I ran across this video on Khan Academy discussing how the immune system knows the difference between actual danger and perceived danger. A good video to understanding the biological basis for autoimmune disease.
Showing posts with label Autoimmune Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autoimmune Disease. Show all posts
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
The Goods (Recommendation) - Grain Brain
Late one night a few months ago, as I flipped through the TV channels, I stopped at the KPBS station (San Diego's PBS affiliate) to watch a show about diet and neurological health. The speaker was Dr. David Perlmutter, a neurologist, who advocated a new and revolutionary approach to neurological disease (including but not limited to Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, ALS, and Autism). His approach, which is not mainstream but is backed by a number of scientific studies, largely focuses on diet as a means to prevent, slow down, and/or treat these neurological diseases.
Intrigued, I bought Dr. Perlmutter's book, Grain Brain. In Grain Brain, Dr. Perlmutter discusses leading theories on the causes of many neurological diseases (primarily gluten and carbohydrate related) and scientific studies on several non-mainstream therapies for these diseases. The conclusions are simple - stop eating gluten and refined carbohydrates and start eating brain foods.
Interested to find out if Dr. Perlmutter's recommendations could help with my issues (though they were never medically identified as neurological), I experimented with most of his recommendations with noticeable success. Most of these experiments are already or will be discussed herein at some point, so stay tuned. But in the meantime, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.
Intrigued, I bought Dr. Perlmutter's book, Grain Brain. In Grain Brain, Dr. Perlmutter discusses leading theories on the causes of many neurological diseases (primarily gluten and carbohydrate related) and scientific studies on several non-mainstream therapies for these diseases. The conclusions are simple - stop eating gluten and refined carbohydrates and start eating brain foods.
Interested to find out if Dr. Perlmutter's recommendations could help with my issues (though they were never medically identified as neurological), I experimented with most of his recommendations with noticeable success. Most of these experiments are already or will be discussed herein at some point, so stay tuned. But in the meantime, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.
Monday, August 25, 2014
The Alternative Road
During my experimentation with various healing therapies, I have kept in contact with licensed medical professionals - not for guidance on what therapies to try but for guidance on if a therapy that I'm thinking about trying has the potential to do harm.
With this in mind, a new series in this blog titled The Alternative Road, will identify the alternative means to health that I have found useful or that I believe are worthwhile for those looking for help beyond Western Medicine. I will attempt to explain why each alternative means might work and what symptoms they might help alleviate. Several, if not all of these therapies, have advocates in Western Medicine - though they are not mainstream and not known or practiced by the majority of western doctors.
Before trying any of these therapies, see your doctor first - not to seek her blessing, just to make sure you do not have a contraindication (a condition that would adversely react with the particular therapy).
With this in mind, a new series in this blog titled The Alternative Road, will identify the alternative means to health that I have found useful or that I believe are worthwhile for those looking for help beyond Western Medicine. I will attempt to explain why each alternative means might work and what symptoms they might help alleviate. Several, if not all of these therapies, have advocates in Western Medicine - though they are not mainstream and not known or practiced by the majority of western doctors.
Before trying any of these therapies, see your doctor first - not to seek her blessing, just to make sure you do not have a contraindication (a condition that would adversely react with the particular therapy).
Friday, June 4, 2010
Celiac Disease & The Beginning of Food Therapy
June 2006, San Diego -
I had been ill for about a year. Multiple courses of drugs had been unhelpful. A long-shot potential diagnosis - Celiac Disease. No insurance. No blood test. No problem.
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. The way it works - man ingests gluten(a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats), immune system attacks gluten, intestine is damaged in the ensuing battle, damaged intestine can't absorb nutrients, nutrient deficiencies produce illness.
The treatment for Celiac Disease - diet. I was desperate. I stopped eating all things gluten. Two weeks passed. I did not feel well, but I did feel better. My teeth stopped aching. My muscles stopped aching. The night sweats were less. It was the first relief I experienced. It was the beginning of my experimentation with food therapy, the only therapy to have any effect on my health in the five years of illness.
I had been ill for about a year. Multiple courses of drugs had been unhelpful. A long-shot potential diagnosis - Celiac Disease. No insurance. No blood test. No problem.
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease. The way it works - man ingests gluten(a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and oats), immune system attacks gluten, intestine is damaged in the ensuing battle, damaged intestine can't absorb nutrients, nutrient deficiencies produce illness.
The treatment for Celiac Disease - diet. I was desperate. I stopped eating all things gluten. Two weeks passed. I did not feel well, but I did feel better. My teeth stopped aching. My muscles stopped aching. The night sweats were less. It was the first relief I experienced. It was the beginning of my experimentation with food therapy, the only therapy to have any effect on my health in the five years of illness.
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