Chemical sensitivity & autoimmunity

When you live with autoimmune disease, you quickly learn that the obvious symptoms aren’t always the whole story.

Many of the clients I work with present with complex, chronic conditions – alopecia areata, autoimmune thyroiditis, psoriasis, Sjogren’s, lupus – often alongside a constellation of other complaints that don’t neatly fit into a diagnostic box. 

Things like skin rashes after using a new shampoo, brain fog after filling up the car, or dizziness when walking past the perfume counter. These seemingly disconnected symptoms are often dismissed or labelled as anxiety – but they’re anything but random. 

I’ve experienced this firsthand, and while it was frustrating at the time, I now see my chemical sensitivities as something of a superpower – I can sniff a chemical a mile off. It’s become one of the ways I tune into environments, both for myself and in helping my clients uncover hidden triggers they never knew were affecting them.

This is what we call Multiple Chemical Reactivity (MCR) – sometimes referred to as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity or Environmental Illness – and it’s increasingly common in the autoimmune population.

Why are chemically sensitive clients so often autoimmune?

Put simply, the immune system is already dysregulated. Chemical exposures, even low-level ones, add fuel to an already simmering fire.

I regularly see signs of impaired detoxification, gut permeability, and oxidative stress on functional testing – all of which reduce the body’s ability to tolerate environmental inputs. The result? A system that begins to see everyday exposures (cleaning sprays, candles, nail polish, solvents, detergents) as threats.

I’ve experienced this too. During the worst of my autoimmune symptoms, I found heavy aftershave overwhelming, and scented candles would actually make it harder to breathe. At the time, I brushed it off as just being sensitive – but now I understand it was part of a much bigger immune picture.

What’s going on beneath the surface?

Multiple Chemical Reactivity is rarely an isolated phenomenon. It’s often the result of a burdened detox system, a leaky gut, and mitochondrial strain – all of which are commonly seen in autoimmune clients, especially those with hair loss, thyroid dysfunction, and gut-based autoimmunity.

When I run functional tests on clients with chemical reactivity and autoimmune conditions, I often see similar patterns:

• Low antioxidant levels, especially glutathione – this means the body struggles to neutralise and clear out everyday toxins, leaving you more reactive to things like perfumes, pollution, or cleaning products.
• Signs of chemical or mould exposure – solvents like xylene or benzene, and mycotoxins from hidden mould, often show up in clients with ongoing fatigue, skin flares, or headaches.
• Liver detox is sluggish – one key marker, called beta-glucuronidase, can tell us if the liver is recycling toxins instead of clearing them properly. This can make people feel worse even when they’re doing “all the right things.”
• Blocked detox pathways – if your methylation system isn’t working efficiently, your body can struggle to break down chemicals, hormones, and even histamine. This adds to the overall load.
• A ‘leaky’ gut lining – when the gut barrier is compromised, it allows more unwanted substances into the bloodstream, putting the immune system on constant high alert.
• Too much histamine – some clients also show signs of histamine overload or a condition called MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome), where even small exposures to food, heat, smells, or stress can trigger big reactions.

Why this matters in autoimmune recovery

You can follow the cleanest diet in the world – gluten-free, dairy-free, organic – but if your body is constantly reacting to your environment, you’re still fighting an uphill battle.

This is why I often say that autoimmune recovery is about more than just food. It’s about reducing the invisible load – the total burden on your immune system from chemicals, infections, stress, and poor clearance capacity.

In many cases, chemically reactive clients also struggle with hair loss, eczema, fatigue, or joint pain that doesn’t respond to conventional treatments – until we dig into their environmental exposures. I’ve seen hair regrowth begin once we addressed hidden mould exposure, rashes calm after switching to a gentler laundry powder, and even liver enzymes return to normal when clients remove scented candles and air fresheners from their homes. These may seem like small changes, but when the immune system is teetering, they’re often the key to calming it down.

So, what can you do if you suspect chemical reactivity is part of your autoimmune picture?

1. Start with your immediate environment

Begin with what’s right in front of you – your cleaning products, skincare, laundry detergent, candles, and air fresheners. If it’s fragranced, synthetic, or you can smell it from across the room, it’s probably not helping. You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight – just start swapping things out one by one for fragrance-free or low-tox alternatives. Open your windows. Choose glass over plastic where possible. Small steps add up.

2. Support the organs that do the clearing

Detox isn’t about a juice cleanse – it’s about giving your liver, gut, kidneys, and lymphatic system what they need to do their jobs well. I often recommend foods rich in sulforaphane (like broccoli sprouts), antioxidants, gentle liver herbs, and targeted nutrients like NAC or milk thistle. These are always introduced based on individual needs and phased in gradually – the aim is to support, not stress the system further.

3. Test, don’t guess

Functional testing can be a game-changer. When needed, I use panels like GPL-TOX, MycoTox, GI Effects, and Metabolomix to help map out what’s going on under the surface. Are there hidden exposures to solvents or mould? Is the liver overloaded? Is there gut permeability or a methylation issue? These insights help create a targeted, personalised approach, rather than guessing in the dark.

4. Don’t forget the nervous system

Chemical sensitivity isn’t just about what you’re exposed to – it’s also about how your body perceives those exposures. A hyper-alert nervous system can amplify your reactions. That’s why calming the system is just as important as reducing the load. Breathwork, vagus nerve stimulation, gentle movement, DNRS, and other tools can help shift your body out of “threat mode” and into healing.

5. Lay strong foundations

Ultimately, recovery from autoimmunity and reactivity isn’t about chasing symptoms – it’s about restoring balance. That means working from the inside out: supporting the gut lining, calming immune hyper-reactivity, reducing oxidative stress, and improving detox resilience. When your body feels safe, it stops reacting to everything. And that’s when healing really begins.

If this resonates with you, or if you feel like no one’s really joined the dots on your symptoms before, know that there is another way. Working with a nutrition professional can help.

Because your reactivity is not a flaw. It’s a clue – a sign that your body is trying to protect you, not punish you. When we start to listen to those signals instead of suppressing them, that’s when true healing begins.