitting those chemicals at me, don’t you see I belong here?” When these signaling molecules, the glycoproteins, don’t function correctly the body’s defense mechanism heads into full gear and begins attacking itself.
New research is showing that there may be ways to combat this mix up of signals.
Many therapists and nutritionists are now recommending glyconutrients to be taken in the form of food (they are found in plant material) or as a glyconutrient supplement.
The exact mechanism of how these ingested glyconutrients work is not quite understood, however, the results speak for themselves.
The following list shows the positive outcomes that several studies have found by using glyconutrients in the diets of patients with arthritis.
Autoimmune disease is now the third major category of illness in the U.
S.
: Seventy-five percent of those affected are women [http://www.
glycoscience.
org/glycoscience/start_frames.
wm?FILENAME=J007] By Eileen Vennum, RAC 2.
Glyconutritionals: Consolidated Review of Potential Benefits from the Scientific Literature [http://www.
glycoscience.
org/glycoscience/start_frames.
wm?FILENAME=R001] By Tom Gardiner, PhD, Eileen Vennum, RAC, and Bill McAnalley, PhD.
S.
suffer on a daily basis from arthritis.
Arthritis can attack and cause damage in a range of body parts including the joints, muscles, tissues, organs and skin.
The pain caused from arthritis may range from mild to debilitating, sometimes resulting in joint deformation if extremely severe.
1 The two forms of arthritis reviewed in this article are rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile arthritis.
They are both considered auto-immune diseases and are usually chronic.
1 Rheumatoid arthritis is a predominantly adult afflicting auto-immune disorder with potentially serious consequences.
Juvenile arthritis is also an auto-immune problem although juvenile arthritis tends to afflict toddlers and young children, in a seemingly random manner.
In both cases, the white blood cells of the body’s immune system lose their capacity to differentiate between the healthy cells of the body and foreign cells such as bacteria or viruses.
In mistaking the identity of its own cells for invaders, the immune system launches an attack releasing chemicals to rid the body of the cells that it sees as invaders.
The strong and potent chemicals released in the assault tend to damage more than just the target cells however.
The result is injury to the healthy tissue surrounding the attack and appears as inflammation and pain in the patient and is diagnosed as arthritis.
Normally, inflammation is a good thing, signaling that the body is repairing, cleaning and healing.
However, in the case of arthritis, the symptoms of redness, inflammation, and pain are actually indicators of the body attacking itself.
It seems as though the mix-up in these two forms of arthritis, as is the case in all auto-immune diseases, occurs when the body is no longer able to correctly differentiate between foreign cells and its own cells.
This usually involves changes along the cell membranes and is triggered by defective or missing signaling molecules known as glycoproteins.
Glycoproteins lie on the surface of cell membranes and are used in the body as a means of recognition “Hi, I’m part of you, don’t attack me!”, and as a means of communication, “Hey, stop spitting those chemicals at me, don’t you see I belong here?” When these signaling molecules, the glycoproteins, don’t function correctly the body’s defense mechanism heads into full gear and begins attacking itself.
New research is showing that there may be ways to combat this mix up of signals.
Many therapists and nutritionists are now recommending glyconutrients to be taken in the form of food (they are found in plant material) or as a glyconutrient supplement.
The exact mechanism of how these ingested glyconutrients work is not quite understood, however, the results speak for themselves.
The following list shows the positive outcomes that several studies have found by using glyconutrients in the diets of patients with arthritis.
- Glyconutrients played a key role in many aspects of tissue healing and repair.
- Glyconutrients enhanced immune system function
- Glyconutrients had positive effects on rheumatoid arthritis
- Glyconutrients may have prevented arthritis.
2
Autoimmune disease is now the third major category of illness in the U.
S.
: Seventy-five percent of those affected are women [http://www.
glycoscience.
org/glycoscience/start_frames.
wm?FILENAME=J007] By Eileen Vennum, RAC 2.
Glyconutritionals: Consolidated Review of Potential Benefits from the Scientific Literature [http://www.
glycoscience.
org/glycoscience/start_frames.
wm?FILENAME=R001] By Tom Gardiner, PhD, Eileen Vennum, RAC, and Bill McAnalley, PhD.
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