Biggest Cause of MS – Pt 2: What If Your Body Isn’t Attacking Itself?

Before MS is diagnosed, many of us experience gut symptoms for years.

That alone should make us pause.

Research also shows that inflammation in MS isn’t limited to the brain and spinal cord. It’s found in the gut and in the blood vessels as well.

That pattern does not fit a simple “autoimmune attack for no reason” explanation.

So the real question becomes:

What is the immune system actually responding to?

 

This Is Part 2 — And It Matters

This blog is based on Part 2 of a series where we’re taking a hard, evidence-based look at multiple sclerosis.

And specifically, at something most people are never told:

👉 It has never been proven that MS is an autoimmune disease.

That statement can feel uncomfortable. We’ve heard the autoimmune explanation repeated for decades. But repetition is not proof.

This session sets out to do two things:

1. Show why MS does not meet the scientific definition of an autoimmune disease
2. Explain what the immune system is responding to — and why gut dysbiosis shows up years before diagnosis.

 

Part 1: Why MS Is Not Truly Autoimmune

 

1. No Autoimmune Disease Without an Auto-Antigen

Let’s start with the most basic requirement.

For a disease to be classified as autoimmune, there must be a confirmed auto-antigen — a specific self-protein that the immune system is attacking.

There has to be a clear target.

➡️ In MS, no auto-antigen has ever been identified.

Not one. Despite decades of research.

That alone means MS cannot scientifically be called autoimmune.

At best, it is described as immune-mediated — meaning the immune system is involved, but it has never been proven to attack the body by mistake.

These two terms are often used interchangeably in clinical practice. They should not be. They mean very different things.

 

2. Inflammation Does Not Equal Causation

A major misconception goes like this:

“We see inflammation, therefore inflammation is the cause.”

That’s not how biology works.

Inflammation is a response, not a diagnosis.

Inflammation means:

• The immune system has detected a foreign invader
• It is trying to contain or destroy it.

Inflammation produces redness, swelling, pain, heat, and loss of function. These are signs of immune defense, not immune confusion.

In MS, inflammation is consistently found:

• In blood vessels
• In lesions centered on blood vessels
• In areas where the blood–brain barrier is compromised
• And importantly — in the gut.

That last point matters more than most people realize.

 

3. Even MS Diagnostic Criteria Now Acknowledges Blood Vessel Involvement

The 2024 McDonald Criteria formally recognized something called the central vein sign (CVS).

This is significant.

It means:

• MS lesions form around veins
• The pathology is vascular and inflammatory, not random.

This does not support the idea of an immune system randomly attacking nerve tissue for no reason.

It supports an immune response entering through the bloodstream.

Which raises a very different question:

👉 What is the immune system dealing with there?

 

4. Why Immune Suppression Doesn’t Cure MS

If MS were truly autoimmune:

• Suppressing the immune system should stop disease progression
• Damage should halt once the “attack” stops.

That does not happen.

Even with powerful disease-modifying therapies:

• Progression continues
• Disability accumulates
• Neurodegeneration persists.

Why?

Because suppressing the immune response does not remove the cause of the inflammation.

It only weakens the body’s ability to deal with it.

 

5. Financial Conflicts Cannot Be Ignored

This part is uncomfortable, but necessary.

Many researchers involved in creating and updating MS diagnostic and treatment criteria receive funding from pharmaceutical companies that manufacture immune-suppressing MS drugs.

That influences research direction.

Lifelong immune suppression is:

• Profitable
• Patentable
• Marketable.

Identifying infections, dysbiosis, or environmental drivers:

• Is complex
• Often inexpensive to treat
• Not profitable in the same way.

That matters when we ask why certain questions stop being pursued.

 

Part 2: If It’s Not Autoimmune, What Is the Immune System Responding To?

This is where most conversations stop — and where people are left hanging.

So let’s answer it.

 

1. Gut Symptoms Appear Years Before MS Diagnosis

This is one of the most consistent and overlooked findings in MS research.

Multiple studies show:

• GI symptoms appear 1–5 years before neurological diagnosis
• Constipation, bloating, diarrhea, reflux, and IBS-type symptoms are common early warning signs.

These symptoms are often dismissed as unrelated.

They’re not.

 

2. MS Patients Have Much Higher Gut Disease Rates

Research consistently shows:

• 50% increased risk of inflammatory bowel disease
• Approximately double the rate of IBS in those with MS compared to the general population.

That alone tells us something systemic is happening before the brain is involved.

 

3. Gut Dysbiosis Is Consistently Documented in MS

Across multiple studies, people with MS show:

• Reduced microbial diversity
• Increased pro-inflammatory bacteria
• Loss of protective species that support gut barrier integrity.

These findings are remarkably consistent.

They are not random.

 

4. Gut Barrier Breakdown and Microbial Translocation

When dysbiosis persists:

• The gut barrier becomes compromised
• Microbes, fragments, and metabolites cross into the bloodstream.

This process is called microbial translocation.

Once in circulation, these immune triggers can:

• Activate systemic inflammation
• Weaken the blood–brain barrier
• Trigger immune activity in the central nervous system.

At this point, the immune system is doing exactly what it’s designed to do:

👉 Respond to foreign material.

 

5. The Gut–Brain Axis Helps Explains the Pattern

The gut–brain axis is a bi-directional communication system involving:

• A highway of nerves
• Immune signaling
• Microbial metabolites
• Neurotransmitter production.

This explains why:

• Diet reliably affects MS symptoms
• Blood sugar instability impacts fatigue and cognition.

If MS were purely autoimmune, these gut-related patterns would not exist.

But they do. Consistently.

 

6. Inflammation Revisited: Response, Not Cause

When chronic infections and dysbiosis persist:

• The immune system stays activated
• Inflammation becomes chronic
• Tissue damage occurs as collateral damage.

That damage is then blamed on the immune system itself.

But the immune system did not start the fire.

It’s trying to put one out.

 

Reframing MS Clearly

Let’s bring this together:

• MS has never been proven to be autoimmune
• No auto-antigen has ever been identified
• Inflammation reflects immune defense, not immune failure
• Gut dysbiosis and GI symptoms appear years before MS diagnosis
• The gut–brain axis provides a clear biological explanation

This doesn’t mean the immune system is broken.

It means:

👉 The immune system is responding to something real.

And for many people, the body was warning them years before diagnosis.

 

What’s Next

Next week, we’ll go deeper into questions most people are never encouraged to ask:

• Why does MS take 5–7 years on average to diagnose?
• Why do the diagnostic criteria keep changing?
• Why do 50% of MS patients also have IBS, double the rate of fibromyalgia, and many other chronic conditions treated as “separate problems”?

Here’s the real question:

What if these aren’t separate conditions?

What if the pattern points to something the diagnostic criteria were never designed to find?

Real-World Wellness Champion Successes

People following the Live Disease Free approach are seeing real changes:

• “Last spring I was hospitalized with suspected MS. One year later, I’m working, exercising, and symptom-free.”
• “My gait is improving. I can walk heel-to-toe again and type on a keyboard.”
• “I’m 72, still mobile, and going strong after 30 years with MS.”
• “My numbness is almost gone. Bladder issues resolved. I’m jogging again.”
• “The energy I have on this diet is blowing me away.”

And one of the most moving successes:

A preteen child diagnosed with MS, initially in a wheelchair 2 months ago, now walking, jogging, climbing stairs, and returning to normal childhood activities — simply by addressing root causes early.

 

Start With the Basics

If you’re not sure where to begin, start with the Live Disease Free Diet Guidelines.

Small changes can reduce the inflammatory load quickly and help your body stabilize while you learn more.

👉If you want the LDF Cheat Sheet, you can request it directly at [email protected]

If you’ve been told “we don’t know what causes MS” — and that’s where the conversation ends — this series is for you. 

Join us next week at 5pm PST on Live Disease Free Facebook and Youtube channels. 

Because better questions change everything.

 

There are real solutions to recover from parasites today!

To restore health, we must focus on treating the cause of inflammation, which are parasites. First, identify the enemy (parasites), then support the body and treat the parasites while following a holistic approach. When parasitic infections are treated effectively, we can overcome inflammation or disease.

If you’re frustrated with the fact that our standard of care STILL doesn’t offer a real solution for treating MS and other diseases, then click on the link below to watch Pam Bartha’s free masterclass training and discover REAL solutions that have allowed Pam and many others to live free from MS and other diseases.

CLICK Here to watch Pam’s masterclass training

 

 

Blog Post Featured Image credit: ©Monstera Production via Canva & ©Africa images via Canva