I’m not one to be pulled into conspiracy theories so please don’t feel like I’m attempting to start my own.

I do, however, consider myself to be pretty good at trouble shooting; so this is my unprofessional attempt at trying to use that skill to the help determine the reason autoimmune diseases have become so common. Because I’m battling Multiple Sclerosis, it’s only natural that it’s been the focus of my observations.

I’m not a doctor or a scientist but because there seems to be a lot of commonality between those of us who end up with this illness; so, I’ve devoted a lot of personal time to pull a lot of data together in order to write this Op-ed about possible triggers.

I’ve based my study on the widely accepted theory that MS is NOT hereditary, but it IS brought to life by a combination of genetic and some unknown environmental trigger or triggers. Meaning that unless one has both the genetic disposition AND is exposed to some sort of trigger(s), M.S. will not be a factor in their life.

Below is a list proposed of factors that may work together to cause an autoimmune disease to come to fruition in the human body. Many of these came from M.S. patients or their relatives:

• Genetics (If a Sibling has M.S. One study shows an increased incidence of 12% to 38% if you have a sibling with M.S. The study shows that there is a 6% to 25 % higher risk in children of parents who have M.S. (No reason to worry if you fall in one of these groups as I’ll explain further on)
• Periods of High Stress
• Diet (High Intake of Saturated Fat, Red Meat, Dairy, GMO Fruits & Vegetables, Pesticides, Processed Food, Sodium, Sugar, Artificial Sweeteners and Flavorings, Preservatives, Etc.).
• Poor Quality or Insufficient Amount of Sleep Over an Extended Period of Time.
• Flu Shot or other Vaccines and Medications.
• Lyme Disease
• Allergies
• Lack of Vitamin D from Sunshine (Distance from the Equator suspected to be a factor here).
• Quality of Vitamin D (from Supplements).
• Mononucleosis / Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
• Severe Ear Infection.
• Head / Neck Injury.
• Gender (More common in Females than Males).
• Also Gender Abnormal Hormone Disfunction During Menopause.

So, Let’s Break it Down:

• Geographic Location: Multiple sclerosis is more common in people from Europe, the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and parts of Australia. It is less common among people in Asia, and Africa. It is less common in tropical areas near the equator. In high-altitude regions far from the equator, cases of MS increase. Source
• Diet: I can’t find any specific studies on food types that may trigger MS so I’m going to add some data that I feel is relative.
• Lack of Vitamin D (Distance from the Equator suspected to be a factor here): Source
• Quality of Vitamin D (from Supplements).

To Be Continued….