Originally published June 16 2012
Rheumatoid arthritis yields to the power of nutritional medicine
by Mike Bundrant
(NaturalNews) Anyone who doubts the efficacy of nutritional medicine hasn't taken the time to learn about it. Skeptics certainly have never spoken to someone like Gloria, a retail clerk in Temecula, CA, who appears to have made a full recovery from medically diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis because of properly applied nutritional medicine.
Gloria has a long and painful medical history, although her primary complaint to Dr. Wes Youngberg, a nutritionist in Temecula, was chronic pain associated with advanced rheumatoid arthritis. Gloria had watched her mother suffer endlessly with the pernicious autoimmune disease and was worried that one day she would no longer be able to work because of it.
Rheumatoid arthritis was diagnosed in 2006 by a local rheumatologist, one year after the beginning of an ongoing, significant family challenge. Gloria's rheumatologist had her on Methotrexate and Plaquenil, which were not sufficient for her pain, and was considering adding Humira, which scared Gloria due to recent FDA reports showing Humira's side effects to include increased risk of rare cancers and other immune problems.
Why wasn't she healing even when on very strong medication?
While the medicines she was taking did initially help decrease her pain, they were not addressing the original causes of the pain and inflammation. Gloria's gallbladder surgery in 2000 was a major clue that she may not be effectively digesting and absorbing adequate nutrients. Most chronic disease can be traced to an inadequate level of key nutrients getting into the cells and therefore a lack of the very elements that allow for healing to take place.
Dr. Franz Ingelfinger MD, a gastroenterologist and late editor of the New England Journal of Medicine estimated that 85% of all human illnesses are curable by the body's own healing mechanisms.As the most prominent GI physician of his day, he recognized that poor digestion would, in time, undermine every other aspect of our health.
With Dr. Youngberg's, encouragement, Gloria chose to test for signs of imbalance in her body and had comprehensive blood tests including vitamin D, thyroid profile, glucose tolerance testing, hormones, cardiac CRP and others.
Further testing indicated that she had significant hypoglycemia both before meals and three hours after eating. She also had very large blood sugar spikes at one hour and two hours after carbohydrate intake. These tests not only documented her strong tendency toward reactive hypoglycemia and adrenal fatigue, but also indicated that without addressing the underlying causes of her problems, she was also at risk of developing diabetic and cardiovascular complications in the future.
Gloria also had a very low vitamin D
Studies show that low vitamin D levels greatly increase the risk of autoimmune diseases that include type 1 diabetes, RA and lupus.
After discussing the meaning of her labs and nutritional strategies to remedy them, Gloria set out to do her best with a balanced diet rich in whole, plant based food. She started nutritional supplements that would specifically address her lack of a gallbladder and gastric function. She balanced her meals with foods and nutrients that would optimize blood sugars, support restoration of adrenal and thyroid function, lower inflammation naturally and she took enough vitamin D to optimize her blood levels within three months.
Dr. Youngberg explained to Gloria that her condition had developed over a long period of time and would likely take many months for the healing process to noticeably impact her pain and that, with careful attention to comprehensive nutritional medicine strategies, her rheumatologist may be able to reduce her medication over the following six to twelve months.
Much to his surprise, within one month, Gloria reported Dr. Youngberg that the "vice grip" of her rheumatoid arthritis had already improved by 50%. Gloria was referred back to her rheumatologist and able to discontinue her medications. Two months after her comprehensive testing and lifestyle change and after one month without her Methotrexate and Plaquenil medications, Gloria was 90% free of her joint pain.
One month later she excitedly reported that her pain was now completely gone. At this writing Gloria has been free of medications for nearly a year. Cicero once said, "Old age must be resisted and it's deficiencies supplied." The body does indeed have the capacity to heal itself! Our job is to determine what's missing and then supply its need. If Gloria persists on her current path, she will continue to benefit in health of body, mind and spirit.
Sources for this article include:
http://dryoungberg.com/nutritionist-temecula/
http://online.liebertpub.com
About the author:
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.
The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. Click here to watch the presentation that will turn your world upside down.
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.
The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. Click here to watch the presentation that will turn your world upside down.
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.
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