1 disorder which traditional medicine can't cure, and alternative medicine can?

[Sallysblooms]

A person should never have to choose. We have to have both.

 

[Dreambirdie]

A person should never have to choose. We have to have both.

In an ideal world, this would be true. But in reality many people have neither.

It's up to each person to find and choose what works best for them.

 

[Calathea]

I wonder if you have ever tried taking coconut oil. The idea is that coconut oil is about 65% medium chain fatty acids. This category of fatty acids is routed directly to the liver from the gut, rather than going into the lymph system and thence to the circulating blood via the thoracic duct, as the longer-chain fatty acids do. If a person takes a generous helping of coconut oil (a couple of tablespoons, for example), the capacity of the liver to burn the fatty acids is overwhelmed, and the liver converts the excess to ketone bodies (beta hydroxybutyric acid and acetylacetate), and puts them into the circulating blood. Some reaches the brain and is able to cross the blood-brain barrier. The brain is able to use ketones as a secondary energy source to glucose.

This treatment has been used for epilepsy, cancer, and most recently, Alzheimer's. In these cases, it seems that the benefit of coconut oil is that the ketones go directly into the Krebs cycle, and do not have to pass through the glycolysis pathway and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex to get into the Krebs cycle, as glucose does. There appears to be a problem with the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in these disorders. That is usually not true in ME/CFS, but nevertheless ketones can still be used, and may be a good substitute for glucose to feed the brain when a person is on a low-carb diet.

Of course, this will require good bile function in order to break the coconut oil into small droplets so that lipase can digest it in the gut, but if that is present, it should work.

Best regards,

Rich

I'm currently on a low-fat diet due to gallstones. I'm booked to see a surgeon in February and they'll probably want to remove my gall bladder, but I don't know if it's worth the risk of major crash due to being in hospital. Anyway, while I still have this gall bladder, I have to eat only small amounts of fat at any one time. Is it worth using the odd bit of coconut oil, or is it pointless if my gall bladder isn't functioning?

 

[richvank]

I'm currently on a low-fat diet due to gallstones. I'm booked to see a surgeon in February and they'll probably want to remove my gall bladder, but I don't know if it's worth the risk of major crash due to being in hospital. Anyway, while I still have this gall bladder, I have to eat only small amounts of fat at any one time. Is it worth using the odd bit of coconut oil, or is it pointless if my gall bladder isn't functioning?

Hi, Calathea.

I think that taking enough coconut oil at one time to produce ketone bodies for the brain could likely cause a problem for you if your gall bladder is not in good condition. Sorry about that.

Rich

 

[taniaaust1]

To those who were discussing hypoglycemia and carbs, be aware that carbs "for some" can actually cause hypoglycemia.

My severe hypoglycemia seems to have been caused by that. Eat carbs (in my case even the complex carbs even affects me eg severe response to a salad of chickpeas) insulin is triggered. I was producing too much insulin (hyperinsulinemia).. insulin drops glucose. In my own case I do better on Atkins diet (eg only 15-30g carbs per day).

 

[avreed]

Hi Wayne!

Been a long while, huh? I stopped using oil of oregano for awhile after I fixed the dysbiosis and would use it again from time to time if levels of bad bacteria became high on my CDSA. Recently, I haven't bothered with a CDSA just yet but I'm back on OOO. I'm sure the chelation I'm doing is opening up biofilms (I was told that would happen by the autism community, btw) because I began getting abdominal cramping and loose stools. I didn't see any point in spending the money on the CDSA so I just started back on the OOO; the cramps stopped immediately and the stools straightened up somewhat. I'll keep on it for awhile and then do a CDSA. I imagine I'll be doing occasional CDSAs for the rest of my life since they are the only way to monitor the health of the guts/immune system which is what went bad for me in the first place and was my own CFS starting point.

Hi Uni,

I didn't keep track of the number of carbs per day, though my doc said as a rule to stay under 40. I know I couldn't have been under that but he knew what I was eating. It's easier to say what I was eating rather than what I was avoiding. I was eating zucchini, eggs, chicken, raw almonds, pumpkin (high starch, I know, I didn't realize it at the time, I was soooo brain fogged), salads with homemade tahini dressing, Lydia's organic crackers made from raw nuts and veggies and broccoli. Also, lots of soup made with the above veggies along with onion, garlic and bell peppers. And lots of Himalayan crystal salt on everything.

I was not digesting food properly so my doc had me on lots of digestive enzymes, betaine hcl and a rice protein, multi vitamin/mineral/amino formula called Nutriclear by Biotics Research. I know this stuff really saved my butt. I still use it, I love it. I was using 2 scoops twice a day for a very long time and just that powder alone for the day was 42 grams of carbs. Now I just use one scoop a day as a multi.

I, too, was also worried about carbs in the beginning of this diet and I told the doc I had severe hypoglycemia and had to eat every couple of hours or at least sip on juice once in awhile. I had been eating lots of brown rice and beans, even in the middle of the night, that's how bad my hypoglycemia was. I even had to use these protein bars at night called Extreme because I couldn't make it through the night with no carbs. Extreme bars are particularly for hypoglycemia, they have some things in them (like corn starch, bad!) that take a long time to break down and so you prevent hypoglcemia. He put me on another supp that saved by butt called Bio-Glycozyme Forte. It's another supp by the same company, you can see their products at their website same name dot com, and it is specifically geared to help blood glucose regulation. I took a couple of these with every meal and within 2 weeks, my severe hypoglycemia was gone. It has B complex, minerals, trace minerals, antioxidants, glandular support and vitamins. I was taking a bunch of supps but these, along with the ADP (oil of oregano) and Nutriclear, helped the most.

I think what causes LG in the first place is a combination of factors. For me, it was a bad diet almost devoid of green and healthy veggies, use of acid reflux pills like Prilosec which halt production of stomach acid (you need acid to kill the bugs, baddies and pathogens in the food and gut), use of NSAIDs and aspirin for pain (they interfere with proper functioning of the stomach and intestines, I could write a whole article on just that), lots of antibiotics for sinus infections, etc. and too much junky food that is high in sugar and carbs. I also had a severe dairy intolerance though I wasn't aware of it at the time. My sinus issues and persistent hay fever were indicative of a dairy intolerance but I only found that out after it was too late. It caused inflammation throughout my body and that contributes to LG, too. I'm not exactly allergic to dairy, but it makes my immune system hypersensitive and then I become highly sensitive to other allergens like cats and pollen. My real nail in the coffin, though, was hep c. When you already have dysbiosis and you end up with a major infection, you're toast.

As soon as yeast are given the opportunity, like with antibiotics and high sugar diets, they will take over. My doc explained it to me like this - imagine a hotel where all the rooms are full of bad bacteria and yeast. In the hotel, there is only so much room, and if they are in control of all the rooms, you have to kill them off to make room for the good guys. And that is the hard part. It takes a very loooong time and is tedious. I had asked him if it was possible to just take a powerful pathogen killer and then just take handfuls of probiotics to replace the good stuff. And that's when he explained about the hotel. In the intestine, we have a balance of good and bad guys. It is the job of the good guys (like bifido, etc.) to make some vitamins and enzymes and help digest food but one of their most important functions is to maintain the integrity of the gut lining. If they get pushed aside by the bad guys, or killed off by antibiotics or whatever, once the bad guys take over, you're up the creek. Btw, I have seen an article in pubmed about how the flora balance in the intestines is crucial for the bone marrow's production of immune system components. If anyone wants to see it, I can go through my notes and track it down.

First, yeast grows out of control because there aren't enough good guys to keep it in check. Incidentally, in AIDS, yeast is the first thing to get out of control, too. And the yeast in the intestines can get particularly nasty, they will put "roots" down into the gut lining and cause even more inflammation, thereby inflaming the pores which are now large enough to let the contents of the intestines seep through. So you end up with undigested food particles (which cause inflammation throughout the body and stress the liver and kidneys) and bad bacteria and yeasts coursing through the bloodstream. If this goes on for a long time, like probably years in my case, then eventually, the liver can't function properly, you lose methylation (thanks to Rich I know all about this now) and then heavy metals pile up and you end up with CFS. And then you have to spend years on google figuring it all out if you want to feel good again and get out of bed! Arggg!

I think the oil of oregano gets everywhere, because I watched my yeast and bad bacteria levels plunge over time from the CDSA tests. I don't think just taking probiotics, even a good one, will get rid of the bad guys because of the hotel explanation. In the gut lining, that's where all these guys reside, and there is only so much room. Once the bad guys have a foothold, it's extremely difficult to remove them. My doc always said you have to starve them and kill them at the same time.

I think if most people did the CDSA test, they would find a certain degree of dysbiosis. But somehow, they are able to keep it in check so it doesn't get too out of control. If they get a major infection, though, they will have a much harder time of healing it.

So are you hypoglycemic? And what carbs are you eating? Can you just switch to veggie carbs and avoid grains and dairy? Once you kill off a good amount of baddies, you'll find your body working better and better as time goes on. You may start out not-so-low carb but you would probably be able to cut out more and more carbs as you go on killing baddies.

Catseye - I see that you are in SW Florida and from your posts have a very clued in doctor. I have spent the last 3 years trying to find a competent doctor in Florida to no avail. I am on the SE coast but would be willing to travel anywhere in the state. I particularly like that your guy uses Biotics Research products as they are really great but no one I have seen has even heard of them. As all of us on this board, I have some very complicated immune problems which are beyond my ability to treat myself at this point. I worked a lot with Rich Van K prior to his tragic demise and he helped me a lot with understanding the methylation/sulfation aspect of things. However, I really need help in the gut/brain immune department and I have hit a brick wall re: doctors. Perhaps you would be kind enough to PM me and we could chat about this. Also, would love to hear how you are doing. Hope all is well.

 

[peggy-sue]

I read a paper which I found on Medscape not too long ago, (I'm registered and get sent links to the latest stuff) in which a clinical trial was done with milk thistle and chemotherapy - the milk thistle was proven to protect the liver from damage from the chemo.
I also read another paper in which it was found that in acupuncture, it doesn't matter where the needles are put for it to "work".
(I'm so terrified of needles nothing on earth would persuade my to try it - and I don't "believe" in it in the first place. The more invasive or painful a placebo treatment is, the more "effective" it is found to be.)
Not too long ago, I think it was found that having a placebo response was genetic. I don't respond.


Does oil of oregano taste of oregano? (It's my favourite herb.) I'd be interested in trying a bit of that.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

peggy-sue I also can't stand needles, so when I first went in for acupuncture at the insistence of a colleague, for several weeks, my practitioner only used magnets and a clicking point stimulator, or heat (called moxa) on the points. I'm generally a skeptic but I have seen over time that acupuncture is one thing that can help nudge my body in different ways towards stability. Digestion, sciatica, energy levels, have been helped over time. So now I'm less leery about the needles, although he still uses the "small" ear needles on me, and I go twice a week because nothing else I have tried in 18 months has been as consistently helpful. As always, YMMV.

 

[peggy-sue]

I'm a bit more than "can't stand needles". I run away and lock myself in the nearest loo and refuse to come out. It's very embarrassing, so I had a course of hypnotherapy to help me deal with it.
I can now "transfer" my flight reaction into one of staying still, if I am lying down and somebody is hanging onto my arm, to prevent me pulling myself off the needle, and only if I am allowed to blether nonsense non-stop. If I do this, I can allow blood to be drawn.
If it came to a needle which was going to introduce a drug or inocculation into me, you would find me locked in the loo again.
It took 5 nurses to hold me down when I was being given an anaesthetic to remove an infected ingrown toenail several years ago. I was crying and begging them to do it without anaesthetic.
(I couldn't run away because I couldn't walk.) I am truly phobic about needles.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

Wow, ok forgive me in that case for even mentioning the pointy word, but just wanted you to know there are a few ways to get sme of the benefits of acupuncture without those pesky metallic items.

 

[peggy-sue]

You are completely forgiven, I know you were just trying to be as helpful as possible and to reassure me. Thank-you for the use of "pointy word" too!

 

[xchocoholic]

Richvank recommended watching the Burzynski's movie on page 3 about 1/2 way down. Tc.. x

 

[Insomniac]

May someone tell me such disease, which only alternative medicine can cure, and traditional medicine can not? By alternative medicine I mean Acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs, TCM ... If you really know such disorder, I hope you show a strong evidence and proof, and not just giving a name. Of course, this is a provocative thread, as I only believe in traditional medicine, but it is also a chance for people with different opinion to disprove me.

I am unable to read the whole thread so excuse me if this has been mentioned before.

I offer simple back pain has been helped by alternative med bit not conventional.
(I'm not talking about stuff that needs operations.)
Most people with back pain get help with chiropracts, massage, weight loss , exercise (if they don't have CFS) and capsaicin cream, feldenkrais, yoga etc.

Whereas conventional medicine is just pain killers with side effects and being told to exercise.

It's a good question. It's true that I only go to alternative med when I am unhappy with conventional medicine.

 

[astraea]

Actually things like Traditional Chinese Medicine (including acupuncture) and Ayurveda are traditional medicines. I think you mean you only believe in conventional western biomedicine.