In our body system, there are always degenerative changes that can accompany various autoimmune illnesses but the most important focal point is the digestive system.The digestive system is an important and complex structure of our body system. People with auto-immune illnesses can monitor themselves through a series of various body manifestations. Some of the indications or symptoms that your body system is struggling or fighting to overcome autoimmune illness and you have one or more of the following symptoms of digestive tract dysfunction include excessive, foul-smelling gas production. However, this should not be misinterpreted by immediate and minor digestive problems that occur due to delayed or prolonged digestion. If you prefer a sweet potatoes meal every Saturday and you spend the whole of Saturday night with emission of foul smell, do not confuse it with that rising from the auto-immune problems. There is a difference in occurrence and on set of these symptoms.Other common symptoms include ill-defined discomfort in the abdomen following meals or even during meals, diarrhea and sometimes chronic constipation.Think of your digestive tract as your first physical line of defense against autoimmune illness based on what we have already said above.From your mouth to your rectal pouch, the lining of your digestive tract is continuous like you can see the skin that covers your body. This technically makes your digestive tract lining similar to your outer skin in the sense that it acts as a barrier that protects your blood and inner tissues against undesirable substances in your environment.Once the lining of your digestive tract begins to break down, if your genetic programming allows for this to occur, you will begin to experience the antigen-antibody complex formation that occurs whenever incompletely digested protein leaks through your damaged digestive tract into your blood. The same goes for exogenous toxins like synthetic chemicals found in cosmetic products.If you are suffering from an autoimmune condition, chances are that your digestive tract is not as healthy as it ought to be, and that the effects of leaky gut syndrome and the formation of antigen-antibody complexes are contributing to the current symptoms.Leaky gut syndrome is a medical condition that currently lacks enough researchers and it is an area of interest. Scientists are currently struggling to find the right medications for this condition.  Now, when you experience these symptoms, you realise that your body’s self-healing mechanisms are already hard at work to repair any damage that exists with in the body. Just as your body predictably works to heal a cut on your skin the moment the cut is created, your body is constantly on the alert for trouble spots throughout your body and will always work to repair damaged areas.The difference between your digestive tract and your skin is that you can see your skin and clearly determine if your daily choices are helping or hindering your self healing mechanisms as they work to repair a cut. When you keep a cut on your skin clean and protected against abrasive objects, your body can almost always successfully restore it to health. But when it comes to your digestive tract, it is not as easy for you to know how your daily food and lifestyle choices are helping or hindering your body’s attempt to heal damaged areas.Wish God gave you and me eyes to observe a hot dish of potatoes alongside roasted pork puts pressure on our digestive tract lining. Inversely, it can be meaningful to know the type of foods that make us develop lack of rest, emotional stress, as well as other lifestyle factors exert pressure on our  digestive tract. I had a colleague during university time that liked alcohol and could take a pack of eight cigarettes daily. His lifestyle made him develop digestive complications and his bowel linings have been resected three times in a period of four years. He could be having other genetic factors that I did not know but certainly what he liked are risk factors for his current condition. Once your daily food and lifestyle choices consistently support your body’s ongoing efforts to restore the health of your digestive tract, recovery of your health is well within your reach.Dr Joseph Kamugisha is a resident oncologist in Jerusalem, Israel