b'MS Warriors: Battling AutoimmunityDear Readers, During this years National Multiple Sclerosis Education and Awareness Month, we want to highlight a topic of importance to anyone with an autoimmune disordersupporting a healthy immune system. The idea of supporting your immune system may seem counterintuitive because multiple sclerosis is a disease where your immune system is literally attacking you. But in this years booklet, we hope to show you why its so important, the role your daily activities play, and how to best manage your MS.In your younger years, you probably never thought that one day your immune system would turn on you, because you were taught in school that it is your bodys way of protecting you. But some estimates say up to 50 million Americans have an autoimmune disease. While individual autoimmune diseases affect only small percentages of the population, when autoimmune diseases are looked at as a whole, they are a leading cause of disease, disability, and even death. Moreover, its often found that treatments that work for one autoimmune disease can work for other autoimmune conditions. These facts highlight the importance of research into autoimmunity itself. Learning more about the immune systemhow it functions and the way it malfunctionscan only help. Autoimmune disease is caused by a malfunctioning immune system, that is overactive or out of balance. Supporting your immune system and doing what you can to reduce inammation are vital approaches to maintaining the best health possible. In the rst part of this booklet, you will learn the key ways to support your immune system.These ve pillars of MS managementdiet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and medicationsall play a crucial role in your immune health. Well also discuss common questions about MS and the immune system, and how both current and future autoimmune research research can bring about advances in MS treatment. 1'