Multiple Sclerosis

Summary

Multiple sclerosis, also known as MS, is an autoimmune ailment that progressively impairs the central nervous system. The body`s immune system attacks the protective insulation associated with nerve materials, known as myelin, causing an accumulation of plaque and the eventual scarring and hardening of multiple nerve fibers. This method is known as sclerosis, hence the name of the disease. As soon as nerve paths become broken, nerve endings direct muscle movement to slow down or to stop completely.

MS strikes people between the ages of 15-60, but most commonly occurs in those 20-40. It affects women twice as frequently than men, and is most common in the northern United States, Canada, and Europe, in which the climate is commonly temperate. Overall, an estimated 350,000 Americans suffer from MS, which is regarded as incurable through conventional doctors, who also know little about its cause.

The signs of Multiple Sclerosis

Since the buildup of plaque scars or strips the myelin sheath away from nerve materials, nerves become impaired, and the symptoms of MS start to appear. These people have a lack of muscle control, problems with stability and walking, blurry or double vision, chronic pain, chronic exhaustion, heightened sensitivity to heat and cold (especially heat, which can worsen other symptoms), and painful prickling sensations in the hands and/or feet. In advanced cases, sufferers can incur difficulty speaking, spastic actions, and weak points in the hands, legs, and/or feet. Full or even partial paralysis can also occur, as well as severe fatigue which can make normal activities extremely difficult to carry out. Urinary incontinence or a frequent need to urinate can develop. In some cases, MS patients need to use a wheelchair, although in many cases, patients are able to continue residing and working as before, however it is with increasing difficulty. The rarest characteristic of MS is actually alexia, an abrupt inability to remember written vocabulary.

MS tends to go into remission and then surface again, intensifying and worsening with each episode. In some instances the development of MS is swift, leading to serious degeneration within a few months or years, whereas others may experience much less severe episodes that can occur on and off over many years. No two cases of MS are exactly alike, making efficient treatment extremely difficult. For this reason, it is essential that proper personalized treatment start as early as possible following the initial appearance of MS symptoms.

Reasons for Multiple Sclerosis

Although conventional medicine states that MS is brought on by demyelination (the breakdown of the myelin sheath caused by the buildup of plaque), holistic health practitioners maintain that there are many other potential causes as well. This particular view is strengthened by the fact that major symptoms of MS can be present even if you find little myelin damage and, in some cases, main dymelination only produces small symptoms. Below is an introduction to the other most typical potential causes of MS.

Candidiasis: Candidiasis, also known as candida, is caused by systemic overgrowth of a type of yeast, Candidiasis albicans, beyond normal levels in the intestinal tract. If left unchecked, infections can significantly exacerbate MS symptoms, as was first recorded by Bill G. Crook, M.D., author of The Yeast Link. According to Dr. Crook, instances of MS in which infection is a factor can be significantly improved once the spread of Candida albicans is stopped.

Dental Amalgam Teeth fillings: Dental amalgam fillings contain mercury, a very toxic material that can be leeched out from fillings in the form of mercury vapors which settle in the body`s tissue and organs. Over time, while mercury is constantly accumulating in your body, a host of severe health problems can occur, including MS or signs and symptoms that are practically indistinguishable from this. People with MS have been shown to have high mercury amounts in their cerebrospinal fluid which are 700% higher than healthy individuals.

The health problems mercury leads to are due to its ability to attach itself to the genetic make-up of the body`s cells and cell walls, distorting them and hampering their ability to correctly function. As these cellular distortions occur, the body`s defense mechanisms act as though the affected cells are foreign invaders and begins attacking them. In the process, myelin can be destroyed. In addition, the mercury vapors can hinder the body`s enzyme features and cause the chronic exhaustion that is often a symptom of MS. According to Hal Huggins, DDS, a leader in neuro-scientific biological (holistic) dentistry, and a renowned expert in mercury toxicity, many cases of MS have been completely reversed once mercury amalgams are properly replaced and the body is detoxified.

Poor Diet plan: Since 1950, when Roy Swank, first discovered that MS patients had higher than normal concentrations of saturated fat consumption from the foods they ate, holistic health practitioners have pointed to poor diet as a major possible contributing element for multiple sclerosis. This is especially true amongst people who follow a standard traditional western diet high in dairy products, meat, and commercially processed meals that contain high amounts of unhealthy, saturated fats, but are low in unsaturated fats that contain essential fatty acids (EFAs). EFAs are vital for the optimum health of both the brain and the central nervous system, and are present in fresh vegetables and fruit, oily fish, and olive and seedling oils, all of which are often lacking in the diet programs of MS patients. The possible lack of such foods and the EFAs they contain can set the phase for demyelination.

Electromagnetic Fields: Electromagnetic areas (EMFs) are generated through electric power flow via wire coils. This type of reduced-degree radiation can cause a variety of health problems because of the way EMFs may negatively affect the body`s bioenergetic balance and damage enzymes that regulate development. EMFs may also negatively impact the body`s pineal gland, as well as upset the balance and production of the endocrine systems melatonin and serotonin, each of which are essential for optimum brain and nerve function. Studies have shown that MS sufferers usually display lower than normal levels of both of these hormones, as well as calcification of the pineal gland. Additionally, EMFs can interfere with how the body’s cells separate and multiply.

You are exposed to EMFs every time you use an appliance that runs on electricity. These include computers, fluorescent lighting, microwave ovens, televisions, and video terminals. Cell phones, electrical poles, and many types of engines can also create harmful EMFs that promote MS.

Environmental Toxins: Environmental toxins can cause or even exacerbate MS in a variety of ways, including hampering and interrupting the body’s metabolic processes. Additionally, environmental toxins can directly damage the myelin which safeguards nerve fibers. They can also distort cells and cell membranes, triggering an autoimmune response that can cause lack of feeling and MS symptoms. These dangerous toxins include chemicals present in commercially prepared foods, toxins contained in tap water, carbon monoxide, diesel-powered exhaust, gases and vapors released from gas water heaters, commercial solvents, aerosol sprays, and chemical substances contained in the foam used to make furniture and carpets.

Food Allergies and Sensitivities: People with multiple sclerosis often suffer from food allergies or even sensitivities, which can greatly worsen their MS symptoms. The most common foods which trigger allergies and sensitivities include coffee and caffeine items, corn, dairy products, chemicals and preservatives, fungi such as mushrooms, gluten (an ingredient in barley, oats, rye, and wheat), ketchup, whole milk, sugar, vinegar, wheat, and wine. However, any food can potentially act as an allergy trigger.

Genetic Predisposition: MS is not considered a hereditary disease. Even so, the condition does appear to be related to hereditary predisposition. First generation descendants or relatives of people with MS possess a 30-50% higher risk of developing the condition than individuals born into families where there is no background of multiple sclerosis. If your relatives have MS, you should be tested as early as possible.

Infections: Infection may greatly worsen MS symptoms, and may also play a role in causing it. Researchers have found that viral infections such as the Epstein Barr Virus, not only reduce the amount of essential fatty acids in the brain to levels commonly found in MS patients, however infections can also interfere with the body`s capability to properly utilize essential fatty acids, deterioration of the defense mechanisms and possibly triggering autoimmune reactions that can result in demyelination. Based on these kinds of findings, holistic health practitioners warn that people who have suffered from viral infections, especially Epstein Barr or mononucleosis (which can be trigged by Epstein Barr) in childhood or teenage years, may be more susceptible to developing MS later on in life.

Other contagious agents referred to as stealth pathogens may also play a role in the development of MS, in addition to exacerbating its symptoms. Stealth pathogens are types of germs within cell walls which lack correct structure, giving them the ability to very easily transport DNA between the cells of the human body. Stealth pathogens can also blend together. These two outcomes may trigger immune responses that may cause a variety of autoimmune illnesses, including MS.

Another type of germ that can trigger or bring about MS is actually Borrelia mylophora. If this germ gains a foothold in your body, it can infiltrate the nervous system. In the white blood cells fervent effort to eliminate Borrelia mylophora, the immune system can also destroy encircling myelin, leading to MS. Borrelia mylophora is very similar to Borrelia burgdorferi, among the causes of Lyme disease, plus some researchers theorize that Lyme disease itself is also a cause of MS due to the similar impacts on the system’s immune and nervous systems.

“Leaky Gut Syndrome: Leaky gut syndrome is caused by food allergies and/or infections which cause a breach within the intestinal wall, allowing toxins to enter the blood stream. As this happens, the immune system attempts to correct the problem by launching an attack on these invaders. In the commotion, immune cells and antibodies may also assault healthy cells, including those that comprise myelin. The stress placed on the body through leaky gut syndrome can exacerbate the symptoms of people who already have MS, and make them further susceptible to bacteria, viruses and disease.

Nutritional Deficiencies: Even when MS sufferers follow a healthy, balanced diet plan, they are often deficient in vital nutrition because they have difficulty assimilating nutrients. The most common nutrient deficiencies in MS patients tend to be vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, biotin, folic acid, magnesium, manganese, selenium, and zinc, along with various amino acids and essential fatty acids.

According to the late Hans Neiper, M.D., the pioneering researcher and alternative physician in Germany, insufficient calcium AEP, also known as colamine phosphate, may significantly increase the risk of MS. Calcium AEP is required for the body to produce the electric charges on the myelin surface and on nerve cell membranes that are essential for proper function of the nervous system. Lack of calcium AEP not only interferes with the production of these electric charges, Dr. Nieper maintained, but it also leads to cells membranes becoming porous, permitting toxins and immune tissue passage to the body`s nerve cells, creating an autoimmune reaction which leads to a destruction of myelin.

Stress and MS: Many instances of MS are initially triggered through prolonged psychological stress or physical trauma. Moreover, the initial symptoms of MS will often first manifest at the part of the body that experienced an injury.

Natural Cures

While conventional doctors consider multiple sclerosis to be incurable, holistic doctors are often in a position to slow and reverse its progression. Early diagnosis, followed immediately with a comprehensive treatment plan addressing all the factors that can cause MS, provides the greatest hope for a successful outcome—the outcome is often a complete cure. As patients stick to their recommended treatment methods and make required changes for their diet and lifestyle, at the minimum, noticeable enhancements are achieved, enabling them to have a lot greater manage over their own symptoms.

MS affects each person differently and requires an individualized treatment plan in order to be correctly dealt with. Because of this, holistic professionals recommend that in-house testing be conducted to completely determine the factors involved in each patient`s condition. Testing can include the mineral sweat test to judge each patient`s overall nutrient status as well as possible large mineral poisoning. This test is simple to perform and involves the application of a specific type of plaque on the patient`s back. The patient is then engaged in physical activity that causes him or her to moderately perspire for an hour. Perspiration is actually collected in the plaque after which it is analyzed.

Other recommended assessments include nutrient and antioxidant tests, adrenal stress check, complete blood testing, a biochemistry and biology panel, glucose tolerance testing, and stool analysis to determine the health of the patient`s digestive tract and ability to assimilate nutrients.

Screening for food as well as environmental allergic reactions is also important.

Once the fundamental causative factors are assessed, a proper treatment program can be created. Typically, it will include one of the following healing approaches:

Aromatherapy: Adding juniper or rosemary essential oils to extra virgin olive oil (5% essential oil to 95% olive oil) and then massaging your body with this blend might help ease MS symptoms.

Ayurveda Medicine: The Ayurveda plant ashwaghanda can often be helpful for relieving symptoms of MS because of its adaptogenic properties which help to restore balance to various body systems, such as the immune and nervous systems.

Bee Venom Therapy: Bee venom treatment, also known as apitherapy, involves a shot of honeybee venom through hypodermic needle, or applied by bee stings. In the latter situation, trained physicians hold honeybees with tweezers, placing them over patients` bodies, until the bees sting them. The bee stings may last for just a few seconds or for up to 5 minutes, with respect to the dosage of bee venom that is determined to be necessary.

Over 1,500 scientific papers on bee venom therapy have been published in Europe as well as in Asia attesting to the healing benefits of bee stings. Based on the practitioners of the therapy, bee venom treatment can begin to help relieve MS symptoms after as little as 20-40 bee stings, with many patients achieving significant reversals of their symptoms, including complete remission, within 6-18 months. The treatment works by first stimulating the immune system, each at the site of the bee sting, and systemically throughout the entire body. Then, as the venom enters the body, it creates anti-inflammatory effects that are 100 times greater than cortisone injections. Bee venom also acts as a potent antioxidant.

Caution: Around 2% of the population is allergic to bee venom. If you are allergic, you should avoid bee venom therapy because of the risk associated with severe allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock.

Biological Dentistry: If a person suffers from MS due to tooth amalgam teeth fillings, they should consider having them removed and replaced with biochemically compatible teeth fillings. According to Dr. Hal Huggins, individuals should undergo the serum biocompatibility blood check to determine exactly what materials are biologically compatible with their body. He cautions that some replacement filling materials can promote or depress immune function, and fillings containing aluminum should also be avoided.

For the best results, amalgam removal and replacement should be individualized based on each person`s unique biochemistry. Then, once the fillings are removed and replaced, begin treatment to detoxify the entire body of stored mercury within tissues and organs. Dr. Huggins suggests that nutritional support, together with acupressure and massage therapy, be part of a detoxification program, based on each patient`s specific needs. Following detoxing, specific personalized, dietary recommendations and nutritional supplements are used to additionally enhance recuperation.

Dr. Huggins has handled hundreds of MS patients while using the above process, and achieved significant benefit in 85% of instances, including wheelchair-bound MS patients recovering their ability to walk.

Detoxification Therapies: Cleansing the body of toxins and increasing the health and function of the lymphatic system can significantly reduce MS signs and symptoms. Useful detoxing strategies include colonics, dry skin brushing, enemas, far-infrared and steam bathhouses (under your physician`s supervision), fasting, herbal wraps, lymphatic massage, and light beam therapy. For more information on detoxification, see Cleansing as well as Detoxification.

Diet: MS sufferers should emphasize an organic, whole-foods diet that’s low on fatty foods and includes plenty of clean organic fruits and vegetables. According to Dr. Swank, who has been studying the link between diet and MS for over 50 years, saturated fat intake should be limited to not more than 15 grams each day, which is the equivalent of 3 teaspoons daily. Ideally, just about all sources of saturated fats, such as dairy products, meats, and commercially processed and packaged foods, should be avoided. Instead, emphasis should be on meals high in EFA’s and polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, which are contained in clean fruits and vegetables and oily fish, such as bluefish, bass, salmon, sardines, and bass; and olive, flaxseed, safflower, and sunflower oils. For additional benefit, Dr. Swank suggests supplementing with between 4-10 teaspoons of unsaturated natural oils each day.

Other foods to incorporate into your daily meals are mung beans, coffee bean sprouts, millet, free-range chicken, and organic nuts and seeds, while avoiding alcoholic beverages, chocolate, dairy products, eggs, commercially prepared and fast foods, fermented foods, hydrogenated oils, solid fats, margarine, whole milk, red meats, salt, seafood, sugar, and yeast, in addition to hydrolyzed vegetable proteins and food additives and preservatives.

Energy Medicine: One of the most effective ways to screen for the underlying causes of MS is a technique referred to as electrodermal screening, or EDS. Electrodermal testing is a noninvasive diagnostic technique that measures the electric output associated with specific points on the hands, face, or feet which correlate to acupuncture meridian points at the beginning or end of power meridians. The electrical indicators given off from these points provide details about the health of the body`s organs and organ systems, and can also be used to detect the presence of toxins, energy and hormonal imbalances, and dangerous microorganisms. At the disposal of a highly skilled practitioner, EDS can often detect hidden contributing factors of MS, even if other sophisticated testing methods fail to do so because disease is the result of imbalanced energy.

Power medicine can also be used to protect MS patients from harmful EFA’s. One of the most useful devices for doing so is a Teslar view, named after the brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla, which protects against harmful EMF wavelengths while producing a healthy EMF signal similar to the earth`s resonance of 7-9 Hz making it possible for the body to operate within its natural rate of recurrence range.

Environmental Medicine: Practitioners of environmental medicine check MS patients for nutritional and environment allergies—such as chemicals, dirt, heavy metals, mildew, and pollen—that can bring about and worsen MS symptoms. Food allergic reactions are tested via bloodstream testing, eradication diets, and electrodermal testing (see Energy Medicine). To conduct an elimination diet plan, remove suspected offending foods and check to see if your symptoms are reduced within a few days. If so, you should avoid such foods completely for 60-90 days. After this period you may begin to gradually re-introduce all of them into your diet if signs and symptoms do not return.

Environmental allergic reactions can be identified using electrodermal screening and a technique known as maximum tolerated intradermal dose testing. The latter test is conducted through the injection of suspected ingredients into the skin. If an allergic reaction occurs, patients can often become desensitized to such ingredients by inserting them in the largest dose that does not cause a reaction. Regarding stored toxins, a detoxification regimen could be devised to help eliminate them. It is not unusual for MS patients to experience a complete remission of their signs and symptoms once offending foods and environmental substances are eliminated.

Enzyme Therapy: The use of pancreatic enzymes can improve MS symptoms, often quite dramatically. This organic approach for dealing with MS is widely used in both Germany and Mexico.

The main reason pancreatic molecule therapy can be so helpful is because of the enzyme`s capability to digest or even destroy circulating immune processes (CICs). CICs are undigested food contaminants that stay in the bloodstream, triggering an autoimmune reaction that can result in the destruction of myelin. As they are digested or destroyed by pancreatic nutrients, the autoimmune reaction stops, often resulting in an improvement within MS symptoms, and longer periods of remission. To enhance this treatment approach, you may also supplement with essential fatty acids and selenium.

Histamine Therapy: Histamine, a compound created from the amino acid histidine, is released throughout allergic reactions. Since the 1950s, researchers have known that histamine may relieve MS symptoms due to the various responses it causes in the body, for example contraction of smooth muscle tissue, dilation of blood vessels, and improved secretion of gastric acid.

Histamine can be applied topically as well as absorbed through the skin. When administered in order to MS patients, research shows that they typically display improved urinary control, cognitive perform, and muscle strength, in addition to a reduction in the levels of exhaustion that often go with MS. Contingency with these improvements are a rise of blood flow to the mind, improved digestive function, and a cessation of inappropriate immune responses. In some cases, there’s also a regrowth associated with myelin tissue.

Hydrotherapy: Hydrotherapy is the use of water, ice, steam and alternating between hot and cold temperatures to maintain and restore health. Treatments include full body immersion, steam baths, bathhouses, sitz bathing, colonic irrigation and the use of hot and/or cold compresses. Hydrotherapy is effective for treating a wide range of conditions and can easily be used in the home as part of a self-care program. Many Naturopathic Physicians, Physiotherapists and day spas make use of Hydrotherapy treatment. We suggest a number of at-home hydrotherapy treatments. Ensure you seek the advice of your alternative health care specialist before attempting these methods to make sure they are appropriate for you.

*Pure water is essential for any hydrotherapy treatment. Remedies for purifying bath water include clear instructions and directions.

Hyperbaric Air Therapy: Hyperbaric oxygen treatment, or HBOT, involves keeping patients in a sealed air chamber. Once inside, sufferers sit comfortably as the atmospheric pressure is elevated to saturate the body`s tissue with oxygen. In addition to increasing the oxygen supply to the body`s tissue, HBOT can help enhance immune function, reduce inflammation, heal damaged arteries and enhance blood circulation, as well as, most importantly, stimulate the production of new myelin.

Doctors in Britain who given HBOT treatment to approximately 400,000 MS patients reported that nearly half of all of them experienced substantial benefits, including improved control over their symptoms, much less fatigue and pain, as well as improvements in their balance, urinary control, coordination, lower and upper limb actions, speech, and vision.

According to Richard T. Neubauer, an HBOT professional and author of the book “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy,” typically 20 HBOT sessions per year are enough to avoid the return of MS symptoms, with best results being obtained when HBOT is administered as soon as possible following the onset of MS symptoms.

Juice Treatment: Short fasts using organic fruit and vegetable juices can help relieve symptoms.

Lifestyle: Exercise might help MS patients in a variety of ways, including helping to balance immune response, enhancing mood, as well as keeping muscles toned as well as supple. The best forms of physical exercise for MS patients include walking, soft aerobic exercise, and yoga.

Avoiding smoking and reducing contact with secondhand smoke is advised. Studies have found that MS patients who smoke experience an immediate deterioration of their motor performance, most likely because of how nicotine negatively affects the central nervous system.

In addition, it’s also wise to avoid the use of electric heating pads, chlorinated water, and fluoride. Fluoride is found in plain tap water and commercial mouthwashes as well as toothpastes, which can worsen MS signs and symptoms.

Magnet Treatment: Though MS can be amplified by electromagnetic fields (EMFs), magnet treatment that employs weak pulsed magnetic areas can be very helpful in soothing MS symptoms. Some of the MS symptoms that are enhanced by pulsed magnet treatment are alexia, bladder incontinence, fatigue, and spasticity.

Mind/Body Medicine: Mind/body medicine can help MS patients cope with stress, which can significantly improve MS symptoms. Mind or body approaches can be as simple as taking a short, restful nap every day or inhaling and exhaling deeply periodically for 5-10 minutes at a time. Other helpful mind/body medicine techniques consist of biofeedback, guided imagery and visualization, hypnosis, and deep breathing.

Nutritional Supplements: Correct nutritional supplementation is essential for MS patients. This includes supplementing with essential fatty acids, especially omega-three oils for example alpha-linolenic acidity (ALA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), evening primrose, and flaxseed oil.

Many holistic physicians also suggest oil instillation in conjunction with a chamomile enema. The purpose of the enema, which involves inserting chamomile tea into the lower bowel via an enema bag, is to clean out the colon and to relax the intestinal muscles, which can often spasm in cases of MS. Following an enema, 3 tbsp. of either natural, cold-pressed flax, sunflower, or walnut oil is put into the intestinal tract using a needle tipped with a catheter. This enables the body to quickly absorb the EFA’s the essential oil contains within the intestinal walls. For best result, both the enema and oil instillation should be administered each night for 3 weeks. Afterwards, the dose can be reduced to 1-2 tsp. and can be administered 3 times a week.

As well as essential fatty acids, these nutrients are also recommended for MS patients: Beta-carotene and carotenoids, bioflavonoids, B-complex vitamins, along with vitamin B1, B3, B5, B6, as well as B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, folate, calcium AEP, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), magnesium,selenium and zinc. Other useful supplements include alpha lipoic acid, aspartic acid, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO); gamma-aminobutyric acid (Gamma aminobutyric acid), glutamic acid, glycine, methylsufonylmethane (MSM); and also the amino acids carnitine, choline, cysteine, glutathione, and methione.

5-HTP (5-hydroxy-tryptophan), which aids in your body’s production of the hormones melatonin and serotonin, is also recommended for MS patients.

Optional Professional Care

The following therapies can also be helpful for cases associated with multiple sclerosis: Acupressure and Acupuncture (for alleviation of symptoms), Biofeedback Instruction and Neurotherapy, Bodywork (Bowen Therapy, Massage Therapy, Feldenkrais Method), Chelation Therapy, Detoxification Treatments (especially treatments that cleanse the lymphatic system, such as dry skin cleaning, exercise on the mini-trampoline, herbal wraps, and lymphatic massage exercise), Power Medicine (Gentle Beam Electrical generator, Led Imagery, Hypnotherapy, Mind or Body Medicine, Nutritional Medicine, Osteopathic Treatments, reflexology, Tai Chi, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as well as Yoga. (See Resources for additional information regarding these optional treatments).