Good Book Recommendation

[cflickinger]

There is a newly published book which I checked out from the library this week which I think most folks will find a very interesting topic: The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. 

She has lots of very relevant information and statistics, and very poignantly points out that many, many more people have autoimmune diseases than cancer, but yet 90% of Americans can't name a single autoimmune disease, even though as many as 1 in 9 either have or will have (can't find the quote right now) one of the diseases.  She says that there are currently over 50 of them, but only 20-some which are even relatively well-known.  I am only 1/4 of the way through the book, but already want to send it to those who are closest to me so they read it and start to understand the implications and probable causes of the disease(s) .  The book tries to make the point that they are caused by a cumulative build-up of toxins, including pesticides, vaccines, air pollution, cleaning products, manufacturing products (carpet, paint, laminates, etc), makeup additives, etc., which the immune system fights until it just becomes so overwhelmed that it can no longer differentiate between the toxins and the good cells.  There seems to be a tipping point at which symptoms start to appear and after several years of "undefined illness", it then becomes defined as an autoimmune disease.  I would be interested in hearing what others think of the book, whether pro or con, and if they think it is useful in helping others understand what we experience.

Thanks,

Carol

[Skylar]

Hi Carol, by coincidence I borrowed this book from my local library this week. I haven't started to read it yet.

Skylar

[Katybarstool]

Carol

The pesticide information is really interesting. About 30 years ago I worked in an engineering office. The central heating was oil fired, and if the oil was low, we used to get fumes coming through the pipes. I often commented on it, but only stayed for a couple of years, before I had my first child.  In the back of mymind, I can't help wondering if those fumes had any bearing on my long-term health.

Kathyx   

[kathylee]

The only place I've read about the "tipping point" theory is in Multiple Chemical Chemical Sensitvity literature. And of course the problem there is that the medical community doesn't recognize it as a vaild diagnosis. I asked! My main university doc is VERY open minded but even she said nope. For me tho I KNOW there was a HUGE change after I had a 21 day course of the toxic drug Valcyte for supposed CMV in my lungs. It was only 3 months after that that my chemical sensitvity to food and medications started. My daughter got married a month after I got off the drug so I barely got to the wedding. It took all I could muster not to cry when I made it late to the reception cause I was moving so slowly missing the cutting of the cake.
Kathylee

[Patze]

Hi all,

Reading all of your replys, I went a head and bought the book.  I can't wait to start reading it tonight, thanks for the heads up.

Thanks!

Patze

[Annj5]

Thanks for the good suggestions!

(Julia heads over to Amazon.........)

[Billydude]

Great post.   I grew up in a very polluted paper mill town in Maine.  The river that ran through it was the 7th most polluted river in the US at the time (Androscoggin River).  Even the name sounds dirty to me.    You couldn't even see the water since it was covered with foam.   The air always smelled of sulpher.     My mother who also has autoimmue grew up with her back yard boarding this paper mill yard.   I always wondered if there was a connection.
Luckily  changes have been made and now you can even swim and fish in this river.
Steve

[Billydude]

Hi Carol.  Yes I have primary Sjogrens.  I also have Celiac Disease.   My mom has Celiac Disease and Rosescea and I have a brother with Celiac Disease.
Steve

[Billydude]

I'm sorry Carol that you don't have that closeness with your sisters.  That makes me feel sad since I'm very close to my brothers.  One brother a year older than I was my best friend in life even growing up but he died in 1990 of Aids.   I wonder if he would have developed autoimmune crap like I have.     
There was a documentary on television once that I saw of a well know Hawaiian woman surfer that had cancer and attributed it to the chasing after the pesticides truck in the sugar cane fields in Hawaii.    Its just crazy that so much was unknown back then.
Steve