I really liked all of today’s speakers, so choosing a favorite is impossible. Each expert had something to say that I didn’t know before or had a unique way of explaining a difficult topic. So I’ll briefly mention what I thought was unique about each one.
Alessio Fasano, MD is the most-quoted expert on the topic of leaky gut. He and his team performed ground-breaking research that has been instrumental in understanding the relationship between gluten, zonulin and autoimmune disease.
In this interview, Dr. Myers and Dr. Fasano clearly connect the dots between gluten, zonulin and leaky gut. Dr. Fasano explains very clearly what leaky gut is and states that leaky gut is a present in every patient with an autoimmune disease.
Surprisingly, Dr. Fasano does not recommend that everyone stop eating gluten, only those who are known to have a problem with it.
I love listening to Dr. Tom O’Bryan talk about gluten. Last fall, he hosted a Gluten Summit so he a definitely passionate about this topic.
Dr. O’Bryan’s explanation of the role of gluten and the immune system is the best I have ever heard.
Experience has taught him that patients are much more likely to comply with a lifetime gluten-free diet if there is evidence from lab tests to confirm a problem.
Heather White presented an eye-opening explanation of the role of toxins and autoimmunity. She discussed the many ways Americans are exposed to toxins and provided solutions for minimizing our toxic exposure.
Heather mentioned several resources provided by the Environmental Working Group to help consumers learn how to limit toxic exposure.
Dr. David Brady is an expert on the Role of Infections in Autoimmunity. Of the five primary topics to be discussed during the Autoimmune Summit, this is the one I am least familiar with personally.
Dr. Brady discussed how stealth infections can severely affect a person’s immune system, yet the infection itself is very hard to identify.
Just one example (of many) he mentioned was the “work of Alan Ebringer in the U.K., who spent his whole career looking at the association between people with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune inflammatory joint disease, and the prevalence of a stealth infection with Proteus mirabilis in the urinary tract. It’s a urinary tract infection that the person doesn’t know they have.”
Dr. Brady’s interview is one I will re-visit multiple times to absorb the wealth of information it contains.
Donna Jackson Nakazawa touched on a topic dear to my heart and that is the mind-body connection to chronic illness. Donna is a science journalist who has documented her personal journey with autoimmune disease in a way that is very accessible to the general public.
Donna’s interview is unique in how thoroughly they discussed the importance of stress management in order to better manage an autoimmune disease.
Donna clearly defines stress as our reaction to our environment and gives very useful tips for controlling our response to stressors in our daily lives.
If you haven’t registered for the free summit yet, you can do so HERE.
If you prefer to purchase it – to more easily absorb this critical information at your leisure – you can purchase it HERE and gain immediate access to all of the speakers.
