Nobody likes to be mimicked. It is usually done out of spite and is usually not a means of flattery.
Hormones can mimicked too. Molecular mimicry is what we call this and it is what can happen with autoimmune diseases.
Back when I was in school, I learned that an autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s own immune system starts attacking itself. We were taught that there was no real rhyme or reason for this to occur, although there seemed to be some genetic pre-disposition and probably some environmental factors but otherwise, there was no way to predict who would end up having an autoimmune disease.
Some of the more common (although still relatively rare in occurrence) autoimmune diseases are Graves disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, irritable bowel and multiple sclerosis.
These days, you may have noticed that there seems to be more people with some of these autoimmune disease, especially those affecting the thyroid like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Grave’s disease (and of course celiac disease).
Have you ever wondered why so many people are now afflicted? It’s not that physicians have improved ways to test for them. More likely, part of the increase is due to the heightened awareness and more importantly, our knowledge of molecular mimicry.
What is this molecular mimicry?
Here’s a simplified explanation: molecular mimicry is when a foreign substance’s structure looks very similar to something that is a normal part of our physiological make up. Normally, when something “foreign” is recognized, our immune system goes into overdrive and begins attacking it to try to get rid of it. This is great when we have an infection and we’re trying to fight off a cold, (not so good where organ transplants are concerned).
Treatment
Traditional medicine will “treat” auto immune diseases by suppressing the body’s immune system through the use of various medication which have many, many, many side effects, including the fact that suppressing the immune system makes you more susceptible to other infections.
An alternative way is to try to find the root cause; often times it is due to molecular mimicry.
Depending on the specific disease, there will be different treatments, but most treatments include some type of detoxification of the body to eliminate the foreign substance. This can include:
- Elimination diets (dairy, gluten, nuts and nightshades are the most common)
- Healing and restoring the gut
- Supplements
- Decreasing stress and increasing meditative/relaxation techniques
- Decreasing exposure to environmental toxins
These treatments should look pretty familiar to some of you because these are the basics for creating a healthy gut, an important part of our immune system.
Good nutrition and eliminating environmental toxins are always the foundation for preventative medicine but they play a particularly critical role related to molecular mimicry and autoimmune diseases.