Before it became obvious that my immune system was not functioning properly, in the form of a diagnosis of a frightening autoimmune disorder, I never put any thought into where the immune system is located in the body. I remember several times thinking, my immune system was not working at all because I was sick ALL THE TIME. When my kids got sick, illness was unavoidable for me. I was jealous of my husband who seemed to always avoid illness...and I was knocked out for at least a week with the common cold. I should have known then that things were going wrong.
After I started researching things, I learned that 80% of the immune system is located in the gut! I never had a doctor tell me this at an appointment when I would have, yet another, antibiotic prescribed for me. I thought that I was fine...it wasn't my fault...there was something inherently faulty with my system. Today, I know that all of these things are false.
If you want your immune system to function, you need to feed your gut foods that hyumans were meant to eat. For me, that mean that the Standard American Diet (SAD)...made me exactly that....sad. Since I am feeding my body HUGE amounts of vegetables...a lot of fat and proteins...a little bit of fruit...and healing my immune system through food...my immune system has not been failing me. The goal I started out with was to have my immune system not attack me anymore...and to not have Multiple Sclerosis relapses. Obviously, this is still the overarching goal....but, the side benefit? I am NEVER sick anymore.
This week, my daughter had to go on an antibiotic for Strep Throat. I was upset for her, but I can't deny that I felt absolute panic for me. To go on an antibiotic at this point in my treatment would be a huge setback for me. It would be like setting a bomb off in the area of my body that I am trying the hardest to heal. I emailed my nutritionist because I was so anxious about it. Her response? "Gail, you are training your immune system to do what it is supposed to do. You have been working hard at this for years. You are going to be surprised that it will fight this off. You got this."
Yes. I've got this....and so does my God. Health isn't always about genetics and good vs. bad genes. It can be about whether or not we are feeding our bodies the way that God intended them to be fed.