The Autoimmune Epidemic:

Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance--and the Cutting-Edge Science that Promises Hope

Author: Donna Jackson Nakazawa

In The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance—and the Cutting Edge Science that Promises Hope, Donna Jackson Nakazawa lays forth the disturbing ways that “autogens” -- a term Nakazawa coins to denote chemical, lifestyle, and other triggers of autoimmune disease -- are wreaking havoc with the human immune system. She offers a clear course for hope, detailing the personal, political, and economic choices that can help curb this epidemic before it is too late.

As Nakazawa’s personal accounts show, anyone is susceptible to autoimmune disease—from an athletic doctor in her 40s to an entire neighborhood of teenage girls to small children. However, surveys reveal that nine out of ten people cannot specifically name an autoimmune disease. More disturbingly, many general practitioners lack in-depth knowledge of these diseases and their diagnoses, and the average autoimmune disease patient sees six doctors—over an average of four years—before being diagnosed and treated correctly.