Today I live a healthy, happy life. I run a business, homeschool my three children, and hike with my dogs on the weekends. You’d never know that six years ago I nearly died from an advanced stage of an autoimmune disease. In 2015, while still in my 30s, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. It was accompanied by muscle wasting, arsenic poisoning, leaky gut, and deficiencies in 15 nutrients. I took a vitamin and mineral supplement every day, yet the nutrient deficiencies were so severe, I was borderline for pellagra and beriberi. Both of those diseases can lead to death, and both were eradicated in the United States by the mid-1900s. My illness didn’t happen overnight. It had been brewing my entire life, since I was in the womb. But the obvious symptoms began in my early 20s with gastrointestinal (GI) issues. Within 20 minutes of eating, I often looked …