Dr. Fuhrman on healing HAILEY

[Guest guest]

http://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/Other.aspxThe diseases mentioned in the article below include these common conditions

AcneAllergiesArthritisAsthmaConnective Tissue DiseaseFatigueFibromyalgia

HerpesIrritable Bowel SyndromeMyositis (muscle aches)PsoriasisReflux EsophagitisRheumatoid ArthritisLupus

Nutritional therapy should be the first-line treatment for most diseases

When

you utilize nutrition and the other factors of a healthy lifestyle as

your first line of defense against disease, you learn that the finest

health care is excellent self-care, and doctors have a very small role

to play in your staying healthy. This is not alternative medicine.

Rather, it is founded on respect for the innate ability of our human

organism to resist disease when the optimal environment for healing is

established. When you learn how to live and eat exceptionally

healthfully, you avoid the unnecessary interventions of both

alternative and conventional medicine.

This does not

mean that medicines are not ever needed or natural substances cannot be

used for their medicinal effects, but it does mean that the less you

are in a position to have to utilize interventions and treatments, the

healthier you will be. Through healthful living we can avoid the use of

remedies, both conventional and alternative.

The

services I offer for members on this website enable families and

individuals the ability to learn more about this nutritionally, based

form of health care, get my advice to maximize their health and, in

many cases, and receive dramatic improvement and even reversal of

common health complaints that traditional physicians consider

incurable. Most physicians and their patients think that diseases are

just inevitable. Are we ill because humans are so defective? Is it

genetics or misfortune? Did we just happen to catch something? Or is it

like most people think, the name of the disease itself is the cause?

Aha!

Candida is the cause. Well, what caused you to develop an overgrowth of

candida? If you kill it with a treatment, why wouldn't it return?

If

allergies are the problem, have you ever thought why your immune system

is so sensitive and reactive to normal environmental substances?

Patients

often state, "I struggled for years with pain and fatigue, until I

finally found out fibromyalgia was my problem." Does giving it a name

establish a cause? Of course not. If you give the problem a name,

patients may feel a little relieved that they now know what is wrong,

but it usually does not help or solve their condition. The accuracy of

the diagnosis is not as important when compared to the accuracy and

effectiveness of the therapeutic recommendations for the problem.

On

a practical level, the name of a disease doesn't even matter that much.

It is uncovering the cause of the disease that matters. When most of

the causes are uncovered and removed, the body can manifest a recovery,

all by itself. Most people are not taught, and they fail to realize

that the vast majority of diseases occur because they are earned. They

are earned by the causes of disease that stress their body to the point

where their genetic weaknesses have a chance to be expressed.

Nutritional therapy beats drug therapy

We

routinely hear that asthma, acne, allergies, arthritis, herpes, reflux

esophagitis, irritable bowel syndrome and many more have nothing to do

with diet. This is simply not true. Doctors are trained as experts in

prescribing and monitoring the risks and effectiveness of medications.

They typically have little or no expertise in using nutrition as their

primary modality of treatment. They are biased in favor of their own

method of treatment (drugs) and do not have broad experience or

training in motivating patients and utilizing nutritional and lifestyle

interventions.

The problem with drug therapy is

twofold. First, the cause of the disease is not removed, and the

patients get sicker and sicker from the continuation of cause. Second,

the drugs add toxicity, contributing to the deterioration of the

patient's health and increasing the risk of long-term dangers such as

cancer down the road. My experience with patients over the last fifteen

years has demonstrated that nutritional excellence and nutritional

interventions do routinely resolve those same diseases your doctor told

you have nothing to do with what you eat. Furthermore, the medical

literature corroborates my finding in most cases.

The

reason why your dermatologist says, "Diet has nothing to do with acne"

is because most dietary modifications do not work for acne.

Unfortunately, they haven't seen the results of a natural-food diet

work its wonders on acne. My patients routinely rid themselves of acne

or make marked improvements, without the need for oral medications.

If

diet has nothing to do with acne, why do medical studies show that acne

does not occur in primitive civilizations eating natural foods? In

fact, while acne afflicts 80 – 90 percent of all Americans and those

eating a western diet, populations not eating processed foods have no

acne. Medical researchers recently examined 1200 Kitavan Islanders of

Papua New Guinea and found no acne at all. They concluded that acne rarely occurs in non-westernized societies and that they are looking for the reasons why this occurs.

I

know why; it is clear. It is the dismal American/Western diet-style

that creates a cancer and heart disease epidemic that also sets us up

for premature puberty, allergies and acne. The hundreds of smiling,

smooth skinned, teenagers that have utilized my natural, nutritional

approach for acne attest to the veracity of these principles.

Fibromyalgia can disappear within a few months

Fibromyalgia

is a disease highlighted by discomfort, pain and tenderness all over

the body. The cause is unknown. Typical treatments involve pain

medication and anti-depressants used to aid sleep. Better sleep has

been shown to be of benefit.

I have been utilizing a

high antioxidant, acrlyamide-free diet for many years with marked

success. Acrylamides are toxic substances produced by baking and frying

carbohydrates. The diet-style I recommend for fibromylagia patients is

rich in natural plant foods especially organic berries and green

vegetables and restricted in animal products and baked grains.

Vegetable soups and steamed vegetables are encouraged. Fibromyalgia

patients routinely get well, and they get well quickly.

Studies in the medical literature support this method of treatment.[ii]

Though the researchers do not seem to have the experience and

understanding of why what they are doing works, the effects are

dramatic.

Similar to the nutritional treatment of

most diseases, it is not one photochemical compound or the removal of

one toxic habit that works; it is the symphonic combination of removing

multiple nutritional stresses along with the addition of multiple

beneficial nutritional compounds that results in consistent and

sustained results. The high intake of polyphenolic compounds such as

quercetin, myricetin and kaempherol, and the high intake of lignans and

bioflavonoids are just a few of the hundreds of nutrients with

unpronounceable names that can only be obtained in large amounts from a

diet rich in natural plant foods.

Allergies and Asthma improve and can even disappear over time

A

significant number of medical investigations have uncovered that, just

like other diseases, people develop asthma and allergies for reasons.

Asthma and allergies have been linked to nutritional factors:

Low levels of fresh fruits and flavonoids[iii]Fried foods, protein-rich and fat-rich foods of animal origin[iv]Low blood levels of fruit and vegetable derived antioxidants[v]Dietary fatty acid imbalance—an excess of omega-6 over omega-3 fats[vi]Increased intake of high saturated fat foods (meat, cheese and butter)[vii]Bread and butter consumption, lower vegetable intake [viii]

My experience in working with hundreds of patients attempting to

resolve asthma and allergies has been rewarding. The asthmatics

gradually improve, and the allergic patients slowly reduce the severity

of their allergies and many become entirely non-allergic. Many patients

who had strong allergies to cats, dust mites and pollen, no longer have

these sensitivities. From a combination of dietary advice and a limited

amount of nutritional supplements, most people start to improve their

condition in a few months. I have even had patients who surprisingly

continued to be allergic a year late,r and then after about 20 months

following my recommendations, their allergies faded away. Recoveries

are the rule and not the exception. Nutritional intervention is effective for autoimmune and rheumatologic diseases

Working

with patients with autoimmune diseases such as connective tissue

disease, myositis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus is very rewarding.

These patients were convinced that they could never get well and are

eternally grateful to be healthy again requiring no medication. I

regularly get notes and letters, such as these unsolicited comments:

"After three months I am off all drugs" — Arroni

"I would like to shout, Dr Fuhrman did it". —Fred Redington

"Six months ago I prayed I would die, now I'm ready to live again." — Fullum

"Thank you for saving my life" —Harriet Fleming

An

aggressive nutritional approach to autoimmune illnesses should always

be tried first when the disease is in its infancy. Logically, the more

advanced the disease and the more damage that has been done by the

disease, the less likely the patient will be able to manifest a

complete recovery. My experience with inflammatory diseases, such as

rheumatoid arthritis, is that some patients are more dietary sensitive

than others, and other patients have very high levels of inflammation

that are difficult to curtail solely with natural therapy.

Nevertheless,

the majority benefit from heathy eating. Since the conventional drugs

used to treat these type of illnesses are so toxic and have so many

risky side effects, the dietary method should be tried first. Modern

drugs often contribute to the disability and misery of patients with an

autoimmune illness and increase their cancer risk. Studies show that

the long-term outcome is poor after twenty years of taking such

medication[ix].

A recent study in the British Medical Journal of Rheumatology showed

that the major drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis, such as

Azathioprine, Cyclophosphamide, Chlorambucil and Methotrexate, increase

the likelihood that the person will die of cancer.[x]

Lupus

is a disease with a dismal long-term prognosis, yet it seems so easy to

resolve in the early stages. I have treated scores of patients with

systemic lupus and discoid lupus with excellent results. The vast

majority of patients were able to achieve a complete resolution of

their problems and are considered lupus-free.

Jane

Richman, a patient with lupus who I saw a few months ago went back to

her rheumatologist to discuss my suggestions for her. He promptly told

her that she would deteriorate and likely die if she followed my

nutritional approach and if she did not take Plaquinil as he

prescribed. She left his office in tears after a strong personal attack

on her judgment and against me and never went back. Amazingly, she made

a complete recovery in about one month and said good-bye to seeing

specialists and taking medications.

Here are the main points to increase the possibility of obtaining remission or improvement in patients with autoimmune diseases:

A plant-based diet, without flour and baked goods, is usually necessary; a lower protein diet is helpful.

A high nutrient-per-calorie density with caloric restriction sufficient to obtain a normal weight.

Checking

the arachadonic acid and DHA levels with an essential fatty acid

profile, is often helpful. Supplementation is frequently necessary, if

the fatty acid balance is abnormal. Plant-derived DHA supplementation

can be used, but sometimes higher dose fish oils are necessary to

achieve the desired anti-inflammatory response.

Therapeutic

fasting can be an extremely effective adjunct to control the autoimmune

response and reset the hyperactive immune system to a more normal

(lower) level of activity. Many research studies have documented the

effectiveness of this approach, including my own published findings.[xi]

Fasting should not be utilized if the patient is dependent on multiple

immunosuppressive drugs, such as Methotrexate and Immuran, as it is not

safe to fast while on such medication. It is essential that patients

contemplating this therapy be properly supervised by a physician. Those

more interested in therapeutic fasting for autoimmune illness, should

read my book, Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor's Program for Conquering Disease.

Food

elimination and the challenge to uncover hidden food sensitivities. The

offending foods are most typically animal produces, wheat and dairy;

but many patients find other foods that can worsen their condition as

well. These foods are not routinely uncovered with allergy testing. It

usually requires a short period of fasting and then the gradual

introduction of only one new food each day, eliminating any food that

causes an increase in pain over the fasted state. I would like to

repeat this to make it clear—the elevated levels of IgG and IgE against

various foods on allergy tests are indeed common in patients with

rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. However, there is

not an adequate clinical correlation between those foods and the foods

we find to be aggravating the symptoms. Other researchers have noted

the same thing.[xii] I usually instruct patients to save their money and forgo those tests.

Conclusion

As

long as you are still breathing, it is still possible to improve your

health with improvements in lifestyle and nutrition. It is typical for

people to see a variety of great changes when they adopt the high,

nutrient diet-style which I recommend. Besides reaching an ideal weight

and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, other problems are

resolved too. For example, it is common for those with attacks of

recurrent herpes to stop experiencing attacks. Those with indigestion

and reflux don't need their acid-suppression therapy anymore. People

stop getting hemmorhoids. Their body odor improves. They have better

stamina and think more clearly, and their skin tone and color improves.

Chronic

disease and disability is not the inevitable consequence of aging.

Chronic illnesses develop from a lifetime of stressful factors that

continue to interfere with the bodie's ability to heal and regenerate.

The body is a remarkable self-healing machine, and a long life, free of

common diseases and premature aging, is available for those who seek

it. Superior nutrition is a blessing given to us by nature (and modern

science) to protect ourselves and give us a happier and more vibrant

life.

Longevity

and resistance to diseases result predominantly from 4 simple factors.

These are also the main factors that enable people to reverse diseases.

They are:

Avoidance of toxins

Avoidance of both nutritional excesses and deficiencies

Meeting the emotional, nutritional, rest and activity needs of the body.

A rich supply and diversity of phytochemical substances

Sometimes recommendations have to be adjusted to your condition and genetic uniqueness.

I

hope this information can be used to better your life, and I look

forward to the opportunity to work with you to improve your health.

Cordain

L, Lindeberg S, Hurtado M, et al. Acne vulgaris: a disease of Western

civilization. Arch Dermatol 2002 Dec;138(12):1584-90

[ii]

Kaartinen K, Lammi K, Hypen M, et al. Vegan diet alleviates

fibromyalgia symptoms. Scand J Rheumatol 2000;29(5):308-13. son

MS; Speight N; Loomis Fibromyalgia syndrome improved using a mostly raw

vegetarian diet: an observational study. BMC Complement Altern Med

2001;1(1):7. Hanninen, Kaartinen K, Rauma AL, et al. Antioxidants in

vegan diet and rheumatic disorders. Toxicology 2000 Nov

30;155(1-3):45-53.

[iii]Shaheen

SO, Sterne JA, RL, et al. Dietary antioxidants and asthma in

adults: population-based case-control study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med

2001;164(10 Pt 1):1823-8.

[iv] Huang

SL, Lin KC, Pan WH. Dietary factors associated with physician-diagnosed

asthma and allergic rhinitis in teenagers: analyses of the first

Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan. Clin Exp Allergy 2001

Feb;31(2):259-64.

[v]Seaton A, Devereux G. Diet, infection and wheezy illness: lessons from adults. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2000;11 Suppl 13:37-40.

[vi] Oddy

WH; de Klerk NH; Kendall GE et al. Ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty

acids and childhood asthma. J Asthma 2004;41(3):319-26.

[vii] Huang

SL, Pan WH. Dietary fats and asthma in teenagers: analyses of the first

Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT). Clin Exp Allergy 2001

Dec;31(12):1875-80.

[viii] Farchi

S, Forastiere F, Agabiti N, et al. Dietary factors associated with

wheezing and allergic rhinitis in children. Eur Respir J 2003

Nov;22(5):772-80.

[ix]

D, Symmons DP, Coulton BL, Popert AJ. Long-term outcome of treating

rheumatoid arthritis: results after 20 years. Lancet

1987;1(8542):1108-1111.

[x]

M, Symmons, Finn J, Wolfe F. Does exposure to immunosuppressive

therapy increase the 10 year malignancy and mortality risk? British

Journal of Rheumatology 1996; 35(8):738-745.

[xi]Fuhrman

J, Sarter, B, Calabro DJ. Case Studies of Medically Supervised

Water-only Fasting Resulting in Remission of Autoimmune Disease.

Alternative Therapies 2001;8(4):1-3.

[xii] Kjeldsen-Kragh

J, Hvatum M, Haugen M, Forre O, H. Antibodies against dietary

antigens in rheumatoid arthritis patents treated with fasting and a

one-year vegetarian diet. Clin Exp Rheumatol 1995;13(2):167-172.