[Kim Jaeho's Life Story]<263> Wisdom to Overcome Autoimmune Skin Diseases

Among the numerous diseases that affect the skin, there is one truly heartbreaking and sorrowful disease when viewed from the perspective of its cause and treatment. Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which immune cells, which normally protect our body from pathogens like bacteria and viruses or cancer cells that arise within our body, mistakenly attack healthy normal cells instead of bacteria, viruses, or cancer cells. Autoimmune diseases are exactly such diseases.

Autoimmune diseases can be easily understood by imagining a situation where the military or police, responsible for national defense or public security, rebel against the country or attack innocent citizens, or a dog biting its owner. Among these autoimmune diseases, those that attack skin cells are called autoimmune skin diseases. These include alopecia areata, lupus, vitiligo, vasculitis, dermatomyositis, Sj?gren's syndrome, scleroderma, herpes dermatitis, and many others.

Alopecia areata, a very common autoimmune skin disease, is characterized by one or more round or oval patches of hair loss called alopecic patches. These patches mostly appear on the scalp but can occur anywhere hair grows, such as eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, pubic hair, arms, and legs. Over the past seven years, the number of patients treated for alopecia areata has steadily increased to between 160,000 and 180,000.

Systemic lupus erythematosus, also known as lupus, primarily affects young women of childbearing age. The most common skin symptom is a symmetrical butterfly-shaped rash on the cheeks, including the area above the nose. In addition, inflammation occurs throughout the body, including the joints, kidneys, lungs, and nervous system, with symptoms worsening and improving over time. In the past seven years, the number of patients treated for lupus has increased by 34.6%, from 21,000 to 28,000.

Vitiligo is a skin disease characterized by the loss of skin color due to a deficiency of melanocytes, resulting in white depigmented patches on the skin. According to the National Health Information Portal, the main causes are believed to be melanocyte apoptosis caused by oxidative stress such as ultraviolet rays and melanocyte destruction due to autoimmune mechanisms. The number of patients treated for vitiligo has remained steady at around 55,000 to 65,000 over the past seven years.

Although these autoimmune skin diseases are not life-threatening, they all significantly reduce quality of life, making prevention and healing important. The number of patients is steadily increasing, and we can easily encounter people suffering from these diseases who rely on painful treatments due to the lack of appropriate therapies.

The heartbreaking aspect of treating autoimmune skin diseases is that, unfortunately, immunosuppressants such as steroids are used to weaken the immune cells’ defense capabilities to prevent them from attacking normal cells. Would reducing the number of soldiers and police officers, weakening weapon performance, putting a muzzle on a dog, tying it up, or reducing its stamina lead to good results?

The reason for choosing to weaken the immune cells’ defense capabilities in treating autoimmune diseases is that the cause of immune cells attacking normal cells is not considered, and treatment relies on symptom relief. Such symptom treatment, which weakens the immune cells’ attack power through drug intervention, may temporarily alleviate skin disease symptoms, but it is not a cure and can cause serious side effects.

If immune function is weakened by treatments that reduce the immune cells’ defense capabilities, the ability to suppress invading pathogens and cancer cells is also weakened, leading to other problems such as infections or cancer development and worsening. Therefore, such treatments can never be a good method.

To find a good strategy to overcome autoimmune skin diseases, it is necessary to focus on how immune cells work. Immune cells have genes programmed to produce substances that can attack harmful substances entering our body or cancer cells arising within it. These genes are turned on when needed to produce the necessary substances to attack and protect our body. I call this wonderful function the “best doctor prepared inside my body.”

So why do autoimmune skin diseases occur? The problem lies in harmful lifestyle habits that damage the genes responsible for producing the substances needed to attack pathogens or cancer cells, or cause these genes to fail to turn on properly or to turn on incorrectly?in other words, habits that interfere with the work of the “best doctor prepared inside my body.”

To prevent and heal autoimmune skin diseases, it is necessary to eliminate their causes by correcting harmful lifestyle habits that damage immune cell genes and interfere with the activity of the best doctor inside our body who turns on the necessary genes to protect us. This way of life is called Newstart (see Life Story Part 6).

The first of Newstart’s eight components is a life diet that involves eating a variety of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, and grains, in their whole form without selective eating. Along with this, it is important to reduce the intake of sugar?which causes many problems when consumed excessively?processed or refined bad carbohydrates, saturated and trans fats, salt, and alcohol. Practicing the other Newstart components?exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest, trust, and love?is also essential.

Independent Researcher