Do you sometimes feel like there’s a lot of drama going on in your body?
With Halloween just two weeks away, it seems like the perfect time to explore this drama in greater depth, since these so-called mimics, marauders and masqueraders are present 24/7.
Yes, you read that correctly.
You see, even though your body is beautifully designed to deal with these pranksters at a moment’s notice, sometimes your immune system does make mistakes.
Or rather, we think of them as mistakes, but in all actuality, your immune system is simply doing what it’s designed to do.
And that is to protect you.
So, what’s really happening here is that some of these invaders are actually very clever, mimicking or masquerading as something other than what they really are.
And the immune system gets confused.
Let me explain.
Cross-Reactivity
As you know, gluten is a protein found in certain foods.
Many of the foods you eat contain proteins, all of them different. And this is why the immune system can get confused – because the proteins (even though they’re different) can look very similar.
For example, the proteins in dairy products (more specifically casein), look almost identical to the proteins in gluten.
This is why your body could mistake a glass of milk for a slice of bread, even though you didn’t go anywhere near the latter.
Your body will respond accordingly, by going on the attack.
Surprising, isn’t it?
(By the way, this isn’t the same thing as cross-contamination – that’s entirely different. Cross-contamination is when you accidentally ingest gluten – or another allergen – because your food wasn’t safely prepared, either during the manufacturing process or even in your own kitchen!)
Your Immune System
Your immune system is involved in these masquerades, by default, because this is where the confusion is happening.
Again, I want to emphasize that by attacking the invaders, your immune system is only doing what it’s designed to do.
And that’s actually a good thing, because it’s always on the lookout, protecting you!
By the way, the immune system isn’t any one organ, but rather a collection of many cells and body systems all working in tandem.
We refer to this web as the Innate Immune System, because it’s, well, ‘innate’.
You don’t have to think about it, right?
When you stub your toe, or inhale a crumb of gluten, your body knows exactly what to do.
Of course, with that last example (the crumb of gluten) this is where things can get ramped up to a whole other level.
And your immune system gets very confused – especially with repeat behavior!
Sadly, this can also make you age faster.
Yeast, Bacteria & Parasites
Believe it or not, these little critters are present in your gut micro flora all the time.
That’s right, they’re supposed to be there.
But here’s the clincher: they must always be in perfect balance with each – neither too much or too little.
Otherwise, they can wreak absolute havoc throughout your body.
(Which brings to mind the unfortunate side effect of taking antibiotics: they kill off both the good and bad bacteria, thus upsetting that delicate balance).
So, you name it.
Anyone of these masqueraders could easily be the cause behind all your symptoms.
Does that surprise you?
It makes a lot of sense, though, when you think about it.
Everything in your body is so intimately connected with everything else, there’s almost no way these critters could not be involved.
If you’ve already decided that a bacterial or yeast overgrowth does not apply to you, I ask you to think again.
After all, the possibility of a leaky gut (an intestinal disorder that is also a lot more common than most people realize) invites a similar reaction.
And if you have a leaky gut, there’s also a good chance that a Candida overgrowth or SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) have invaded your body, as well.
Hormones & Things
While not the same thing as eating a food which doesn’t agree with you, your endocrine system is also delicately balanced.
Unfortunately, we live in a time when over-exposure to numerous toxins in our environment is common.
We inhale them, we ingest them and we also absorb them through our skin.
These toxins (known as xenoestrogens) have a way of piggy-backing onto your various hormones and causing mass confusion.
That’s why we call them endocrine disruptors.
Talk about a masquerade!
Even worse, those toxins are also fat-loving!
What this means is that they glob onto your fat cells, which are always present in your body (even if you’re thin), only to be carried around indefinitely, from that point forward.
Have you ever gone an a diet, Elimination or otherwise, and maybe felt sick after a day or two? (Perhaps you even thought you had the flu).
Unpleasant as that may be, it’s simply your body’s natural way of detoxing, and ridding itself of those fun-loving marauders.
And to think it’s all because you were trying to lose weight!
That’s a sneaky little marauder, for sure.
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