Issue Five
Issue Five
In this issue:
Now that the holiday season is behind us, it’s time to start the New Year fresh and as we head into spring, perhaps a little detoxing is in order?
There are actually many times when a detox is necessary and appropriate. One that many people aren’t aware of is the change of seasons, particularly in the fall and spring. As technologically advanced as we are, we are still creatures of the earth and are therefore deeply influenced by nature’s cycles. Just as the trees shed their leaves in fall and the ground thaws and runs with water in spring, so we must bring up and release what is no longer useful, helpful or healthful for us as we move into the next season.
It is at these seasonal changes, as well as after stressful, busy periods or major life changes that we may be in need of a thorough cleanse.
Additionally, the following symptoms may indicate a need for de-tox:
Toxins are poisons to the body. They destroy living tissue and if they are not eliminated they are reabsorbed into the body and lead to premature ageing, immune weakness and disease.
Toxins are produced by the body as well as ingested (eaten), absorbed (skin care, water) and inhaled (air, fumes, pollution). And let’s not forget stress, which is perhaps the Uber-Toxin and a chronic condition for most of us.
Physical Detox
A good body detox focuses on cleansing and repairing the gut. The gut will have debris, mucus and other contaminants causing an imbalance that actually disturbs the entire digestive process of digestion, absorption and elimination.
Cleansing the gut also has the effect of cleansing all the other organs in the body. Even those who think they have a healthy diet most likely will have damaged the gut through processed foods, tap water, carcinogenic cosmetics, antibiotics, other irritating drugs, alcohol and smoking.
Detox works on a root level, bringing the body back into balance and stimulating the body’s ability to heal itself. When the body reaches homeostasis, symptoms like those described in the list above fall away. In this way, detoxifying the body is the single most important thing you can do to restore vitality, health and youth.
How to Detox
Once you’ve decided to detox, the myriad of detox options can be daunting. There are simply so many options and so many expert opinions: fasting, juicing, powders, colonics, enemas, herbs, colloidal silver, saunas, etc.
Detoxification is serious business and should be carried out carefully, thoroughly and under supervision to obtain maximum benefit.
Editor’s Note: It is in your best interest to find a qualified practitioner who will properly assess your health before starting any toxic elimination program.
The following story is taken from the “Curezone” newsletter archives, and edited to shorten it considerably. Karlen’s story and healing regimen can be read, it its entirety at this website.
It feels so good to be able to share what has worked for me, and I hope it will help you, too.
I was diagnosed with MS in 1984, at age 35. I am now in my 20th year since diagnosis. However, I've probably had the disease since junior high school, since I had symptoms even then. (They were chalked up to "growing pains" and "laziness" at the time.) So it's possible I have had MS for 39 years.
Some doctors, and even some MS patients, will consider my experience with MS to be an anomaly. True, the course of MS is different for each individual. However, I don't believe my "good luck" is an accident. I have made it my mission to learn everything I can about MS, how the disease process "works", and what raw materials our bodies need to repair the damage the disease process causes. Over the years, I have developed a program for myself that I believe has helped me to influence the course of my MS.
With this program, I believe I have been able to reduce the frequency, and the severity, of my exacerbations and repair and rebuild much of its damage.
I believe this program can benefit you, too.
It is very uncommon that, 18+ years after diagnosis, an MS patient would have a clear MRI (no evidence of MS sclerotic plaques) and be doing as well as I am.
What I DON'T have, after 18+ years with this disease, is a lot of permanent damage in the form of sclerotic (scar) tissue throughout my nervous system.
My MRI shows "no evidence of demyelinating disease", even after all these years! More important, on my "good days", I feel every bit as well and healthy as any "normal" person does.
As you may have already discovered to your great frustration, our current allopathic medical paradigm offers very little real help for those of us with MS It often takes a long time for us to be diagnosed and, when we are, there is little our doctors can really do to prevent the deterioration of MS They can offer us pharmaceuticals to cover up some of the symptoms, but they cannot yet help us actually stop the progression of the disease. This is not our doctors' faults. We must remember that, although their education is excellent in many ways, our medical doctors spend all those years studying medicine, i.e. pharmaceuticals, surgery, etc. There is so much for them to learn about medicine that there is no time for an in-depth study of nutrition or preventive medicine. Therefore, they are specialists in medicine, but are not experts on the benefits of nutritional supplementation.
Certainly no responsible physician would assert that MS is caused by a "deficiency" of Avonex or Betaseron or Copaxone!
Personally, I believe these drugs, although they may temporarily relieve some symptoms (often replacing them with others symptoms, in the form of side effects) may not be the wonder treatments the drug companies would like us and our doctors) to believe. In fact, I believe these foreign chemicals may add insult to injury in our bodies.
The very fact that pharmaceutical drugs have side effects should tell us something. I personally don't think drug "side" effects are as benign as we have come to believe they are. I believe they should be a clue to us that our body is having difficulty handling these foreign chemicals, and that the drugs are causing further stress to our bodies, on top of the everyday stresses of life, and the additional stresses caused by the disease process.
I believe our bodies are already stressed, if not overwhelmed, by the disease process. Therefore, as a general rule, I try to avoid the additional stress added by the foreign chemicals contained in the pharmaceuticals, if I can.
I sincerely believe our bodies are Miracle Machines, with the inherent wisdom to heal themselves, if there is any way they can do so. I believe our bodies can heal best when we become active partners with them in the healing process.
I believe that, in order to truly partner with our bodies, we must listen to their messages to us. We must honor and respect our symptoms and see them as information potentially helpful to us. We must respect our bodies and their wisdom and work with them by responding to their messages and needs, gently and appropriately.
To accomplish this partnership, I believe we must do several things: First, I believe we must remove as many of the impediments to healing as we can. We do this by avoiding toxins and other "abuses" to our bodies, therefore eliminating, or at least decreasing, additional, unnecessary physical stresses upon our bodies, as much as we can. Removing impediments to healing (i.e., stresses) allows our bodies to focus more of their attention on healing the effects of our MS, rather than on dealing with those other stresses.
Second, I believe we must provide our bodies with all of the raw materials needed to repair and/or rebuild damaged tissues, and in the amounts required for that healing. Our bodies are sustaining extraordinary damage to our myelin, so I believe our bodies need extraordinary amounts of the raw materials for replacing (or rebuilding) that damaged myelin. If we fail to supply those nutrients, or we fail to supply them in sufficient quantities, our bodies are forced to do the best they can with what they have to work with. And that often means our bodies must replace the damaged myelin with scleroses (scar tissue), rather than new myelin.
Third, I believe we must provide the body with the rest it needs so that it can focus its attention on its healing process, rather than on other things. In the last decade or two, pediatric studies have shown that children do most all of their growing while asleep. I believe our bodies must also be at rest in order to heal most efficiently - and that is why we are so often tired when we are sick, even with a cold or the flu. My definition of "rest" includes mental and emotional rest, as well as physical bed rest.
Finally, but perhaps most importantly, we must attend to our spiritual needs, however we define those for ourselves. Studies continue to validate that there is very potent mind-body connection, and that our attitude toward our disease is one of the most important factors in whether or not we will successfully heal.
MY REGIMEN:
My first attack was so severe it stopped me in my tracks and, for all practical purposes, forced me to reevaluate my priorities in life. The process took years, and is still happening, but I am a different person today than I was in 1984 -a much more grounded, serene, and gentle person, I think. I honestly believe that I would never have looked at my life that carefully, had it not been for the life-changing diagnosis of MS. So, this is one area where, for me, MS has been a very great gift. MS is very often accompanied by depression, and I've had my share. Without a spiritual perspective, the unpredictable ups and downs of MS can be especially depressing. Even with a spiritual perspective, I sometimes can get depressed over my occasional symptoms and the toll they take on my life!
Just be sure you find a highly qualified acupuncturist. It seems there are many certifications floating around out there, and some are better than others.
Good luck -- and best of health to you!
Karlen Gunderson
karlen@methow.com
Each issue we will feature a recipe, preferably one that is free from gluten, dairy, soy and eggs as these foods can cause autoimmune reactions and are common allergens (More information at www.direct-ms.org. Feel free to contribute!
Garlic Pepper Chicken
1 lb Chicken breasts, meat only, raw
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tbsp. Black pepper
3 Tbsp. Finely chopped garlic
¼ tsp Salt
¼ cup Onions, chopped very fine
Cut up the Chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the chicken, pepper, and salt. Cook over medium heat slowly until the chicken pieces are nicely golden brown on all sides. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is soft and the chicken is well coated.
Taste test: Take a piece of chicken and taste it to see if it is peppery and full of garlic flavor... if not, adjust pepper and garlic as needed. If you need, to sprinkle more salt on as well.
Serve the chicken over steamed rice.
I was recently introduced to the “MS Means” website, and have to share it with you! It was created by Carloyne Marshall, a woman with MS living in Nova Scotia. She shares her story, her symptoms, her support, and her successes. Her goal at MS Means is to share and provide information to other people living with MS, to help cope with the daily struggles and to focus on learning to live with, love with, and laugh with MS.
The site includes her own tips as well as those from her good friend Steve Auld. There is a section on MS and Sexuality, as well as many links to MS organizations, personal sites, and alternative and complimentary therapy sites.
It’s well worth a visit to www.msmeans.ca
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