Here is some info regarding my nutrition regime I use to combat my Primary Progressive MS. My philosophy with my health regime is simple: “When making nutritional choices, rather than choosing what is GOOD for my body, I choose what is BEST for my body”. So think of it this way: If the U.S. Government told each citizen that the car they now drive is going to be the ONLY car you will be allowed to own for your whole life, wouldn’t you always choose what is the best care for that car? If not and the car dies, you would then have to find other sources of transportation for the rest of your life! You would get the best oil, fuel, transmission, tires, and keep its body clean and waxed. No question, right? Well, you only have one body! Why wouldn’t you do the same for your body as you would for your one-and-only car, as in the example above? I only wish I had recognized this philosophy for the first 53 years of my life, perhaps M.S. would not be an issue for me! Like many, I followed mainstream FDA and USDA advice on these matters, not realizing just WHO puts money in their coffers! (Meat and dairy industry, duh!)
In doing my research as to how I should nutritionally help my health issues I came across several disturbing facts about the Standard American Diet (SAD) most Americans have followed for years.
Those facts are:
1. America is addicted to meat and high protein meals, even though they have no idea how much protein they should consume for healthy living.
2. America is addicted to sugar.
3. A majority of America is obese, with many chronically obese.
4. Most Americans are dehydrated.
5. Most Americans are constipated.
6. Most Americans consume far more dairy products than other countries, not understanding the dangers of beta casein protein from A1 cows.
7. All Americans eat way too much processed GMO foods.
8. Too many Americans are sick and over-prescribed on Statin, Blood pressure, mood enhancing and the numerous drugs pushed on physicians by Big Pharma and approved by the FDA.
9. Most Americans spend more time researching what car they should buy and spend more money on those cars than they do researching healthy eating lifestyle alternatives, choosing to blindly follow doctors orders and not question what the consequences/side effects are of the drugs and care plan they are prescribed.
Having said that, I do recognize there are many physicians and caregivers that do care about their patients and are open to at least look at other complimentary approaches for patients not responding to traditional therapy, or not able to afford costly therapies. I have been fortunate to have found that in my Neurologist and Primary Care Physicians. As a result, I chose a raw vegan lifestyle where I eat a mostly raw whole foods plant-based diet as found in nature, as much as possible. I ask myself: “Is what I am choosing to eat as it is found in nature, or is it processed or pasteurized so it is fit for human consumption” Simple. If the answer is yes to the first part, I eat it. Do you see cheese growing in fields? Do you see porterhouse steaks grazing out in a field? Are there any humans out there in fields grazing on wheat/grains? Oh and please direct me to the nearest “apple pie” field so I can pick some and bring them home!
I eat all local grown and organic when possible for reasons you may or may not be aware of. When eating out in Central Florida, I like to find healthy choices like a raw food restaurant, Cafe118 in Winter Park, as well as many other Central Florida Vegan restaurants that use local organic grown foods. Dandelion Cafe, Ethos Cafe, Loving Hut, Infusion Tea are just a few. When with my family, I can go to almost any restaurant and make good choices. I find most good chefs like the challenge of cooking what I like! Nationwide, there are a growing abundance of healthy restaurant choices if you just do a little research. Always ask while you are there: “Do you support local organic growers?” As more people ask that question, you can be sure more healthy choices will become available. I do understand that we have an addiction to meat protein and dairy products in this country. Read the book “The China Study” to learn more about our dairy addiction and the many health problems (i.e. diabetes, heart disease and obesity) it may cause. http://www.thechinastudy.com.
If you still want to eat meat and dairy products, at least do your homework and choose beef, eggs and milk products that come from “A2 beta casein” cows vs. the “A1 beta casein” cows that most mass-produced dairy and beef comes from. For a discussion on A1 vs. A2, go here . Or drink raw goat or A2 cow milk from a local trusted source.
My nutritional choices:
- As far as what I do for nutrition, I use pure virgin organic coconut oil as a part of my health routine daily and find it to be indispensible. My coconut oil I get from www.tropicaltraditions.com. Look up coconut oil and its benefits here and at coconut research center link. I take 4-6 tablespoons a day and also rub it all over my body and face after showering and use it in cooking. I get the Virgin Gold Label organic gallons from them. If you sign up on the website, they do offer a buy-one-get-one, often. I also get their coconut soap, lotion and other things.
- What you put ON your body (hairspray, hair dye, makeup, lotion, perfume, cologne, toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, etc) is as important as what you put IN your body, and can be loaded with chemicals as you may know. For ladies, you can get makeup that is also good for your body. I am trying to eliminate as many toxins as possible from going in or on my body, to combat my autoimmune disease. I use Tom’s deodorant with no aluminum and Toms Cinnemint toothpaste with no fluride.
- I get my local greens for Heart of Christmas Farms in Christmas Fl, near where we live. Their greens are hydroponically grown to organic standards and fabulous! If you can find a local hydroponic farm that grows to organic standards near you it is very beneficial. If you live in Central Florida and Christmas, Fl. is too far from you; Heart of Christmas farms is also at local farmers markets two nights each week. At Auduban Park farmers market, 1842 Winter Park Rd at 6pm to close and College Park farmer’s market at 1600 Edgewater dr. at 6pm in front of Infusion Tea (love it). The owners/farmers are Richard and Diane and you can tell them I sent you. They know me very well. Their website is www.hocfarms.com; sign up on it for a weekly availability list they email out. Great greens, fresh picked that day for max vitamins and enzymes. They are the best tasting veggies I have ever eaten. For me, when that is mainly what you eat, you appreciate that! I love local, and I love organic standards, if they are followed. One way to assure that is to buy local! I am not going to get into a lecture here about farm animals and how they are treated, or mass farmed greens, but just go watch films like Food Inc., Forks over Knives, and other films out there and decide for yourself if you think pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and certain antibiotics used on farm animals and greens are good for you. If you can find a legitimate clinical study that shows that, send it to me and I will stop using food grown local and to organic standards immediately! I have sent this doc out to many people and I am still waiting for that study! I also do not drink coffee and avoid decaf also.
- I avoid all caffeine for many reasons but mainly because I am building healthy bacteria in my gut with my well being, and caffeine (as well as vinegar and other substances) destroy those healthy bacteria. So why put something in my body that works against all that I have been striving for?
- Daily I have Green Smoothies for breakfast and lunch (see http://greensmoothiesblog.com/health-benefits-green-smoothie/). In my smoothies I try to keep them to simple organic whole fruits and veggies. You MUST have a high speed blender for the smoothies. I use a high speed blender exactly like this: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Blendtec-20AMP-ICB7-Smoother-Blender-2400W-Ktec-/360256169818?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item53e0f0e75a
- I use the Blendtec ICB7 because it has 3.5 hp and a 4 inch blade and spins 300 MPH to break down the greens and fruits to micron size so they can go right into your body’s cells. It is also the brand one sees in smoothie shops so you know they are the best made and they last long (20 years+). If you want more info on this blender I can get it for you. The Vitamix 5200 is good also, but not as powerful, and used by many in the health industry. I do not juice much because I prefer blending to also get the fiber, but if I did juice I would juice wheatgrass in a great juicer, that is very expensive, like this: http://www.consumersearch.com/juicers/green-star-gs-2000. Note: it pays to spend $$ for a blender and a juicer, believe me. (Remember my car story above?)
- What I put in my smoothies: (always as Organic as available) red apples, bananas, always blueberries (natures perfect food), 1 1/2 cups coconut water or coconut milk, 1 ½ cups pure distilled water, sometimes a scoop of Pea Protein powder (Mercola.com) for proteins/amino acids etc, 1 tbsp chia seeds for omega 3's and fiber, ½ tsp Cinnamon, half a lemon with skin, 1/2 inch of ginger, 2 tbsp Brewer’s Yeast, ½ tbsp bee pollen and some Agave Nectar, among other things. The brand Agave and Bee pollen I use, after trying many, I get from: http://www.glaserorganicfarms.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=399.
- Then, after blending in the above, I add fresh greens like young Kale, chard, spinach, collards, dandelion greens, Romaine etc, (all the colors!) and blend again. I only blend at high speeds for one minute or less to avoid oxidation. I always rotate the greens, no need to rotate the fruits, but I do some times.
- I also get young Thai coconuts and split them open, drink the coconut water, than scrape out the meat and put it in my smoothie! Or I get the coconut water or coconut milk from Whole Foods. The brand coconut water I like, because it is not heat processed, is O.N.E. Also local restaurant Cafe 118 in Winter Park (raw food Restaurant) sells fresh Coconut water by the gallon, when they get it in. I drink the 3+ qts green smoothies for breakfast and throughout the day until 4pm or so.
- I am not a gourmet cook by any means, and my dinners are mostly a raw salad with the veggies I get from local farms and I add all kinds of good whole foods and shredded coconut to that. I make my own salad dressing from veggies, or use organic coconut oil and organic coconut vinegar. Occasionally, I will also lightly steam veggies, make grilled or baked Portobello mushrooms (my steak!) and I do a great veggie chili with lots of beans, veggies and seasonings. I do not do too much of the soy products that mimic meat but do have them once in a while and mostly at restaurants that offer them, in a pinch. If you enjoy cooking there are many vegan cookbooks out there like this one I have that I like: http://www.theppk.com/books/veganomicon-the-ultimate-vegan-cookbook/
- The water I drink is always distilled using my inexpensive home distiller I purchased after some research, shown here for $99 http://cgi.ebay.com/WATER-DISTILLER-Distillers-FAST-MODEL-MARKET-/150594086931?pt=Small_Kitchen_Appliances_US&hash=item23101b6813#ht_10726wt_885. I am very happy with it. Only takes about 3-4 hours to make one gallon, so I put it on 1-2 times a day and I always have plenty of pure water I can trust. I know when you distill water you take out the minerals, but I get plenty of minerals from my diet. Reverse Osmosis systems are also good (and expensive) but you MUST keep up with the filters and change them regularly. Nothing provides better water than distillation, IMO, but you can do the research yourself.
- I get all my vitamins etc from my food but I do take (8000 iu) liquid vitamin D drops unless I can get sun for the D, and a under tongue spray B12, Complete Probiotics and CoQ10 (I use Mercola’s Ubiquinol CoQ10 which anyone over 40 should use) from www.mercola.com. I also take several capsules of quality herbs each day: Cinnamon, Turmeric, Milk Thistle, Hawthorne, Saw Palmetto, ALA and Folic acid (from the brewer’s yeast I put in my smoothie above). I researched what dose, what brands to buy cheap (Walmart), local, and the very best quality herbs and minerals that have been extensively tested for purity and freshness. You can get that info also from http://www.thepeopleschemist.com/. I also take No-Fenol Chewable Multiple Enzyme from http://www.houstonnl.com
- I am a disciple of the books "The China Study" by T Colin Campbell, Eat to Live, By Dr Joel Furhman, The 80/10/10 diet by Dr Doug Graham and many others, and have read over 150 books on nutrition. Yes, it is pretty much my passion! I only read nutrition authors that use good sound clinically based foundation for their writing. I have read over 1000 clinical studies cited in the books I read. Having sold with clinical studies, I can tell a valid study vs. a non valid study. I also follow the blogs and Facebook pages of Roger Haske, Fred Patenaude, Dr Sears, The People’s Chemist, Victoria Boutenko (green smoothies), T Colon Campbell, Dr Doug Graham, Dr Furhman, Dr Mercola and many others. I take different things from those different sites, recognizing that what I am doing works for me. I am open to new things always, but I do not want to change my health routine unless the reason is compelling to do so, as in the case of my adding LDN. If you can, get the movies “Food Inc”, “Eating” and “forks over Knives” (New), and watch them! You will understand just what we are doing to OURSELVES because of our dietary choices and the years of deception by the corrupt FDA and USDA!
- 3-14-11- I have now added prescription drug Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) to my MS health routine, ask me for the info and I will send it to you. You can also go to www.lowdosenaltrexone.com for more info. I have over 150 hours of research into LDN so I am adding it to my approach since I do not find LDN will disturb my nutrition program, cause no side effects to speak of, or cause me any long or short term health issues. I have read over 800 in-depth MS patient testimonials re LDN and the results are very promising, if not encouraging. LDN shows better outcomes than any of the CRAB drugs, IMO, and the cost of the drug is about $25.00/mo TOTAL (with no insurance- pricing from Skips Pharmacy in Boca Raton Fl.). LDN is an off-label use of Naltrexone and is also showing amazing promise for cancer and any autoimmune disease. Look it up!
- 4-1-11-I have added a new liquid nutraceutical to my nutrition. This allows me to get large amounts of Reveratrol, Hydrolyzed Collagen type II, Hyaluronic acid and Chondroitin sulfate to my body each day. This promotes healthy aging, active joints and younger looking skin (yes I am vain also!). Please email me fairtaxgodfather@yahoo.com
- for info on this great new nutraceutical and also the business opportunity that can transform your life!
- Since following this healthy lifestyle and doing some swimming and light weights I use exercise bands, they are great and they travel with you! (http://cgi.ebay.com/Extreme-Fitness-Exercise-5-Resistance-Bands-Gym-Workout-/180683289515?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a119033ab#ht_4238wt_1064
- I am now off the 6 medicines I have been on in the past for M.S. I no longer have much of the debilitating fatigue, muscle spasms, numbness, tingling in extremities. My cognitive issues are gone; it is like a fog cleared in my brain. I chose a vegan lifestyle, mostly raw, because I have researched and read many of the books on natural ways to get and stay healthy, and beat MS and came up with my approach. This approach may not get everyone with M.S. off their meds, but it will definitely lead you to a better, healthier life.
- I drink 5-6 quarts of fluids a day, including the green smoothies. My research led to the conclusion that most people in this country are following the high protein standard American diet, causing many health issues, and are constipated and dehydrated ( I was for way too many years!). I am now neither, and feel better each and every day. I still have some symptoms of MS like right-side weakness, and it affects my walking distances but I do not need my cane and scooter near as much now. My progressive autoimmune disease is not progressing now, IMO. I no longer see my Neurologist except for routine annual follow ups, except now I will be visiting their office every 6 weeks as a follow up on the LDN and how it is affecting me. I no longer worry about all the side effects that taking M.S. CRAB meds can cause.
- I follow all the research going on with MS around the world, as I am the Research Advocate for the local chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Central Florida. Great things are happening in MS research. My goal is to remain as healthy as possible and continue to pray for a cure.
- I hope you choose to take charge of your health using nutrition as I did. Be proactive, and read, read, read, every day. I am sure you are smart enough to wade through the good and the misleading info on the internet.
Best wishes to you, live healthy, and I hope this was helpful!
Rich
