Are Systemic Enzymes Effective In The Treatment Of Autoimmune Diseases

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Are Systemic Enzymes

Effective In The Treatment Of Autoimmune Diseases

The human immune system is designed to repel invaders, the viruses, bacteria, fungi and other ‘germs’ that we take in every day from our surroundings. It does a pretty good job and usually we are quite unaware of the battles the frontline troops of this protective system wage among our cells, preventing infection and even tumor development. Today, we live in a very polluted environment and many of the pollutants are not part of nature, they are man-made chemicals that we absorb from the air we breathe, the water we drink and many of the foods we eat.

The worst result of some of these pollutants is that they cause the body to attack itself. The efficient T1 helper cells and T2 helper cells, that normally attack and remove the invading elements that cause disease, turn on healthy tissue and damage it. This results in illness, in such conditions as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, cancers, arthritis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s.

Since auto-immune conditions were discovered, a great deal of research has been carried out and conditions that were a mystery to doctors and physiologists a few decades ago have now been found to be caused by this misdirected activity. Current opinion is that they are the result of a combination of factors: genetic predisposition - which might never be triggered without environmental factors and, possibly, pathogens.

Which conditions develop may depend the details of an individual’s environment, including where one lives, the industry one works in, experiences such as injuries, plus individual biochemistry.

While no cures for autoimmune diseases have been discovered yet, there are many therapies that reduce their effects and allow sufferers to live happy, productive lives. A two-pronged attack is usually used; first to reduce the cause which might mean moving to a new area, changing diet, changing activities to avoid aggravating a condition. The second weapon in this defence is adding supplements to support the immune system. Digestive enzymes, particularly proteases, have been shown to help in improving auto-immune system related conditions.

The body reacts to injury and invasion with inflammation, raising the temperature of tissue when white blood cells fight invaders. Inflammation if it persists, destroys tissue. When the body’s protectors attack it, tissue becomes inflamed and damaged and we are aware of pain. We only ask for the pain to be reduced but the treatment we get is aimed at controlling inflammation to limit the damage that underlies it. The analgesic effect is almost a side-effect of the treatment which reduces inflammation and swelling and at the same time strengthens the immune system.

Some research indicates that immune complex dysfunctions might be relieved by enzymes targetting the formation of the immune complexes. Good results have been achieved with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. These chronic inflammations of the bowel have been hard to treat.

Enzymes called proteases, among the great discoveries of modern biochemistry, were discovered in Japan and have been found to have wide applications of their ability to break down unneeded tissue, such as scars and blood vessel blockages.