683. Expert Interview: The Autoimmune Epidemic

Dr. Rosanne Lindsay

Dr. Rosanne Lindsay is an N.D, a naturopathic doctor, writer, health freedom activist and author of the book, “The Nature of Healing: Heal the Body, Heal the Planet.” She came to healing through her own journey of reversing profound hypothyroidism naturally, from which she discovered her gifts as a healer. Her mission is to guide others on their journey to heal themselves. She has a new book, “Free Your Voice, Heal Your Thyroid: Reverse Thyroid Disease Naturally.”

The Autoimmune Epidemic

Autoimmunity happens when the body decides that our healthy cells are suddenly foreign invaders, and mounts an attack against itself. In military terms, we might call it an unfortunate case of friendly fire, where our bodies become victims of our environment and our choices.

Why Is This Important?

Approximately 50 million Americans, or 20% of the population, suffer from one or more autoimmune diseases. We call something an epidemic when it affects 1 in 10 people. So, by that standard, we are beyond epidemic. We’re in the epi-epidemic stage. Women are more likely than men to be affected by autoimmune diseases: 75% of those affected are female. Children in the United States have the highest rates of asthma, allergies, SIDS, leukemia, Type 1 diabetes, and thyroid cancer. That’s just to name a few. A lot of this is related to obesity and not eating right.

What Are the Key Lessons Learned Here?

“When a crisis comes up, we have a choice to see it either as a breakdown or an opportunity for a breakthrough. There are a lot of ways to take control of your health. It is not out of reach to do that, to reverse disease and to heal. It is all related to the food we are eating, to our exposures. One way to take control of your health is by knowing what you are buying. Or, by supporting farmers locally that are growing organic food. Or, by growing your own food. That’s another way to keep the dollars local and not support the big conglomerate system that is pushing the glyphosate. We need to be knowledgeable about what’s out there so we can control our exposures.”