Excellent, Must-Read MS Links

Hello! I have some new and excellent MS-related information. I wanted so much to post an entry yesterday, but I forced myself to rest, and stayed off the computer and sitting position all day. I got the day off work, and my back really needed to heal, so I seized the opportunity for rest.

On Dr. Mercola's website, I found some excellent information. I think you'll find it as fascinating as I did.

Top Ten Mycotoxins
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/11/05/toxic-foods.aspx

Multiple Sclerosis: A Chronic Mycotoxicosis?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2003/07/19/multiple-sclerosis-part-three.aspx
Fascinating! ...I'm so thankful to the work of our doctors - those who have been gifted with curiosity and the need to be challenged, to find out the cause of diseases.

The Journey to Abate MS Continues
As we continue on this journey, and as we learn more about foods that can make MS worse, then and only then can we experiment and try to omit those foods from our diets to see if the MS symptoms abate. This is not an easy feat - eliminating basic foods that have nourished and comforted our bodies during our lifetime is difficult. But, I rest my hope on diet and nutrition.

So far, the following food items are on my list of things to stay away from
I can't say I've been 100% sucessfull all the time, but I try:

• Yeast - This includes staying away from breads and pastries, and some crackers, since they usually have yeast. For the most part, I have been successful at eliminating bread. I have dipped a couple of pieces here and there in olive oil, over the last couple of months. It's off limits again - I just think of the candida bacteria that yeast causes in your body, and I think what it must be doing to complicates MS.
  http://altmedicine.about.com/od/popularhealthdiets/a/candidadiet.htm
• White Rice - I have stopped eating white rice simply because it's an inflammatory. My foot reflexologist also told me white rice breaks down to acid in your stomach. She also said that everything bad in your body is caused by acid. Ironically, when you eat limes or lemons, that turns into alkaline in your body, which she says is good. Interesting links:
  http://www.metabolismadvice.com/anti_inflammatory_food/
  http://www.wild-about-blueberries.com/anti-inflammatory-food.html
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkaline_diet
• Fried Foods - I can say I have eliminated all fried food from my diet. Definitely no fast food. This is one type of food I have succeeded at eliminating. I have been able to see that it's all bad - full of trans fats and chemicals. If I have to, for some desperate reason, I would eat a fast food salad, and I would try to not eat the cheese on it. I would probably eat the grilled chicken on it for protein (even though the chicken surely has hormones).
• Pork - I can say I have successfully been able to eliminate all pork from my diet. Pigs are animals that don't sweat; they store all their toxins in their fat! I concur to the OT Bible, where God lays out the food law, and He instructs us to not eat pork. There's a place for everything and a reason for everything, and He put piggies on earth to clean up! (Just think - I'm Cuban, and I can't imagine my culture trying to understand this. Can I blame them? Pork is delicous. While we are human, we need to learn how to OBEY the laws He laid out for us. Learning to obey will definitely be worth the effort. Here's a fun read:
  http://yahushua.net/diet.htm
• Beef - Even though I don't follow Dr. Swank's Diet, one thing he lays out for his MS patients is "no red meat the first year."
  http://swankmsdiet.org/
  I definitely plan to buy this. There are a couple of good testimonials on his site. Regarding the Swank diet, here's also another person who followed it, and read her testimony (long read, but worth it! This is a must-read)":
  http://www.curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=67156
  I appreciate that when she was fist diagnosed, first thing she wanted to know was "what is myelin made of and how can I feed it?" She also talks about her vision loss and her positive experience with acupuncture... good and must-read. She shares what she has learned. God bless her. God bless us - those who fight this condition. God bless all those fighting, not only MS, but any other chronic and life-threatening illness.
• Chicken grown with hormones - I cannot say I have eliminated "regular" chicken entirely from my diet. On a few occasions while cooking for my husband, I have taken bites of the regular chicken here and there. But I understand I need to completely detox from the antibodies, and re-introducing them in my diet may slow down my healing.
• Anything Containing Sugar - I have eliminated sugar from my diet (with a very occasional bite). Many of us already know that sugar feeds cancer cells, and surely it also has to complicate MS. http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/nutrition/sugar.htm
  Sugar also creates an environment for bacterial to grow. Sugar and candida are not a good combo (honestly, candida is not good for much).
  Interesting article about low bloow sugar and MS, go to page 30 of the newsletter PDF file:
  http://www.msrc.co.uk/downloads/npwm_2002_0016.pdf
• Potatoes - I've stopped eating potatoes for the reason that it's an infammatory food.
  List of pro-inflammatory foods
  http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/young/life/life_inflammatory.jhtml
  About Inflammation
  http://arthritis.about.com/od/inflammation/g/inflame.htm
  http://www.womentowomen.com/inflammation/naturalantiinflammatories.aspx?id=1&campaignno=inflammationcontent&adgroup=ag3diet&adtype=content&keywords=inflammation+diet
  About Chronic Inflammation
  http://www.womentowomen.com/inflammation/whatischronicinflammation.aspx

This is so much information... I've had enough for now.

Here are some things on my list to learn about, implement and explore in the future:

• Water Walking - I know there's nothing more therapeutic than being inside of a pool. Your joints don't experience the pressure of gravity. Others with MS have told me that when they get in a pool, the numbness symptoms almost disappear. I want to experience that for myself.
• Meditation and Visualization
  http://www.learningmeditation.com/
• Reading my Bible
• Acupuncture
• Something definitely on my list is to look into my metal fillings that I've had in my mouth since they were put in while I was a small child in Cuba. My general doctor did provide a couple of names of dentists to look into (you don't just want any dentist to do this because if they're not properly trained, you can risk getting more of the toxic metals released into your system, if the dentist doesn't do it right).
  Read Janie's story (who also used the Gerson Therapy to detox)
  http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/janie

Here are some foods that I am eating and have implemented into my daily diet:

• Sardines - I like them, they have Omega 3's, and they're small - all big fish want to eat them. I figure the smaller the fish, the less time they live in the ocean, and the less mercury poisoning.
• Salmon - I like Salmon. I haven't mastered cooking the fresh form; I seem to always over-cook it. I like and buy the canned salmon, which I hear is safer because they tend to use the smaller salmon for canning, thus they have less exposure to ocean pollutants. I put a clove of fresh garlic with a little bit of olive oil and it's Heaven as far as I'm concerned.
• Salad greens (organic spring mix) - I drizzle olive oil, mix it with organic mustard and a clove of fresh garlic - Heaven! I break up soy/flash chips and throw them over the salad.
• Organic Soy Flax Chips - I love these! This is my one man-made food I eat.
• I'm also taking vitamins to strengthen my structural system.

I'll include links regarding CAM on my next post... I have so much to say.

God bless,
~Ana