Autoimmune System - TH1 vs TH2 Dominance

[Guest guest]

I came across this information today which might be of interest to some. It's a

transcript from a video by Dr. Geronimo, a doctor who trained under Dr.

Kharrazian, author of " Why do I still have thyroid symptoms when my lab tests

are normal? "

" An autoimmune condition occurs when one branch of the immune system over

dominates another branch. This is called an either a Th1 or Th2 dominance. A

dominant TH1 response means that the natural killer cells and cytotoxic t cells

are responsible for attacking the body, while a TH2 dominance indicates that

your bcells and antibodies are mounting the attack. A blood test is needed to

find out which branch is dominant. Thus to treat an autoimmune disease, it is

critical to find the dominant branch and to balance the seesaw by stimulating

the other branch. For example, if a patient's autoimmune disease was TH1

dominant, treating it would require that we strengthen the Th2 side to balance

out the immune system. If the patient were Th2 dominant, we would stimulate the

Th1 side to regain balance. It's a pretty simple solution, but so many people

suffer needlessly because the immune system has been ignored, until now.

This is where clinical nutrition and natural medicine comes into play. It is

well documented in clinical research that Th1 stimulants are Echinacea, maitake

mushrooms and golden seal to name a few. Th2 stimulators are caffeine, green

tea, and grape seed extract. So in the example I gave in the previous slide, if

a patient with an under functioning thyroid is TH1 dominant, then I would

prescribe supplements containing caffeine, green tea, and grape seed extract to

stimulate the TH2 side to regain balance. If they were TH2 dominant, then

Echinacea, mushrooms, and golden seal would balance out their immune system.

Since most people with autoimmune conditions have no idea which branch of their

immune system is dominant, they can actually make their condition worse by

taking over the counter immune boosters. Lets say for example you were Th1

dominant and you catch a cold. A friend tells you that Echinacea helped them so

you take it yourself. Unknowingly you would be flaring up your already dominant

Th1 response and cause even more destruction to your thyroid gland. Conversely,

if you were Th2 dominant and you read on the internet that green tea, and grape

seed extract could boost your immune system you would be flaring up your already

dominant Th2 response and fire up an autoimmune attack to your thyroid. This can

go on for years and years eventually shrinking your thyroid gland and slowing

down your metabolism further. Meanwhile your medical doctor would interpret this

as a need to increase the dosage of your thyroid hormones.

The immune system continues to get ignored and it turns into a bad cycle of even

more medications to treat your symptoms instead of treating the underlying

cause.

By now I hope that you understand that the underlying cause of the symptoms of

any autoimmune disease is due to an unbalanced immune system. Once the balance

is restored, the flared up immune system is calmed down and the autoimmune

attack is decreased from a raging fire to that of a single candle flame. It can

never be stopped completely because once the autoimmune gene has turned on.

There is no turn off switch. However, as a result of a balanced Th1, Th2

response the patient will experience an increase in their energy, mental

clarity, better skin and weight loss. Most importantly they find that they no

longer need their medication. With a balanced immune system in addition to

dietary and lifestyle modifications, most patients can return to the quality of

life they once new before their autoimmune disease developed.

This concludes my presentation. I hope that you learned something valuable

today. If you know anyone who has an autoimmune condition, please forward this

little video to them so that they too can get educateded and begin to make

better decisions regarding their treatment. I would like to thank Dr. Datis

Kharrazian and Dr. Sherry Tenpenny for teaching me what I am now sharing with

you. Thank you, and be well. "

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/182243/Hashi-patients--Are-you-TH1-or-\

TH2-dominant

I found it particularly interesting because today I saw a new practitioner who

diagnosed me as TH1 Dominant. This is the first time that anyone has said I have

autoimmune issues. He prescribed high dose ALA (600mg three times daily) and

Leucostat (once daily) for my TH1 dominance. He also tested me for heavy metal

and chemical toxicity and said while I was showing a reaction, it was a memory

reaction and it wasn't likely I was still toxic, although my body was showing

signs of oxidative stress (visible through a live blood analysis). The other

good thing is he said my thyroid, liver and adrenals are all in good condition.

Ziggy