Mast Cells are REAL Cause of Autoimmune Symptoms
In mainstream culture, autoimmune disease is this mystical condition that nobody understands the true cause of. When you look at the scientific journals, they have a very different outlook on it. Time and time again, the scientific data shows that mast cells cause autoimmune symptoms. Why is this not being talked about more? Maybe because there isn’t a way to overcome autoimmune disease simply by taking a pill.
In this article, I will discuss how I discovered the relationship between mast cells and autoimmune disease. I will then list all the ways that mast cells can cause autoimmune symptoms. Finally, I will cover several common questions about the connection between mast cells and autoimmune disease. This will give you all the information you need to grasp the importance of this critical topic.
The Mast Cell Revelation
I struggled with autoimmune disease for 10 years before seeing any relief. During that time, I was using natural supplements to try to overcome my symptoms. Unfortunately, I had no idea that the mast cells were causing my symptoms. For this reason, I continued to make one mistake after another, which flared up my condition further.
Eventually, my daughter became very sick, and I just about lost my mind. This led me to research over 100 hours per week in scientific journals until I came across a discovery that would change my life. One day, I came across information about mast cells and started to research further into them. After reading hundreds of studies, I realized that mast cells were responsible for nearly all of the inflammation in the body. Since the inflammation was the cause of the symptoms, I realized that the mast cells were the REAL root cause. If we could get them to function properly, we could get the symptoms under control for various types of conditions.
From there, I started implementing this theory in myself, my daughter, and eventually with clients. Over time, I learned that my theory was correct. If you can identify why the mast cells are being triggered and eliminate these causes, then you can dramatically reduce symptoms. Once you accomplish this, you can add mast cell-modulating supplements to restore the gut, recondition the immune system, and improve detoxification. This is the recipe for true healing from autoimmune disease.
How Mast Cells Cause Autoimmune Symptoms
Excessive Histamine Release
When triggered, mast cells release histamine, which causes inflammation and increases immune reactivity. When histamine levels are high, the body becomes very reactive. These reactions then start to happen to things you consume, inhale, or if you experience stressful events. When this excessive histamine release becomes chronic, it can lead to many of the autoimmune symptoms people experience.
Development of Food Sensitivities
When the mast cells are consistently triggered, eventually, it wears on the gut lining. This worsens intestinal permeability, allowing food particles to enter the bloodstream. The mast cells then remove the food protein from the blood.
After the mast cells remove the same food protein several times, the person becomes sensitive to the food. Since it’s not known to them, they just eat the same foods they were consuming prior and notice their symptoms get worse. They do not make the correlation, which leaves them trapped in a counterproductive dietary routine. To escape autoimmune symptoms, you must implement an elimination diet to identify your hidden sensitivities. If you don’t, you will be a victim of your food sensitivities forever.
Activation by Environmental Triggers
Mast cells are extremely sensitive to air irritants, including mold spores, mycotoxins, dust, and plenty more. The most problematic are mold mycotoxins. Certain mycotoxins, like trichothecenes, have been known to sabotage the immune system and make the mast cells go crazy. The truth is, nothing makes the mast cells more erratic than mycotoxins.
When mast cells become dysfunctional, your body reacts to nearly everything. This causes it to attack its own tissue, like an autoimmune disease. This is what happened to me when I was sick. I became sensitive to nearly everything I was exposed to, including foods, environmental irritants, and more.
Stress-Induced Mast Cell Activation
The mast cells are responsible for responding to stressful events. If they are not functioning properly, they can send out inflammatory chemicals even after the slightest bit of stress. When this occurs, it causes autoimmune symptoms to flare up. Anytime someone who has an autoimmune disease experiences stress and symptoms worsen, they can blame the mast cells.
Cytokine Storm/Inflammation
When mast cells are activated, they release pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-6, IL-1, and TNF-alpha. These cytokines increase inflammation and cause symptoms common with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. If you can stop the release of these inflammatory molecules, you can reduce the symptoms. As mentioned prior, this can only be accomplished by targeting the mast cells.
Increased Vascular Permeability
When mast cells are activated, they increase the permeability of the blood vessels. This allows immune cells to infiltrate the tissue and cause damage. Self-induced tissue damage is the hallmark of autoimmune disease. Without the mast cells, none of this could happen.
Triggering of Th17 Cells
Mast cells stimulate the production of Th17 cells. Th17 cells are helper T cells directly responsible for many autoimmune disease symptoms. They release an inflammatory cytokine that is known to trigger the symptoms of psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and more.
Nervous System Interactions
Many autoimmune diseases involve symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, mood shifts, and pain. All these symptoms are caused by the mast cells being triggered. To overcome these symptoms, you must identify the underlying triggers and make changes. After, you can use natural supplements to recondition the mast cells further.
Release of Proteases/Enzymes
Mast cells release enzymes like tryptase and chymase, which break down protein in the tissues. This leads to the inflammation, joint damage, and pain found in autoimmune diseases.
Modulation of B Cell/Antibodies
Mast cells interact with B cells, which are responsible for antibody production. When the mast cells are dysfunctional, antibody production becomes compromised. Rather than creating antibodies that eliminate pathogens/potential threats, they tend to create antibodies against your own tissue. When this occurs, autoimmune disease ensues.
Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation
Mast cells cause chronic low-grade inflammation, which is seen in people with autoimmune diseases. When mast cells are triggered repeatedly over an extended period, inflammatory chemicals are constantly released, leading to autoimmune symptoms that seem to never disappear.
Exacerbates Intestinal Permeability
Most people with autoimmune diseases have a leaky gut. When the mast cells are activated, this exacerbates intestinal permeability. This causes food particles, toxins, and bacteria to enter the bloodstream, which leads to autoimmune symptoms. Once again, the mast cells initiated all of this.
FAQ- Mast Cells and Autoimmune Disease
What are the main triggers of autoimmune symptoms?
Typically, a lot is going on in the body of someone who has an autoimmune disease. The gut is imbalanced, there is usually a detoxification impairment, but most importantly, the mast cells are highly overactive.
Because of this, they react abnormally to foods, environmental irritants, and stress. This causes a release of inflammatory chemicals, which triggers autoimmune symptoms. To overcome autoimmune disease, you must identify the things in your diet, environment, and lifestyle triggering your symptoms. If you don’t, you will always seek the next supplement for relief.
Are the mast cells responsible for all autoimmune symptoms?
Yes, mast cells are largely responsible for autoimmune symptoms. Either they initiate the inflammation themselves or signal other cells to do so. This inflammation causes the symptoms you experience when you have an autoimmune disease.
Why won’t mast cell stabilizers eliminate autoimmune symptoms?
If you don’t change your diet, environment, and lifestyle, mast cell stabilizers will not provide lasting relief. The reason is, every time you start to get relief from the supplement/pill, you get triggered again. Though the severity of the flare-ups can be reduced, you won’t overcome autoimmune disease without making changes.
Are you resistant to making changes? If so, you have to ask yourself: Is the difficulty of the change greater than the pain you would experience if you were sick forever? This question put everything into perspective and allowed me to find the strength to make the necessary changes.
Can you beat autoimmune disease by targeting the mast cells?
Yes, if you consider the mast cells when making any decision, you will reap the benefits. To accomplish this, you must follow the elimination diet to identify all hidden food irritants. Next, you must test your house for mold/mycotoxins using an ERMI or EMMA mold test. Lastly, you must implement a daily stress reduction routine like slow deep breathing.
If you combine these strategies with natural supplements proven to calm down mast cells, you are inches away from success. Trust me, I had an autoimmune disease and became symptom-free by following the process I’m mentioning.
How is autoimmune disease similar to mast cell activation?
Mast cell activation causes nearly ALL autoimmune disease symptoms. When triggered, they send out inflammatory chemicals like histamine, which causes the autoimmune symptoms to manifest. Keep in mind, autoimmune disease is not the only condition that mast cells are responsible for. Nearly every condition is caused by inflammation, and the main driving factor behind that is the mast cells. In short, to beat any chronic illness, you must understand the mast cells and act accordingly.
Are mold mycotoxins a common cause of autoimmune disease symptoms?
Yes, absolutely! Plenty of people think they have “autoimmune disease,” but they actually have a mycotoxin sensitivity. I have experienced this myself, have seen it in my daughter and plenty of others. Mycotoxins are rarely talked about among traditional medical physicians, but they are often hidden causes of many chronic illnesses. To learn more about how mycotoxins cause autoimmune symptoms, click on the link to read my article.
Conclusion- Mast Cells Cause Autoimmune Symptoms
Mast cells are the hidden cause of most chronic illnesses. Though you may not be hearing this out in the mainstream, it will get out at some point. Whether you have an autoimmune disease, MCAS, or a mental health disorder, all symptoms are caused by the inflammation the mast cells create.
If you learn to embrace this fact and modify your plan accordingly, your autoimmune symptoms can be a thing of the past. Take it from me: I’ve beat autoimmune disease myself and seen others do the same.
If you have any questions about autoimmune disease or mast cells, get in touch. These are my two areas of expertise.
Happy healing everyone!
Matt Nedin
Certified Holistic Nutritionist
EndSickness – Founder
Phone: (734) 846-8619
Email: endsickness@gmail.com
WhatsApp/Telegram: +17348468619
