If you have MS, it is long past time for you to choose to eat the healthiest possible diet. Let’s face it, your immune system is in free fall. It is so confused, it is attacking the myelin sheath that coats your nerves and possibly your nerves as well. You know how serious this is. You know the devastation this disease can do to your body. Are you willing to do all you can do to heal your immune system? If the answer is yes, your diet is key.

The healthiest diet is a plant-based diet consisting of 80% fresh, raw, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits.

Avoid These Foods If You Have MS

• Any “food” that contains the following:
• Artificial flavoring
• Artificial color
• Preservatives
• MSG
• Trans Fats
• Sugar
• High fructose corn syrup
• Gluten (Which means no wheat including kamut, faro, spelt, durum, bulgur, or semolina and no barley, rye, or triticale. Oats may be a problem, too.)
• Dairy
• Caffeine
• Canola
• Soy
• GMOs
• Any foods you have had an allergic reaction to

In other words, cut out all processed foods. Choose whole foods, organic foods filled with nutrients.

Be Sure To Eat The Following Foods

• A wide variety of healthy fats (be sure you get enough omega3 fatty acids)
• A wide variety of produce (make salads with 15 or more veggies!)
• Foods that continually detox the body like garlic, onions, cilantro, ginger, and turmeric
• Lots of pure water

Consider the Following Supplements

• B Complex vitamins high in B-12
• Vitamin D
• Coenzyme Q10
• Multi-vitamins and minerals

If you are willing to do the work, you can get healthy. It all starts with giving the body the nutrients it needs to heal itself. If you have MS, you have a sick gut. This diet will help you heal the gut. You can’t do it part way. You need to learn all you can about true health and you need to practice what you learn. Yes, this means you will overhaul your diet, but you will feel so much better, so fast.

Further Reading:

•  Naturally Treat Multiple Sclerosis – Therapies, Diet, Pain Management, Alternative Medicine
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• Being Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis and Refusing To Live With It

Let’s redefine a pick me up. Reaching for a cup of coffee or donut is fast and easy, and while the pick me up is quick, you’ll end up paying for it later. Not only do conventionally processed snacks lead to an energy crash later, they have a deleterious effect on your overall health and mood in the long run.

Your gut is the key to overall health and functions like a second nervous system due to the amount of neurotransmitters produced there. Studies are increasingly finding that what you eat plays a huge role in lowering your anxiety and boosting your mood. The more willing you are to choose a healthy, whole-food treat over a nutrient-empty, quick fix, the more you’ll reap the benefits – both now and later.

Here are a few snacks that can bring you the boost you’re looking for.

Chocolate

Let’s start with an easy one… chocolate. Chock-full of antioxidants and capable of delivering the endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin that your brain needs to regulate your mood, chocolate also provides assistance to the cardiovascular system. Not all chocolate is created equal, though! The act of processing cacao can remove or change most of its healthy compounds, and most of conventional chocolate includes detrimental additives like soy lecithin. Chocolates also contain a variety of sugars that disrupt the balance of gut microbes and can create an overgrowth of Candida. Look for raw chocolates that use sweeteners like raw coconut sugars, stevia, or raw honey. The fewer ingredients listed, the more likely you are to reap the benefits of a midday truffle.

Fermented Foods

Social anxiety can be a major downer, but according to a recently published study, people who consume fermented foods might be less likely to experience it. Looking at young adults enrolled in a psychology class, the students who consumed naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles exhibited fewer symptoms of social anxiety. The students who reported the greatest benefit from the fermented foods were students who were genetically predisposed to social anxiety disorder.

In addition, traditionally fermented foods also benefit your nervous and immune systems, provide beneficial bacteria, and making several nutrients easily digestible. It’s important to choose fermented foods that have been fermented with lactic acid to get all of the benefits from these foods.

Avocado

Who doesn’t love fatty food? We are biologically engineered to want to eat fatty things, which can sometimes lead to trouble, diet-wise. Sometimes experts can’t agree on which fats to eat, but pretty much everyone is cheering on the avocado. You can join us! Filled with protein, loaded with serotonin boosting monounsaturated fats, a great natural source of B vitamins, avocados have a stacked deck when it comes to promoting a good mood. They’re also a versatile addition to any menu. Smoothies, salads, tacos, guacamole, or cut in half and served with a spoon…it’s harder to find something you can’t add avocado to.

Berries

There’s something irresistible about fresh berries. Plump and juicy, with that little burst of sweetness, the different varieties make it easy for everyone to have a favorite. They’re also a fantastic source of antioxidants. A steady supply of antioxidants has been shown to lower levels of depression in addition to repairing cell damage and helping prevent cancer. They’re also a perfect pick me up, whether tossing back a quick handful of blueberries or blending a decadent raspberry and coconut milk smoothie.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Okay, so omega-3 fatty acids are not technically a snack food. But when a nutrient provides enough dopamine and serotonin to be described as natural Prozac, it’s impossible to not mention it on a list of good mood foods. A review of more than 25 studies over the past 15 years found that people who ate the most fish were 17% less likely to suffer from depression.

Walnuts slow cognitive degeneration and promote sleep. They can triple melatonin levels. Chia, flax, and hemp, the holy trinity of the health nut’s seed shelf, provide fiber, boost brain health, and add a little extra protein to help you feel fuller longer. What gives these foods all of this positive health mojo? Omega-3 Fatty acids!

Fish can be a dicey proposition due to mercury contamination, but incorporating a low-mercury fish like salmon into your rotation can have significant brain benefits.

Sprinkle some flax, hemp, or chia seeds on salads or in smoothies. Mix a container of soaked and sprouted trail mix with extra walnuts to replace a not so happy snack at work. Munch on some smoked salmon.

Make Simple Switches for Big Benefits

Every other ad or commercial suggests that the latest depression medication is all you need to live the life you’ve always wanted. Choosing health over immediate gratification appears to be a slow process when there is always a new version of the magic mood pill. It seems like a small step to swap out conventional, processed foods for healthy, whole food choices, but every step toward better overall bodily function is a step toward elevating and stabilizing your mood. Be sure to check out How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders.

Recommended Supplements:

• Arctic Omega-D – Nordic Naturals (vitamin D and omega 3s)
• Basic B Complex Thorne Research

Recommended Reading:

• Mental Health, Physical Health & B Vitamins – Nature’s Valium
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders
• Natural Remedies for Depression

Sources:

• Decreased social anxiety among young adults who eat fermented foods – Science Daily
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders – Organic Lifestyle Magazine
• Fish consumption and risk of depression: a meta-analysis – Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Flax, Chia or Hemp Seeds – Which Are Healthier? – City Girl Bites
• What’s New and Healthy About Avocados – World’s Healthiest Foods

A growing number of health-conscious and environmentally concerned people of all ages are adopting a vegan diet so they can live more efficiently and improve their overall health. A vegan diet promotes efficient living because it requires fewer resources to grow vegetables than to raise animals.

Statistics show that since 2009, the percentage of people eating a non-meat diet have doubled in the U.S. Today, 5 % of the population, an estimated 16 million people, are vegetarians, and one-half of them are vegan. That’s about 8 million people.

The vegan diet is growing in popularity, as many celebrities (Bill Clinton, Carrie Underwood, Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, etc.) and top athletes (Mike Tyson, Dave Scott, etc.) are promoting it. But the diet has continued to stir controversy because it is such a drastic lifestyle change from the traditional meat eater diet that has been the mainstay of American culture for hundreds of years.

Vegans don’t eat any meat, fish, honey, or dairy products, which includes milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, etc. Strict vegans also avoid using cosmetic or chemical products made with animal-derived ingredients, and they don’t wear fur, leather, or wool clothing. Most vegans do not eat refined white sugar (made with charcoal from bone fragments) and some types of wine (includes isinglass, fish bladders).

7 Common Benefits of Eating a Vegan Diet

1-Better Overall Health

People on a vegan diet eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, nuts, berries, beans, and soy. As a result, they tend to have lower blood pressure and cholesterol and a lower risk of cardiovascular and heart disease; type 2 diabetes; prostate, colon and breast cancers; macular degeneration; cataracts; arthritis; osteoporosis; PMS; migraines; and allergies.

2-Weight Loss

A U.S. News and World Report article named the vegan diet as the best for overall weight loss, heart health, diabetes prevention, and long-term weight loss. Vegans have lower rates of obesity and weigh 5 to 20 pounds less than those on a meat diet. Studies show that vegans tend to eat fewer calories than meat-eaters and therefore have a lower body mass index (a measure of body fat). The vegan diet contains fewer saturated fats, so vegans have a better chance of losing weight and keeping the weight off.  One study showed that people who eat a low-fat vegetarian (vegan) diet averaged a 24 pound weight loss the first year and kept the weight off 5 years later.

3-Increased Energy

Many successful athletes are vegans. Too much fat in your bloodstream from eating meat prevents arteries from opening to supply oxygen to the muscles. Vegetarian diets are high in carbohydrates that are good for efficient energy conversion.  Vegan athletes include marathon runner Scott Jurek, triathlete and ironman champion Dave Scott, NFL player Tony Gonzalez, and Olympian track and field star Carl Lewis.

4-Healthier Skin and Hair

Meat-based diets are high in fats that can clog skin pores, but a plant-based diet is low in fat and high in vitamins and antioxidants that are good for skin. Fiber and whole grains help your body flush out toxins, and vitamins C, A and E from a variety of vegetables and nuts help fight wrinkles and brown spots. The zinc found in beans may help to decrease acne.

5-Reduced Body Odor

One study in the Czech Republic found that those who ate a plant-based diet (vegetarians and vegans) were judged to have a more pleasant body odor than the study group who ate meat. The conclusion was that meat consumption has a negative impact on body odor. This is because the meat diet does not have an adequate intake of phytochemical and micronutrients, so cellular detoxification is impaired. Some vegans report fewer problems with bad breath and others have discontinued the use of deodorant products.

6-Boost Immune System

Eating fruits and vegetables means a diet high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help improve your immune system. A good immune system means your body’s cells and organs are working efficiently, so your body has defenses that protect you from the threats posed by bacteria and viruses. Your diet works in partnership with other good health practices such as getting enough sleep, reducing stress levels, and exercising.

7-Live Longer  

A recent study of 173,000 people showed that vegetarians (and vegans) have a 20 percent lower mortality rate than meat-eaters. This means they live about 10 years longer. A 30-year study in Okinawa attributed the longevity of centenarians there to a fiber-rich diet of fruits, vegetables, unrefined complex carbohydrates, and soy.

Another recent study published in The Daily Mail, found that a poor diet is the biggest contributor to premature deaths across the globe. One in five deaths are caused by diets that are high in red meat consumption and sugary drinks and lacking in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Unhealthy eating is contributing to the rise in heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

A long-term study of more than 121,000 men and women in the U.S. found that eating beef, pork, lamb, or processed meat such as bacon, bologna, hot dogs, salami, or sausage, increased the chances of early death by 12 percent.

Conclusion

When you consider the advantages of a vegan diet, including improved health, weight loss, increased energy, healthier skin and hair, reduced body odor, a boosted immune system, and longer life, eating vegan is a very tempting choice, anyway you look at it.

Recommended Reading:

• 10 Vegan-Friendly Sources Of Protein
• Animal vs. Plant Protein – What’s Better?

Sources:

• 2014, The Year of the Vegan – One Green Planet
• Vegan Diet – U.S. News
• Why Go Veg? – Vegetarian Times
• Body Odor: Do Nutritarians Smell Better? – Dr. Fuhrman’s Disease Proo
• Go Vegetarian, Live Longer – Men’s Journal
• Red Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Early Death – Scientific American
• 42 Health Benefits of Going Vegan – Wildflower

Embarrassed by your stretch marks? Well, don’t be. Stretch marks are super common in men and women and can be found on any area of the body where rapid weight gain is experienced. Although they are nothing to feel embarrassed about, there are a few things you can do to try and avoid stretch marks and to minimize the appearance of the ones you already have.

What are Stretch Marks?

Stretch marks are purple or red marks caused by tears in the elastic layers of the skin. Genetics plays a role, but anyone can develop stretch marks if they rapidly gain weight. Stretch marks commonly occur during pregnancy and puberty. Even bodybuilders develop stretch marks when they quickly build muscle.

How To Avoid Stretch Marks

If you are predisposed to stretch marks, there are several steps you can take to try to avoid them. Although there are no guarantees,   all of these tips have additional health benefits and are likely to reduce the severity of any stretch marks you do develop.

1. Keep Your Body Hydrated

Hydration is super important to keep your body optimally functioning. Proper hydration can also reduce your risk of developing stretch marks, especially during pregnancy, because it ensures optimal elasticity.

Some signs of dehydration include headaches, tiredness, dry throat or lips, and lack of concentration. Try to make sure you are drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water as a minimum and adjust this amount depending on your activity level and climate.

2. Vitamins A & C

Maintaining a healthy diet is another way of maximizing your chances of avoiding stretch marks. Foods that contain Vitamin A and C are essential to healthy skin, so make sure you get plenty of these vitamins in your regular diet. Some great sources of Vitamin C include tomatoes, oranges, cantaloupe, and bell peppers. To get your daily dose of Vitamin A, you could include potatoes, carrots, and mangoes in your diet.

3. Essential Oil Treatments

There are several essential oils that improve skin elasticity and, therefore, can help reduce the appearance of stretch marks. Neroli oil is great for overall skin health and reducing stretch marks. It helps to regenerate skin cells and keeps your skin elastic. People with sensitive skin can also use Neroli oil because it does not irritate the skin.

Oil of mandarin oranges can also be applied on the skin to improve blood circulation and  skin rejuvenation. Lavender oil is another essential oil that can help as it also promotes skin regeneration and cell activity, which reduces the risk of developing stretch marks. A blend of cold-pressed wheat germ and almond oil can also be used to prevent stretch marks. Applying these oils gently on the skin will encourage new tissue growth and improve circulation.

4. Include Gelatin In Your Diet

Gelatin increases collagen formation in the body, which improves skin elasticity and can help prevent stretch marks and reduce the appearance of stretch marks you already have. One of the best ways to get more gelatin is to consume bone broth. Bone broth is easy to make at home and has a whole host of other health benefits.

You can also add gelatin powder to juice or a smoothie to increase collagen intake, but go for an organic grass fed source whenever possible. Gelatin doesn’t just improve skin elasticity, it also helps improve insulin sensitivity while it promotes digestive health, fights free radicals, and promotes wound healing.

5. Maintaining a Healthy Diet

Although there are times in our lives when weight gain is inevitable, such as during puberty or pregnancy, preventing excess weight gain through healthy eating and exercise can limit the likelihood of stretch marks. A healthy balance of nutrients can also help to maximize the health of not only our skin but the rest of our body.

Recommended Supplements:

• Systemic Enzymes
• Lavender Essential Oil – Wise Woman Herbals
• Shillington’s Total Nutrition Formula

Recommended Reading:

• Common Bad Parenting Advice You Should Ignore
• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Five Things You Can Do to Help Your Child Manage ADHD Naturally

There are many people who believe the whole “gluten intolerance” “gluten free diet” craze is nothing more than a sham, another diet scam created to market specialized foods to the masses. They are wrong. Unfortunately, many of them will continue to suffer from autoimmune diseases or other chronic conditions and will never admit to themselves that their diet is to blame.

If you suffer from MS or know someone who does, learning how a leaky gut is linked to MS is a vital step toward health.

What Is the Difference Between a Healthy Gut and a Leaky Gut?

When people hear the term “leaky gut” they often imagine the intestines leaking its contents into the body cavity. This is not the case. Healthy gut walls are coated with a biofilm, tightly interwoven cells that provide a barricade between the tissues and the intestinal contents. When the biofilm breaks down and the intestinal walls become inflamed, proteins and other particles that would normally stay inside the intestines pass into the bloodstream. Suddenly the body is flooded with what the immune system sees as “foreign invaders”. The immune system goes into overdrive and often steers off course.

Anyone who has faced the grim reality of an autoimmune disease has been told that their immune system isn’t working right, that it is attacking their body. Unfortunately, it is a rare to find a health care practitioner who can tell them why and how to stop the process. Bottom line, the only way to heal the body is through proper nutrition, detoxing, and exercise. You start with healing the gut. If the gut isn’t working right, you can’t assimilate nutrients. One of the first steps to healing the gut is eliminating gluten.

What Has Caused a Leaky Gut?

The standard American diet, sugar, antibiotics, chemicals, and heavy metals have all combined to destroy the natural bacterial balance in the gut.

Our gut is home to trillions of microbes, many of them beneficial bacteria that live with us in a symbiotic relationship that is vital to our health. These good bacteria help us digest our food, help keep bad bacteria, fungi, and parasites in check, and are even responsible for the production of neurotransmitters.

Antibiotics kill bacteria that are harmful to our health. In the process, they also kill the good bacteria in our gut. When the balance in the gut is destroyed, fungi take over along with the bad bacteria.

Sugar also feeds fungi (along with bad bacteria and viruses). An overgrowth of Candida typically occurs with high sugar diets and antibiotic use. Since sugar weakens the immune system, these two go hand in hand. Sugar also feeds fungi (along with bad bacteria and viruses). An overgrowth of Candida typically occurs with high sugar diets and antibiotic use. Since sugar weakens the immune system, these two go hand in hand. Drink sodas, eat sugary snacks and chemically laden processed foods and then wonder why you get sinus infections and bronchitis. Take antibiotics, break down the immune system more, and you repeat the cycle.

If this wasn’t enough, processed foods are filled with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, colorings, preservatives, MSG, and GMOs. And even our produce isn’t safe unless it’s organic. Some fruits have as many as 15 chemicals on and in them. All of these chemicals further destroy gut health and lead to a chronic imbalance of good bacteria, bad bacteria, and Candida.

How Do You Heal the Gut?

There are supplements that can help you get your gut back in balance, but the main way to heal the gut is to eat a truly healthy diet. This means eliminating processed foods and eating 80% fresh, raw, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits and including healthy fats and plenty of pure water in your diet.

The MS leaky gut connection is clear. If you completely eliminate gluten (and that means every condiment and morsel of food that goes in your mouth) and adhere to a healthy diet, you will be amazed at how much better you feel. Many people with MS have found that symptoms return whenever they indulge in foods that contain gluten. To learn more about gluten, gut health, and multiple sclerosis, read Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases and Foods To Avoid With Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease.

Recommended Reading:

• Naturally Treat Multiple Sclerosis – Therapies, Diet, Pain Management, Alternative Medicine
• How to Kill Fungal Infections
• How to Cure Lyme Disease, and Virtually Any Other Bacterial Infection, Naturally

This is more than a detox article. This is a lifestyle article. If you want to be disease free, vibrant, and truly healthy, it’s time to develop continuous detoxification habits that you do daily.

A very thorough detox can be expensive and challenging to complete. Some people who are very sick, or otherwise very toxic, need this kind of detoxification protocol, but most don’t, and most cannot afford to spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on supplements. The good news is that with the right habits, anyone can detoxify all the time without doing a “detox” that takes up all of your time, energy, and money.

The trick to detoxifying without fasting is to eat foods that help you to detoxify the body, and to drink plenty of water. Even better than water, here’s a recipe to kick off your detoxification protocol.

Reated: How To Heal Your Gut

Cranberry Lemonade Recipe

• Glass gallon jar
• Safe, clean, spring water or distilled water
• 1 cup of unsweetened, organic cranberry juice, not from concentrate
• 3 organic fresh lemons
• A citrus juicer
• Liquid stevia
• Liquid cayenne

Fill the jar to about 85% capacity with spring water (or distilled water). Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into the water. Add cranberry juice. Add stevia to taste and then add cayenne to taste. The amount of cayenne used is up to you, but the more the better.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut

If you don’t have access to a good source for spring water, use other clean, drinking water that does not contain fluoride. If you don’t have access to organic lemons, use conventional. Fresh is best. If there are no fresh lemons, use organic bottled lemon juice. If you can’t get cranberry juice that is not from concentrate, get the reconstituted kind (just don’t get any kind of cranberry juice that has any other ingredients like sweeteners or other juices). If you can’t stand cayenne, don’t use it. No glass jar? Use plastic.

Since it’s cranberry season again, if you have a blender, try whole cranberries instead of juicing them. You can also throw in some of the organic lemon peels, as much as you can stand to taste. (Only organic. Don’t use peels from conventional lemons.) It’s pretty sour, but it has lots of benefits.

If you have powdered cayenne and/or powdered stevia, I recommend using a blender to mix some of the liquid with the powders so they don’t settle later.

The lemon juice will help flush the liver. The cranberry juice will help flush the kidneys. If you drink a lot of it, every day, you will feel an amazing difference in your health and vitality. This recipe is a far better choice for most people than the Master Cleanse.

Salad Recipe That Detoxifies

Produce detoxifies. Fresh, whole, raw vegetables, herbs, and fruits pull toxins from the body, repopulate healthy, beneficial gut bacteria, and give the body the nutrients it needs including enzymes and other phytonutrients that are almost non-existent in most modern diets.

Try to eat a huge salad every day with lots of greens, plenty of other colors, garlic, cilantro, ginger, and more. Check out this salad recipe.

The Salad Base

• Spinach
• Arugula (I prefer baby arugula, mature arugula tastes funky)
• Collard Greens (they’re very bitter; use sparingly)
• Lettuce (mix it up, try an organic spring mix)
• Kale
• Beet greens (the tops of beets)
• Red cabbage (thinly shred like a slaw or a little thicker, depending on the texture you prefer)
• Rainbow chard

Shredded, Grated

• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Beetroot
• Diakon (or other radish)

Chopped or Diced

• Leeks
• Red onions
• Red and yellow bell peppers
• Cucumbers
• Cilantro
• Asparagus (try cooking in a balasmic vinger first)

Extras

• Pomegranate seeds
• Olives
• Raisins or dried cranberries
• Sesame seeds
• Ground papaya seeds and/or ground pepper
• Avocado
• Eggs (try soft boiled)
• Beans (black, pinto, kidney, green, garbanzo, etc.)
• Garlic
• Turmeric
• Chia seeds

It’s not an exact recipe, and it doesn’t have to be. Mix it up. Try new things. My salads generally have about 15 ingredients. Make them big; make them diverse. Just imagine you’re in nature, not modern society, and all you have to eat is nothing but a wide variety of the best, whole, fresh, healthy vegetables and herbs. This is what a big salad a day can do for you: it’s life changing.

I throw in chick peas or a three-bean salad combination. If you’re not vegan, try a sheep feta cheese with this salad, and throw on some eggs. It’s good with meat, too, like chicken or steak.

Don’t ruin it with a crappy salad dressing! All this salad needs is a little balsamic vinegar (apple cider is better, but I don’t like the taste as much in my salads), or some fresh lemon juice or something. It doesn’t take much.

Daily Habits for Constant Detoxification

• Breathe in deeply, fully and properly
• Eat a big salad every day (I make seven every Sunday)
• Drink lots of cranberry lemonade every day
• Bodyweight squats every day.

That last one is more important than you may think. We expel more toxins through our skin and breathing than we do through bowel movements and urination. Get up, sweat, get your heart rate going, and breathe! I recommend bodyweight squats because it’s an important movement in nature (we used to squat a lot!), and it helps detoxify the body as you do them. Practice good form of course, and build up slowly. Start with 20, take a day off, but get up to 100 a day.

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

Imagine that. 100 squats, a big huge salad, and a gallon (or so) of cranberry lemonade every day. If you can do it, you will reverse and set back disease for many years and feel amazing. When you are detoxifying, stick with the salads, squats, and lemonade. When you’re not, just fill in the rest of your diet with unprocessed, whole foods (organic whenever possible) and you’ll be healthier than anyone you know.

That’s pretty much my secret to good health. I make an 11 cup salad every day, I drink a gallon of cranberry lemonade every day, and I do squats. Sometimes I juice, but it’s done with lots of turmeric and ginger, and it’s not very sweet. I do enjoy an ultra healthy smoothie, and I put in lots of “superfoods” (I kinda hate that phrase, but, oh well), with Total Nutrition Formula.

When I need to go through a serious detox, I typically throw in SF722, Blood Detox, and some probiotics.

If you’re suffering from serious illness, or you know it’s coming soon if you don’t change your habits, this protocol will bring you to another level in health, but at some point you may want to do a more serious protocol that targets all of the elimination organs, and seriously address your gut health.

If you’d like to see some more recipes (and if you want to make your own tinctures and teas for your detox):
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Recommended Products:

• Mother Earth Organic Root Cider – Barrier Island Organics
• Formula SF722
• Floramend-Prime by Thorne
• Shillington’s Blood Detox Formula

Further Reading:

• How to Kill Fungal Infections
• 80% Raw Food Diet
• One Gallon Challenge
• Cheap and Easy Detox Protocols

All nutrients have a role to play in health. When we are found to be deficient in particular vitamins or minerals, it could be that we are not eating enough foods that provide them or our state of health may be such that we are unable to properly metabolize and process them.

Many studies have shown that people with multiple sclerosis have lower levels of specific vitamins and other nutrients, especially vitamin D and vitamin B12.

The Vitamin B12 Connection

Those who have MS have low levels of vitamin B12 in their cerebrospinal fluid, blood serum, or both. A vitamin B12 deficiency is often mistaken for MS.

Studies have shown patients with MS given vitamin B12 supplements have experienced clinical improvements with symptoms. Those with MS are also likely to be low in other B vitamins and should consider a B vitamin complex with extra B12. It is always best to take a complex B rather than taking just one B vitamin for any length of time. B vitamins work together to perform many vital roles in the body.

Foods Rich in Vitamin B 12

Foods rich in vitamin B12 include:

• Sardines
• Salmon
• Tuna
• Cod
• Lamb
• Shrimp
• Scallops
• Beef
• Yogurt
• Milk

If you are suffering from a digestive disease that inhibits absorption such as celiac disease or you are elderly, vegan, or vegetarian it may be difficult for you to reach your daily requirement of B12 without supplementation.

Even if you are not aware that you have a digestive disorder, chances are you suffer from leaky gut syndrome if you have MS or any other autoimmune disease. Elimination of gluten from your diet, treating Candida overgrowth, and repairing your gut will go a long way toward your recovery from MS.

The Vitamin D Connection

The farther away a person lives from the equator, the greater the risk of developing MS, which suggests vitamin D deficiency may play an important part in the development of this disease.

Study after study shows that when people are chronically ill they either are or they were vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is a hormone our bodies produce after we are exposed to sunlight.

Vitamin D is stored in fat and released as needed, but this does not work right for particularly toxic people or overweight people and most of us in the modern world do not get nearly enough vitamin D in the summer regardless of our ability to store it. We certainly get enough in our diet to make up for our lack of outdoor life.

If you have MS you will likely feel an immediate improvement by supplementing with vitamin D. Avoid very high doses of vitamin D for long periods of time.

Foods Rich in Vitamin D

We can also get vitamin D from the following foods:

• Fatty fish
• Mushrooms
• Beef liver
• Cheese
• Egg yolks

Conclusion

Vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies play a role in MS, but they are not the only causes of this disease. A leaky gut is most certainly a big part of the problem, and diet management is paramount, not only to manage symptoms naturally but also to getting well. To learn more about MS, check out Naturally Treat Multiple Sclerosis – Therapies, Diet, Pain Management, Alternative Medicine.

Recommended Products:

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B12 Complex

Suggested Reading:

• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome and Autoimmune Diseases
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin D and Hypertension
• Naturally Treat Multiple Sclerosis – Therapies, Diet, Pain Management, Alternative Medicine