An e-book Myasthenia Cure
Myasthenia Gravis Cure
Contents
Medical Disclaimer.................................................... 3
Introduction............................................................... 4
Causes....................................................................... 6
Symptoms.................................................................. 8
Conventional Treatment.......................................... 14
Natural Treatment..................................................... 17
Step 1: Alkalization................................................... 20
Step 2: Supplementation.....................................…. 28
Step 3: Microbe Killing............................................. 31
Step 4: Detoxification............................................... 33
Step 5: Physical Exercise........................................ 35
Emotional Support/Management............................. 39
Notes.......................................................................... 41
Medical Disclaimer
The information on this website is for educational purposes only. Maria Menendez is not a Medical Practitioner; any changes in diet or health care should be administered by the appropriate medical physician.
Introduction
You feel an unusual weakness and fatigue in your muscles especially when you try to use them. Once you rest them, the strength seems to return. You’ve also noticed that your limbs just aren’t as strong as they used to be. You try to chalk this up to the stress you’re under or even your age. But you have a nagging doubt that it just might be more.
More puzzling, though, is the double vision you’ve been experiencing lately. And that drooping eyelid just doesn’t seem right. You also notice that food isn’t as easy to swallow as it used to be.
Just what is going on?
It could be myasthenia gravis. Now there’s a mouthful. Pronounced mahy uh sthee’ nee uh * grav is, this is a chronic disorder affecting the muscles which you have voluntary control over. These muscles become weak and experience rapid fatigue when used. They improve quickly and gain strength when at rest.
The very name of the disease, in fact, stems from both Latin and Greek for “grave muscle weakness.” The cause? Myasthenia gravis is caused by a breakdown in the normal communication between your nerves and your muscles.
The disorder only disrupts the functions of your muscles. For this reason, it may also produce drooping eyelids, difficulties with your speech as well as your ability to chew, swallow and even breathe. You may even notice that you experience double vision as a result of this.
You don’t have to be a certain age to develop this neuromuscular autoimmune disease, though it’s more commonly diagnosed in women who are younger than 40 or older than 70. It’s also more prevalent in men older than 50.
While there’s no cure for myasthenia gravis, treatments are readily available today to help control the symptoms. The many advances in medical treatment available today, have in fact, reduced the mortality rate from respiratory failure to about three percent. Individuals who are older than 40 or those with a
short, severe history of this disease and those with thymoma face a worse prognosis.
It’s a relatively rare disease. The official estimates of the number of cases vary widely. Some sources say that as few as five people in 100,000 are affected. Others claim as many as 14 per 100,000 experience this disease.
Myasthenia gravis, as far as medical experts can tell right now, is not inherited. The disease is not contagious either. Being in close proximity of a person with this health problem does not mean you’re going to develop it yourself.
Having said all that, however, this disorder has been known to strike more than one family member. Not only that, if a woman who has myasthenia gravis become pregnant, it’s not uncommon for the baby to acquire antibodies from the mother. For several weeks or even months following birth, the baby may exhibit symptoms of this disease. But they soon disappear on their own. This is called neonatal myasthenia. While the baby exhibits these symptoms, treatment is available.
In rare cases, this disease has been traced to a defective gene and appears in infants born to healthy women. This is known as congenital myasthenia.
Chapter 1: Causes
“What we have here is a failure to communicate.” These are the famous words of one of the characters in the classic movie “Cool Hand Luke.”
These words also aptly describe the problems involved in the disease Myasthenia gravis. The disease is ultimately caused by a breakdown in the communications between your nerves and your muscles. This breakdown is caused by your immune system.
In myasthenia gravis, your immune system produces an abundance of antibodies that block or even destroy many of the receptor sites for acetylcholine in your muscles. Acetylcholine is a chemical that’s responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses to your muscles.
It’s the presence of this chemical that signals your muscles to contract when you want them to. For example, acetylcholine is responsible for the contraction of the muscles when you indicate to your hand to pick up a spoon to eat your soup.
When your immune system attacks and kills the receptor sites for this chemical, there are, obviously, fewer receptor sites available. Your muscles, therefore, receive fewer nerve signals. This results in the weakness that you feel when you use them.
Conventional medical wisdom believes that the thymus gland – the part of your immune system found in your upper chest directly beneath the breastbone – may actually trigger or sustain the production of the antibodies responsible for the attacks.
While the thymus gland in most people is small, in those suffering with myasthenia gravis, the thymus is abnormally large. Some individuals with myasthenia gravis also suffer with tumors of the thymus (these particular tumors normally are noncancerous.).
You may notice that there are times when you myasthenia gravis worsens. This occurs especially during times of fatigue, illness, stress or extreme heat. Additionally, many people say that specific medications worsen their symptoms. This is especially true with individuals who are taking beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and quinine. Some antibiotics may also aggravate the symptoms.
It’s exactly for these reasons that you should consult with your physician before you begin any new medications, even those that may seem harmless and don’t require a prescription.
There are some medical experts that believe that myasthenia gravis develops following exposure to crop sprays with chemicals that adversely affect on the acetylcholine in your body.
Chapter 2: Symptoms/Diagnosis
Curiously, myasthenia gravis only affects your voluntary muscles. It doesn’t affect your involuntary muscles, like your heart. Not only that, but it most commonly attacks the muscles of your arms and legs, as well as those of your face. This includes the muscles of your eyes, and those involved in chewing, swallowing and talking.
Other muscles that may be affected include those that control your breathing and the movement of your head.
You may suspect you have myasthenia gravis is you experience any weakness in the muscles in your face, especially drooping eyelids. Double vision is another symptom of this autoimmune disease, as is difficulty in breathing, talking, chewing or swallowing.
If you experience weakness in your arms or legs, then you could be affected with this disorder, especially if the fatigue you feel is triggered by repetitive motions. The more often a specific muscle action is repeated, in fact, the weaker the muscle grows.
You may notice that some days the symptoms don’t seem to be as severe as others. Many patients report that a day they experience mild symptoms seems to be followed by more severe symptoms the following day. It’s almost as if the disorder ebbs and grows in an alternating fashion.
Some people even notice that they actually experience remission – at least temporarily. Only in very rare cases do the breathing and swallowing problems associated with this disorder get severe enough to require emergency medical care.
In making a diagnosis, your physician will focus initially on one symptom: muscle weakness that improves with rest. He’ll also take several tests to go along with these symptoms.
If your physician suspects that you have myasthenia gravis, he’ll ask you to go through a neurological examination. This is a bundle of various tests. He’ll test your reflexes, as well as your muscle strength and tone. He’ll examine your walk, posture, balance, as well as your coordination and balance. He’ll also evaluate your sense of touch and sight. He may even examine your mental skills as well.
Don’t be surprised if your physician orders a blood analysis for you. This particular test reveals the presence, if any, of abnormal antibodies that may be disrupting the receptor sites that signal your muscles to move.
In addition to these two tests, your doctor may ask you to take what’s called an edrophonium test. In this evaluation, you’ll be given an injection of the chemical edrophonium. This may result in a sudden – and temporary –improvement in the strength of your muscle, an indicator that you may indeed have this autoimmune disorder.
Edrophonium blocks a specific enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, the chemical that transmits signals from your nerve endings to the sites of your muscle receptors.
How about this for the name of a test: nerve conduction studies and singlefiber electromyography? It may be a mouthful, but it will be a useful tool for your doctor. This test consists of two parts. In the first part, a small electrical impulse is applied to your skin. It stimulates your nerves to test the strength of your muscle contraction. In the second portion of the exam, a very thin electrode is inserted into one of your muscles. This needle measures the patterns of electrical activity in your muscle while its resting and while it’s making a slight contraction.
Symptoms of this disease usually slowly worsen for about the first three years you have it. After that the problem seems to stabilize or even improve.
Types of myasthenia gravis
This autoimmune disease is sometimes classified into three different types, depending on which areas of the body are affected. For example, some individuals only have a weakness in the muscles controlling eye movement. This is known as ocular myasthenia gravis. It affects about 10 to 15 percent of those with the disorder.
Within a year of onset of the disease, though, about 85 to 90 percent of the individuals with the disorder develop generalized myasthenia gravis. This is the type characterized by weakness in the trunk, arms and legs.
Chapter 3: Prevention
Myasthenia gravis is not the type of disease that can be prevented, like you can prevent the occurrence of the flu or the common cold. But you can take several steps to help insure that it doesn’t turn much worse.
First, you should try to avoid unnecessary emotional stress. Stress seems to be a trigger in this disease. You also want to avoid over exerting yourself physically. This is extremely crucial since your muscles only get worse when you use them. While exercise is always necessary, be careful not to overdo it.
You should also try to avoid exposure to extreme temperatures – both extreme cold and extreme heat.
Try – as much as you can – to stay healthy. Illnesses such as respiratory infections, a fever, pneumonia, even a tooth abscess can aggravate your condition.
Keep your potassium level in the healthy range. Avoid, as much as possible, the use of muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants as well as some antibiotics.
There are various other ways you can take control of your disease so you canmake the most of the energy and muscle strength you do have.
This may seem like a strange coping strategy, but it really helps. Try to adjust your eating routine to coincide with those times you have the most strength in your muscles. Most individuals discover that this is shortly after taking a cholinesterase inhibitor, such as pyridostigmine or neostigmine.
You may also want to stretch out your meals. Eat several bites, then put your fork down and rest. Then resume eating again. You don’t need to view eating a meal as a sprint. View it more as a marathon. There’s nothing that says if you start eating supper at 4 p.m. that you must be finished by any set time.
You may even want to consider eating smaller meals. This technique may be easier to manage. Instead of eating three large meals during a day, eat four or five smaller meals. Many nutritionists believe this is a healthier habit regardless of your health status.
Along these same lines, you may want to choose more soft foods. At the same time, avoid eating hard or sticky foods which require more chewing.
If you have problems with double vision, try using an eye patch – at least around the house. (You can even develop a great sense of humor around this and give yourself a cool pirate nickname. Argh! Matey!) The eye patch can help relieve your double vision, especially while you’re reading or watching television. A good habit to cultivate is to periodically switch the patch from one eye to another. This will help you to avoid eye strain.
Do what you can around the house to ensure your safety. You know where your weaknesses are. If you have to install grab bars or railings in places where you need the most support. You may need one next to the bathtub.
Try to keep your floors clear of clutter. Don’t let loose electric cords lie around and be careful of those throw rugs. Some of those can be dangerous even if you don’t have myasthenia gravis.
Take a survey of the outside of your house as well. Keep your steps, sidewalks and the path to your car clear of any debris or clutter.
Wherever you can save your energy, do it. Use electric appliances where once you used manual ones. This includes the use of an electric toothbrush, can openers, even electric screwdrivers. There are more appliances like this on the market than ever before. Make use of these. If you can’t afford everything you need, drop hints to friends and relatives that these types of appliances would make wonderful birthday and holiday gifts. You may also be able to find some good used appliances of this type at garage sales or thrift stores.
Plan your day. Be prepared to become the royalty of planning. If you have a chore to perform around the house, perhaps shopping to do or even an errand to run, plan it for your peak energy level.
If you’re working on a big project at home, then gather ahead of time everything you’ll need for the project. Be sure you have everything at your fingertips. Then you won’t have to go chasing anything down later when your muscles are weaker.
Conquer the management of stress. Oh, yes. This is difficult. But, emotional stress can make your symptoms of myasthenia gravis worse. Search for ways to reduce the stress in your life. You may want to investigate the use of relaxation techniques like biofeedback and meditation.
And perhaps this is the most important piece of advice yet: Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Face it, depending on your energy level, you just may not be able to everything you have planned. It happens to the best of us. Don’t be afraid to ask family members and friends to lend a hand. Many of them are probably just waiting to help you!
Chapter 4 Conventional Treatments
If you experience any of the symptoms related to myasthenia gravis, consult your physician immediately. This is especially true should you experience difficulties in breathing. Even if it these symptoms turn out not to be related to myasthenia gravis, you’ll at least discover what is causing them.
It’s true. There is no cure for this autoimmune disease. But with today’s treatments, managing and living with the disease is easier than ever. The name is much scarier. The “grave muscle weakness” which was assigned to this disorder years ago, is not quite so “grave.”
As with any health disorder, the earlier you consult your doctor, the sooner he’ll be able to diagnosis you. And if the results come back a myasthenia gravis, then the sooner he can treat you.
Conventional treatment of myasthenia gravis consists of several approaches. Depending on your condition, he may determine that only one approach is necessary or several therapies simultaneously will work best for you.
Medications are a common treatment mode. This approach uses a class of drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors which include pyridostigmine – sold under the brand name Mestinon – and neostigmine – sold as Prostigmin.
This class of drug enhances the broken communication patterns between your nerves and muscles. While they don’t treat the underlying problem, they do help improve the actual muscle contraction and the strength of the muscle itself.
You may also take corticosteroids to inhibit the immune system, which in turn limits the production of the antibodies, the ultimate cause of myasthenia gravis. You should be aware, though, that prolonged use of corticosteroids can lead to serious side effects. These effects can manifest as thinning of
your bones, the development of diabetes, weight gain as well as a redistribution of body fat. Another side effect of this class of medications is the increased risk of contracting some infections.
Your physician has one more medication which he may recommend you take. It’s one that alters your immune system. This could be any of the following azathioprine (sold as Imuran), mycophenolate mofetil (sold as CellCept), cyclophosphamide (sold as Cytoxan) or cyclosporine (sold as Sandimmune
and Neoral).
It’s generally believed within the medical community that if you remove the thymus gland, you can bring relief. While this is the belief, it doesn’t necessarily reflect itself in the statistics. Of those who undergo surgery only about one-quarter of these people actually go into remission within a year. In fact, many of these individuals see no improvement for years down the road. This surgery is usually recommend for those younger than 60.
Before agreeing to this surgery, consult very seriously with your physician to try to determine the odds of your condition actually improving.
The cause of myasthenia gravis is an abundance of antibodies. Now medical specialists have developed a procedure that can actually remove some of the excess of antibodies from your system. It’s called plasmapheresis (and pronounced plaz-muh-fuh-RE-sis). It literally takes those antibodies that are responsible for blocking the transmission of signals from your nerve endings to the receptor sites of your muscles.
It works like this: blood is taken from your body. It’s passed through a filter created specifically to remove these specific antibodies. Then the blood –minus the antibodies – is returned to your system.
There are two problems with this procedure though: it’s expensive and time consuming. And while it helps alleviate the antibody problem, there is still a need to treat the long-term restoration of your muscle strength. If this isn’t done, your body simply creates new antibodies to replace those which have been removed.
An alternative treatment to plasmapheresis is a therapy which supplies your body with normal antibodies, in hopes of altering your immune system response. It’s called intravenous immune globulin. It possesses fewer risks of side effects than the plasmapheresis and the immune-suppressing therapy. The are several drawbacks to this approach. First, it can take up to two weeks to start working. Secondly, it doesn’t have an effective long-term track record. The procedure may take up to a week or more to take effect. And then it may only provide lasting relief for a few weeks. At best, the procedure’s effects will be felt for several months.
This therapy is also expensive. And it’s not yet clear whether it really offers any clear benefits that the other alternatives lack. For these reasons, this approach to management of myasthenia gravis is reserved only for those who are severely ill.
At the same time that your physician administers these various medications, he may also suggest that you undergo physical and occupational therapy. These approaches help you to adjust to the necessary tasks you need to accomplish at home and at work.
Chapter 5 Natural Treatments
Emotional stress makes myasthenia gravis worse. Look into natural ways to distress.
Meditation is a great way and it requires no special equipment, no special clothing, no special high level of energy, and no specific location.
You can do it without much training as well. If you believe this may help with your symptoms, you can start simply enough. First, you’ll want to find a distraction-free environment. This is, without a doubt, the most important element if you’re just starting on your meditation journey.
Choose a location that is as free of noises and interruptions as possible. The quieter the environment, the better. As you delve more into this form of relaxation, you’ll soon be able to block out many noises and find you can meditate just about anywhere, including public places like waiting rooms, airport lobbies or other areas.
Some people suggest you employ the classic Eastern pose. This means you’re sitting upright with your spine straight and your legs crossed. They say this posture provides you with the maximum benefits. However, many others say that meditation can be performed in just about any posture. If you choose to stand or lie down instead of sit, that’s fine.
You can even meditate while you’re walking. In fact, there’s an ancient form of meditation just now making a revival. It’s called labyrinth walking. You walk through a large circuitous route made of hedges or trees. It takes you to the center of the structure. The physical walk of this maze symbolizes the spiritual journey into your inner self.
Once you found a poses you’re comfortable with, you’ll want to choose a focus of attention. Whether you choose to concentrate on your breath or an external object is truly a matter of personal preference – and effectiveness.
You may even want to develop your own personal mantra to recite as you meditate. A mantra is a single word or phrase repeated as you focus your thoughts. Many individuals choose the “ohm” sound. Others prefer words such as love, Jesus, Lord or other words meaningful to them depending on their religious affiliation and spiritual orientation.
All meditation also requires the practitioner keep a nonjudgmental attitude. As you clear your mind of all thoughts, you need to be patient with yourself. Don’t immediately judge yourself as bid if you have problems, especially when you’re first starting out, in trying to clear your mind.
Many meditators claim that the mind resists the clearing of all thoughts, especially when you’re first embarking on your journey of meditation. They explain the part of your mind known as the ego is the originator of all these incessant thoughts. When you begin to quiet it, the ego believes it’s being pushed aside. So you may, indeed, find that during your first several sessions, that the very act of meditation is producing an increase in mindless chatter.
Meditation is best practiced twice day – once in the morning upon rising and then again before going to sleep in the evening. In fact, Dr. Raj Kapoor, M.D., an internist in Pittsburgh, PA, and a practitioner of meditation recommends that your morning habit is best practiced between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.
These hours, he explains, are considered sacred in such cultures as India. He also recommends that you face the north or the east when performing your meditation.
When you first start meditating, you may wonder whether you’re doing it correctly. Roger Thomson, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Chicago and a Zen meditator. His answer to this doubt: “If you’re feeling better at the end [of your session], you are probably doing it right.”
Nutritional approach
Some alternative health care practitioners say that the symptoms of myasthenia gravis can be controlled through the increased supplementation of vitamins – especially the B family of vitamins.
These individuals point to experiments in which vitamins B1, B2, B6 as well as pantothenic acid were administered to those individuals afflicted with this rare autoimmune disorder. Their symptoms improved. Some experiments, in fact, go back as far as World War II, they contend. Prisoners of war in Singapore developed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis. The cause of this, many believe, was malnutrition. These medical professionals say that the cases of this disease improved with a high-vitamin diet that included an abundance of yeast and liver.
The B-family of vitamins has long been recognized as energy producing nutrients. They are the first line of defense in the treatment of anemia as well as other energy-related health concerns.
Consider this when you’re thinking about supplementing your diet with B vitamins. Vitamin B1, in conjunction with manganese, is essential for the synthesis of acetylcholine in the nerve endings. When your body lacks these vital nutrients, it may very well cause a reduced signal from nerves to the muscles. That opens up the door to increased muscle weakness and other neurological complications.
Not only that, but when your B1 level is low, this causes lactic acid to accumulate in your muscles, which in turn, causes fatigue.
The 5 Step Plan to Healing Myasthenia Gravis
Step 1: Alkalization
Understanding the Acid/Alkaline Balance
Everyone knows that your body temperature is supposed be 98.6°F. The fact that most people don't know is that your blood should have a pH of 7.365 on a scale of 0 to 14, 0 being pure Acid and 14 being pure Alkaline. Anything either side of 7.365 would mean severe disease or death.
Of course this doesn’t happen because our bodies find ways to compensate and put the body back into balance through the use of minerals, vitamins and excretion.
By eliminating this dependency on our bodies by living a more Alkaline lifestyle, our body is able to come into balance naturally and direct minerals and vitamins to the parts of the body that truly need it.
The Acid Trap
There are three main reasons that your body will go into an acidic state, they include:
1. Food Intake
2. Emotional Input
3. Physical Activity
Food Intake
Starting with everyone’s favorite – FOOD. Firstly I will explain what happens to food once it goes into your mouth:
1) First your saliva moistens the food and makes it soft for digestion.
2) You then swallow then the food and it passes down the esophagus.
3) Your LES opens and the food goes into the stomach.
4) While in the stomach your food is metabolized and it the metabolizing process forms either a residue known as an “ASH”. This ash is either an “ACID ASH” or an “ALKALINE ASH”.
5) The food then passes to the lower intestine for mineral absorption and further digestion and then onto the large intestine for expulsion. (this step is not important, we are focusing on no. 4.
Now this Ash, whether it is Acid or Alkaline, contributes to your internal environment and ultimately your internal balance!! Now if we all ate an equal amount of both Acid and Alkaline forming foods then we would all be in perfect balance and would have any problems. However, the modern Western
Diet is packed with Acid Forming foods such as sugar, meats, alcohol and sodas, therefore day after day we are filling up our bodies with more and more acid and basically “slowly killing ourselves with what we put in our mouth”.
Emotional Input
These days one’s Mind’s effect on one’s Body is now an accepted concept among the majority of Medical Practitioners. When your mind has a thought it creates peptides and sends them through the body, receptors then “grab” the peptides and then you will get a physical feeling. This is why your mind and emotions play a huge part in the physical health of your body and cells.
Acid forming emotions include:
• Anger
• Frustration
• Stress
• Sadness
Alkaline forming emotions include:
• Happiness
• Excitement
• Joy
• Relaxation
Unfortunately again, as was the case with food, living the way we do in this modern “Go Go” society we frequently feel more acid emotions than alkaline ones. To manage this you need to learn how to manage your emotional state on a daily basis.
Physical Activity
Physical Activity also plays an important role in your body’s pH Balance. The main reason for this is to do with the elimination of acidic toxins through the Lymphatic System.
Your Lymphatic System is a secondary circulatory system that collects waste and toxins throughout your body and discards them through multiple methods of excretion. Lymph is like your own little garbage collector. Now, the main difference between the Circulatory System (Blood) and the Lymphatic System (Lymph) is that the Lymphatic System does not have a Pump (Heart) like the Circulatory System does.
So how does that Lymph get circulated through the body? That’s simple, your MUSCLES. That’s right, Lymph moves slowly through the body due the “milking action” of skeletal muscles. Which is why YOU MUST EXERCISE. Sure the day-to-day movement of muscles in everyday tasks is enough to keep you functioning but please understand the importance of exercise in the elimination of toxins. Forget thinking about exercise as a necessity for weight loss, it is a necessity for vibrant Health and Well-being.
If your Lymph system is not circulating at an acceptable rate Bacteria, Microforms and Parasites will thrive in your over-acidic environment. They will breed more of their own and also secrete more their waste into your blood stream (which is also acidic). I know this sounds like a big vicious cycle, but guess what, it’s the truth. It is why aging western society is now riddled with Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer. These diseases were not born into us, we did not catch them, they are a conclusion of our reckless lifestyles. The sooner society believes this the sooner we can start reducing this disease instead of finding the next miracle Pill or Surgery. PREVENTION is the key. Sorry I am rambling aren’t I, I guess that’s because I am so passionate about this.
Which Factor Applies to Me?
It is hard to say which of the above most contributes you personally being over-acidic, I guess it would be best to judge for yourself as you know your lifestyle best e.g. If you stress a lot then Emotional Input would be your main factor or if you eat lots of sugar based foods and drink lots of alcohol then it would be Food Intake, however this program caters for all three factors and I would expect you to make the changes in all areas equally according to the Program.
Alkalizing Protocol (Exactly What to do)
Alkalizer 1: Apple Cider vinegar and Bi-Carb Soda (Baking Soda).
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is a well known remedy has been used for years for many ailments from Acid Reflux to Menopause. The reason it is so widely used is that it purifies the blood like nothing else on earth.
Lime Juice is helpful for providing healthy citrate so that you don’t feel so tired when you attempt exercise.
Bi-Carb Soda (Baking Soda) is better known by most people for it’s household cleaning properties. But I can assure you, this little household product will have you feeling fine. Why? Bi-Carb is a natural Alkalizing agent. It alkalizes the body and forms an environment in which harmful bacteria and microforms find it impossible to survive.
• Take one coffee mug.
• ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda (Bi-Carb Soda)
• 2 Tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). You must make sure that this ACV is Organic with the Mother apple. The most common brand is Braggs. Do not use the everyday ACV from the Supermarket… It must be organic.
• Add warm (not boiling) water.
• Drink it up. It may burn a little, but you will learn to enjoy this warm soothing drink.
• Drink this 3 times a day.
Alkalizer 2: Nutrition
Well the time has come for me to be a big meanie, and confiscate all of the bad foods that are playing a large part in the cause of your “dis-ease”.
1) No Caffeine
2) No Chocolate
3) Reduce/Cut out your Sugar intake. Use a natural sweetener available from health food stores called Stevia.
4) No Alcohol
5) No Smoking
6) No Deep Fried or High Fat Foods (e.g. Donuts)
7) Be sure to eat lots of green vegetables and salads.
I have also put on the following page foods sorted in their values of alkalinity.
So try to eat as many Alkaline foods as possible and as little Acidic foods possible.
Also make sure you do a good Raw Food Detox – A good book to get is the Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalie Rose.
Food Ash Charts
The following Food Ash pH Charts (next page) have been sourced from the book "Back To The House Of Health" by Shelley Redford Young.
Foods that you Can Eat All the Time:
Vegetables
Brussels Sprouts +0.5
Barley Grass +28.1
White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1
Peas, Ripe +0.5
Soy Sprouts +29.5
Asparagus +1.3
Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4
Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soy Beans) +12.8
Comfrey +1.5
Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5
Soy Nuts (soaked Soy Beans Then Air Dried) +26.5
Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0
Alfalfa Grass +29.3
Lettuce +2.2
Cucumber, Fresh +31.5
Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0
Onion +3.0
Wheat Grass +33.8
Cauliflower +3.1 Nuts
White Cabbage +3.3
Almonds +3.6
White Raddish (Spring) +3.1
Green Cabbage, December Harvest +4.0
Rutabaga +3.1
Savoy Cabbage +4.5
Kohlrabi +5.1
Sesame Seeds +0.5
Lamb's Lettuce +4.8
Horseradish +6.8
Cumin Seeds +1.1
Peas, Fresh +5.1
Turnip +8.0
Fennel Seeds +1.3
Zucchini +5.7
Carrot +9.5
Caraway Seeds +2.3
Red Cabbage +6.3
Beet +11.3
Rhubarb Stalks +6.3
Red Radish +16.7
Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2
Summer Black Radish +39.4
Watercress +7.7
Spinach, March Harvest +8.0
Chives +8.3
French Cut Green Beans +11.2
Sorrel +11.5
Spinach (Other Than March) +13.1
Garlic +13.2
Celery +13.3
Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1
Coconut Water +9.04
Endive, Fresh +14.5
Cayenne Pepper +18.8
Straw Grass +21.4
Shave Grass +21.7
Dog Grass +22.6
Dandelion +22.7
Kamut Grass +27.6
Fats (fresh cold pressed)
Flax Seed Oil +3.5
Olive Oil (fresh cold pressed) +1.0
Borage Oil +3.2
Evening Primrose Oil +4.1
Marine Lipids +4.7
Fruits
Fresh Lemon +9.9
Limes +8.2
Tomato +13.6
Avocado (Protein) +15.6
Non stored organic grains and legumes
Lima Beans +12.0
Soybeans, Fresh +12.0
Tofu +3.2
Soy Flour +2.5
Lentils +0.6
Spelt +0.5
Buckwheat Groats +0.5
Foods that you can eat sparingly:
Fish
Fresh Water Fish -11.8
Non-Stored Grains
Brown Rice -12.5
Wheat -10.1
Fruits Nuts and Seeds
(In Season, For Cleansing Only Or With Moderation)
Wheat Kernel -11.4
Rose Hips -15.5
Walnuts -8.0
Pineapple -12.6
Pumpkin Seeds -5.6
Mandarin Orange -11.5
Sunflower Seeds -5.4
Bananna, Ripe -10.1
Macadamia Nuts -3.2
Pear -9.9
Hazelnuts -2.0
Peach -9.7
Flax Seeds -1.3
Apricot -9.5
Brazil Nuts -0.5
Papaya -9.4
Orange -9.2 Fats
Mango -8.7
Sunflower Oil -6.7
Tangerine -8.5
Coconut Milk -1.5
Currant -8.2
Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7
Grape, Ripe -7.6
Cranberry -7.0
Black Currant -6.1
Strawberry -5.4
Blueberry -5.3
Rasberry -5.1
Yellow Plum -4.9
Italian Plum -4.9
Date -4.7
Cherry, Sweet -3.6
Cantaloupe -2.5
Red Currant -2.4
Fig Juice Powder -2.4
Grapefruit -1.7
Watermelon -1.0
Coconut, Fresh +0.5
Cherry, Sour +3.5
Bananna, Unripe +4.8
Foods that you should not eat:
Stored Potatoes +2.0
Artificial Sweetners -26.5
Chocolate -24.6
White Sugar -17.6
Pork -38.0
Beet Sugar -15.1
Veal -35.0
Molasses -14.6
Beef -34.5
Dr. Bronner's Barley Malt Sweetner -9.8
Ocean Fish -20.0
Chicken (to -22) -18.0
Dried Sugar Cane Juice(Sucanat) -9.6
Eggs (to -22) -18.0
Oysters -5.0
Barley Malt Syrup -9.3
Liver -3.0
Fructose -9.5
Organ Meats -3.0
Milk Sugar -9.4
Turbinado Sugar -9.5
Brown Rice Syrup -8.7
Hard Cheese -18.1
Honey -7.6
Quark -17.3
Cream -3.9
Homogenized Milk -1.0
Ketchup -12.4
Buttermilk +1.3
Mayonaise -12.5
Mustard -19.2
Soy Sauce -36.2
Vinegar -39.4
White Bread -10.0
White Biscuit -6.5
Whole-Meal Bread -6.5
Liquor -38.7
Whole-Grain Bread -4.5
Wine -16.4
Rye Bread -2.5
Beer -26.8
Coffee -25.1
Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7
Pistachios -16.6
Fruit Juice Sweetened With White Sugar -33.6
Peanuts -12.8
Cashews -9.3
Tea (Black) -27.1
Margarine -7.5
Canned Foods
Corn Oil -6.5
Processed Foods
Step 2: Supplementation
O.K, now to get all of those Vitamins and minerals into your body that you might be deficient in.
I am not going to recommend any particular brands, but I will say this - if you are going to use the supplements that I have specified below please do some research or talk to your local health food store about vitamin absorption and quality of vitamins.
You see, there are a lot of WEAK vitamin products out there on the market. Some don’t even have the ingredients they claim to have – because they don’t need to be FDA approved.
Magnesium
Take 250mg of Magnesium per day, get a quality tablet from your health food store – it can be in any of the following forms:
• magnesium citrate
• magnesium gluconate
• magnesium orotate
• magnesium malate
• magnesium chloride
Chlorella/Spirulina Powder
These come in powder form – available from the majority of health food stores. Consume this twice a day as directed on the container.
Iodine Painting of Heels
You will need to get some iodine from the supermarket or drug store. If you can get the colorless kind – get that, as the normal one actually stains.
If you get the normal one just make sure you apply it in the bathroom on some paper towel.
You will apply this for 3 days a week.
You will painting the iodine on using a cotton ball and applying it to the balls of your feet (heel). Try not to get it on your fingers as it is hard to get off.
Don’t worry about walking with the iodine on your feet as it will dry literally in seconds.
Zinc Gluconate
Available from most health food stores. Taken everyday to boost your immune system and strengthen your thymus gland, alternatively you can add foods to your diet that are high in zinc like brazil nuts, ginger, garlic etc.
Coenzyme Q10
Get capsules of Coenzyme Q10 that are 30mg in strength and take one cap (30mg) per day – you may need to order this online if you can’t get it locally.
DHEA
Get 15mg capsules and take one per day. DHEA is an immune strengthening hormone which naturally occurs in your body, again you may have to order this online so I’ve posted a picture of the one I use.
Step 3: Microbe Killing
The general weakness you often feel indicates the fungus, or virus, which strips the body of energy.
Remedy 1: Clove oil mixed or diluted in water - 1 drop well stirred in a glass of water.
The energy pick up should be relatively quick within about 30 minutes.
Remedy 2: 3- 6 drops of 3% H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide 3% from Drug Store) into a glass of water.
So what I recommend is 6 Microbe killing sessions a day – this can be 3 of each remedy above spaced throughout the day evenly.
Remedy 3: Borax (One day a week)
Borax, as in 20 Mule Team, can be found in the laundry detergent aisle of your local Walmart.
Don’t let this alarm you, borax is not toxic, it is less toxic than every day table salt. In fact boron (the main element of borax) is an essential mineral for human nutrition. If you are still worried about consuming this then try to find boron homeopathic tablets (same thing different package).
Borax is also the most powerful remedy for cleansing the body of microforms, fungus and parasites.
So here are the directions for consuming Borax:
• Take a one liter bottle of purified filtered water.
• Add ¼ teaspoon of Borax.
• Sip this drink evenly throughout the day, do not drink all at once.
You only need to do this one day a week.
Step 4: Detoxification - Oil Pulling (or Oil Swishing)
Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic practice which involves putting Cold Pressed Sesame Oil or Sunflower Oil into your mouth and swishing, chomping it around your mouth for 10-15 minutes.
What does this do?
It literally pulls toxins and mucous from multiple areas of the body. This will reduce fatigue, and increase your energy greatly.
Instructions
1) Do this first thing in the morning before you brush your teeth or eat or drink.
2) Take 1 Tablespoon of Cold Pressed Sesame Oil or Sunflower Oil.
3) Put the oil in your mouth.
4) Swish it through your mouth thoroughly, suck it through your teeth and wash it around your mouth for 10 to 15 minutes. For maximum effect, do it for 15-20 minutes.
• WHEN YOU FINISHED, THE OIL SHOULD BE WHITE AND FOAMY. That’s how you know you’ve done it right, if not you need to suck the saliva from the insides of your cheeks while you are swishing.
• DO NOT GARGLE IN YOUR THROAT
• DO NOT SWALLOW THE OIL (IT NOW CONTAINS PARASITES)
5) Once you spit the water out, rinse your mouth out with water and follow with 2-3 glasses of purified, filtered water.
Do this for at least a couple of weeks, you will be surprised at how good you will feel, out of all the remedies that I recommend and personally use, this one is by far the most profound. I have seen this cure 15 year arthritis, sinusitis and many other chronic diseases.
If you do want to use this method for a more serious condition, then step it up and do the process above 3 times a day, TRY TO DO IT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
Step 5: Exercise
Now I know this isn’t everyone’s favorite subject in the world, in fact, most people dread the idea of strapping on the joggers, suiting up and heading for the local gym.
Look, no matter how much you hate exercise, it is an absolute necessity when it comes to autoimmune diseases.
Why? Well there are three reasons why you need to exercise during myasthenia gravis….
1) Energy
By exercising everyday or even 3-5 times a week your energy will explode, on the first day or two you may feel a little tired, but just hang in there for two weeks and I guarantee your energy will go through the roof.
2) Emotional Support
It is a well-known fact that exercise acts as a release for stress and other bad emotions. I can guarantee that if you were to force a person who suffered from depression to go out for a jog in the park at least once a day for ½ an hour, they would no longer suffer from depression.
Bold statement. I know. But trust me, at least go for a solid, sweaty 30-minute walk and feel the difference in your mood afterwards.
3) Blood flow
Exercise also increases blood flow and oxygen, which will help blood, vitamins and minerals reach the organs of your body, as well as Scleroderma affected areas of your body.
4) Lymphatic System
Exercise also increases the activity of the lymph system. You see the lymph system is the system that cleans up the toxins and waste from your blood.
But unlike the circulatory system it doesn’t have a heart to pump lymph through the body. Instead, it uses muscles – the movement of muscles activates the lymph system. Exercise is crucial to the operation of a healthy lymphatic system.
5) Joint Health
Exercise also promotes healthy joints. It will allow you to free up areas that are affected by scleroderma, and allow blood and oxygen to flow through them.
Types of Exercise
There are two types of exercises and I have a few recommendations that you can implement to get this exercise into your daily schedule as painlessly as possible.
Aerobic Exercise
This should be the cornerstone of your exercise program. Aerobic exercise is light to moderate activities that involve the use of large muscle groups and the respiratory system.
I find the best form of aerobic exercise for menopausal women is a brisk walk. This leads to recommendation number one:
Walk every second day for 30 minutes at a medium pace, try to get a sweat going. If you can’t get a sweat going, you ain’t walking fast enough!
Strength/Resistance Training
This kind of training will seem pointless to some women, but you must realize that strength/weight training has been proven to increase bone density and decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis. So if you want to remain mobile into your old age, I strongly recommend you follow this plan:
Get some medium weight dumbbells or go to the local gym and lift weights until you are fatigued, once a week.
The Rebounder
This has to be the best invention ever for sufferers of any Auto-Immune disease.
I recently went to a Tony Robbins (Yes the Infomercial guy with the big teeth) seminar. Anyway, he is a total health nut, he studies the best in the world, then implements what he learns in his life.
One of his biggest recommendations for total health and fitness and specifically rehabilitation of any illness was Jumping on a Rebounder!!
So what I recommend is, on the days that you don’t walk, bounce around on a rebounder for 25 minutes, and I’m telling you – you will be extremely pleased with how good you feel after bouncing round like a kid for a little while. What I have done, is I bought some DVD’s to go with my rebounder and just put it on and wotkout… But now that I know the workouts, guess what I do now… I put on my favorite TV show and bounce around while I watch that… See exercise can be fun to.
Emotional (Stress Management)
One of the worst things you can do while suffering from Myasthenia is get stressed, angry and depressed.
In this chapter I will discuss exactly what I did to eliminate every ounce of stress, anger and depression from my life.
Anthony Robbins, the world renowned success coach, has always said: “The quality of your life is determined by the emotions you experience consistently on a day to day basis.”
Using one of Tony’s technologies I will teach you how to change these emotions.
The way we feel at any point in time is determined by three factors:
1) Physiology – The way you mave your body (Smile, Slouching, Standing).
2) Focus – What you focus on.
3) Language/Meaning – The language you use or Meaning you attach to an event.
If I change any of these I change the intensity and sometimes the actual emotion.
Example:
I was sitting at my desk at work one day and I had a deadline for an important report that I just could not complete. A million things were going through my head, and basically I was stressed out of my mind and I could only imagine what damage I was doing to my body. If I break up my actions at that point in time they would look like this:
1) Physiology – Slouched over in my chair, my breathing was shallow, my face was drab and down, my head was facing down and was in my hands.
2) Focus – I was focusing on how there was no way I was going to finish that report. I was also focusing on what my boss would think or do if I didn’t get it finished.
3) Language/Meaning – My internal dialog sounded like: “There’s no way I’m gonna finish this thing” and “I can’t believe I said I could do this report”.
Now, because I knew this strategy I was only in this state for about two minutes. What did I do to get out of it? Well that’s simple, I just changed the three things above in the right order 1-2-3.
1) Physiology – I jumped out my chair, shook my body out, and actually started to breath properly.
2) Focus – I then started to focus how far I had come in my job and that I would have loved to have this report to do a few months ago. So I decided to see this as a great problem.
3) Language/Meaning – I started to tell myself, “This is a great opportunity to grow”.
Just by changing these three factors I went from being stressed to being determined and grateful for the opportunity that lay before me, and guess what, the report got done and it got done well!! Because I had a healthy, clear mind I was able to think more rapidly. Also more importantly I did not experience any ACID emotions at all!
Contents
Medical Disclaimer.................................................... 3
Introduction............................................................... 4
Causes....................................................................... 6
Symptoms.................................................................. 8
Conventional Treatment.......................................... 14
Natural Treatment..................................................... 17
Step 1: Alkalization................................................... 20
Step 2: Supplementation.....................................…. 28
Step 3: Microbe Killing............................................. 31
Step 4: Detoxification............................................... 33
Step 5: Physical Exercise........................................ 35
Emotional Support/Management............................. 39
Notes.......................................................................... 41
Medical Disclaimer
The information on this website is for educational purposes only. Maria Menendez is not a Medical Practitioner; any changes in diet or health care should be administered by the appropriate medical physician.
Introduction
You feel an unusual weakness and fatigue in your muscles especially when you try to use them. Once you rest them, the strength seems to return. You’ve also noticed that your limbs just aren’t as strong as they used to be. You try to chalk this up to the stress you’re under or even your age. But you have a nagging doubt that it just might be more.
More puzzling, though, is the double vision you’ve been experiencing lately. And that drooping eyelid just doesn’t seem right. You also notice that food isn’t as easy to swallow as it used to be.
Just what is going on?
It could be myasthenia gravis. Now there’s a mouthful. Pronounced mahy uh sthee’ nee uh * grav is, this is a chronic disorder affecting the muscles which you have voluntary control over. These muscles become weak and experience rapid fatigue when used. They improve quickly and gain strength when at rest.
The very name of the disease, in fact, stems from both Latin and Greek for “grave muscle weakness.” The cause? Myasthenia gravis is caused by a breakdown in the normal communication between your nerves and your muscles.
The disorder only disrupts the functions of your muscles. For this reason, it may also produce drooping eyelids, difficulties with your speech as well as your ability to chew, swallow and even breathe. You may even notice that you experience double vision as a result of this.
You don’t have to be a certain age to develop this neuromuscular autoimmune disease, though it’s more commonly diagnosed in women who are younger than 40 or older than 70. It’s also more prevalent in men older than 50.
While there’s no cure for myasthenia gravis, treatments are readily available today to help control the symptoms. The many advances in medical treatment available today, have in fact, reduced the mortality rate from respiratory failure to about three percent. Individuals who are older than 40 or those with a
short, severe history of this disease and those with thymoma face a worse prognosis.
It’s a relatively rare disease. The official estimates of the number of cases vary widely. Some sources say that as few as five people in 100,000 are affected. Others claim as many as 14 per 100,000 experience this disease.
Myasthenia gravis, as far as medical experts can tell right now, is not inherited. The disease is not contagious either. Being in close proximity of a person with this health problem does not mean you’re going to develop it yourself.
Having said all that, however, this disorder has been known to strike more than one family member. Not only that, if a woman who has myasthenia gravis become pregnant, it’s not uncommon for the baby to acquire antibodies from the mother. For several weeks or even months following birth, the baby may exhibit symptoms of this disease. But they soon disappear on their own. This is called neonatal myasthenia. While the baby exhibits these symptoms, treatment is available.
In rare cases, this disease has been traced to a defective gene and appears in infants born to healthy women. This is known as congenital myasthenia.
Chapter 1: Causes
“What we have here is a failure to communicate.” These are the famous words of one of the characters in the classic movie “Cool Hand Luke.”
These words also aptly describe the problems involved in the disease Myasthenia gravis. The disease is ultimately caused by a breakdown in the communications between your nerves and your muscles. This breakdown is caused by your immune system.
In myasthenia gravis, your immune system produces an abundance of antibodies that block or even destroy many of the receptor sites for acetylcholine in your muscles. Acetylcholine is a chemical that’s responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses to your muscles.
It’s the presence of this chemical that signals your muscles to contract when you want them to. For example, acetylcholine is responsible for the contraction of the muscles when you indicate to your hand to pick up a spoon to eat your soup.
When your immune system attacks and kills the receptor sites for this chemical, there are, obviously, fewer receptor sites available. Your muscles, therefore, receive fewer nerve signals. This results in the weakness that you feel when you use them.
Conventional medical wisdom believes that the thymus gland – the part of your immune system found in your upper chest directly beneath the breastbone – may actually trigger or sustain the production of the antibodies responsible for the attacks.
While the thymus gland in most people is small, in those suffering with myasthenia gravis, the thymus is abnormally large. Some individuals with myasthenia gravis also suffer with tumors of the thymus (these particular tumors normally are noncancerous.).
You may notice that there are times when you myasthenia gravis worsens. This occurs especially during times of fatigue, illness, stress or extreme heat. Additionally, many people say that specific medications worsen their symptoms. This is especially true with individuals who are taking beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, and quinine. Some antibiotics may also aggravate the symptoms.
It’s exactly for these reasons that you should consult with your physician before you begin any new medications, even those that may seem harmless and don’t require a prescription.
There are some medical experts that believe that myasthenia gravis develops following exposure to crop sprays with chemicals that adversely affect on the acetylcholine in your body.
Chapter 2: Symptoms/Diagnosis
Curiously, myasthenia gravis only affects your voluntary muscles. It doesn’t affect your involuntary muscles, like your heart. Not only that, but it most commonly attacks the muscles of your arms and legs, as well as those of your face. This includes the muscles of your eyes, and those involved in chewing, swallowing and talking.
Other muscles that may be affected include those that control your breathing and the movement of your head.
You may suspect you have myasthenia gravis is you experience any weakness in the muscles in your face, especially drooping eyelids. Double vision is another symptom of this autoimmune disease, as is difficulty in breathing, talking, chewing or swallowing.
If you experience weakness in your arms or legs, then you could be affected with this disorder, especially if the fatigue you feel is triggered by repetitive motions. The more often a specific muscle action is repeated, in fact, the weaker the muscle grows.
You may notice that some days the symptoms don’t seem to be as severe as others. Many patients report that a day they experience mild symptoms seems to be followed by more severe symptoms the following day. It’s almost as if the disorder ebbs and grows in an alternating fashion.
Some people even notice that they actually experience remission – at least temporarily. Only in very rare cases do the breathing and swallowing problems associated with this disorder get severe enough to require emergency medical care.
In making a diagnosis, your physician will focus initially on one symptom: muscle weakness that improves with rest. He’ll also take several tests to go along with these symptoms.
If your physician suspects that you have myasthenia gravis, he’ll ask you to go through a neurological examination. This is a bundle of various tests. He’ll test your reflexes, as well as your muscle strength and tone. He’ll examine your walk, posture, balance, as well as your coordination and balance. He’ll also evaluate your sense of touch and sight. He may even examine your mental skills as well.
Don’t be surprised if your physician orders a blood analysis for you. This particular test reveals the presence, if any, of abnormal antibodies that may be disrupting the receptor sites that signal your muscles to move.
In addition to these two tests, your doctor may ask you to take what’s called an edrophonium test. In this evaluation, you’ll be given an injection of the chemical edrophonium. This may result in a sudden – and temporary –improvement in the strength of your muscle, an indicator that you may indeed have this autoimmune disorder.
Edrophonium blocks a specific enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine, the chemical that transmits signals from your nerve endings to the sites of your muscle receptors.
How about this for the name of a test: nerve conduction studies and singlefiber electromyography? It may be a mouthful, but it will be a useful tool for your doctor. This test consists of two parts. In the first part, a small electrical impulse is applied to your skin. It stimulates your nerves to test the strength of your muscle contraction. In the second portion of the exam, a very thin electrode is inserted into one of your muscles. This needle measures the patterns of electrical activity in your muscle while its resting and while it’s making a slight contraction.
Symptoms of this disease usually slowly worsen for about the first three years you have it. After that the problem seems to stabilize or even improve.
Types of myasthenia gravis
This autoimmune disease is sometimes classified into three different types, depending on which areas of the body are affected. For example, some individuals only have a weakness in the muscles controlling eye movement. This is known as ocular myasthenia gravis. It affects about 10 to 15 percent of those with the disorder.
Within a year of onset of the disease, though, about 85 to 90 percent of the individuals with the disorder develop generalized myasthenia gravis. This is the type characterized by weakness in the trunk, arms and legs.
Chapter 3: Prevention
Myasthenia gravis is not the type of disease that can be prevented, like you can prevent the occurrence of the flu or the common cold. But you can take several steps to help insure that it doesn’t turn much worse.
First, you should try to avoid unnecessary emotional stress. Stress seems to be a trigger in this disease. You also want to avoid over exerting yourself physically. This is extremely crucial since your muscles only get worse when you use them. While exercise is always necessary, be careful not to overdo it.
You should also try to avoid exposure to extreme temperatures – both extreme cold and extreme heat.
Try – as much as you can – to stay healthy. Illnesses such as respiratory infections, a fever, pneumonia, even a tooth abscess can aggravate your condition.
Keep your potassium level in the healthy range. Avoid, as much as possible, the use of muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants as well as some antibiotics.
There are various other ways you can take control of your disease so you canmake the most of the energy and muscle strength you do have.
This may seem like a strange coping strategy, but it really helps. Try to adjust your eating routine to coincide with those times you have the most strength in your muscles. Most individuals discover that this is shortly after taking a cholinesterase inhibitor, such as pyridostigmine or neostigmine.
You may also want to stretch out your meals. Eat several bites, then put your fork down and rest. Then resume eating again. You don’t need to view eating a meal as a sprint. View it more as a marathon. There’s nothing that says if you start eating supper at 4 p.m. that you must be finished by any set time.
You may even want to consider eating smaller meals. This technique may be easier to manage. Instead of eating three large meals during a day, eat four or five smaller meals. Many nutritionists believe this is a healthier habit regardless of your health status.
Along these same lines, you may want to choose more soft foods. At the same time, avoid eating hard or sticky foods which require more chewing.
If you have problems with double vision, try using an eye patch – at least around the house. (You can even develop a great sense of humor around this and give yourself a cool pirate nickname. Argh! Matey!) The eye patch can help relieve your double vision, especially while you’re reading or watching television. A good habit to cultivate is to periodically switch the patch from one eye to another. This will help you to avoid eye strain.
Do what you can around the house to ensure your safety. You know where your weaknesses are. If you have to install grab bars or railings in places where you need the most support. You may need one next to the bathtub.
Try to keep your floors clear of clutter. Don’t let loose electric cords lie around and be careful of those throw rugs. Some of those can be dangerous even if you don’t have myasthenia gravis.
Take a survey of the outside of your house as well. Keep your steps, sidewalks and the path to your car clear of any debris or clutter.
Wherever you can save your energy, do it. Use electric appliances where once you used manual ones. This includes the use of an electric toothbrush, can openers, even electric screwdrivers. There are more appliances like this on the market than ever before. Make use of these. If you can’t afford everything you need, drop hints to friends and relatives that these types of appliances would make wonderful birthday and holiday gifts. You may also be able to find some good used appliances of this type at garage sales or thrift stores.
Plan your day. Be prepared to become the royalty of planning. If you have a chore to perform around the house, perhaps shopping to do or even an errand to run, plan it for your peak energy level.
If you’re working on a big project at home, then gather ahead of time everything you’ll need for the project. Be sure you have everything at your fingertips. Then you won’t have to go chasing anything down later when your muscles are weaker.
Conquer the management of stress. Oh, yes. This is difficult. But, emotional stress can make your symptoms of myasthenia gravis worse. Search for ways to reduce the stress in your life. You may want to investigate the use of relaxation techniques like biofeedback and meditation.
And perhaps this is the most important piece of advice yet: Don’t be afraid to ask for help! Face it, depending on your energy level, you just may not be able to everything you have planned. It happens to the best of us. Don’t be afraid to ask family members and friends to lend a hand. Many of them are probably just waiting to help you!
Chapter 4 Conventional Treatments
If you experience any of the symptoms related to myasthenia gravis, consult your physician immediately. This is especially true should you experience difficulties in breathing. Even if it these symptoms turn out not to be related to myasthenia gravis, you’ll at least discover what is causing them.
It’s true. There is no cure for this autoimmune disease. But with today’s treatments, managing and living with the disease is easier than ever. The name is much scarier. The “grave muscle weakness” which was assigned to this disorder years ago, is not quite so “grave.”
As with any health disorder, the earlier you consult your doctor, the sooner he’ll be able to diagnosis you. And if the results come back a myasthenia gravis, then the sooner he can treat you.
Conventional treatment of myasthenia gravis consists of several approaches. Depending on your condition, he may determine that only one approach is necessary or several therapies simultaneously will work best for you.
Medications are a common treatment mode. This approach uses a class of drugs called cholinesterase inhibitors which include pyridostigmine – sold under the brand name Mestinon – and neostigmine – sold as Prostigmin.
This class of drug enhances the broken communication patterns between your nerves and muscles. While they don’t treat the underlying problem, they do help improve the actual muscle contraction and the strength of the muscle itself.
You may also take corticosteroids to inhibit the immune system, which in turn limits the production of the antibodies, the ultimate cause of myasthenia gravis. You should be aware, though, that prolonged use of corticosteroids can lead to serious side effects. These effects can manifest as thinning of
your bones, the development of diabetes, weight gain as well as a redistribution of body fat. Another side effect of this class of medications is the increased risk of contracting some infections.
Your physician has one more medication which he may recommend you take. It’s one that alters your immune system. This could be any of the following azathioprine (sold as Imuran), mycophenolate mofetil (sold as CellCept), cyclophosphamide (sold as Cytoxan) or cyclosporine (sold as Sandimmune
and Neoral).
It’s generally believed within the medical community that if you remove the thymus gland, you can bring relief. While this is the belief, it doesn’t necessarily reflect itself in the statistics. Of those who undergo surgery only about one-quarter of these people actually go into remission within a year. In fact, many of these individuals see no improvement for years down the road. This surgery is usually recommend for those younger than 60.
Before agreeing to this surgery, consult very seriously with your physician to try to determine the odds of your condition actually improving.
The cause of myasthenia gravis is an abundance of antibodies. Now medical specialists have developed a procedure that can actually remove some of the excess of antibodies from your system. It’s called plasmapheresis (and pronounced plaz-muh-fuh-RE-sis). It literally takes those antibodies that are responsible for blocking the transmission of signals from your nerve endings to the receptor sites of your muscles.
It works like this: blood is taken from your body. It’s passed through a filter created specifically to remove these specific antibodies. Then the blood –minus the antibodies – is returned to your system.
There are two problems with this procedure though: it’s expensive and time consuming. And while it helps alleviate the antibody problem, there is still a need to treat the long-term restoration of your muscle strength. If this isn’t done, your body simply creates new antibodies to replace those which have been removed.
An alternative treatment to plasmapheresis is a therapy which supplies your body with normal antibodies, in hopes of altering your immune system response. It’s called intravenous immune globulin. It possesses fewer risks of side effects than the plasmapheresis and the immune-suppressing therapy. The are several drawbacks to this approach. First, it can take up to two weeks to start working. Secondly, it doesn’t have an effective long-term track record. The procedure may take up to a week or more to take effect. And then it may only provide lasting relief for a few weeks. At best, the procedure’s effects will be felt for several months.
This therapy is also expensive. And it’s not yet clear whether it really offers any clear benefits that the other alternatives lack. For these reasons, this approach to management of myasthenia gravis is reserved only for those who are severely ill.
At the same time that your physician administers these various medications, he may also suggest that you undergo physical and occupational therapy. These approaches help you to adjust to the necessary tasks you need to accomplish at home and at work.
Chapter 5 Natural Treatments
Emotional stress makes myasthenia gravis worse. Look into natural ways to distress.
Meditation is a great way and it requires no special equipment, no special clothing, no special high level of energy, and no specific location.
You can do it without much training as well. If you believe this may help with your symptoms, you can start simply enough. First, you’ll want to find a distraction-free environment. This is, without a doubt, the most important element if you’re just starting on your meditation journey.
Choose a location that is as free of noises and interruptions as possible. The quieter the environment, the better. As you delve more into this form of relaxation, you’ll soon be able to block out many noises and find you can meditate just about anywhere, including public places like waiting rooms, airport lobbies or other areas.
Some people suggest you employ the classic Eastern pose. This means you’re sitting upright with your spine straight and your legs crossed. They say this posture provides you with the maximum benefits. However, many others say that meditation can be performed in just about any posture. If you choose to stand or lie down instead of sit, that’s fine.
You can even meditate while you’re walking. In fact, there’s an ancient form of meditation just now making a revival. It’s called labyrinth walking. You walk through a large circuitous route made of hedges or trees. It takes you to the center of the structure. The physical walk of this maze symbolizes the spiritual journey into your inner self.
Once you found a poses you’re comfortable with, you’ll want to choose a focus of attention. Whether you choose to concentrate on your breath or an external object is truly a matter of personal preference – and effectiveness.
You may even want to develop your own personal mantra to recite as you meditate. A mantra is a single word or phrase repeated as you focus your thoughts. Many individuals choose the “ohm” sound. Others prefer words such as love, Jesus, Lord or other words meaningful to them depending on their religious affiliation and spiritual orientation.
All meditation also requires the practitioner keep a nonjudgmental attitude. As you clear your mind of all thoughts, you need to be patient with yourself. Don’t immediately judge yourself as bid if you have problems, especially when you’re first starting out, in trying to clear your mind.
Many meditators claim that the mind resists the clearing of all thoughts, especially when you’re first embarking on your journey of meditation. They explain the part of your mind known as the ego is the originator of all these incessant thoughts. When you begin to quiet it, the ego believes it’s being pushed aside. So you may, indeed, find that during your first several sessions, that the very act of meditation is producing an increase in mindless chatter.
Meditation is best practiced twice day – once in the morning upon rising and then again before going to sleep in the evening. In fact, Dr. Raj Kapoor, M.D., an internist in Pittsburgh, PA, and a practitioner of meditation recommends that your morning habit is best practiced between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.
These hours, he explains, are considered sacred in such cultures as India. He also recommends that you face the north or the east when performing your meditation.
When you first start meditating, you may wonder whether you’re doing it correctly. Roger Thomson, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Chicago and a Zen meditator. His answer to this doubt: “If you’re feeling better at the end [of your session], you are probably doing it right.”
Nutritional approach
Some alternative health care practitioners say that the symptoms of myasthenia gravis can be controlled through the increased supplementation of vitamins – especially the B family of vitamins.
These individuals point to experiments in which vitamins B1, B2, B6 as well as pantothenic acid were administered to those individuals afflicted with this rare autoimmune disorder. Their symptoms improved. Some experiments, in fact, go back as far as World War II, they contend. Prisoners of war in Singapore developed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis. The cause of this, many believe, was malnutrition. These medical professionals say that the cases of this disease improved with a high-vitamin diet that included an abundance of yeast and liver.
The B-family of vitamins has long been recognized as energy producing nutrients. They are the first line of defense in the treatment of anemia as well as other energy-related health concerns.
Consider this when you’re thinking about supplementing your diet with B vitamins. Vitamin B1, in conjunction with manganese, is essential for the synthesis of acetylcholine in the nerve endings. When your body lacks these vital nutrients, it may very well cause a reduced signal from nerves to the muscles. That opens up the door to increased muscle weakness and other neurological complications.
Not only that, but when your B1 level is low, this causes lactic acid to accumulate in your muscles, which in turn, causes fatigue.
The 5 Step Plan to Healing Myasthenia Gravis
Step 1: Alkalization
Understanding the Acid/Alkaline Balance
Everyone knows that your body temperature is supposed be 98.6°F. The fact that most people don't know is that your blood should have a pH of 7.365 on a scale of 0 to 14, 0 being pure Acid and 14 being pure Alkaline. Anything either side of 7.365 would mean severe disease or death.
Of course this doesn’t happen because our bodies find ways to compensate and put the body back into balance through the use of minerals, vitamins and excretion.
By eliminating this dependency on our bodies by living a more Alkaline lifestyle, our body is able to come into balance naturally and direct minerals and vitamins to the parts of the body that truly need it.
The Acid Trap
There are three main reasons that your body will go into an acidic state, they include:
1. Food Intake
2. Emotional Input
3. Physical Activity
Food Intake
Starting with everyone’s favorite – FOOD. Firstly I will explain what happens to food once it goes into your mouth:
1) First your saliva moistens the food and makes it soft for digestion.
2) You then swallow then the food and it passes down the esophagus.
3) Your LES opens and the food goes into the stomach.
4) While in the stomach your food is metabolized and it the metabolizing process forms either a residue known as an “ASH”. This ash is either an “ACID ASH” or an “ALKALINE ASH”.
5) The food then passes to the lower intestine for mineral absorption and further digestion and then onto the large intestine for expulsion. (this step is not important, we are focusing on no. 4.
Now this Ash, whether it is Acid or Alkaline, contributes to your internal environment and ultimately your internal balance!! Now if we all ate an equal amount of both Acid and Alkaline forming foods then we would all be in perfect balance and would have any problems. However, the modern Western
Diet is packed with Acid Forming foods such as sugar, meats, alcohol and sodas, therefore day after day we are filling up our bodies with more and more acid and basically “slowly killing ourselves with what we put in our mouth”.
Emotional Input
These days one’s Mind’s effect on one’s Body is now an accepted concept among the majority of Medical Practitioners. When your mind has a thought it creates peptides and sends them through the body, receptors then “grab” the peptides and then you will get a physical feeling. This is why your mind and emotions play a huge part in the physical health of your body and cells.
Acid forming emotions include:
• Anger
• Frustration
• Stress
• Sadness
Alkaline forming emotions include:
• Happiness
• Excitement
• Joy
• Relaxation
Unfortunately again, as was the case with food, living the way we do in this modern “Go Go” society we frequently feel more acid emotions than alkaline ones. To manage this you need to learn how to manage your emotional state on a daily basis.
Physical Activity
Physical Activity also plays an important role in your body’s pH Balance. The main reason for this is to do with the elimination of acidic toxins through the Lymphatic System.
Your Lymphatic System is a secondary circulatory system that collects waste and toxins throughout your body and discards them through multiple methods of excretion. Lymph is like your own little garbage collector. Now, the main difference between the Circulatory System (Blood) and the Lymphatic System (Lymph) is that the Lymphatic System does not have a Pump (Heart) like the Circulatory System does.
So how does that Lymph get circulated through the body? That’s simple, your MUSCLES. That’s right, Lymph moves slowly through the body due the “milking action” of skeletal muscles. Which is why YOU MUST EXERCISE. Sure the day-to-day movement of muscles in everyday tasks is enough to keep you functioning but please understand the importance of exercise in the elimination of toxins. Forget thinking about exercise as a necessity for weight loss, it is a necessity for vibrant Health and Well-being.
If your Lymph system is not circulating at an acceptable rate Bacteria, Microforms and Parasites will thrive in your over-acidic environment. They will breed more of their own and also secrete more their waste into your blood stream (which is also acidic). I know this sounds like a big vicious cycle, but guess what, it’s the truth. It is why aging western society is now riddled with Diabetes, Heart Disease and Cancer. These diseases were not born into us, we did not catch them, they are a conclusion of our reckless lifestyles. The sooner society believes this the sooner we can start reducing this disease instead of finding the next miracle Pill or Surgery. PREVENTION is the key. Sorry I am rambling aren’t I, I guess that’s because I am so passionate about this.
Which Factor Applies to Me?
It is hard to say which of the above most contributes you personally being over-acidic, I guess it would be best to judge for yourself as you know your lifestyle best e.g. If you stress a lot then Emotional Input would be your main factor or if you eat lots of sugar based foods and drink lots of alcohol then it would be Food Intake, however this program caters for all three factors and I would expect you to make the changes in all areas equally according to the Program.
Alkalizing Protocol (Exactly What to do)
Alkalizer 1: Apple Cider vinegar and Bi-Carb Soda (Baking Soda).
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) is a well known remedy has been used for years for many ailments from Acid Reflux to Menopause. The reason it is so widely used is that it purifies the blood like nothing else on earth.
Lime Juice is helpful for providing healthy citrate so that you don’t feel so tired when you attempt exercise.
Bi-Carb Soda (Baking Soda) is better known by most people for it’s household cleaning properties. But I can assure you, this little household product will have you feeling fine. Why? Bi-Carb is a natural Alkalizing agent. It alkalizes the body and forms an environment in which harmful bacteria and microforms find it impossible to survive.
• Take one coffee mug.
• ½ teaspoon of Baking Soda (Bi-Carb Soda)
• 2 Tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). You must make sure that this ACV is Organic with the Mother apple. The most common brand is Braggs. Do not use the everyday ACV from the Supermarket… It must be organic.
• Add warm (not boiling) water.
• Drink it up. It may burn a little, but you will learn to enjoy this warm soothing drink.
• Drink this 3 times a day.
Alkalizer 2: Nutrition
Well the time has come for me to be a big meanie, and confiscate all of the bad foods that are playing a large part in the cause of your “dis-ease”.
1) No Caffeine
2) No Chocolate
3) Reduce/Cut out your Sugar intake. Use a natural sweetener available from health food stores called Stevia.
4) No Alcohol
5) No Smoking
6) No Deep Fried or High Fat Foods (e.g. Donuts)
7) Be sure to eat lots of green vegetables and salads.
I have also put on the following page foods sorted in their values of alkalinity.
So try to eat as many Alkaline foods as possible and as little Acidic foods possible.
Also make sure you do a good Raw Food Detox – A good book to get is the Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalie Rose.
Food Ash Charts
The following Food Ash pH Charts (next page) have been sourced from the book "Back To The House Of Health" by Shelley Redford Young.
Foods that you Can Eat All the Time:
Vegetables
Brussels Sprouts +0.5
Barley Grass +28.1
White Beans (Navy Beans) +12.1
Peas, Ripe +0.5
Soy Sprouts +29.5
Asparagus +1.3
Sprouted Radish Seeds +28.4
Granulated Soy (Cooked Ground Soy Beans) +12.8
Comfrey +1.5
Sprouted Chia Seeds +28.5
Soy Nuts (soaked Soy Beans Then Air Dried) +26.5
Green Cabbage, March Harvest +2.0
Alfalfa Grass +29.3
Lettuce +2.2
Cucumber, Fresh +31.5
Soy Lecithin (Pure) +38.0
Onion +3.0
Wheat Grass +33.8
Cauliflower +3.1 Nuts
White Cabbage +3.3
Almonds +3.6
White Raddish (Spring) +3.1
Green Cabbage, December Harvest +4.0
Rutabaga +3.1
Savoy Cabbage +4.5
Kohlrabi +5.1
Sesame Seeds +0.5
Lamb's Lettuce +4.8
Horseradish +6.8
Cumin Seeds +1.1
Peas, Fresh +5.1
Turnip +8.0
Fennel Seeds +1.3
Zucchini +5.7
Carrot +9.5
Caraway Seeds +2.3
Red Cabbage +6.3
Beet +11.3
Rhubarb Stalks +6.3
Red Radish +16.7
Leeks (Bulbs) +7.2
Summer Black Radish +39.4
Watercress +7.7
Spinach, March Harvest +8.0
Chives +8.3
French Cut Green Beans +11.2
Sorrel +11.5
Spinach (Other Than March) +13.1
Garlic +13.2
Celery +13.3
Cabbage Lettuce, Fresh +14.1
Coconut Water +9.04
Endive, Fresh +14.5
Cayenne Pepper +18.8
Straw Grass +21.4
Shave Grass +21.7
Dog Grass +22.6
Dandelion +22.7
Kamut Grass +27.6
Fats (fresh cold pressed)
Flax Seed Oil +3.5
Olive Oil (fresh cold pressed) +1.0
Borage Oil +3.2
Evening Primrose Oil +4.1
Marine Lipids +4.7
Fruits
Fresh Lemon +9.9
Limes +8.2
Tomato +13.6
Avocado (Protein) +15.6
Non stored organic grains and legumes
Lima Beans +12.0
Soybeans, Fresh +12.0
Tofu +3.2
Soy Flour +2.5
Lentils +0.6
Spelt +0.5
Buckwheat Groats +0.5
Foods that you can eat sparingly:
Fish
Fresh Water Fish -11.8
Non-Stored Grains
Brown Rice -12.5
Wheat -10.1
Fruits Nuts and Seeds
(In Season, For Cleansing Only Or With Moderation)
Wheat Kernel -11.4
Rose Hips -15.5
Walnuts -8.0
Pineapple -12.6
Pumpkin Seeds -5.6
Mandarin Orange -11.5
Sunflower Seeds -5.4
Bananna, Ripe -10.1
Macadamia Nuts -3.2
Pear -9.9
Hazelnuts -2.0
Peach -9.7
Flax Seeds -1.3
Apricot -9.5
Brazil Nuts -0.5
Papaya -9.4
Orange -9.2 Fats
Mango -8.7
Sunflower Oil -6.7
Tangerine -8.5
Coconut Milk -1.5
Currant -8.2
Gooseberry, Ripe -7.7
Grape, Ripe -7.6
Cranberry -7.0
Black Currant -6.1
Strawberry -5.4
Blueberry -5.3
Rasberry -5.1
Yellow Plum -4.9
Italian Plum -4.9
Date -4.7
Cherry, Sweet -3.6
Cantaloupe -2.5
Red Currant -2.4
Fig Juice Powder -2.4
Grapefruit -1.7
Watermelon -1.0
Coconut, Fresh +0.5
Cherry, Sour +3.5
Bananna, Unripe +4.8
Foods that you should not eat:
Stored Potatoes +2.0
Artificial Sweetners -26.5
Chocolate -24.6
White Sugar -17.6
Pork -38.0
Beet Sugar -15.1
Veal -35.0
Molasses -14.6
Beef -34.5
Dr. Bronner's Barley Malt Sweetner -9.8
Ocean Fish -20.0
Chicken (to -22) -18.0
Dried Sugar Cane Juice(Sucanat) -9.6
Eggs (to -22) -18.0
Oysters -5.0
Barley Malt Syrup -9.3
Liver -3.0
Fructose -9.5
Organ Meats -3.0
Milk Sugar -9.4
Turbinado Sugar -9.5
Brown Rice Syrup -8.7
Hard Cheese -18.1
Honey -7.6
Quark -17.3
Cream -3.9
Homogenized Milk -1.0
Ketchup -12.4
Buttermilk +1.3
Mayonaise -12.5
Mustard -19.2
Soy Sauce -36.2
Vinegar -39.4
White Bread -10.0
White Biscuit -6.5
Whole-Meal Bread -6.5
Liquor -38.7
Whole-Grain Bread -4.5
Wine -16.4
Rye Bread -2.5
Beer -26.8
Coffee -25.1
Fruit Juice, Packaged, Natural -8.7
Pistachios -16.6
Fruit Juice Sweetened With White Sugar -33.6
Peanuts -12.8
Cashews -9.3
Tea (Black) -27.1
Margarine -7.5
Canned Foods
Corn Oil -6.5
Processed Foods
Step 2: Supplementation
O.K, now to get all of those Vitamins and minerals into your body that you might be deficient in.
I am not going to recommend any particular brands, but I will say this - if you are going to use the supplements that I have specified below please do some research or talk to your local health food store about vitamin absorption and quality of vitamins.
You see, there are a lot of WEAK vitamin products out there on the market. Some don’t even have the ingredients they claim to have – because they don’t need to be FDA approved.
Magnesium
Take 250mg of Magnesium per day, get a quality tablet from your health food store – it can be in any of the following forms:
• magnesium citrate
• magnesium gluconate
• magnesium orotate
• magnesium malate
• magnesium chloride
Chlorella/Spirulina Powder
These come in powder form – available from the majority of health food stores. Consume this twice a day as directed on the container.
Iodine Painting of Heels
You will need to get some iodine from the supermarket or drug store. If you can get the colorless kind – get that, as the normal one actually stains.
If you get the normal one just make sure you apply it in the bathroom on some paper towel.
You will apply this for 3 days a week.
You will painting the iodine on using a cotton ball and applying it to the balls of your feet (heel). Try not to get it on your fingers as it is hard to get off.
Don’t worry about walking with the iodine on your feet as it will dry literally in seconds.
Zinc Gluconate
Available from most health food stores. Taken everyday to boost your immune system and strengthen your thymus gland, alternatively you can add foods to your diet that are high in zinc like brazil nuts, ginger, garlic etc.
Coenzyme Q10
Get capsules of Coenzyme Q10 that are 30mg in strength and take one cap (30mg) per day – you may need to order this online if you can’t get it locally.
DHEA
Get 15mg capsules and take one per day. DHEA is an immune strengthening hormone which naturally occurs in your body, again you may have to order this online so I’ve posted a picture of the one I use.
Step 3: Microbe Killing
The general weakness you often feel indicates the fungus, or virus, which strips the body of energy.
Remedy 1: Clove oil mixed or diluted in water - 1 drop well stirred in a glass of water.
The energy pick up should be relatively quick within about 30 minutes.
Remedy 2: 3- 6 drops of 3% H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide 3% from Drug Store) into a glass of water.
So what I recommend is 6 Microbe killing sessions a day – this can be 3 of each remedy above spaced throughout the day evenly.
Remedy 3: Borax (One day a week)
Borax, as in 20 Mule Team, can be found in the laundry detergent aisle of your local Walmart.
Don’t let this alarm you, borax is not toxic, it is less toxic than every day table salt. In fact boron (the main element of borax) is an essential mineral for human nutrition. If you are still worried about consuming this then try to find boron homeopathic tablets (same thing different package).
Borax is also the most powerful remedy for cleansing the body of microforms, fungus and parasites.
So here are the directions for consuming Borax:
• Take a one liter bottle of purified filtered water.
• Add ¼ teaspoon of Borax.
• Sip this drink evenly throughout the day, do not drink all at once.
You only need to do this one day a week.
Step 4: Detoxification - Oil Pulling (or Oil Swishing)
Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic practice which involves putting Cold Pressed Sesame Oil or Sunflower Oil into your mouth and swishing, chomping it around your mouth for 10-15 minutes.
What does this do?
It literally pulls toxins and mucous from multiple areas of the body. This will reduce fatigue, and increase your energy greatly.
Instructions
1) Do this first thing in the morning before you brush your teeth or eat or drink.
2) Take 1 Tablespoon of Cold Pressed Sesame Oil or Sunflower Oil.
3) Put the oil in your mouth.
4) Swish it through your mouth thoroughly, suck it through your teeth and wash it around your mouth for 10 to 15 minutes. For maximum effect, do it for 15-20 minutes.
• WHEN YOU FINISHED, THE OIL SHOULD BE WHITE AND FOAMY. That’s how you know you’ve done it right, if not you need to suck the saliva from the insides of your cheeks while you are swishing.
• DO NOT GARGLE IN YOUR THROAT
• DO NOT SWALLOW THE OIL (IT NOW CONTAINS PARASITES)
5) Once you spit the water out, rinse your mouth out with water and follow with 2-3 glasses of purified, filtered water.
Do this for at least a couple of weeks, you will be surprised at how good you will feel, out of all the remedies that I recommend and personally use, this one is by far the most profound. I have seen this cure 15 year arthritis, sinusitis and many other chronic diseases.
If you do want to use this method for a more serious condition, then step it up and do the process above 3 times a day, TRY TO DO IT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
Step 5: Exercise
Now I know this isn’t everyone’s favorite subject in the world, in fact, most people dread the idea of strapping on the joggers, suiting up and heading for the local gym.
Look, no matter how much you hate exercise, it is an absolute necessity when it comes to autoimmune diseases.
Why? Well there are three reasons why you need to exercise during myasthenia gravis….
1) Energy
By exercising everyday or even 3-5 times a week your energy will explode, on the first day or two you may feel a little tired, but just hang in there for two weeks and I guarantee your energy will go through the roof.
2) Emotional Support
It is a well-known fact that exercise acts as a release for stress and other bad emotions. I can guarantee that if you were to force a person who suffered from depression to go out for a jog in the park at least once a day for ½ an hour, they would no longer suffer from depression.
Bold statement. I know. But trust me, at least go for a solid, sweaty 30-minute walk and feel the difference in your mood afterwards.
3) Blood flow
Exercise also increases blood flow and oxygen, which will help blood, vitamins and minerals reach the organs of your body, as well as Scleroderma affected areas of your body.
4) Lymphatic System
Exercise also increases the activity of the lymph system. You see the lymph system is the system that cleans up the toxins and waste from your blood.
But unlike the circulatory system it doesn’t have a heart to pump lymph through the body. Instead, it uses muscles – the movement of muscles activates the lymph system. Exercise is crucial to the operation of a healthy lymphatic system.
5) Joint Health
Exercise also promotes healthy joints. It will allow you to free up areas that are affected by scleroderma, and allow blood and oxygen to flow through them.
Types of Exercise
There are two types of exercises and I have a few recommendations that you can implement to get this exercise into your daily schedule as painlessly as possible.
Aerobic Exercise
This should be the cornerstone of your exercise program. Aerobic exercise is light to moderate activities that involve the use of large muscle groups and the respiratory system.
I find the best form of aerobic exercise for menopausal women is a brisk walk. This leads to recommendation number one:
Walk every second day for 30 minutes at a medium pace, try to get a sweat going. If you can’t get a sweat going, you ain’t walking fast enough!
Strength/Resistance Training
This kind of training will seem pointless to some women, but you must realize that strength/weight training has been proven to increase bone density and decrease your risk of developing osteoporosis. So if you want to remain mobile into your old age, I strongly recommend you follow this plan:
Get some medium weight dumbbells or go to the local gym and lift weights until you are fatigued, once a week.
The Rebounder
This has to be the best invention ever for sufferers of any Auto-Immune disease.
I recently went to a Tony Robbins (Yes the Infomercial guy with the big teeth) seminar. Anyway, he is a total health nut, he studies the best in the world, then implements what he learns in his life.
One of his biggest recommendations for total health and fitness and specifically rehabilitation of any illness was Jumping on a Rebounder!!
So what I recommend is, on the days that you don’t walk, bounce around on a rebounder for 25 minutes, and I’m telling you – you will be extremely pleased with how good you feel after bouncing round like a kid for a little while. What I have done, is I bought some DVD’s to go with my rebounder and just put it on and wotkout… But now that I know the workouts, guess what I do now… I put on my favorite TV show and bounce around while I watch that… See exercise can be fun to.
Emotional (Stress Management)
One of the worst things you can do while suffering from Myasthenia is get stressed, angry and depressed.
In this chapter I will discuss exactly what I did to eliminate every ounce of stress, anger and depression from my life.
Anthony Robbins, the world renowned success coach, has always said: “The quality of your life is determined by the emotions you experience consistently on a day to day basis.”
Using one of Tony’s technologies I will teach you how to change these emotions.
The way we feel at any point in time is determined by three factors:
1) Physiology – The way you mave your body (Smile, Slouching, Standing).
2) Focus – What you focus on.
3) Language/Meaning – The language you use or Meaning you attach to an event.
If I change any of these I change the intensity and sometimes the actual emotion.
Example:
I was sitting at my desk at work one day and I had a deadline for an important report that I just could not complete. A million things were going through my head, and basically I was stressed out of my mind and I could only imagine what damage I was doing to my body. If I break up my actions at that point in time they would look like this:
1) Physiology – Slouched over in my chair, my breathing was shallow, my face was drab and down, my head was facing down and was in my hands.
2) Focus – I was focusing on how there was no way I was going to finish that report. I was also focusing on what my boss would think or do if I didn’t get it finished.
3) Language/Meaning – My internal dialog sounded like: “There’s no way I’m gonna finish this thing” and “I can’t believe I said I could do this report”.
Now, because I knew this strategy I was only in this state for about two minutes. What did I do to get out of it? Well that’s simple, I just changed the three things above in the right order 1-2-3.
1) Physiology – I jumped out my chair, shook my body out, and actually started to breath properly.
2) Focus – I then started to focus how far I had come in my job and that I would have loved to have this report to do a few months ago. So I decided to see this as a great problem.
3) Language/Meaning – I started to tell myself, “This is a great opportunity to grow”.
Just by changing these three factors I went from being stressed to being determined and grateful for the opportunity that lay before me, and guess what, the report got done and it got done well!! Because I had a healthy, clear mind I was able to think more rapidly. Also more importantly I did not experience any ACID emotions at all!
Replies
Interesting, thanks
A lot of good info here. I read a book about alkaline diet for cancer patients. Sexy, Crazy Cancer) You can test your urine with litmus paper to see if it is acidic or alkaline. Thanks for info