“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” ― Hippocrates
In optimal conditions your body’s immune response is a marvelous defense system, protecting your body against foreign invaders (bacteria, viruses, allergens, etc.), injury, and infection. For some people, like my hubby @menta, it is a totally different story.
In his case, his immune response is flawed and aims at its own tissues too. Since the immune system can’t distinguish the body’s tissues from foreign material anymore, it begins to attack itself, resulting in body damage and the development of an autoimmune disease.
According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), autoimmune diseases are the No.2 cause of chronic illness. It can affect nearly every organ or part of the body. An estimated one in ten people worldwide is struggling with an autoimmune disease of some sort.
Researchers have identified more than 100 autoimmune diseases so far, including some very exotic and rare diseases. Autoimmune diseases you might have heard of include:
When an autoimmune disease turns your world upside down
In 2007, when I was just finishing my thesis and final exams at the University, I called my husband (which was still my boyfriend then) to check if I needed to go to the grocery store or he would pass by after work.
His reply was short and frightening “Just come home as fast as you can, we need to go to emergency, something really bad is going on”
I think I never rode my bicycle at such a speed through the city center. I managed to do the 10 km (6.2 miles) in less than 30 minutes during rush hour! I surely missed a few red lights and it was probably not the safest way to get home, but I managed to get there without ending up in the hospital myself.
By the time I came home a colleague had brought my hubby home, including the car! So we jumped in there and drove off. Though he had been feeling a strange sensation in both his legs the day before, he could hardly use or stand by the time I arrived.
After a week in the hospital and hellraiser-like tests, Multiple Sclerosis was the verdict.
Other odd neurological episodes he had experienced in the past suddenly made perfect sense. How did doctors miss the link all these years? They systematically failed to link lesions and scars on his brain and spine tissue, an epilepsy episode, and a whole week no feeling or taste in his tongue and left side of his body to a neurological disease. Every time he was released with the diagnosis you are fine. Not sure why this happened!
Until that week when he finally got the verdict. When the word MS was dropped in the room our whole world collapsed. We had a neighbor with MS in a wheelchair and my dad’s cousin lost most of her eyesight and feeling in both hands.
MS is a condition where the body attacks the insulation material (myelin) around your nerves. Just as with electrical wiring, the insulation is important to make sure electric signals are transported correctly and the information arrives at the destination. Hence all the neurological issues people with MS have.
The future didn’t look so bright… luckily LOVE gets you through the most peril situations.
Though the feeling in his legs returned, once in a while he had an MS flare-up which ranged from not being able to focus on something to losing feeling or getting an odd sensation in his limbs. For many years, he took weekly expensive interferon shots which made him sick every single week. Since his immune system was too active and attacked his own body, the meds were there to suppress his immune system. Since his immune system was constantly put to rest, he caught every germ that passed his body.
Though we were mostly cooking at home, the Belgian cuisine is rich in butter, cream, and cheese. Though my health wasn't as bad, I wasn't the most healthy girl either. I inherited high cholesterol levels and heart rhythm disorder from my dad and his mom, and I could lose a few pounds too.
We were struggling. Since I studied pharmacy and biology I knew meds weren’t the answer. Though the medical world does so many wonderful things, it messes up a lot of them too.
Though meds like the interferon shots may cover you for a certain percentage (around 30-40%), it doesn’t tackle the issue. Though it is still unclear what causes MS, food seems to be an important link that no longer can be ignored.
Inspired by a woman’s story who was in a wheelchair and changed her diet to Paleo and was walking around again, we were convinced that there were better ways. But Paleo wasn’t our, well especially not my, way. Too much meat for this mainly plant muncher!
Confused by all the healthy eating info out there, I decided to take up a 4-year after work/weekend holistic health and nutrition course to nurture us back to health. Best decision ever!!!!
Meds don’t cover your back, healthy foods do!
Step-by-step I implemented the things I learned. We both started to feel better. @menta’s MS flare ups stopped. My heart condition and cholesterol improved and I lost a few pounds too. Though he was still on the weekly injections, he just felt better. His body was able to cope with the meds and he didn’t get sick all the time.
Though these meds came at $1200 for one month, Belgian health care had our back and we only paid $10 a month for them… However, it was always our dream to travel and live abroad, so we moved to Cambodia, SE-Asia in 2014.
FYI: READ THE WHOLE STORY ABOUT WHY WE MOVED TO SE-ASIA HERE.
All good, but moving out of Belgium and Europe also meant goodbye cheap medicine and health care. Not willing to pay $1200 and no health insurance that wanted to cover his disease for a reasonable price, he quit his meds since they only covered 30-40 percent anyway and he was feeling great. thanks to the changes in his diet and lifestyle he was flare-up free for 3 years when he quit the medication in 2014.
“This is our dream and we are not gonna let MS ruin all the fun. I quit my meds and we’ll see what happens! If we have to come back then at least we lived our dream for a while…” is the English translation of what he said.
And that’s what we did… fast forward to today, still in SE-Asia. No flare-ups, no meds, no other complaints. He hasn’t felt better in his entire life.
Though MS is still incurable for now, changing diet and exercise can make it go away and improve the quality of life dramatically!!
When it comes to diet I’m an advocate of the Acid Base (or alkaline) balance of our body. Though I’m going to keep a full explanation for another post, it all boils down to eating more foods that leave alkaline residues in your body. These foods are basically fruits and vegs. Things like meat or grains leave acidic residues. This is why I think diets such as Paleo (even though they eat a lot of animal based protein they still eat a higher percentage of fresh veggies and fruits) and (mainly) plant-based diets high in veggies and fruits work so well for people with auto-immune diseases. Also, inflammation and our gut health play an important role.
Though we still eat gluten or dairy products on occasion, the focus in our diet is 80 percent on veggies and fruits and the other 20 on grains, nuts, seeds, oils, etc. And some meat or fish on occasion. And of course no or close to no processed foods like canned tomatoes, chickpeas, baked goods, refined grains, refined sugar, etc. And daily-ish exercise (5 times a week) of somewhere in between 20 min to 1 hour.
Small note: though I have a scientific and holistic background, I’m not a doctor. If you have MS or any other disease please do not stop your medication from one day to another. Give your body time to adjust and heal. And do your research and talk to your doctor.
With this story I want to show you a possibility, another way, to fight disease but it will require some, maybe even a lot depending on your current lifestyle, effort to make the change. Take it easy and let the food do its healing magic!
Ohh and something else! get stress under control, move to another country or quit your job if must. But stress and health or autoimmune disease don't go well together!
Thanks for reading! Until next time!
ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL!
PICTURE(s):
https://www.tes.com/lessons/-0iU6gH6CD_yPw/multiple-sclerosis
http://drjockers.com/5-steps-to-heal-autoimmune-disease/
https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/the-war-waged-within-autoimmunity-in-women/
Stock Photos