jham


LOCATION: OTHER  image

Joined: Jul 17, 2011

Age Group:46-59

Gender:Male

Occupation:Consultant to Natural Products Industry


About Me:

I recovered from schizophrenia 32 years ago via orthomolecular medicine after mainstream medicine almost killed me. My story can be read here http://iahf.com/on_the_back_wards.html however I've gone on to learn some additional things more recently that have helped me continue to heal.

Afer being forced out of college years ago by severe depression and other debilitating symptoms I ran a gauntlet of state and private hospitals for 4 years before smuggling vitamins in to the last hospital I was in and hiding them in a cavity gouged from the underside of my foam mattress, taking the secretly while mouthing my toxic medication which I spat down a toilet.

After three weeks of taking the vitamins I was doing so much better I was given a full medical discharge with doctors scratching their heads wondering which of their drugs were helping me when it was none of them.

My orthomolecular diagnosis by Carl C. Pfeiffer, MD, PhD was Histadelic, Pyroluric, Hypoglycemic, with food and inhalant allergies.

I wish Pfeiffer had known more than he did about the cause of allergies because just recently, 32 years after he was my doctor, I have cured myself of allergies by learning all about gut dysbiosis- leaky gut syndrome, a condition that causes allergies and also many other autoimmune problems.

I learned about this from Natasha Campbell McBride, MD whose book Gut & Psychology Syndrome should be read by anyone who suffers from depression, allergies, and hypoglycemia because these are all interconnected.

Here is what I learned: Our small intestine covers an area about the size of a tennis court, and within it we have an average of about 4 lbs of bacteria, both good and bad. Candida Albicans is a bad bacteria thats fed by sugar (which is why many people with hypoglycemia have an overabundance of it). When Candida gets out of balance, it disrupts the enterrocytes, the cells lining the wall of the gut. It causes them to be malformed, including the villi which are tiny hair like follicles whose function is to create the enzymes that help us absorb the nutrients from our food (or from supplements).

Candida bacteria also has hooks that tear microscopic holes in the wall of the small intestine allowing undigested food particles to escape into the bloodstream and brain. This can cause a host of different serious medical problems including depression, schizophrenia, allergies, ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia, even autism.

Some of these undigested food particles have morphine like structures such as casiomorphine (from cassein, from milk) and gluteomorphine (from gluten, from wheat). Both are common allergens that can cause brain fog and lethargy.

To solve this problem of leaky gut syndrome one must improve their gut flora by bringing the good bacteria, the lactobacillus and S. Boulardi back into balance. Doing so will gradually heal the gut wall and strengthen the enterrocytes and villi so you can properly absorb nutrients from your food. To improve my gut flora I take probiotics on an empty stomach am, and pm and also have learned to make my own lactofermented foods such as saurkraut, kimchi, and beverages such as kavass, kombucha, and kefir.

It took about 6 months, but due to this my allergies have gone away! For the first time in my life I can breath properly through my nose without always having clogged sinuses! Since theres a tie in between allergies and depression (histamins is secreted in response to allergens in the body, and if you have trouble eliminating excess histamine it causes depression and other debilitating symptoms.)

So I've eliminated one of the biggest causes of my problem for the first time. I also figured how how to rid myself of hypoglycemia, plus I figured out how to reverse a prediabetic condition and to lose a lot of weight (60 lbs) to get down to my ideal weight (190 lbs).

I learned that I am insulin resistant, and due to this I have really bad problems with sugar and any kind of fast acting carbs which I have to minimize or else suffer from brain fog and lethargy.

I started monitoring my blood sugar using a glucose meter and keeping a log of all food intake as well as exercise. I learned to eat several high protein snacks per day and to completely stop eating rice, potatoes, chips, and other fast acting carbs. I started going by a "6/12/12 rule" of limiting my intake of carbs on a basis of grams per serving for my 3 main meals.

Doing this helped me lose 60 lbs, and to reverse my high blood sugar. I also started using l-glutamine, chromium, and alpha lipoic acid to keep blood sugar in check. Benfotiamine helped me reverse glycation, a condition caused by sugar cross linking with collagen to make cells too rigid. By reversing glycation my cells work more optimally throughout my body to absorb nutrients and conduct all their many functions- everything just works better! You can see the improvement in the supplemeness of your skin which becomes more pliable.

I learned a lot about reversing glycation by reading Nicholas Perricone, MD, and a lot about reversing Diabetes from Bernstein's "The Diebetes Diet".

Getting a handle on my blood sugar problems has been helping me get into the best health of my life! I only wish I had learned all of these things when I was a lot younger, but at least I know them now! I am writing a book about all of this, but wanted to share some of it with anyone interested.

Since 1989 I've been earning a living as a lobbyist defending access to dietary supplements, something I have to do because my back is to the wall.

 


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