Vitamins can worsen autoimmune disease

Dear Pharmacist : I have MS and I’ve taken the medicine Copaxone. Last year, you said not to rev up my immune system with vitamins. Can you explain why and tell me what kinds of supplements are safe? – R.T., Decatur, Ill.Dear R.T.: Imagine looking into the mirror, but instead of seeing yourself, you see a robber and then start punching yourself, and it hurts. That’s autoimmune disease – your immune system perceives its own tissue as an invader, then seeks to destroy it.With rheumatoid arthritis, the joints are primarily affected; with Hashimoto’s, it’s the thyroid; with MS, it’s the brain and spinal cord nerves and so on.Avoid high doses of vitamin C, beta carotene, cat’s claw, echinacea and ginseng, among others. Why add fuel to the fire? Doing so may cause you to slip out of remission and into more misery.I’ll share some tips in the space provided, but there are so many other nutrients.For now, consider a gluten-free diet and any of these nutrients:DHA. A type of essential fatty acid...