Researching effect of vegetarian diet on disease of lupus

[Guest guest]

Hello, I live in the Bay area and am researching the effect of vegetarian,

vegan, natural hygiene and raw food diets on autoimmune disorders - particularly

lupus. I healed from lupus with a whole foods vegan diet and water fasting -

approximately 8 years ago. I am now looking for similar stories to publish.

Please contact me if you know of anyone that has overcome autoimmune disease -

or if you are interested in details of the " How to " Thank you,Jill Harrington

 

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

 

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I've been a strict vegan for over 20 years (also have never done any drugs -

legal or otherwise - no coffee or alcohol either in all those years) -

eating around 50-65% raw foods. I also have never used any chemicals in or

around my body or home for over 15 years - and am extremely conscious about

their use when it is impossible to avoid them (stayed home for two weeks

when they painted my office, for example - use " green cleaning " rather than

dry-cleaning, and only rarely when necessary). But, I got lupus 2 years ago

anyway and nearly died from it.

 

I was hospitalized for over 2 months, in the ICU for 11 days, lived through

sudden cardiac arrest, kidney failure (nephritis), nephrotic syndrome,

severe neutropenia, hemolytic anemia, pericarditis, pleuritis, pleural

effusions, severe spleen involvement, severe vasculitis, central nervous

system involvement, severe bouts of Raynaud's phenomenon and Sjögren's

Syndrome - along with high fevers, nausea that did not respond to any

medications, such extreme mouth sores and nose sores that they prevented me

from eating for over two weeks and made drinking almost impossible,

weakness, fainting, hair loss, bruising, dehydration, etc. - actually, I

can't remember it all, so much was going on!

 

Unlike most cases of lupus, mine came on literally overnight and progressed

very quickly. I had never been sick at all before this. I had not even had

a cold or flu in over 15 years, and no inklings of SLE before my first

symptom and subsequent immediate hospitalization. Everyone knew me as " the

healthiest person they knew " - I exercised a lot, was very active in sports,

never sick, only needed about 4 hours of sleep a night, worked 70-80 hours a

week (and loved every minute of it!) and, of course, my diet was great. My

classical homeopath, and only doctor at the time, sent me to the ER after he

had blood work done on a hunch and I had to be put in isolation - a " bubble

room " with no flowers, no fresh foods, no contact with any bacteria from

anyone or anything - for nearly 3 weeks until my white blood cell count was

revived. That was before things got really bad.

 

The doctors were very concerned with my homeopathic remedy and my vegan

diet - but of course, when they tested my blood for deficiencies, they

weren't able to find any - B12, iron, other minerals, calcium - all

excellent. The head of hematology came to my bedside one afternoon and

asked " but do you take lots of vitamins, how do you do it - everything looks

absolutely perfect! " - I told her, " I don't take any vitamins because I

don't need them. My food gives me everything I need. I eat very well - a

varied diet, with lots of good, healthy stuff - very little sugars, nothing

to pull me out of balance. It's not as hard as you think!. " That was the

last time they hounded me about my diet in the hospital!

 

Of course, I have stayed vegan and am doing quite well, but obviously diet

didn't keep me from getting lupus. It may have helped me to live through

crisis where many people usually do die, and to heal quite fast and to get

my kidney disease under control without having to have had a transplant -

which was a huge feat. So, although I think it may have helped a lot - I

wouldn't say that diet prevented or cured my SLE. I still suffer from it

daily, but in much less critical ways - just in ways that make a normal life

somewhat of a challenge some days.

 

Lupus is one of those dis-eases that comes & goes and can go into remission

naturally quite suddenly - which is a frustrating mystery to all those who

work with patients with lupus but also can cause patients to mistakenly

attribute certain things they have tried to causing a " cure " . There is NO

cure for lupus, but fortunately, it can go into remission for years - which

is what all people with SLE hope & strive for.

 

It is incredibly inspiring and uplifting to hear about people living well

with SLE. I do try to show others that through a humane and healthy diet,

TCM, the love, beauty & inspiration of my companion animals, the exercise my

dogs make me get (even when my joints will hardly allow me to move!, the

love of a supportive partner, and a great attitude, I am one of those

people, thankfully and happily, living well with SLE.

 

I hope that people will read your book or collection and feel that they can

do things to help them live better with this incurable, life-threatening

dis-ease, but I would be cautious about explaining that it is possible to

bring about a total cure through diet alone. It is but one piece of a

larger puzzle that helps us live well with it, or even, for the fortunate,

put it into complete remission.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Kasie

[Guest guest]

Karyn Calabrese is a raw foodist in Chicago who has worked with MS patients,

(and I think some other auto-immune disease victims as well). She advocates

not only a raw food diet, but also serious cleansing (at least quarterly),

plus daily green juices. Her detox regimen includes colonics, and at least 3

years ago when I went to her seminars, bentonite (which has 20%+ aluminum in

it, a controversial point- many, including SF's Anusha, steer people away

from that). You might want to contact her, as she tells people she's had

success. Her email was karynraw, but that has bounced for me, so I

think the juno.com domain has changed to something else. Otherwise I could

dig up the phone number for the raw restaurant she owns (Karyn's Fresh

Corner, the oldest raw place still open in the U.S.). She's a pretty amazing

woman, was on Oprah (www.living-foods.com/oprah) and has an uncookbook out

soon. The many healthy, longtime, raw people I met through her enterprises

have convinced me that raw is the way to go. JP

 

 

> I've been a strict vegan for over 20 years (also have never done any

> drugs - legal or otherwise - no coffee or alcohol either in all those

> years) - eating around 50-65% raw foods. I also have never used any

> chemicals in or around my body or home for over 15 years - and am

> extremely conscious about their use when it is impossible to avoid them

> (stayed home for two weeks when they painted my office, for example -

> use " green cleaning " rather than dry-cleaning, and only rarely when

> necessary). But, I got lupus 2 years ago anyway and nearly died from

> it.

>

> I was hospitalized for over 2 months, in the ICU for 11 days, lived

> through sudden cardiac arrest, kidney failure (nephritis), nephrotic

> syndrome, severe neutropenia, hemolytic anemia, pericarditis,

> pleuritis, pleural effusions, severe spleen involvement, severe

> vasculitis, central nervous system involvement, severe bouts of

> Raynaud's phenomenon and Sjögren's Syndrome - along with high fevers,

> nausea that did not respond to any medications, such extreme mouth

> sores and nose sores that they prevented me from eating for over two

> weeks and made drinking almost impossible, weakness, fainting, hair

> loss, bruising, dehydration, etc. - actually, I can't remember it all,

> so much was going on!

>

> Unlike most cases of lupus, mine came on literally overnight and

> progressed very quickly. I had never been sick at all before this. I

> had not even had a cold or flu in over 15 years, and no inklings of SLE

> before my first symptom and subsequent immediate hospitalization.

> Everyone knew me as " the healthiest person they knew " - I exercised a

> lot, was very active in sports, never sick, only needed about 4 hours

> of sleep a night, worked 70-80 hours a week (and loved every minute of

> it!) and, of course, my diet was great. My classical homeopath, and

> only doctor at the time, sent me to the ER after he had blood work done

> on a hunch and I had to be put in isolation - a " bubble room " with no

> flowers, no fresh foods, no contact with any bacteria from anyone or

> anything - for nearly 3 weeks until my white blood cell count was

> revived. That was before things got really bad.

>

> The doctors were very concerned with my homeopathic remedy and my vegan

> diet - but of course, when they tested my blood for deficiencies, they

> weren't able to find any - B12, iron, other minerals, calcium - all

> excellent. The head of hematology came to my bedside one afternoon and

> asked " but do you take lots of vitamins, how do you do it - everything

> looks absolutely perfect! " - I told her, " I don't take any vitamins

> because I don't need them. My food gives me everything I need. I eat

> very well - a varied diet, with lots of good, healthy stuff - very

> little sugars, nothing to pull me out of balance. It's not as hard as

> you think!. " That was the last time they hounded me about my diet in

> the hospital!

>

> Of course, I have stayed vegan and am doing quite well, but obviously

> diet didn't keep me from getting lupus. It may have helped me to live

> through crisis where many people usually do die, and to heal quite fast

> and to get my kidney disease under control without having to have had a

> transplant - which was a huge feat. So, although I think it may have

> helped a lot - I wouldn't say that diet prevented or cured my SLE. I

> still suffer from it daily, but in much less critical ways - just in

> ways that make a normal life somewhat of a challenge some days.

>

> Lupus is one of those dis-eases that comes & goes and can go into

> remission naturally quite suddenly - which is a frustrating mystery to

> all those who work with patients with lupus but also can cause patients

> to mistakenly attribute certain things they have tried to causing a

> " cure " . There is NO cure for lupus, but fortunately, it can go into

> remission for years - which is what all people with SLE hope & strive

> for.

>

> It is incredibly inspiring and uplifting to hear about people living

> well with SLE. I do try to show others that through a humane and

> healthy diet, TCM, the love, beauty & inspiration of my companion

> animals, the exercise my dogs make me get (even when my joints will

> hardly allow me to move!, the love of a supportive partner, and a

> great attitude, I am one of those people, thankfully and happily,

> living well with SLE.

>

> I hope that people will read your book or collection and feel that they

> can do things to help them live better with this incurable,

> life-threatening dis-ease, but I would be cautious about explaining

> that it is possible to bring about a total cure through diet alone. It

> is but one piece of a larger puzzle that helps us live well with it, or

> even, for the fortunate, put it into complete remission.

>

> Just my 2 cents.

>

> Kasie

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

....also, David Wolfe is giving some seminars on healing through raw foods

for various diseases, May 13-14 in San Fran and Oakland. His website

rawfood.com has them listed under events. JP