Healing MS
 

Anyone know or read Ann Boroch's works:

www.annboroch.com/
Ann Boroch, expert on candida, multiple sclerosis, and health, shows how fatigue, allergies, depression, arthritis, immune issues and more can be healed with ...


My sister has MS and first got a "possible" dx when she was about 23, then her symptoms I believe went into a remission for 20some yrs. She went on to work work work, high stress, int'l travel so burned herself out, and confessed once to me she was addicted to sugars/carbs.

When the MS symptoms started to really come on strong, I pleaded with her to come to L.A. to meet/talk with Ann Boroch, my sister did have a 2 hr some meeting with her, left with one of Ann's original manuals, this was before she wrote the books she now has on the market.

But, my sister went back to her home and as I gathered over years did NOT follow the nutrition Ann taught. My sis went to all the MS doctors and did every imaginable drug, injections, infusions and today I feel like I've lost my sister. She has lost her talking ability and as I understand from our brother she cannot feed herself. Her husband is her caregiver and I believe they have someone come in to help out with her care.

I have shed my tears but so often wonder IF she had followed Ann's rules on nutrition, would she be in better condition today.

Would appreciate hearing from any of you folks here.

I have my own issues and cannot travel to the EC or travel anywhere anymore, so I have not seen my sister in too many years....now we can hardly talk to each other...very very sad. -

Oh, I told her about LDN about 8 yrs ago as I was trying it for arthritis and hoped it would help me from doing a hip replacement, it didn't help me, but in learning about LDN I found a lot of info on it helping with MS. My sister did NOT hear me on the LDN...

But, when I told a friend here who deals with MS as well about LDN, my friend got on LDN and it's helped her a lot over the years. My friend does fairly well and I reminded her recently about the sugar/carb issue.

Just reading thru some of the reviews on Ann's latest book and here is one:


*Copyright © 2014 Ann Boroch CNC All rights reserved. Disclaimer*


It's true that foods can kill and foods can heal. It's so true too, it's all coming out that this low fat, non fat craze was so wrong. We need good fats. Weston Price has said this for decades, his foundation goes on in his name. Personally, I never bought into that craze.

I have no investment in Ann Boroch, but did meet her some yrs ago when I got my sister out to the West Coast to meet with her. I don't remember the exact year, but maybe 10 yrs ago or more. Ann told my sister she healed her own MS.... Here is Ann's story:
Pretty amazing, I say.


[Meet 'Ann Boroch' & Learn How She Cured Herself of Multiple Sclerosis, Naturally!
Ann Boroch is a Certified Nutritional Consultant, Naturopath, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified Iridologist, Educator, Author, and Inspirational Speaker. She is a graduate of the International Society of Naturopathy, the Holmes Center for Hypnotherapy, the American Association of Nutritional Consultants, and Bernard Jensen's International Iridology Practitioners Association.] www.AnnBoroch.com


*Copyright © 2014 Ann Boroch CNC All rights reserved. Disclaimer*

You can add the link to the related sticky thread above the main MS forum section.


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Be aware of copyrighted content on pages/sites that you copy/paste from..

Generally the best way to share, to avoid copyright problems, is a snip of a few lines and then the link.

Thanks Jo, I don't understand all the sticky stuff and I'll just muddle thru as I do, I didn't even look for the copyright info on the info I posted....my bad... I'll try to remember to snip.

Anyway, after reading more about Ann's story, I can't help think that MS can be healed to a a huge degree. Reading some more comments from those reading her book, talk about how the drugs all make things worse....I have to agree there. For the most part.

Just giving my thoughts here. I think it's great that there are some people who have been helped by Ann. However, before you lament too much over your sister not following her guide to 'healing', try to understand that many a time things like this cause a placebo effect and not everyone will be 'healed' by it.

Diet and exercise does play a HUGE role in our health, be you a sufferer of MS or a perfectly healthy individual. But for the same token there are far too many variables with in the human genome and environment to suggest one can be 'healed' or 'cured' strictly through diet and positive thinking.

Your sister admitted to a sugar addiction, sugar is (granted not well) known for being an all-natural pain reliever, which might be why your sister became addicted. It's also an emotion booster (happiness in a crystal), and quick and easily absorbed energy. Though the energy boost does come with a crash, sugar has a far more gentle effect on emotional highs than anti-depressants, as well as a gentler off coming than 'traditional' pain relievers.

It's more a wonder that people with MS and similar disorders aren't knocking over Pixi-Stix vendors :p. As sugar alliviates the majority of our symptoms. But at the same time we all know we can't eat nothing but sugar. And cutting it out (which even the worst diabet still can't do and isn't told to do so by their doctors and nutritionalist) isn't possible either. The body needs sugar, needs fat, needs cholesterol....

So the question starts to become how much of those is "healthy".... Now we're back to spinning our wheels once more, because what might be "healthy" for me, could give some else a heart attack, and still yet starve someone else.

My chelostrol is low, total doesn't even add up to 100, back when I could exercise far more, I was lucky (gorging myself on eggs) if I could get it my total to add up to 50. My iron on the other hand is through the roof, I barely take in any iron, I have to not only completely avoid any fortified foods, but also avoid any iron rich foods, or I get iron poisoning, a multivitamin containing iron sends me to the ER as my body seizes while vomiting blood.

A 2 hour session with someone whose going to 'heal' me through my diet.... Eh.... Maybe if they take tons of blood work, and are registered dietitians that have a doctorate in medical science as well. I have a hard enough time just dealing with my neurologist and family doctor when they tell me what I should and shouldn't eat. The neuro tells me to avoid something and I do, and my family doctor (when I'm going in to see them for the aftermath of following the neuros orders) tells me I was a fool for doing it and I'm lucky I didn't kill myself.

Those are just a few of the hoops I have to jump through in figuring out what to eat, staying and living in the south east, throw me back home to NH for more than a week and the game changes yet again, do it in the winter time and well that's a whole new ball of wax. Winter in NH means an increase in iron (can even take a vitamin with iron), tons more calories, and enough chelostrol to stop the heart of a bull moose! Summertime there means "NO" iron except trace amounts, salt and sugar becomes special treats.

Even splitting the difference and going to OH there's yet another curveball to my dietary needs.

So no I can't obtain a 'diet' or exercise regime from a book, I can't get it through a self-help seminar, and highly doubt I could from a 2 hour one on one. Her 'plan' may work for many people, but it will not work for all people. Like the paleo diet, and even all the numerous pharmaceuticals out there.

Sorry for the length of this post, and I do hope your sister will find something which helps her. She just might have figured out early on that this particular program wasn't going to be it for her.

Thank you for your comments. I know in my long life, sugar has been a killer. A mouthful of dental work, and body full of OA...we were raised on a lot of sugar as back in my mom's days there was none of the info we have today.

I feel sad as I see where my sister is today after so many years of EXPENSIVE drugs that were to "slow down" the progression, and she is worse off and can no longer talk well and feed herself and hasn't walked in years. I think she may be getting new occupational therapy now as her voice was a little bit stronger/clearer on her last message to me on the phone.

I see some with MS who seem to do pretty well considering. My sister's docs kept her in hope of stem cells which never happened.

I've been on the alternative/holistic path for over 25 yrs and at one Weston Price support group meetings, Nancy Appleton spoke, she has written books on the sugar addiction world. Nancy at one point, mentioned how cancer cells thrive in a sugar environment...I've never forgotten that. After hearing that from her I stopped buying the candy bars at the check out register at the markets, etc....they are there calling to us.

We have so many health issues and I am a firm believer that nutrition and what we put in our months are huge contributors.

Hi caroline2,

Your sister had 20 some odd years of remission. That is awesome! :yahoo: Do you not understand how fortunate she was to have all those years to live the life she wanted?

Those of us with this disease have no guarantees. There are those that are diagnosed and have lived their entire life with a healthy diet and lifestyle, but they still received a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.

Even if someone had an unhealthy lifestyle and made changes that doesn't mean they won't progress or have relapses. Even the treatment for this disease can't give a guarantee.

I have been diagnosed with MS for 30 years with symptoms that started in childhood. I have never used any of the MS treatments and my diet is not always that healthy. I have had 5 relapses in the 30 years of diagnosis. I am not in the condition your sister is.

There is truly no rhyme or reason to this disease. It is completely unpredictable regardless of what we do or don't do.

Can you send a letter or e-mail? If she is not able to be on the computer or write someone could read what you have written. This may be helpful for both of you. But please, don't bring up the past to her. Simply express your love, compassion and sharing news of your life with her (just a suggestion).

Starznight,

So much wisdom and understanding in your post for someone newly diagnosed :hug:

I'm sure dealing with MS is not just one way issue. My friend here locally was able to go to Dominican Republic years ago for stem cells, at the time it cost her $25K. She takes LDN and I'm not sure about any other drugs or her nutrition. She lived closer but moved away, now we talk now and then on line.

I use Coconut Oil for everything -- cooking, eating tsps, skin care, joint oil in my topical creams I mix up, make my toothpaste with CO and MSM...I love coconut oil. Weston Price is big on CO also. I don't know Ann B's position on CO but there is a lot of info on CO and MS.

Here is one and there are many:

draxe.com/5-natural-treatments-multiple-sclerosis/
ms treatment coconut oil Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that can develop at any age. Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects ...

Snoopy, when my sis lost control of a pen/pencil at about 22, there was no definite dx, one doc said "maybe" MS. Then she did go on to work many years, as I said a high stress job, int'l travel ..

I send her cards and flowers, she never was on the computer, she thought about it, but never did. So, I guess what you are saying she got many good years and then it really hit her probably 15 yrs ago. I would never mention the past with her and her choices.

The last time I saw her was in 2005 and she was using a walker and we worked to bury our dad, me with OA and Fibro and her with MS. Cleaning out his house, selling it, moving him to senior apt and then he gave up at 96. Anyway...lots of history.

So you are saying you never used any of the MS drugs? I remember seeing her map areas of her body and injecting, walking around with infusions and her talking about the expensive drugs....she did them all.

It was such a shock when I heard my sister's voice a couple years ago, and my brother said, she could not feed herself anymore..all I could think about was all the drugs she believed so much in. They have not saved her. No, I will never bring this up to her or her family. Thanks for listening, guess I had to talk about this. My own daughter doesn't want to hear "negative" stuff from me, she deals with a lot of her own challenges and raising 2 children on her own.

Hi caroline2,

In written form you seem to be dealing with a lot of emotional pain, for yourself and for your sister :hug:

Is there someone who could read to her? Someone that could read a letter you may want to write? If so try, for her and you.

That is correct. I was diagnosed in 1985 at the age of 24. The first MS drug became available to the general MS population in 1993, by lottery. I did have a lottery number. Through the years I have chosen not to use the Disease Modifying Therapies/Disease Modifying Drugs (DMTs/DMDs aka MS drugs).

Some with MS do well on the DMTs and some continue to progress. Your Sister obviously tried to slow or stop the progression :hug: It sounds like she was following the recommendation of her Dr.

That's pretty stunning, no drugs...I guess I just have gauged any MS issues with the drugs and my sister's path.

As many have said, often the drugs are worse than the disease.

This kinda makes me think of RA as I've been on a health group where so many with RA took the drugs with mega side effects, they talked about, but for them they felt the side effects were better than the RA progression.

My neighbor was dx'd with RA about a year ago and did some of the drugs but is now off them as she's dealing with the side effects aftermath. Says she will NOW work with the RA with nutrition and her aleve. She's on a fixed income so I give her a supplement now and then to help her with fish oils and DGL stomach protector. She and I have mindsets of less drugs as possible...but with the RA recently she went on a few but is off them now. Hope that she will make it the way she is handling her condition.

I deal with bodywide OA and Fibro (so I've been told) and take none of the heavy duty drugs, ibuprofen and DGL for stomach protection, is my heavy drug. Then there is this mess from hip replacement, which has been lifechanging in a way I didn't expect. I manage and try not to worry about the down the road with advanced aging, 77 soon. My sis is 67.

My 1:30 ibuprofen is kicking in and feeling less pain. Doesn't last long enough....C

I've taken several of the DMD's over the years.

Copaxone was first......followed by Betaseron.......followed by LDN......followed by Tecfidera. None of the DMD's helped and some were horribly sickening. LDN was the only thing that didn't have debilitating side effects.

I'm done with Big Pharma. No more MS drugs for me.

I try to eat as healthy as I can on my income. Sometimes I just have to eat whatever I can afford.

Some people have good outcomes using diet as a main remedy for MS. I think just about anyone would benefit from a healthy diet.

Kitty, good to see so many doing well with LDN, I know there is a support group for LDN in general, I was on it years ago when I was trying it, but there could be an MS LDN group too, I'd bet there is. As I said, I told my sis about it when I was trying it back in early 2010, but she and hub didn't "hear" me. I sure have tried.

And yes, a clean quality diet is good for EVERYTHING and EVERY BODY. I'd love to see the drug tv ads gone, but something tells me it ain't gonna happen.

They're everywhere!! And if you listen to all the adverse side effects they are legally obligated to disclose you'd almost rather deal with whatever condition you already have versus adding new problems to the mix.

Big Pharma is banking on disabled folks trying anything and everything. They promise near miracles but only give you enough to keep you coming back.

No cure for MS or any other neurological condition will be found.....that would be financial suicide to the pharmaceutical companies.

Good thing there's computer geeks out there taking down big pharma! We're getting much closer to solving the cooling issues for computers that can do countless computations at once. Meaning it can easily compute a person's gemetics, diet, and environment as well as compute what changes will fix what ails them. We're getting so, so close to individualized medicine, where a simple prick of a finger or swab of the mouth will give the answers to what ails you and how to cure you.

Just a bit crappy that it's not here yet. Gotta wait for at least the next generation to come up and pray our school systems don't ruin it.

Amen!!!! :eek::mad:

OT a bit, but speaking of "cures"..the closest I've gotten to a cure is with OPC's, my choice has been pycnogenol and grape seed extract and going on 20 yrs in Sept this year.

Prior to 1995, I was a slave to otc allergy/sinus drugs and allergist appts...never getting help, never. Giving them more time and money and never getting better.

That all ended in Sept 1995 when I got on Pycnogenol and within a couple weeks I tossed out the drugs, NEVER to buy any again nor see an allergy doc....TRUTH.

The Main Reason I got on Pycnogenol, we were told it "may" prevent cancer...I was 57 and that was MUSIC to my ears. But little did I know my allergy issues would be "cured"...

I've posted about OPC's on the vitamins/supps section here and talk about OPC's every chance.

Some of my "older" bridge friends are finally on grape seed ex and they are shocked at their improvement in overall health....one friend is 93 this year and she is NEVER sick...and more energy than most of us older gals. She's on grape seed ex about 5 yrs now.

NOW, I'd LOVE to see OPC ads on TV and billboards you name it, so many many people could be saved from so many health issues and the drugs.....Amen

Some have accused me of being invested in the OPC world of business, and my only investment is to help others find out about them and improve their lives. If only OPC's could have saved me from a hip replacement....talk about a bunch of side effects..

One Disclaimer: If a person takes pharma blood thinner, then can't take OPC's..one or the other...

Ok, I give. What is OPCs?

Oh Sally, probably 1/2% of our population know about OPC's....if everyone knew, good grief, pharma would lose tons of profits.

All I can say, I was at the right place at the right time in Aug 1995, learning about Pycnogenol.

This is the link I have in the vitamins section here:




www.opc.cc/opc-faq.html
OPC Antioxidant Reference Guide ... OPC contains real antioxidant protection based upon 50 years of research by Dr. Jack Masquelier and Berkem ...

Here is another link and MS is mentioned. I DO NOT ENDORSE this company, nor any company for that matter. Just the Info.

www.life-sources.com › Booklets
After 50 years of research regarding the health benefits of OPC's (called Pycnogenol® .... OPC's also help deliver nutrients to the brain such as zinc, manganese, ...

At this site, go to the search and type in OPC and the info will come up and the mention of MS.

Sally, I was sitting here feeling not very aware and that was my question!! Gonna Google.

With both you and Sally lol, ;) and did Google it. But so far seems to be nothing more than an antioxidant, primarily derived from grape seeds. I eat grapes and drink wine so covered :p. Along with blueberries, cranberries, love me some apple skin (respiratory health). But still get frequent bronchial infections, Ms and being tested for RA too. Can say no UTIs though so guessing the cranberries work great for me :D, even if the apples and juice didn't save the gall bladder or bronchi.

Naw, I think MS is more complex than that.

I'm not saying a cure for MS, just that these OPC's, powerful antioxidants, address some 66 health systems. I eat some grapes, but can't find seeds in them anymore, these are the most powerful part of the grape. And to get what is packed in those caps/tabs, one has to eat a lot of everything.

Just putting it out there and what has been pretty lifechanging for me.

Whine is good. You want some cheese with that? It's a party!!

Caroline what dosage of grape seed do you take?

What about Pycnogenol.....what dosage of that do you take?

Kitty, depending on bodyweight, one has to take enough for one's weight, but I take more than my weight...why don't ask. Most of my friends take 200mg grape seed ex, I take that dose and often another 200mg later in day. I'm on it so LONG...I like vitacost grape seed and they sell a Muscadine Grape Seed (not extract) and one cap is 500mg...Muscadine grapes are high resveratrol. Read reviews, there are tons.

On Pycnogenol, one does not need to take both...when I got on "P" back in 1995 I believe I took 100mg per day. And did this for the first year..back then I spent $40 a month of "P". But the fact that my allergy/sinus issues were gone, that was cheap price to pay. Price has come down a lot....swansons sells 100mg caps for $17 or so for 30 caps. I still buy the "P" caps as I make my own skin moisturizer with a base of coconut oil/vitamin E cream and 2 caps of "P" powder....Mix this in a 4 oz jar and I make enough for a 6 month portion at a time. There are many "P" and Grape Seed Ex moisturizers on the market too....but I like making my own now. I first bought an anti wrinkle cream from swansons years ago and it contained Pycnogenol.

Being retired, I have a lot of time to do these things. I worked 40 some yrs and now I love my free time.

Love these OPC's. I have a story about when I got my mom on "P" back when I found how good I was doing....gotta take a break. C

Remember, if one is taking pharma blood thinner, then can't take both. These OPC's keep our blood thinned and "clean, not sticky".

Back to my mom's experience with OPC's (Pycnogenol)...back in 1995 when I found how great I was doing on "P", I had to get my mom on it....she was about 86 and lived in PA and had her share of colds/flu/cold sores in her life...I started to send her a bottle to get on "P" and in calls to her, she would tell me, no colds, no more cold sores and her voice across the U.S. was clearer and stronger, I get goosebumps thinking of that experience...she was on these antioxidants up pretty close to her death at 91.

I had my dad get on "P" but he stopped in a couple days, he wanted some kind of miracle and had no clue about antioxidants etc. He died at 96.

She had a lifetime of OA and my sis mentioned that she thought our mom had MS...I didn't think so...My mom would wobble as she got much older, but I believe that was due to a horrid bunion and messed up toe that she would never think of doing surgery...thinking back I am amazed how well she did all her life and how much pain she must have been in.

Wonder now, how people did who had MS many many years ago.

Oh, back to the OPC's they contain anti viral, anti bacterial, anti fungal properties.

Many years ago people took high doses of steroids. Many, many years ago they suffered through life with the knowledge they had a progressive disease that would just barely leave them alive (and probably many that had RRMS were treated as hypochondriacs) and over a century ago the worst of them suffered through syanide injections, gold and silver and assorted heavy metals.

It is hardly a new disease, the first "verified" existence of the disease dates back to the mid 1800's, with a documented history of symptoms and follow-up detailed autopsy. However, many of the same symptoms, progressions and resistance to other neurological treatments, that we still see today can be traced back through documentation to Ancient Greece.

How it was handled back in the day, isn't much different than what those of us go through when first getting our diagnosis. We suffer through our symptoms, are treated like hypochondriacs, questioned if our significant others or parents are 'abusive', wonder ourselves if it's not just all in our heads, and pray tomorrow we'll wake up perfectly fine and bursting with energy.

When we finally do get to "name" our problem, we seek out every bit of information, and occasionally some of us just give up immediately. We battle and battled through suicidal thoughts not for lack of desire to live but for want of a body that will do as we say and sometimes driven by maddening pain, as the roller coaster of hopes and dreams that come from every promised 'cure' or 'stopper' set forth by both big pharma, as well as little herbologists.

We try it all, we fight it all, and the rare few make it through, stopping progression and even rarer still finding improvement and their way back to normalcy. While the rest of us ride the crushing wave of defeat, and anxiously await the next hope, until we become one of their rare few or simply hop off the ride and await what will come with whatever dignity we have remaining, leaving the coaster of 'cures' for the next generation to ride upon.

You will have to forgive us if any of our comments have come off as snarky. Try to understand with a title of 'healing' MS it strikes a chord that lies within us all. Through our fight with this disease we quickly lose friends, forget about acquaintances, and many of us even have our own flesh and blood abandon us.

We are chronically plagued by people 'blaming' us for our disease, ourselves included. Picking on our diets, our will power, even our sleeping posture. It matters not that doctors still have no clue as to the cause of MS. Aside from the current theory that it is viral in nature but maintains a certain amount of genetic predisposition, nothing else is certain. Our immune system simply acts contrary to the norm. Yet still the majority would lay the blame firmly at our feet, all but accusing us of causing our disease though our lives and choices before the symptoms were not much different than anyone else's.

We are told by perfect strangers in supermarkets about how we should 'eat this, never that' or 'drink this, swallow that'. We endure lectures by so-called friends, family member, strangers and doctors alike about a friend of a friend's second cousin thrice removed who ate an orange upside everyday and is fine.

We endure it all, sometimes quietly and meekly, sometimes slipping in a bit of sarcasm and every so often giving out blatant retorts. It is not that we do not appreciate the sincere attempts to help, and console ourselves with the needed belief in a person's desire to share knowledge they fully believe will end our suffering. It is just that it simply becomes too much on occasion, and the goodwill often takes the form of yet another stone cast upon us.

Unlike a multitude of other neurological disorders, where one may suffer from depression and is all they must deal with, or muscular spasms, or maybe incontinence, they might have optic neurosis, or whatever, singular known and treatable neurological disorder occurring. We run the gamut, having them all, or a few, they may come and go or just a few of them take a break, and rarely do the medications for the singular neurological disorders work in treating our symptoms, often its some other medication designed to treat completely different disorders that end up working.

The best advice I can give in concern to your relationship with your sister is don't try to heal her. Simply love her, accept her fate, and be a willing ear (or eyes) for her. Allow her to cry as freely as she likes upon your shoulder, and be willing to do the same. Cry on her shoulder, lament over the unfairness of nature, fate and universe. Express your gratitude to your brother for being there for her, allow him the same kindred cry out. Feel free to express your fears, and allow your family to do the same. It is a terrible and terrifying disease even for those who have the best of it. Grieve together and accept it, then you and yours can move on, cherishing everyday you have together in this life and having hope for better things to come in the next.

That is really all you can do, and all that we can do. This disease has lost me my siblings, they are unable to accept the reality and have chosen to remove themselves from my life, undoubtedly desiring to keep the memory of me as their bratty, bouncy, daredevil, baby sister rather than seeing me as I am now, subdued and crippled by pain. It's not a conscience choice they're making, but rather a psychological reflex. To protect their psyche, an imagined slight formed and the relationship disbanded, it shows their love and deep affection even as they perceive themselves as being at odds with me. Yet even knowing that it still carries a sting. I end up blaming them for not being able to accept what I have become, and myself for putting them in such a situation. So please don't put your sister in a similar situation.

MS who gave it a name
 

Here is an interesting site. I knew this. Jean Martin Charcot gave it a name in 1868. He also was known for many other diseases including Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease which I have.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3064755/

We have a number of people in our small community who have MS in one stage or the other.

Please know that I used the title from Ann B's works and her book. Whether Ann is authentic or not, we believe what we believe of people. I agree with a lot of her works on candida etc. I grew up with tons of carbs/sugars as did my parents and my sister and it's amazing today I don't believe candida is my issue, I have been steering clear of these offender foods for some time now. Not perfect but hugely opposite of what I grew up with and ate for Many years.

And there is so much I don't know about what the OPC's have been doing for me, like helping to keep candida from my body. Could be, I never did a search of candida and OPC's....

From PubMed:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/...
National Center for Biotechnology Information
by Y Han - ‎2007 - ‎Cited by 40 - ‎Related articles
Oct 3, 2007 - Synergic effect of grape seed extract with amphotericin B against disseminated candidiasis due to Candida albicans. ... a drug of choice for treatment of fungal infections, but it causes severe side effects such as renal damage.


On my sister, I tried years ago to offer what I thought could help her, she bit a little, but didn't follow thru. We were quite close and talked a lot on phone, visited as we could and now I can do no more. I've let go, and we are 3000+ miles apart so I do my best to keep her alive in my life, I've shed tears and now have to take care of what I'm dealing with for myself.

My brother is on EC and we've talked about our sister a lot and he's wanted to visit her, but she's made excuses to not let him visit her.
I can't count how many phone messages I've left at her house in the last couple years and never a return call. Out of the blue I may get a call from her and it's hard to understand her ... at first I thought it was too many meds causing this slurring etc but then I thought maybe it's the MS....or maybe both. I'll probably never know and I accept that...doesn't change things.

So, we all are on our journies and do what we think is best at times. C

I do understand it came from the title of the books :D, just things like that make me, at least a bit more... Hmmmm 'sensitive'... Probably best word to describe it. And for the reasons stated above. Which isn't a criticism against you, as such as one against the author who chose it for a title. Who again I'm sure has the best and greatest of intentions, and I'm sure has helped a select few.

And as I read your initial posts, it felt as though you shared in Ann's belief that your sister would be 'healed' had she followed Ann's advice. It's those 'unrealistic' expectations that those of us with MS are constantly battling with. Big pharmaceutical companies, and homeopathic doctors alike seem to prey upon our desperation and the desperation of our family members.

I take Copaxone since I can get it for free, and it has the highest safety standard in regards to serious side-effects. But I realize fully and completely it will not 'heal' me, might not even slow my progression, it's a fiery shot of liquid torture that I endure three times a weeks on a wing and a prayer. After all, what have I to lose? My family members on the other hand, no matter how much I explain the complexities of the human body, chemistry and biometrics, some think I'll be 'cured!' In no time. And others think I have stopped it in its tracks since no new brain lesions were found at the six month follow up.

Even my mother who was an EMT and a nurse, has difficulty in accepting that it isn't some kind of a cure. But yet, still comes running to tell me about this diet and that diet or this pill and that pill to cure me if the copaxone doesn't. She doesn't quite appreciate my humor when I tell her there's a guarenteed cure, swallowing a bullet, or even just biting it. :p but at least she can laugh about it some and will lay off for a while.

Well MAYBE my sister would be a lot improved vs a lot worse today. I'll never know, will I if she had followed Ann's foods lists.

In general eliminating/reducing refined carbs/sugars just makes so much sense for everyone's health.


Just thinking back too, from many years ago when people had no clue about Vit D deficiency, my family for sure, mom avoided sun and that's our biggest source of Vit D. I've heard so much about the Vit D/MS connection...Actually, it was my sister who brought this to my attention in 2006 while we chatted on phone...she was making sure her daughter was up on her Vit D.

I know Dr. David Williams in his Alternatives Health Newsletter wrote about this deficiency for 20 yrs or more and no one listened, including me.

I was a sunworshipper for most of my life up to my mid 50's when being in the Sun too much bothered me, so I "came in" from the sun life...and little did I know I was depleting my Vit D tank, and when I found in 2006 how low my D was, I was shocked...How could this be, I'm in So. Cal, BUT I had come in from the sun I loved all my life....

Reducing refined carbs, still depends on what your current diet is, eliminating them, no. That is not the 'healthy' choice for everyone. Do cancer cells grow in sugary environments, absolutely, along with virus and bacteria. For the same token, antibodies grow in sugary environments, as do the necessary bacteria we need for digestion, and overall protective bacteria that fight off viruses.

Why? Because single cell organisms (virus, cancer and bacteria, good, bad and indifferent) need sugar to grow and split. They lack the ability to metabolize more complex proteins (which if you truly want to get technical sugar is also a protein) As multicelled organisms, we do require complex sugars and protiens along with fats as fats becomes the storage for those sugars and protiens.

Antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and the all the foods we eat are classifiable as only fat, protein or sugar. If you break it all down to the cellular level, they are only proteins and distinguishable by multiple proteins (complex) or few proteins (simple). It does not matter if the sugar is refined by chemistry or merely exists as unaltered plant fibers and meat of an animal. The body cannot distinguish the difference nor can the single cell organisms which protect us, kill us or just hitch a ride on us.

Now since MS "might" be linked to an unknown viral infection, the argument could be made that reducing the amount of sugar for the virus to have grown in "may" have helped your sister. But even then such research concerning viral infections believes the infection occurs in early childhood, and so alters the ones immune system that over time the body will begin to breakdown it's myelin sheaths. However, going by said theory means even if your sister had changed her diet, she had already been exposed to and invaded by the virus and her immune system was already altered, changing her diet after the on-set of symptoms would not and will not change her current state. Any improvement she might feel, or exhibit is known as the placebo effect.

Helpful or hurtful, the placebo effect is nothing more or less than ones ability to place so much faith in a treatment they can actually trick their body into believing it as well. It's a medical mystery, a psychological wonderment, but it does not heal. Still if one can find relief through it, I applaud them, and pray it will work for them indefinitely.

Second issue with heavily concerning oneself with "sugar", is the fact that it is the protein our adrenaline systems are entirely dependent upon. It's what our bodies use to produce cortisones (treating our pain and inflammation) our adrenaline system is also what keeps our hearts beating and our blood moving. When our pain and inflammation exceeds what our adrenaline systems can produce in cortisones, our blood pressure increases as our heart rate drops initially, if we are too lacking in simple sugars for our adrenaline systems to amp up our cortisone levels, our bodies begin expelling proteins in the form of salts from our sweat our muscles contract, our heart rate begins to speed up further in an effort to expel complex protiens in the search for sugar, while our blood pressure bottoms out. (Classically referred to as shock)

The most easily and readily absorbed and put to work nearly immediately form of sugar is said refined sugar. Because it is lacking in complex proteins that slow and hinder absorption. As MS comes often enough with pain, chronic pain at that, refined sugars are sometimes the only things keeping us out of the ERs.

And even, even if we should disregard the theory of viral infection, altered immune systems, or genetic mistake. Diet still would not be likely to have much of an effect on the disease. The nature of the systems at work is to destroy the ionic bonding of the myelin sheath by attacking critical proteins capable of breaking that bond. Ionic bonds are some of the strongest chemical bonds, but once broken they are nearly impossible to repair. Furthermore the proteins which are being destroyed are not those of simple sugars, it is complex destructive disorder in which our bodies are unable to maintain the ionic bonds. For whatever the reason, several or a multitude of these bonds fell apart or are going to fall apart.

I can assure you 99.999999999% that eating a Twinkie will neither hurt nor hinder MS. And I can only offer you my sincerest regrets that I am too struck with MS myself to be one of the researchers looking for a cure as my body and vision makes it impossible for me to complete my doctorate.

Thank You Starz, for speaking for a bunch of us :hug:and
Thank you Carol, for your info and trying to help.:hug:

Over my last 40 to 50 years of MS, I have tried just about
everything, including Grape seed extract, to no Avail.
Suggestions and proper helpful links are welcome but
pushing it beyond probabilities is not.:D

:grouphug:

I ordered the book. I'll review it once I receive and read it. After I'm finished with it I'll be happy to share it with anyone here who wants to read it. :)

Kitty, will be watching for your review on the book.