Hi! I'm Jenna and I'm a teacher / blogger / trainee nutritional therapist. As a Crohn's sufferer, my journey to health and wellness has been a tricky one (with several emergency stops!) but I feel I've learned a lot about auto immune illnesses, nutrition and just general well being along the way. In this monthly column, I hope to share with you all my experiences with autoimmune disease and hopefully you can pick up some tips along the way.
So, first of all what is autoimmune disease? Well, they're more common than you'd think. Put simply, autoimmune disease is anything that is a response to the body's immune system freaking out! These range from skin diseases (eczema) to digestive disorders (Ibd) to ones you've never known existed (never mind pronounce...)
Taking a (slightly) scientific tone now, autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system wrongly interprets something in your body as intruder and attacks it instead of letting it be. While this seems violent, it's intentions are good, there's just a bit of a communication problem!
Unlike most misunderstandings (a text sent to the wrong person, being late for the meeting) it is crazy difficult to get your immune system to chill out. And sometimes they do they go quiet for a while (years if you're lucky) only to make the same mistake again (don't they ever learn!)
So what causes this to happen? Well, there's still no one decision but everyone can agree that the following can at least play a part in autoimmune disorders...
1. Genetics
2. Stress
3. Diet
4. Pollution, Chemicals, Pesticides etc
5. Modern medicine (antibiotics)
It's no secret that the rate these kinds of diseases are increasing at a staggering rate , so it can't be just a genetic thing. I currently live in China and Crohn's (which was practically unheard of ten years ago) has increased dramatically. It's no coincide that during this period pollution has got worse, reliance on antibiotics has increased and a McDonald's has sprung up on every corner.
So this blog will focus on how we can try to overcome these diseases as well as tips of just living with them. Everything from finance to medication to diet and the best places to find like minded people to have a rant with. As I'm training in all things nutrition, I hope to offer general healthy living tips which will be useful even if your not suffering with autoimmune disease.
In the meantime, if you'd like to find out more about diet on general as well as my journey with crohns you can follow my on twitter (@globetrotterjen) facebook (www.facebook.com/healthyglobetrotting) or visit my blog: Healthy Globetrotting (www.healthyglobetrotting.com) If you have any questions at all, your welcome to contact me by any of these above methods!
Have a happy and healthy day!
Jenna xx
So, first of all what is autoimmune disease? Well, they're more common than you'd think. Put simply, autoimmune disease is anything that is a response to the body's immune system freaking out! These range from skin diseases (eczema) to digestive disorders (Ibd) to ones you've never known existed (never mind pronounce...)
Taking a (slightly) scientific tone now, autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system wrongly interprets something in your body as intruder and attacks it instead of letting it be. While this seems violent, it's intentions are good, there's just a bit of a communication problem!
Unlike most misunderstandings (a text sent to the wrong person, being late for the meeting) it is crazy difficult to get your immune system to chill out. And sometimes they do they go quiet for a while (years if you're lucky) only to make the same mistake again (don't they ever learn!)
So what causes this to happen? Well, there's still no one decision but everyone can agree that the following can at least play a part in autoimmune disorders...
1. Genetics
2. Stress
3. Diet
4. Pollution, Chemicals, Pesticides etc
5. Modern medicine (antibiotics)
It's no secret that the rate these kinds of diseases are increasing at a staggering rate , so it can't be just a genetic thing. I currently live in China and Crohn's (which was practically unheard of ten years ago) has increased dramatically. It's no coincide that during this period pollution has got worse, reliance on antibiotics has increased and a McDonald's has sprung up on every corner.
So this blog will focus on how we can try to overcome these diseases as well as tips of just living with them. Everything from finance to medication to diet and the best places to find like minded people to have a rant with. As I'm training in all things nutrition, I hope to offer general healthy living tips which will be useful even if your not suffering with autoimmune disease.
In the meantime, if you'd like to find out more about diet on general as well as my journey with crohns you can follow my on twitter (@globetrotterjen) facebook (www.facebook.com/healthyglobetrotting) or visit my blog: Healthy Globetrotting (www.healthyglobetrotting.com) If you have any questions at all, your welcome to contact me by any of these above methods!
Have a happy and healthy day!
Jenna xx