Fibromyalgia: Dietary causes and cures
If you have followed this column for any amount of time, you have heard me mention the work of Raymond Francis. In his excellent book, 鈥淣ever Be Sick Again,鈥� he explains the fallacy of disease from the cellular level.
According to Mr. Francis, there is ONE and only ONE disease: A malfunctioning cell. In other words, at the cellular level, there is no difference between any of the diseases as defined by the medical establishment. He further asserts that there are only two pathways for a cell to become sick: Deficiency and toxicity. Lastly, there are six and only six pathways for a cell to either be deficient or toxic: Mental, genetic, physical, medical, toxins and nutrition.
For the purpose of this article, we will focus on the nutritional component, which has been repeatedly documented as specifically aggravating, and quite probably causing the particular symptoms of cellular dysfunction known in the medical profession as Fibromyalgia. As is the case in many so-called diseases, most of the response of the traditional medical profession is in addressing the symptoms 鈥� relieving the pain primarily.
While this is, of course, very valuable to a person suffering the terrible and debilitating symptoms, it does nothing to work toward repair, prevention and real recovery. It only creates a dependence on practitioners and drugs. While this may be good for 鈥渂usiness鈥� for some, for most people it is an expensive, impotent exercise in futility.
It so happens that I personally know several people who have been diagnosed with this condition, and in my opinion they are all way too young to have lost so much quality of life. It pains me deeply to see people so devoid of hope. They accept this fate as permanent because they are not made aware of the larger picture of how diet may have caused, and will likely continue to worsen the symptoms, only to create heavier dependency on stronger pain management drugs, which then further poison the organs of the body. The cycle has only one possible outcome: Lower and lower quality of life.
Fortunately, the news is not all grim. According to Mr. Francis, any disease can be healed or at least made significantly better by following the principles of feeding the cells what they need, and removing what they don鈥檛 need.
Sound simple? In principle, it is. In practice, it can be a living hell because of addiction, manipulation and greed. Addiction to toxic substances such as refined sugar; manipulation by advertising; greed of big pharma and certain members of the medical establishment to treat symptoms over cause. Below, we will present at least the tip of the iceberg on what information is available to people who are open to seeing it.
The first of these natural areas to target is yeast overgrowth in the gut. This is an underestimated cause of numerous 鈥渃onditions鈥� including allergies, chronic fatigue, sinusitis, spastic colon and Fibromyalgia. In his book, 鈥淏eat Sugar Addiction Now!鈥�, Jacob Teitelbaum, MD cites from his research at the Annapolis Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Research Center, that when people eliminate yeast overgrowth, the common symptoms of Fibromyalgia improve significantly. Yeast feed and multiply by fermenting sugar in the gut.
Therefore, the best way to restore balance is to starve them of sugar. This includes starchy foods, and white flour, which essentially turn to sugar rapidly when consumed. Excessive use of antibiotics exacerbate the problem because they cause us to kill off the good gut bacteria. Therefore never take antibiotics unless absolutely necessary.
There are a number of natural antibiotic herbal remedies including raw honey and real cinnamon in combination. I encourage everyone to seek out a competent naturopathic health practitioner to at least offer alternatives to your regular physician蘑菇视频 drug therapy. A good resource is www.naturopathic.org.
As a quick side note, stress has been well documented as damaging the body, and specifically aggravating Fibromyalgia. So stress management, meditation, and generally cleaning up unnecessary stressors in one蘑菇视频 life is of paramount importance to anyone wanting to heal themselves from Fibro.
There are several vitamin studies that have shown targeting key nutrients can help repair and reduce symptoms of Fibro. One such nutrient is Ribose. Dr. Teitelbaum cites the following study:
鈥淩esearch at the Kona Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Research Center, published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in 2006, showed that ribose increased energy an average of 45 percent after only three weeks. Adequate ribose cannot be found in any multivitamin, so you鈥檒l need to supplement with this nutrient separately. (You can, however, mix it into your vitamin powder.)
Quality control problems have occurred outside of the United States, so buy a brand that uses 鈥楤ioenergy鈥� ribose. We suggest using the Corvalen form, as this has the best quality and research behind it.鈥�
Another treatment with notable success is the hormone Cortisol. Again, Dr. Teitelbaum cites compelling information regarding its success:
鈥淐ortisol Helps Maintain Blood Sugar During Stress 鈥� Although taking bio-identical cortisol, which your body needs to maintain your blood sugar during stress, can be very helpful, it蘑菇视频 best to use this treatment under the care of a holistic practitioner. This hormone is available by prescription (hydrocortisone from compounding pharmacies, or Cortef in standard pharmacies), and up to 20 mg a day has been shown in repeated studies to be quite safe.
Excellent reviews on this topic have been written by professor William Jefferies and by the renowned expert on bio-identical hormones, Dr. Kent Holtorf. A review published in the Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in March 2008 showed that this very low dose cortisol could safely and effectively help alleviate symptoms for people who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Unfortunately, most allopathic physicians are not familiar with the distinction between using super low doses that are normally present in the body (called physiologic dosing) and very high doses (usually synthetic prednisone in doses over 5 mg a day to suppress inflammation, which is similar to over 20 mg of Cortef. These high doses can be very toxic, and most physicians mistakenly believe that the super low doses carry the same toxicity. They do not. Why are the lower doses safer? Normally, the adrenal glands make the equivalent of 35 to 40 mg of hydrocortisone a day.
Because of this, if you are using a very low dose (e.g., 5 to 20 mg of Cortef each morning) and your body doesn鈥檛 want that much, it simply makes less. Higher doses will put your adrenal glands to sleep (which is dangerous), and can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and thinning bones.鈥�
Artificial sweeteners, especially Aspartame (Nutria-sweet) and Sucralose (Splenda), have been irrefutably proven to damage nerve endings, and poison the brain and other organs. Overwhelming evidence abounds, so please feel free to research that if you don鈥檛 want to take my word for it. Better yet, consult a reputable naturopath.
There are tons more examples, but space does not permit us to elaborate further here. The point to be taken is there are way more options for real improvement and recovery than your doctor is probably even aware of.
If you or your loved ones are suffering from the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, I encourage you to read the books cited above, and to seek out a competent local naturopath to help you focus on where you are working against your own best interests.
According to an increasing number of well-supported sources, it is entirely unnecessary for us to become ill and debilitated for most, or even all of our lives.