Autoimmune diseases are the third most common cause of chronic diseases in the US, and despite how common they are, they’re widely misunderstood by the general public (1).

So what are these confusing conditions? Autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system attacks your own body.

Usually, the job of the immune system is to protect your body by sending cells to fight against invaders like viruses and bacteria. But when you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system confuses body parts like your joints, muscles, or skin for “invaders” and starts wreaking havoc on healthy cells. Certain autoimmune diseases only attack one part of the body, while others impact the entire body.

Women are about twice as likely as men to develop an autoimmune disease, and having one autoimmune disease increases your risk of getting another (2, 3).

If you have an autoimmune disease—or suspect you might have one—here’s a full list of autoimmune diseases out there, along with symptoms to look out for.

Some of the most well-known autoimmune diseases include lupus, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease, Addison’s disease, and celiac disease, but there are many more.

Below is a full list of autoimmune diseases. The list also includes several variants, subtypes, and suspected autoimmune diseases, as many experts are still undecided about whether some illnesses fit into this category.

Many autoimmune diseases have their own distinct symptoms, like thirst with type 1 diabetes or stomach pain with inflammatory bowel disease. But there are also a handful of similar symptoms that a large proportion of autoimmune diseases have in common. These symptoms might come and go based on whether you’re having a flare-up.

Here’s what to look out for:

• Muscle Aches
• Redness
• Swelling
• Fatigue
• Struggles With Concentrating
• Low-Grade Fever
• Rashes
• Hair Loss
• Numbness or Tingling in Hands and Feet

Lately, a growing amount of evidence has shown a link between autoimmune diseases and an abnormal inflammatory response from the body (4).

As a result, supplements that ease inflammation could help manage the symptoms of your autoimmune disease, or even help reduce your risk of getting one in the first place. Research especially points to omega-3s as a fantastic tool for this (5, 6, 7).

Omega-3s are fatty acids that come from foods like eggs or certain types of fish and nuts. And they come with all kinds of health benefits (8, 9)...

In 2021, a new long-term study indicated that omega-3 fatty acids, along with vitamin D, could help prevent autoimmune diseases (10). In the study, older adults who took omega-3 and vitamin D supplements for five years saw a whopping 25-30% decrease in their risk of developing autoimmune diseases!

Other research has found that getting enough omega-3s in your first year of life can reduce the risk of several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes (11, 12, 13). Omega-3s were also found to be beneficial in treating rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease (14, 15, 16, 17).

Unfortunately, you’re probably not getting enough of them. Most people who eat a typical American diet aren’t able to get all of the omega-3s they need from food alone (18, 19). That’s where supplementing comes in.

One easy way to get a regular dose of omega-3s is by taking krill oil. Think of krill oil as an upgraded version of fish oil, which many people assumed was the go-to for omega-3s for decades. Krill oil packs the same powerful omega-3 punch as fish oil, but with an added boost of extra antioxidants, and no fishy aftertaste.

Women are twice as likely as men to develop autoimmune diseases. Many have the same set of symptoms, so it’s important to be aware of which to look out for. Autoimmune diseases may be prevented by omega-3s, which you can get through diet changes and daily supplementing. NativePath Antarctic Krill Oil is a fantastic source of omega-3s. Our krill oil is sourced from the deep waters of the Antarctic ocean for a potent, toxin-free health boost.