The Autoimmune Epidemic
Donna Jackson Nakazawa - Author
From the foreword by Dr. Douglas Kerr, Director, Johns Hopkins Transverse Myelitis Center
"The Autoimmune Epidemic by Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an astounding book....It is the kind of book that will rivet you and scare you. It will make you angry. It will amaze you with the courage of some of the people described in the book...The Autoimmune Epidemic is every bit as compelling as Upton Sinclair's The Jungle...It is also every bit as necessary as An Inconvenient Truth....
You will leave this book with no reservations about the veracity of the conclusions: put simply, there is no doubt that autoimmune diseases are on the rise and increasing environmental exposures of toxins and chemicals is fueling this rise. The research is sound. The conclusions unassailable....
Reading The Autoimmune Epidemic is a necessary first step. Reading The Autoimmune Epidemic is a life-altering event. It needs to be."
From Publishers Weekly
Type 1 diabetes, Crohn's disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis—all these increasingly common illnesses are autoimmune diseases in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues or nervous system. Equally alarming, as journalist Nakazawa tells us, is researchers' growing suspicion that autism may be an autoimmune disease, brought on in part by genetic predisposition, exposure of young bodies to man-made chemicals and perhaps viral triggers. Nakazawa (Does Anybody Else Look like Me?), who herself has been diagnosed with the autoimmune Guillain-Barré syndrome, tells of a lower-income Buffalo, N.Y., neighborhood where the growing number of relatively young residents with lupus led one persistent woman to discover that a lot where children played had been a dumping ground for industrial chemicals. She also chronicles the work of researchers at Johns Hopkins and other medical centers who have been able to regrow nerves using embryonic stem cells and destroy errant T cells of the immune system that have run amok. Included are suggestions for foods that may promote healthy immune response and consumer body care products to avoid. Everyone with a friend or family member with an autoimmune disease will find this a must read.
Review
"In this important book, Donna Jackson Nakazawa sounds the alarm about the rise of autoimmune disorders, and the too-often unexamined evidence of linkages to the environmental contaminants we encounter on a daily basis in our homes, schools and workplaces. I encourage every American to read this book and learn about the choices you can make to reduce the spread and impact of this growing epidemic."--Senator John Kerry
"For the first time sufferers from the epidemic of autoimmune disease are offered a ray of hope and understanding about why their bodies have rebelled against themselves. Seriously asking the question "why", Donna Jackson Nakazawa provides answers and a roadmap for recovery which just doesn't exist with conventional medicine."-- Mark Hyman, MD, Founder and Medical Director of The UltraWellness Center; Author of the New York Times bestselling UltraMetabolism, The UltraSimpleDiet, and UltraPrevention; and Editor in Chief, Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
"An insightful exploration of one of the greatest medical mysteries of our time."--Frederick W. Miller, MD, PhD, Chief, Environmental Autoimmunity Group, National Institutes of Health
"Autoimmune diseases touch millions of Americans. Most of these diseases seem to be increasing in frequency. It is most likely that the environment is a major contributor to this increase. Ms. Nakazawa deserves credit for putting this important issue before the public".--Noel R. Rose, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Autoimmune Disease Research
"Donna brilliantly blends personal stories with pure science highlighting the severity of autoimmunine disorders and the role everyday environmental toxins play in triggering onset of a myriad of diseases. As patients and policymakers, we must heed her warnings and demand attention to the causes and potential cures for this growing autoimmunine epidemic."--Congressman Fortney H. "Pete" Stark (California)