As the world faces the long-term impact of COVID-19, many people are grappling with autoimmune issues linked to the disease. So what is autoimmunity? To understand that, we first need a foundational understanding of the immune system. The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues, organs, and chemical messengers that work together to protect the body from foreign invaders. Some of these foreign invaders include viruses, bacteria, parasites, environmental toxins, mold, and mycotoxins. When the body comes in contact with any of these threats, the immune system responds with an attack to target and neutralize the threat. This is is the body’s natural defense mechanism known as the inflammatory response. In normal physiology, the body easily differentiates between your own cells and tissues and foreign invaders. Autoimmunity occurs when the body’s immune system can no longer distinguish between itself and the threats of the outside world. When an individual …