Autoimmunity Doesn’t Happen Overnight: Uncovering the Root Causes

If you're living with an autoimmune condition, it may feel like your symptoms came out of nowhere. But the truth is, autoimmune disease doesn’t just appear overnight. It's often the result of hidden triggers that build up over time – slowly disrupting immune balance, filling up your inflammation bucket until it overflows and symptoms finally surface.

Autoimmunity is your immune system in a state of confusion – mistaking your own tissues as the enemy and launching an attack. But this confusion doesn’t happen randomly. It’s often the result of an overflowing inflammatory bucket.

The 3-Legged Stool: A Helpful Analogy for Autoimmune Development

To better understand how autoimmune diseases develop, I like to refer to an analogy from Dr. Alessio Fasano, a leading expert in autoimmunity. He explains that three key factors need to be in place for an autoimmune condition to develop. He describes it like a three-legged stool:

• Genetic Susceptibility – You may carry genes that make you more prone to autoimmune conditions, but genes alone aren't enough to cause disease.
• Environmental Triggers – Things like infections, chronic stress, poor diet, inflammatory foods, hormone shifts, toxin exposure, or trauma can "flip the switch" and activate those genes.
• Gut Health & Immune Regulation – In Dr. Fasano’s model, this leg represents increased intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut,” which allows unwanted particles to cross the gut lining and trigger the immune system. While that can be an important piece of the puzzle, overall gut health – including the microbiome, infections, digestion, and immune regulation (70% of the immune system lives in the gut!) – is central to how autoimmunity develops and progresses. Since much of the immune system lives in the gut, imbalances here can be a major driver of chronic inflammation.

Just like a stool needs all three legs to stand, autoimmunity typically develops when all three of these factors are in play.

How Your Inflammatory Bucket Overflows

Think of your immune system like a bucket. Each trigger – whether it’s a stressful week, a poor night’s sleep, a gut imbalance, or a viral infection – adds water to the bucket. At first, your body can manage. But over time, if you don’t empty the bucket or stop the flow, it fills to the brim.

Eventually, the bucket overflows and symptoms appear: fatigue, joint pain, brain fog, skin flares, digestive issues, and more.

The key is that not everyone’s bucket fills the same way. Some people may have large, obvious triggers; others may have dozens of smaller ones. What matters is how much your system can handle before it tips into dysfunction.

Restoring Balance by Reducing the Load

The good news? There is a way to decrease the “inflammation water level” and feel better. We can’t remove the “genetic” leg of the stool but we can focus on reducing the inflammatory load from the other two.

By supporting gut health, lowering stress, addressing infections, resolving food sensitivities, balancing hormones, and improving sleep, we begin to empty the bucket. This helps restore what’s called immune tolerance – your immune system’s ability to tell the difference between your own tissues and harmful invaders.

What Is Immune Tolerance?

Immune tolerance is your body’s way of keeping the immune system in check. It prevents overreaction and helps the immune system recognize what’s “self” versus what’s not.

In autoimmunity, this tolerance breaks down. But when we calm the system and reduce inflammatory inputs, we give the body a chance to rebuild that tolerance and start healing from the inside out.

You’re Not Broken – Your Body Is Responding to Something

I know it can feel like your body is working against you and it’s broken. Autoimmunity can feel overwhelming and scary, but it’s also a message. Your symptoms are signals – calls for support and feedback, not signs of failure.

When we shift our focus from simply suppressing symptoms to understanding what’s filling your bucket, we can start rebuilding our health, one strategic step at a time.

Ready to Start Emptying Your Bucket?

At Roots Naturopathic, we help women with autoimmunity uncover and address what’s driving their inflammation. Our root-cause approach supports energy, calm, clarity, and reconnecting with your body in a healthy way – without guessing or going it alone.

➡️ Book a free discovery call to learn how we can support your journey back to balance.