Multiple studies reinforce the positive effects of probiotics on patients with UC. In one study, researchers found that VSL#3 (an eight-strain probiotic including lactobacilli, bifidobacilli, and Streptococcus thermophilus) significantly increased remission and positively impacted patients with UC [4] [5] [6].
“With any autoimmune disease, I recommend a combination of diet, herbal medicines, and supplements, including probiotics,” Dr. Sinatra says. “It can take six months or longer to see big changes, but often symptoms improve within a few weeks.”
What are the best natural supplements for autoimmune disease? The top 4 physician-formulated autoimmune supplements I recommend to support a healthy immune response are Glutathione, Curcumin, Resveratrol, and L-Glutamine.
Antioxidant foods: Berries, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables (kale, cabbage, etc.), beans, tomatoes and beets. Omega-3 fatty acids: Olive oil, fish oil, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts or soybeans. These help reduce inflammation and the need for pain meds.
This can be verified by special gut permeability urine tests or microscopic examination of the lining of the intestinal wall. Leaky gut syndrome is almost always associated with autoimmune disease. In fact, reversing symptoms of autoimmune disease depends on healing the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.
A general recommendation is to choose probiotic products with at least 1 billion colony-forming units and containing the genus Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacillus or Saccharomyces boulardii, some of the most researched probiotics.
Depending on how sensitive you are, many people feel a difference after a few days. More fundamental effects of the probiotics such as improvements to mood, weight loss or a reduction in inflammation of your gut barrier might set in after 4-8 weeks.
People with lupus should avoid certain supplements, including echinacea, spirulina, and vitamin E. These supplements may increase the immune system response and trigger lupus symptoms. It is also helpful to avoid excess sun exposure, salt, and alfalfa sprouts, which may also make symptoms worse.
The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Diet for Detox
This way of eating encourages the consumption of nutrient-dense foods, such as approved vegetables and fruits, minimally processed meats, and bone broth, while excluding potential irritants like grains, legumes, nightshade vegetables, and processed oils.
Foods to avoid include grains, legumes, dairy, processed foods, refined sugars, industrial seed oils, eggs, nuts, seeds, nightshade vegetables, gum, alternative sweeteners, emulsifiers, and food thickeners, said Romano.
Changes in our microbiome – all the microbes that live in or on us – are thought to play a role in autoimmune diseases like lupus and Crohn's disease.
“If you are immunocompromised, or if you are on chemotherapy or neutropenic — having a dangerously low white blood cell count — or your gut is leaky for whatever reason," Doron told NBC News, "it stands to reason that if you ingested probiotics, they could get into your blood.”
If you have an inflammatory type of arthritis, probiotics may be especially important. The beneficial bacteria appear to have an impact on inflammation, reducing common biomarkers of inflammation, including C-reactive protein (CRP).
The restoration of the mucosal barrier to pathogens is one of the most widely studied mechanisms by which probiotics might counteract gut inflammation.
Regularly taking probiotics has generally been shown to be safe, according to the NIH, especially Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. The most common side effect is gas. Some cases of infections have resulted in severe illness in immunocompromised or severely ill patients after taking probiotics.
Studies suggest that BIFIDOBACTERIUM strains offer the strongest results, although the Lactobacillus strains are another powerful bacterial strains. The specific probiotic strain that is most effective to support immune health and improving digestive issues.
One of the most important things to note here is the strain because it determines the health benefit. Basically this means that even if two types of probiotics have the same genus, they may have a different strain which offers a different health benefit.
Use nutrients such as fish oil, vitamin C, vitamin D, and probiotics to help calm your immune response naturally. Exercise regularly — it's a natural anti-inflammatory. Practice deep relaxation like yoga, deep breathing, biofeedback, or massage, because stress worsens the immune response.