Autoimmune disease signals an urgent need to tend to an individual’s gut health and the influence of environmental factors. Functional medicine health coach Anita Hamilton-Williams explains why believing that autoimmunity cannot be treated is a myth; although existing tissue damage cannot be turned around, nutrition, lifestyle and behaviour changes can halt and stop the disease’s progression.

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In ep. 134 of the weekly podcast series Calm, Clear and Helpful, Anita touches on

• the underlying causes of autoimmune conditions

• good news: less than 25% percent of an autoimmune condition is caused and triggered by genetics

• placing your autoimmune condition on a spectrum between inflammation and autoimmunity

• the 3 key areas that, from a functional medicine perspective, contribute to autoimmune disease:

1 gut health

2 genetic predisposition, e.g. inflammatory markers or the functioning of Vitamin D receptors

3 environment or “trigger”

• the fact that over 70% of our immune system lives in our gut 

• what happens to the small intestine in persons with autoimmune disorders

• what could cause an autoimmune system to become hypervigilant, e.g. a bacterial infection or a yeast

• identifying what the hyper-vigilant immune system marks as a toxin; including certain foods, cleaning or beauty products, stress, or sleep patterns

• myths surrounding autoimmune disease:

1 that there is no cure and you need to be on medication for the rest of your life

2 that improved gut health has no bearing on an autoimmune disorder

3 that a gluten-free diet will make no difference

• a practical experiment individuals with autoimmune disease may carry out, and assess their inflammation levels after 2 weeks

• Anita’s own experience with Hashimoto’s, now in remission

• Anita’s 3 tips for supporting individuals with autoimmune disorders.

In this episode, Anita mentions Dr Noel Rose; the Hungarian physician Dr Semmelweis; Dr Terry Wahls; Dr. Susan Bloom; and Dr Amy Myers.

Scroll down for Anita’s qualifications and contact details.

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About Anita and contact details

Anita Hamilton-Williams is a functional medicine health coach from Johannesburg who focuses on root causes and drivers of chronic disease. She is a graduate of the School of Applied Functional Medicine, a Culinary Nutrition Expert through the Academy of Culinary Nutrition and an Accredited 3x4 Nutrigenomics Practitioner.

Her practice focuses on women in midlife 40+ and other individuals. She uses a combination of diet, lifestyle and nutrigenomics (nutrient interactions with genetics) to provide personalised health care to her clients.

Anita works online and offers complimentary 20-minute discovery calls to interested individuals.

Contact details:

Website: www.myhealingspace.co.za

Email: anita@myhealingspace.co.za

Facebook: My Healing Space

Instagram: anitahamiltonwilliams

LinkedIn: Anita Hamilton-Williams

The free podcast series Calm, Clear & Helpful is available on iTunes, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Player FM and Iono.fm - I hope you’ll subscribe!

Music by Mart-Marie Snyman

Thumbnail image: Unsplash. Model used.

Photograph of Anita Hamilton-Williams: supplied.