The Hidden Causes of Autoimmune Problems You Should Know

by Dr. Nick Zyrowski June 23, 2025

If you’ve been diagnosed with any autoimmune disease, you know all too well how debilitating it can be sometimes. Having something like eczema, for example, can present at the most inopportune times and really put a damper on your plans. You may feel fatigued, have itchy skin, and hurt all over. It is definitely not fun, but what if you could reverse this completely or avoid the problem? Yes, it is possible, and we are going to show you how in this article.

A closer look

Now, for the purpose of brevity, we will focus on eczema in this article, but there are numerous autoimmune diseases affecting people today. According to the Mayo Clinic, around 15 million people in the United States suffer from at least one autoimmune disease. (1) As if that weren’t enough to be concerned about, it is reported that there are around 105 total autoimmune diseases, which is staggering. More women seem to have these issues than men, but that doesn’t mean that men are out of the woods.

In addition to eczema, some of the most common problems are arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. If you think of your friendship circle, you most likely know someone who has an autoimmune disease.

What is eczema?

Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition where you notice dry, itchy patches that may also cause blisters. It can be uncomfortable and even painful for many people. Most doctors will tell you there is no cure as with other autoimmune conditions that are managed only with medications. (2)

Over 32 million Americans have this condition, so it isn’t a rare issue. It is not contagious, but others may not know that when they see it. Some of the symptoms of eczema are:

Itchy skin
Dry skin
Swelling
Scaly patches
Rough, leathery feeling skin
Inflamed areas
Discolored skin
Rashes
Blisters

Why do we have autoimmune issues?

Now, we mentioned that many medical doctors will tell you there is no cure for these issues and some will go further and claim it is genetic or just bad luck. Functional medicine goes much deeper, and in our practice, we look for the root cause so you can reverse the problem and restore your health.

Some of the reasons autoimmune conditions exist might surprise you. We will cover the ones we have seen in our clinic and give you actionable steps you can take now to start feeling better.

Poor gut health

If you’ve watched my videos or read our articles, you know we believe gut health is critical for overall well-being. Your gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem and the intestinal lining forms a barrier to keep out dangerous invaders. (3) If this lining is breached, microbes can penetrate and cause the immune system to attack its tissues. That is when your body begins to fight itself and cause all sorts of health issues. Leaky gut may be highly correlated with autoimmune diseases, so you can see why fixing your gut health may be the answer.

We can also drill this down further to many issues causing poor gut health and what you can do to fix it. It’s similar to a domino effect, with numerous triggers causing either poor gut health or direct autoimmune diseases. When we see people clinically who are having these issues, we often suggest the Gut Healing Package, which includes four phases to improve digestion, repair the gut lining, and rebalance your gastrointestinal tract.

Unhealthy diet

So many people eat copious amounts of sugar, gluten, and processed carbohydrates. Eventually, this can increase your risk of autoimmune issues because of elevated inflammatory markers. If you remove sugar from your diet, you can significantly reduce inflammation. (4)

Something we want to emphasize here is that for you, an unhealthy diet may not be sugar or processed junk food. You may have food sensitivities to different things that other people can eat. Some of our patients are sensitive to fruits like strawberries, which can typically be considered healthy. One of the tips we recommend is to keep a simple food journal and write down what you eat and how you feel afterward. (5)

You may find that there are specific items you need to remove, even temporarily, until you heal. A quicker option may be to take a food sensitivity testthat can help identify the things causing your body distress.

Toxic exposure

If you are a human being, it’s unavoidable to have some type of toxic exposure these days. It’s in pesticides, plastics, beauty products, foods, household cleaners, laundry detergents, and a host of other products that we use every single day. Exposure to these toxic chemicals has been shown to promote immune dysregulation and may degrade the immune barrier. (6)

The fact is tons of environmental toxins can cause health problems, and one of those is autoimmune disease. So, what is the best thing to do in this case?

One of the recommendations we always make is to start using natural products whenever possible. It’s easier now than ever because people are more aware of what’s out there and what may be harmful.

You can shop online or in local stores and typically find a good selection of all-natural cleaning and beauty supplies that don’t contain dangerous toxins that could be absorbed through your skin.

What about the exposure you’ve already had, though? For our patients, after we work on healing the gut, we may recommend a 90-day detoxas a follow-up protocol. Don’t worry, this is not some online foot bath detox you may have seen on social media. The 90 day detox we use clinically decreases your cellular toxicity and promotes your body’s ability to heal. It’s a thorough detox system that starts with a prep phase and addresses the brain and body to support overall health and function.

Reversing autoimmune conditions

All too often, we see people who have been told there is no hope and that whatever autoimmune issue they have is merely something they will live with forever. In our practice, we believe genuine health comes from natural sources and methods. That is why we practice functional medicine that targets the underlying causes of your immune issues so you can have restored health and vitality.

We have successfully reversed numerous autoimmune conditions and would love to help you start feeling better, too. Contact us today to learn how functional medicine has been used to reverse many autoimmune conditions by addressing the root causes rather than covering up the symptoms. We also have resources on our websit e that can help you learn how to be a wellness warrior!