The number of diseases that are attributed to auto-immune causes has increased through the years. They for example include a number of rheumatic- and connective tissue diseases and certain intestinal diseases. In other cases, antibodies attack the body’s own insulin producing cells resulting in diabetes. Auto-antibodies are what is being searched for when it is determined whether or not a disease is auto-immune.
On the surface of all cells, bacteria, vira, and generally all substances are molecular structures which are specific for every microorganism and tissue type. These stuctures are called antigens. When the body’s antibodies attack foreign bodies they distinguish between different cell types based on these surface antigens.
Persons with special tissue types are more often than others struck by auto-immune diseases. The reason for this kind of wrong coding of the immune system has not yet been clarified; often, however, auto-immune diseases seem to be triggered by an emotional shock or a bacterial infection.
One theory states that a thin and perforated intestinal mucosa - possibly as a consequence of long-lasting antibiotic- or hormonal treatment - makes the substances pass into the blood. Thereby they can strain and wrongly code the immune defence.
Other violent immunologic events like vaccinations, for example, have been suspected of being the triggering factor; this theory, however, has not gained ground. Exposure to toxins/pesticides or an overconsumption of animal protein has also been suspected of being the triggering factor of auto-immune diseases.
