PDF Summary:The Autoimmune Solution, by Amy Myers

Millions of people suffer from autoimmune diseases. Millions more are on an unhealthy trajectory to an autoimmune diagnosis. While genetics influence who develops autoimmunity and there’s no known cure, Amy Myers believes that those suffering are far from powerless.

Myers is a functional medicine physician and former emergency room doctor. After receiving a diagnosis of Graves' disease, she reversed this autoimmune condition by following the method she outlines in The Autoimmune Solution. In this book, Myers argues that you can prevent or even reverse autoimmune conditions by making lifestyle changes that reduce inflammation and improve immune function. She recommends taking control of the environmental factors that trigger autoimmune symptoms: diet, stress, toxins, and infections.

This guide explores basic concepts of autoimmunity, compares how traditional and functional medicine approach autoimmune conditions, and outlines Myers’ advice for preventing or reversing autoimmunity. Throughout the guide, we also offer further context for Myers’ claims and share perspectives from other health experts.

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Third, fasting calms anxiety. According to Pelz, fasting triggers the release of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and emotional stability. This can help reduce the chronic stress that disrupts digestive health.

However, Myers doesn’t advocate fasting. Other experts agree, saying that if you’re already diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, such as diabetes, you shouldn’t attempt intermittent fasting.

Stressor 2: Toxins

Myers explains two ways that toxins can lead to autoimmunity. First, toxins can reduce the production of cells that regulate your immune system.

Second, toxins can confuse your immune system, weakening its ability to distinguish between foreign tissue and your own body. This happens when toxins overstimulate your immune system. It also happens when toxins alter or damage cells in your body so your immune system no longer recognizes them as part of your body.

(Shortform note: Toxins that confuse the immune system or reduce the production of regulatory immune cells can contribute to a range of health issues beyond autoimmune diseases. For instance, exposure to environmental toxins, such as heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, has been linked to increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and even certain cancers. This happens because environmental toxins induce chronic inflammation in the body.)

Environmental toxins come from multiple sources—we’ll discuss four of them. The first source is water containing fluoride and chlorine.

(Shortform note: Fluoride and chlorine are commonly added to drinking water as a result of public health policies. Water treatment plants use chlorine to kill potential germs. Public health organizations credit water chlorination with reducing waterborne diseases like dysentery. Some localities add fluoride to their water to reduce tooth decay. A 2010 study showed that drinking fluoridated water as a child reduces tooth loss in middle age. However, there are concerns about long-term health effects) and potential overexposure, which might weaken bones and cause cognitive issues in children.)

Secondly, environmental toxins are found in toiletries. These products contain harmful ingredients like parabens, phthalates, and heavy metals.

(Shortform note: In addition to causing autoimmune conditions, toxins in toiletries can contribute to a host of other illnesses. In The Plant Paradox, Steven Gundry argues that endocrine disruptors in common personal care products can cause reproductive issues, cancer, and impaired brain and neuroendocrine system development. They can also lead to vitamin D deficiency, which contributes to obesity and osteoporosis.)

Toxins are also found in a third source: food. For example, food can contain pesticides, heavy metals (especially fish), and chemicals leached from plastic containers and non-stick cookware.

(Shortform note: Myers encourages you to stop using non-stick cookware, and you might want to re-evaluate the tools you’re using on your non-stick pan as well. Research suggests that black plastic utensils, like the spatula you might use to avoid scratching a non-stick pan, may contain toxic chemicals. These toxins include flame retardants, which can leach into food during cooking. Opt instead for stainless steel, silicone, wood, or bamboo utensils.)

Finally, indoor areas are sources of toxins. Homes can house toxins from building materials, furniture, carpeting, and mold growth. Indoor air can contain chemicals from cleaning products and building materials.

How Racist Systems Expose Black Americans to More Toxins

While Myers emphasizes that all of us are exposed to more toxins than our bodies can safely process, some groups are disproportionately harmed by toxins. In The 1619 Project, journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones writes that specific economic policies promoted at the local, state, and federal levels in the United States have made Black Americans more prone to illness than white Americans.

She writes that policies developed during the 19th and 20th centuries by white elected officials, city planners, and mortgage bankers forced Black Americans into segregated neighborhoods. City planners then targeted these Black neighborhoods for highway construction, which caused overcrowding and pollution. The combination of overcrowding, a lack of clean outdoor places like parks, and poor air quality from passing traffic exposed residents to harmful toxins in the air inside and around their homes.

In The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein adds that industrial zoning laws have contributed to overcrowding and pollution in Black neighborhoods. These laws specifically zone areas in or near Black neighborhoods for industrial plants and factories, even though the chemicals from these plants are believed to cause major health issues.

In addition, low housing quality exposes Black Americans to toxins inside their homes. Black children have the highest average blood lead levels compared to other racial groups in the US. Experts argue this exemplifies environmental racism, where harmful government and private sector policies impact minority communities more severely, causing them to live and work in more polluted environments.

Moreover, writes Hannah-Jones, healthy food is harder to find in Black neighborhoods, where mini-markets selling processed food proliferate. Processed food is more likely to contain toxins like heavy metals and pesticides from its ingredients and packaging. One 2013 study shows that the more impoverished a neighborhood was, the fewer supermarkets and fresh, nutritious, and low-fat meal and snack options were available—and these findings were especially true in predominantly Black areas.

For as long as these issues have persisted, Black Americans have fought for safer living conditions and better access to healthy food. For example, Black farmers are working to improve access to healthy food in their communities. In addition, Black-led environmental organizations are rallying residents of communities impacted by pollution to oppose the construction of hazardous facilities in their neighborhoods.

Stressor 3: Infections

In addition to facing toxins, our bodies also face environmental stressors in the form of germs that cause infections. Myers explains that there are two main ways infections can trigger autoimmunity. Your immune system might attack both the infection and similar-looking, healthy body tissues, or it might attack healthy tissue surrounding an infection. As a result, infections may not fully heal and the virus or bacteria may stay in your body, causing chronic inflammation. Some common infections researchers have linked to autoimmunity include the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and the E. coli bacteria.

(Shortform note: After Myers wrote this book, a new infection linked to autoimmunity entered the world stage: Covid-19. It can lead to a hyper-inflammatory state that causes the immune system to generate autoantibodies—antibodies that “defend” your body from itself. The resultant tissue damage can release intracellular components that serve as new targets for the immune system, perpetuating the cycle of inflammation and autoimmunity. People who have had Covid-19 have a higher incidence of autoimmune diseases, especially psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes. While infections like EBV and E. coli and their effects are well-known, Covid-19 is still relatively new, so its impact on autoimmunity is still being investigated.)

Stressor 4: Emotional and Psychological Stress

Chronic stress that’s unresolved or continues escalating for months or years can lead to an overactive immune system. According to Myers, this shows that humans evolved to handle acute rather than chronic stress. In addition, emotional and psychological stress can depress your immune system, making it more susceptible to infections.

(Shortform note: In The Myth of Normal, Maté shares an example of how a chronic stressor like institutionalized racism can impact physiological health. Institutionalized racism teaches minorities to internalize hate and reject their identities. It teaches this overtly through direct discrimination and subtly through systemic bias and cultural messaging. According to Maté, this enforced self-rejection triggers profound psychological wounds that translate into physiological stress responses. This can lead to biological responses like elevated levels of cortisol and inflammation. Over time, this can contribute to health problems such as heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes among affected populations.)

Stressor 5: Modern Hygiene Procedures

Myers adds that, although they’re lifesaving, modern sanitation and medical practices may contribute to autoimmune conditions by reducing exposure to beneficial bacteria. Factors like being born by C-section, drinking formula instead of breastmilk, and overusing antibiotics deprive children of microbes that help them develop healthy immune systems.

It’s Possible to Be Too Hygienic

Other experts agree that we’ve maybe gone too far in our efforts to protect ourselves from bacteria. Rob Dunn, author of The Wild Life of Our Bodies, argues that there’s a correlation between modern sanitation practices (like using antibacterial soap) and illnesses (like asthma or diabetes).

Regular soap washes away harmful bacteria. However, antibacterial soap has extra germ-killing components like triclosan, and it seems to go further than regular soap, killing helpful bacteria that protect us from other illnesses. This effect is similar to how antibiotics kill the bacteria that make you ill, but those antibiotics also kill the good bacteria that live in your stomach. To offset this effect, experts suggest taking probiotics whenever you take antibiotics and avoiding antibacterial soap.

In addition, Dunn argues that there might be a connection between autoimmune disorders and the eradication of worms that tend to live in our intestines. Usually, we see getting rid of these worms as a positive development, and there are public health programs all over the world focused on giving children medication to expel worms. However, some studies have found that children who expel worms have more allergies (just like children born by C-section or who aren’t breastfed directly). This suggests that losing the worms weakened their immunity. In addition, populations that have eradicated worms have more cases of Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disorder. In fact, researchers treating Crohn’s patients with worms are seeing a reversal in many of their symptoms.

The Autoimmune Epidemic

According to Myers, these environmental and lifestyle stressors are driving an autoimmune epidemic in the United States. She points to the fact that autoimmune diagnoses have tripled in the US over the past half century. Myers argues that genetic changes occur too slowly to explain such a rapid and recent increase, which suggests that environmental and lifestyle factors are behind the epidemic.

Additional Details About the Autoimmune Epidemic

Other doctors are also sounding the alarm about an autoimmune epidemic. Sara Szal, author of The Autoimmune Cure, argues that 30% of Americans have autoantibodies—triple the percentage of 25 years ago. This suggests an even faster rise in autoimmunity than the increase Myers describes. This is perhaps because the increase Myers describes is based on the number of autoimmune diagnoses, whereas autoantibodies can exist in the body before a full-fledged autoimmune disease.

Also, there seems to be a gender imbalance in the autoimmune epidemic, with 80% of cases occurring in women. In The Myth of Normal, Maté argues that this is due to women’s tendency to prioritize others’ needs over their own, causing stress that weakens immunity. This is further evidence that environmental and lifestyle factors are behind the autoimmune epidemic.

Functional Medicine’s Multi-Dimensional Answer: Alter Your Lifestyle

According to Myers, a multi-dimensional understanding of autoimmunity opens up more opportunities for prevention and treatment because many of the risk factors are in your control. She recommends you reorganize your lifestyle to limit those risk factors. This includes eliminating problematic foods, healing your gut, reducing your exposure to toxins, addressing hidden infections that haven’t fully healed, and managing stress. Unlike conventional medicine's symptom-focused approach, this method addresses the root causes of autoimmunity.

(Shortform note: Another benefit of Myers’ approach is that when we believe we have control over our health decisions, we’re more likely to engage in behaviors that promote well-being and prevent disease. This can create a virtuous cycle that drives the behavior and lifestyle changes necessary for preventing and treating autoimmunity. This understanding comes from self-determination theory (SDT), a theory that emphasizes the role of motivation in making sustained lifestyle changes. According to SDT, when we feel we have competence and autonomy (we know what we have to do and we can do it on our own), we’re more likely to persist in our efforts and experience improved well-being.)

In the next section, we’ll explore Myers’ specific recommendations for dealing with each risk factor to improve your chances of preventing or reversing autoimmune conditions.

Myers’ Method to Prevent or Reverse Autoimmune Disease

Now that we’ve discussed why a holistic approach is an effective way to prevent or reverse an autoimmune disease, we’ll explore what that approach involves. Myers offers a method to prevent or reverse autoimmunity, which she refers to as The Myers Way. Her method has four prongs: improving gut health, eliminating inflammatory foods, reducing your exposure to toxins, and addressing hidden infections while managing stress. In addition, she advocates for several health-promoting strategies with a 30-day meal plan as the central element. Since these themes and strategies often overlap, we’ve reorganized Myers’ insights into one overarching goal, two guiding strategies, and lifestyle changes to support them.

(Shortform note: While research supports many of Myers’ claims about the stressors that can lead to autoimmunity, her method for addressing them is still unproven. Part of the difficulty is that it involves many factors, such as implementing a restrictive diet, managing your stress, and managing your toxin exposure. This makes it hard to identify which factors—if any—are impacting your health. In addition, some readers are apprehensive about the restrictiveness of the 30-day meal plan and the cost of using the supplements Myers recommends.)

Myers’ Goal: Support Your Immune System

According to Myers, supporting your immune system, rather than suppressing it, is central to preventing and reversing autoimmunity. Her method focuses on strengthening and balancing your immune system through diet, detoxification, and lifestyle changes. She argues that her method reduces the stress on your immune system, which in turn reduces autoimmune symptoms.

Myers’ method has two guiding strategies to achieve better health: restoring your body’s healthy digestion and avoiding unnecessary stress on your immune system. These strategies help you achieve the goal of supporting your immune system so it retains or regains balance. Below, we’ll explore each strategy and the lifestyle changes to implement them.

(Shortform note: While supporting the immune system is important for health, there are instances where suppressing the immune system is medically necessary to prevent immediate, life-threatening damage. For example, the immune system can aggressively attack the body, such as in severe autoimmune conditions or after organ transplants. In these cases, immunosuppressant drugs are used to prevent the body from attacking healthy cells and tissues or rejecting a transplanted organ.)

Strategy 1: Restore Your Body’s Healthy Digestion

Myers argues that because your digestive and immune systems overlap, healthy digestion helps balance your body’s immunity responses. In addition, a healthy digestive system helps your body absorb the nutrients from the food you’re eating, which supports your overall health. Below, we’ll explore the lifestyle changes she offers to help you restore your body’s healthy digestion.

Change 1: Implement a Strict 30-Day Diet

To restore healthy digestion, Myers recommends a strict 30-day diet where you don’t eat any toxic or inflammatory foods.

(Shortform note: If following a strict diet for 30 days feels challenging, you might take comfort in knowing that it’ll likely get easier. In The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod argues that the first ten days of building a new habit are the “unbearable phase” where change seems impossible. Days 11 to 20 are the “uncomfortable phase,” but you’re more confident because you’ve already survived the unbearable phase. Days 21 to 30 are the “unstoppable phase,” when you move from trying to living the habit. The key to getting through the painful beginning is realizing that the discomfort is temporary and the benefit is long-term.)

As we’ve discussed, toxic and inflammatory foods disrupt your digestive system, triggering or exacerbating autoimmune conditions. Eliminating these problematic foods and replacing them with nutrient-dense, healing foods will reduce inflammation, support digestive healing, and restore proper immune function—all crucial aspects of reversing autoimmune dysfunction.

Myers shares several toxic and inflammatory foods to avoid during the 30-day diet: corn products, dairy, gluten, grains, and soy. Myers also suggests eliminating some foods commonly thought to be healthy which are actually inflammatory, including legumes, nightshade vegetables, nuts, and seeds. She argues that these foods trigger inflammation because they have compounds that irritate the gut, similar to gluten.

The healthy foods to focus on eating are high-quality proteins, organic vegetables and fruits, and healthy fats.

• High-quality protein sources include grass-fed meats, wild-caught fish, and organic poultry.
• Healthy, organic fruits and vegetables include leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, squash varieties, berries, citrus, melons, and tree fruits.
• Sources of healthy fats include avocado, coconut oil, and olive oil.

After the initial 30 days, you can reintroduce some of the inflammatory foods you eliminated in small amounts. However, Myers argues you should never eat gluten and dairy because they cause major inflammation, even in very small amounts. In addition, the health-promoting foods she recommends eating should be the bulk of what you eat daily.

Comparing Myers’ Advice to That of Other Experts

Some of Myers’ dietary recommendations overlap with other experts’ suggestions—and some of her guidelines seem to contradict their advice. Let’s explore both these overlaps and differences.

To start, many experts agree with Myers that you should keep your diet natural. For example, in Fast Like a Girl, Pelz recommends prioritizing healthy, organic foods over processed ones containing hydrogenated oils, preservatives, or artificial dyes and flavors. She explains that consuming nutrients in their natural form enables efficient absorption without the burden of processing harmful additives, minimizing the cleanup your body has to do. Michael Greger (How Not to Diet) adds that processed foods desensitize your palate, making you more reliant on sweeteners and excess salt to enjoy your food.

Many experts also agree with Myers that you should focus on eating healthy fats. They clarify which unhealthy fats you should avoid or eat limited amounts of:

• Always avoid trans fats. These fats, found in fried and highly processed foods, raise inflammation levels. Avoiding trans fats will also help you apply Myers’ advice to consume less corn, soy, and gluten because these ingredients are also found in processed foods.

• Reduce saturated fats. They’re linked to inflammation but aren’t as harmful as trans fats, so you may not need to eliminate them. Saturated fat sources include red meat and chicken skin. However, grass-fed, organic red meat has less saturated fat.

• Incorporate unsaturated fats mindfully. Unsaturated fats reduce inflammation, but they can contain other compounds that make them hard to digest. Pay attention to how each food affects your digestion. For example, if nuts trigger uncomfortable symptoms, look for other sources of unsaturated fats, such as wild-caught fish.

However, other experts’ advice seems to conflict with Myers’ suggestions to eat natural foods and avoid unhealthy fats. For example:

• Myers’ claim that legumes, nuts, and seeds trigger inflammation seems to contradict other health advice that promotes these foods as anti-inflammatory.

• While Myers recommends avoiding dairy, gluten, and grains, some research suggests that low-fat dairy and whole-grain gluten products don’t correlate with high levels of inflammation, unlike full-fat dairy and refined grains.

• In addition, Steven Gundry (The Plant Paradox) argues that casein A-1, the protein in cow’s milk that causes inflammation, isn’t present in goat’s milk.

While advice such as this seems to conflict with Myers’, it’s not necessarily contradictory—different experts may just be focusing on different aspects of such foods. Nutrition advice often focuses on what specific foods can give you. For example, some studies show that legumes and whole grains are rich in antioxidants and fiber, which can lower inflammation. However, Myers also looks at how your body works to absorb these elements. She argues that some foods make your body work too hard to digest them, triggering inflammation.

That said, you’re likely to encounter conflicting nutritional advice at some point. What can you do when you’re unsure whose advice to follow? One idea is to pay attention to how your body reacts to specific foods. For example, while Myers is confident that nightshades trigger inflammation, other experts on diseases like arthritis—inflammation of the joints—recommend eating them. You know your body best, so try eliminating them from your diet, and see if you notice any positive effects.

Another approach is to avoid getting caught up in the details of what to avoid versus eat. Instead, find a diet with a reputation for fighting inflammation. A tool called the dietary inflammatory index (DII) synthesizes almost 2,000 scientific studies to assess how various diets affect inflammation. For instance, the Mediterranean diet, the pescatarian diet, and the vegetarian diet score well on the DII.

Finally, Myers advises avoiding all non-essential medications during the 30-day diet because they can interfere with liver detoxification. However, you should never stop taking essential medications without consulting a healthcare provider.

(Shortform note: If you’re taking essential medication but still want to support liver detoxification, you can eat foods that nourish the liver. In Fast Like a Girl, Pelz recommends prioritizing root vegetables and fruits. Dieticians explain that root vegetables such as beets and carrots contain plant flavonoids and antioxidants that support your liver and gut by reducing cell damage and inflammation. Meanwhile, fruits such as grapefruit and blueberries are high in vitamin C and polyphenols, which help to neutralize toxins and protect cells.)

Change 2: Use Supplements

While a healthy diet is fundamental, Myers believes it’s not enough to ensure proper nutrition. Therefore, supplements are necessary for everyone. This is because the modern food system compromises food quality with industrial farming, pesticides, and GMOs. She explains that toxins are so ubiquitous that even foods marketed as healthy or natural are likely to contain some health-disrupting chemicals. In addition, leaky gut, environmental toxins, common infections, and high levels of stress hamper your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients it needs.

(Shortform note: Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food) explains why modern food is less healthy. He argues that the food industry promotes quantity over quality. Many manufacturers breed specific types of food sources for high yields, such as seeds and certain types of livestock. But when you breed for a certain outcome, other elements go by the wayside. In the case of food, it’s often nutrients. For example, wheat is bred to increase its yield output, which has nearly tripled over the last century. But as a result, today’s wheat contains 28% less iron than before.)

The specific supplements needed vary by individual, but Myers suggests some that can benefit everyone:

• Probiotics and L-glutamine to heal your gut lining
• Omega-3 to reduce inflammation
• Vitamin D to heal hidden infections
• Glutathione and vitamin C to support natural detoxification processes

Additional Supplements to Support Your Health

In The Plant Paradox, Gundry agrees that everybody needs supplements. He explains that the fields where our food crops are being farmed and harvested have lost much of their vitamins and minerals. As a result, no matter how much healthy food you’re eating, you can’t get all the nutrients you need from food alone. That’s where supplements come in.

Gundry clarifies that supplements can’t fix an unhealthy diet—but when paired with healthy, balanced eating, they close nutritional gaps and enhance the positive effects of that diet. In addition, supplements can help kill harmful gut bacteria, fungi, and molds more quickly. In particular, he strongly recommends supplements if you have a leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or an autoimmune condition.

Gundry recommends some of the same supplements as Myers, but he offers additional reasons to consider taking them:

• Long-Chain Omega-3s: Besides reducing inflammation, as Myers mentions, omega-3s are essential for memory and brain health. You get omega-3s from fish, but few people eat enough fish to get a sufficient amount, so supplement your diet with fish oil that contains DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid).

• Vitamin D3: In addition to healing infections, vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium.

• Sugar blockers: While Myers recommends taking glutathione to help your body detoxify, Gundry argues that detoxifying from sugar requires specific supplements. He recommends taking berberine, chromium, cinnamon bark extract, selenium, turmeric extract, and zinc.

• Prebiotics: While Myers recommends taking probiotics, Gundry also suggests taking prebiotics, which feed the probiotics in your gut while starving bad microbes. The prebiotics he recommends include inulin powder and psyllium husk.

Strategy 2: Avoid Unnecessary Stress on Your Immune System

Reducing your exposure to stressors like toxins or illnesses reduces the chances that acute inflammation will become chronic. Myers argues this will help moderate your body’s immune responses and prevent or reverse autoimmunity. Below, we’ll explore five lifestyle changes she suggests to help you avoid stressing your immune system.

1) Work with your doctor to identify and treat hidden viral or bacterial infections. (Shortform note: If you suspect you have an infection that hasn’t fully healed because the symptoms keep coming back, ask for a referral to an infectious disease doctor. These specialists are like medical detectives who focus on infections that may require expert diagnosis and treatment, such as chronic infections.)

2) Get enough sleep: Aim for seven and a half to nine hours of sleep every night. (Shortform note: If this goal feels challenging, you’re not alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that adults sleep at least seven hours a day—but the percentage of adults sleeping significantly less than this is so high that the CDC has declared it a public health epidemic.)

3) Exercise, but don’t overexert yourself: If you’re already on the autoimmune spectrum, Myers believes exercise can be beneficial up to a point. Since your body needs energy to heal, she argues this isn’t the time to exercise too intensely or frequently. (Shortform note: In Exercised, Daniel Lieberman explains that even small amounts of exercise provide significant benefits. So, if you can’t follow the usual recommendation of 150 minutes of exercise per week, it’s still better to do a little exercise than none at all.)

4) Manage your stress: Deal with stressors immediately without dwelling on them, and incorporate stress-relieving activities into your routine. (Shortform note: Use the “5 A’s” method to manage your stress. Avoid unnecessary stressors, alter the situations you can influence, adapt to and accept what you can’t change, and be active to relieve stress.)

5) Avoid indoor toxins: Install HEPA air filters at home and work, and use water filters on all taps. Myers also recommends gradually replacing personal care products with toxin-free alternatives and eliminating any mold in your home.

(Shortform note: These recommendations might be a case of cruel optimism. In Stolen Focus, Johann Hari explains that cruel optimism accepts that the system can’t change, so it’s worthless to try. Myers’ guidelines could be considered “cruel” because they likely aren’t enough to overcome the challenge of avoiding toxins, given how ubiquitous these toxins are. Most people will struggle to totally protect themselves from toxins. Hari argues that cruel optimism is a distraction from systemic solutions that can help more people. In the case of toxins, systemic solutions might involve regulating relevant industries and conducting research to identify safe alternatives to common toxins.)