It’s Science: Autoimmune disease occurs in way more women than men. Here’s why

According to the National Institutes of Health, over 23 million Americans (more than 7% of the population) suffer from an autoimmune condition, with about 25% developing more than one. Worldwide, approximately 3% to 5% of the population will develop autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune disease (AI) occurs when your immune system is unable to differentiate between healthy tissue and potentially harmful cells so it mistakenly attacks itself, affecting one or more organs. Although how this happens is not entirely understood, environmental factors like lifestyle and diet can be triggers, as well as the gut microbiome which, when out of balance, can cause a loss of the immune system’s ability to discriminate between self and non-self. 

But being a woman is also a major risk factor.

Autoimmune disorders are increasing among women today 

Women especially are at greater risk for AI due to the simple fact they have two X chromosomes, whereas men have only one. Having two X chromosomes essentially doubles the genes present on the X chromosome, increasing the odds of a larger number of mutations that can occur. And since one X chromosome comes from your father, there is the possibility of it being viewed as a foreign substance invading your body that can elicit an immune response that causes your body to attack itself mistakenly.

Women’s AI also may be attributed to their immune systems needing to accommodate pregnancy. Even though your placenta is an organ that grows inside your uterus, it is made by your baby. Additionally, half of your baby’s DNA comes from your baby’s father. So both of these elements are “foreign” to your body. To ensure that your body does not attack the placenta or your baby, your immune system becomes suppressed in order to prevent it from rejecting your baby.  

And here’s the kicker: Because women today are having fewer children than they did a century ago, they spend far less time being pregnant. Fewer pregnancies means women’s immune systems have not been kept in check by being as suppressed as often as they had been before. An immune system that expects to be suppressed often but isn’t can be left in overdrive, looking for something to attack.

Other risk factors of autoimmune disease

Some AI diseases are due to genetics, but some are preventable. Although it takes much longer for the evolution of our bodies to catch up with our current lifestyles, there are many things we can do in the meantime to mitigate the risk of developing AI.

Reduction in these risk factors can help prevent the development of AI:

How diet can prevent autoimmunity 

Because you of course don’t have control over your genetics, your first line of defense against developing autoimmune disease or preventing another autoimmune condition is increasing your intake of nutrient-rich foods.

Autoimmune prevention starts with diet. Aim to incorporate more of the following:

• Vitamin A from sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, fish, and liver

• B Vitamins from oysters, liver, sardines, red meat (beef), eggs and nutritional yeast

• Vitamin K2 from green leafy vegetables, grass-fed butter, and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi

• Omega 3s from fatty fish like salmon and mackerel, and from plant sources like walnuts, chia, flax and hemp seeds

• Iron from red meat, wild-caught fish, beans, dark leafy greens and peas

• Magnesium from spinach, chard, pumpkin seeds, almonds, black beans, avocado and bananas

• Zinc from grass-fed beef, kefir, lamb, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, cashews, and cocoa powder

• Vitamin D from animal and dietary fats

• Selenium from Brazil nuts, tuna, halibut, sardines, grass-fed beef, beef liver, chicken, eggs and spinach

Getting adequate nutrition and supporting your stress response through stress management and behavioral intervention are essential in helping to prevent AI, as well as getting enough sleep and exercising. Further research is needed to determine more clearly what we are doing and eating that influences the balance of our highly specialized and sensitive immune systems. We can’t help our genetics, but we can do our best to live and eat well. 

Sources:

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