Spread The Word - EBV & Autoimmune Disease
After waffling for years, I finally decided to start this page on my most recent birthday. My mission is to not only help people thrive with Epstein Barr, share experiences and build community, but also to help spread the word about what Epstein Barr is and how it is wreaking havoc on our bodies.
Only since 2017 has the research really begun to link Epstein Barr to eight Autoimmune conditions(and counting) and several forms of cancer. If your doctor graduated from medical school and residency before 2017, their studies would NOT have included the latest research. This is not a knock on our hardworking physicians, they are simply too drained from long hours, insurance hassles and a pandemic to keep up on the constant continuing education it would require to stay abreast of these recent findings. I have visited countless doctors myself who still define autoimmune functions with the old theories about the “body attacking itself.” If your doctor has shared this with you, it can be demoralizing. The more recent research on Epstein Barr and other viruses demonstrates that much of of what we call autoimmune and how we believed it progresses was incorrect.
It’s time to get the word out about this virus. Eight autoimmune conditions, including: Sjogren’s Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Type 1 Diabetes, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, and Celiac disease - have all been linked to Epstein Barr reactivation. Just these eight diseases affect nearly 40 million Americans and new links to disease are being uncovered with ongoing research. On top of that, Esptein Barr is linked to Lympohoma and other cancers in research revealed in just the past two years.
So how does it work? Reading medical publications can be a little daunting. The vernacular is not very welcoming to the layperson and the mechanics are a little intimidating. While I’m no medical expert, I can offer a boiled-down interpretation of how the recent research believes these diseases get started. Let’s call it the Autoimmune Recipe:
Genes + Pathogen + Environmental Trigger
For example in my personal case, I have a gene for Celiac (HLA DQ2 or DQ8), I have Epstein Barr (95% of adults over 40 do, so almost all of us can assume we have it) and I have a number of environmental triggers.
Since we cannot change our genes (yet?) and cannot change the fact that we have Epstein Barr (though hope is on the horizon with a vaccine in trials), the one piece you can shift is your environment. I don’t mean to say that it’s easy. Something like hormonal imbalances can be an environmental trigger, and that is no cake walk to adjust. But the work we can do to reduce the toxins in all areas of our lives, reducing our exposure to contaminants and mold, getting good sleep and reducing our stress can make a meaningful difference. This is why much of the work of naturopaths, functional doctors, nutritionists and others can be so much more helpful to reducing symptoms, flareups and keeping the virus in a latent state.
What makes my heart hurt is that most people with these Autoimmune diseases have never even heard of Epstein Barr, let alone have ever been tested for reactivation. Even their doctors may not know if the links to EBV or may be reluctant to layer on the expense of testing in our broken healthcare system. Most doctors are also not trained on the full benefits of supplementation or the power of herbal medicines. If there is no pharmaceutical representative to drop by and share the latest research on a new medicine, they are hard-pressed to squeeze in some after-hours reading to learn more about these off the shelf options. It’s simply overwhelming and insurance companies don’t have coverage plans for supplements either, further disincenting exploration of these tools. It’s not that one type of doctor or medicine is “better” than another, I am simply saying some physicians have a wider toolkit for supporting Autoimmune conditions and staying current on EBV research. Even those that don’t, certainly want to help their patients and would benefit from hearing questions about this from their patients.
While I would love for EBV to disappear, that is unlikely in my lifetime. Rather, my dream for this life is to help more and more people find their way to a path of healing, focused on keeping this pathogen at bay.
Will you help my wish come true by sharing this with someone you know who is living with one of these diseases?
I would be truly grateful. Thank you.
