“Functional Medicine Approach to MG:
Understanding and Treating the Root Cause of Disease”
On May 1, 2016, 70 people were on hand to listen to Julie Rowin, MD, ABIHM, talk about the root causes of myasthenia gravis and other autoimmune diseases, at our Spring Patient Seminar in Elmhurst, Illinois.
You can see a clip from her presentation on our YouTube channel. Her full presentation is available as well.
Key points raised by Dr. Rowin:
- Autoimmune disease is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. These factors include toxic chemicals, dietary components, gut dysbiosis, and infections.
- The Standard American Diet, with an abundance of processed foods, meats, and dairy products, and low consumption of fruits and vegetables, promotes chronic disease and suppresses immune function.
- Stress plays a major role in the breakdown of the autoimmune system.
- Most MG patients probably didn’t just “get” MG at a given age. It likely has been a breakdown in your autoimmune system over time.
- Functional medicine looks at how all the body’s systems interact and seeks to get them all functioning optimally. Diet, lifestyle, environmental factors and stress are all seen as playing a huge role in either making you sick or keeping you well. Functional medicine aims to treat disease at its root with these pillars:
Heal your gut
Rid your diet of foods that cause chronic inflammation
Tame your toxic burden
Heal your infections
Relieve your stress
Dr. Rowin is a board certified neurologist, and a diplomat of the American Board of Integrative and Holistic Medicine. She employs a whole systems approach to help patients achieve wellness. She recently helped establish the Wellness and Integrative Neurology Division for APAC Center for Pain Management located in Westchester, Illinois.
