reversing muscular damage (was Re: Theory of Disease)

[Guest guest]

hilary wanted to know

< if the neural and muscular damage of degenerative inflammatory diseases

such as Lyme or CFS can be

reversed by traditional food, raw food, RAF, and so on.>

i will admit that i haven't kept up w/this thread, but i do have good news

about *my* degenerative disease, muscular dystrophy (FSH,

facioscapulohumeral). progress --the positive kind, not the degenerative--

has been slow, but i'm hoping that it will go faster as i start

incorporating more raw and cutting out the grains, which i'm doing bit by

bit in deference to the cold weather and to my IBS, which actually is no

longer giving me so many problems.

yesterday i noticed, as i was admiring myself in the mirror <g>, that my

smile is less lopsided, that the left side of my face is able to smile more

now. that's the latest development. other progress: my biceps are getting

stronger and bigger; i can bike 9 miles on the stationary bike; i am able to

rise from a seated position from progressively lower heights. the first

reversal of my condition while on this diet was that, after over half a yr

of watching me not be able to get into the shower by myself --she had to

lift one of my legs over the tub-- my attendant watched in amazement as my

leg went over the tub without her help. and that was at the beginning of

slowly changing my diet. so my hams are getting stronger and bigger.

if i exercised more, i would see more progress, but so much of my time goes

into food preparation. and that's another development: i got rid of my

attendant and am living alone again with no help, except for my dog, who

eats BARF, so i prepare her food too.

re inflammation

what does your CBC look like? i think that it is worthwhile to compare CBCs

when switching diets. fall 2000 my white blood cell count was very low (and

had been for yrs without my reg dr's saying a word) and my eosinophils

high, a finding consistent with long-term allergic response and

inflammation. now, i may be the only one to think this way and muscular

dystrophy may just be a strictly genetic disorder, but i have to wonder why

there is no history of it in my family; what triggers the onset and the

plateaux and the progressions; how can some people live their whole lives

having the gene, which is dominant, but never developing symptoms.

obviously, i think that the immune system and environmental triggers are

involved, so i should strengthen the former --through diet, exercise, and

stress reduction-- and avoid the latter. and i have: last spring my CBC

showed everything in the " normal " (read " average " ) range.

so, in other words, yes!

allene, layperson

[Guest guest]

forgot to mention that even friends and neighbors, some of whom didn't know

that i was trying to become stronger, commented on positive changes that

they noticed.

allene