Month: August 2012

From Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead curing an autoimmune skin condition to internet testimonials about juice fasts curing rhumatoid arthritis, juicing seems to be one of the anecdotal cures for autoimmune disease (if by cure you mean totally new lifestyle that you maintain forever). I have never done an actual juice fast. I started juicing simply because I was concerned about getting enough nutrition since I don’t digest food well every time I get “glutened” or “dairied” and because I think this is an area that may hold promise for all autoimmune diseases. I don’t see a huge downside to juicing as an adjunct to treatment. If you decide to do this, know that we are talking veggies only. No wheatgrass, sprouts etc. Just roots, greens, flowers (broccoli), stems and enough apples to make it palatable. You should probably work with a real doctor if you decide to try a juice fast for your condition. I just did gluten-free and dairy-free plus juicing. It did not make me skinny, but then again, I was still eating cupcakes. So from a foodie perspective on juicing, what I found is this: Herxheimer effects are real. I had a headache for a week when I started juicing. That scene in Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead where he goes to bed for a week can and does happen. Green juice is an acquired...

What if I told you that you could get rid of your heart disease, belly fat, diabetes and schizophrenia by getting rid of wheat and bread in your diet. What if I was actually a cardiologist? Well I am not a cardiologist..but Dr. William Davis IS a cardiologist and he recommends that you get rid of the bready carbs…period. The attached interview is an hour long. It is billed as video but is actually an internet radio show. The first three minutes are kind of painful…until Dr. Davis comes on. If you can listen to minutes three to eight without freaking out you are a better person than I am. I have always held the belief that wheat and gluten are an issue for some people, but not all people. That this is a special diet for those of us who have autoimmune conditions and cannot tolerate wheat. I don’t bring the stuff into my house, but I also don’t berate wheat eaters who are not complaining of autoimmune disease. We eat nuts and eggs. I always thought wheat was in that category, toxic to some, healthful to others. I was wrong. I was unaware of how wheat has been made its own version of “roundup ready” or how the gene was altered to make it rich in the stuff celiacs react to that we are growing new celiacs...

The link between food and autoimmune disease just keeps getting stronger. Someone asked me recently about rhumatoid arthritis and food sensitivities, and the punch line is that there appears to be a link and it appears that for some subset of people living with RA changing their diet can slow or reverse the disease. This is a 2006 study showing that food issues and odd gut flora are more typical in people with rhumatoid arthritis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16484508 An older study that showed that a subset of patients fed a hypoallergenic diet, who later had milk re-introduced got better and then worse. If you click on this one, note the references at the end of the article. This issue is well studied. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1004647/?tool=pubmed And finally my favorite type of study. Someone took a bunch of people with rhumatoid arthritis and put one group in a facility where they relaxed and ate a normal diet and another group on a strict gluten-free vegan (no milk) diet. Then they objectively tested them. The group on the vegan diet got better. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1681264 There is some criticism of this study which is included in this article, which still indicates that for some people with RA the diet may help. http://www.vndpg.org/articles/Vegetarian-Nutrition-For-Rheumatoid-Arthritis.php And unlike a lot of other autoimmune diseases where we are just learning the importance of diet, we knew this might be an issue even...