Foods that Fight Cancer

Everyone has heard the phrase, “You are what you eat,” but did you know that you can combat and prevent cancer through healthy food choices? The number one thing to focus on when trying to create a cancer-fighting diet is to follow a diet that includes at least 80% raw, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Many pesticides are known carcinogens. The best way to lower your exposure to pesticides in your food is to buy organic. Raw produce is key in any cancer-fighting diet. Eating a variety of raw organic produce is the optimal way to access all the key nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, heal, and if need be to fight cancer. Here’s a short list of some of the top foods that are known to help fight cancer in the body.

Dark Green, Leafy Vegetables

Leafy greens are the basis for every great salad. They also contain high levels of important vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. While iceberg lettuce may be the most widely used salad vegetable, it is almost completely empty of nutrition and it tastes very bland. Better choices that not only taste better but also are nutrient dense include spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, arugula, Swiss chard, and kale. These powerhouse vegetables are high in carotenoids, fiber, folate, vitamin K, and vitamin C. Carotenoids have been shown to slow the growth of certain types of cancer including breast, lung, stomach, and skin cancer. There are many other nutrients in leafy greens, and many of them act as antioxidants and help to remove free radicals from the body before they can do much harm. Leafy greens are vital to a healthy diet.

Berries

Berries are a versatile powerhouse source of nutrition. While popular varieties include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries, and blackberries, less well-known varieties such as acai, bilberry, and elderberry are also great sources of cancer-fighting nutrients. These deeply colored fruits have high levels of antioxidants including anthocyanins and other flavonoids. These antioxidants work to remove free radicals from the body, making them important in fighting cancer. Berries also have anti-inflammatory properties, which can help the body heal itself.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are probably one of the better-known types of food that fight cancer, but many people do not understand why. Tomatoes are high in lycopene, which helps protect the body’s DNA from cancer-causing damage. Cooking tomatoes makes the lycopene more readily available to the body. Tomatoes are also high in alpha-tomatine, a phytonutrient that has been shown to hinder growth of cancer cells as well as kill fully formed cancer cells. Everyone should eat tomatoes, raw and cooked.

Cruciferous Vegetables

Some popular cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and cabbage. These vegetables are high in sulfur-containing compounds called glucosinolates. These phytonutrients help the body remove carcinogenic compounds before they damage the body’s DNA and they help repair damaged cells. The benefits of these compounds are accessed when the vegetables are chopped up and the glucosinolates are broken down by enzymes called myrosinase. These vegetables are also high in fiber.

Watermelon

Watermelons are a powerhouse source of important cancer-fighting nutrients. Higher than tomatoes in lycopene by 40%, they also have high levels of beta-carotene, fiber, vitamin C, and citrulline. The lycopene in watermelon is readily bio-available. Watermelon’s antioxidants remove free radicals from the body and protect DNA from damage. It helps hydrate the body and is very alkaline, which can help detoxify the body and prevent cancer. Many nutritionists believe watermelon to be both a fruit and a vegetable.

Conclusion

We all have cancer cells in our bodies, every day, all the time. The state of our health determines whether we “get cancer.” Beating cancer is something we can do every time we eat, depending on what we eat. Most of us have had friends or family who have died of cancer, and all of us can think of better ways of passing away than being slowly consumed by abnormal cells.

Almost all produce kills cancer in some way. Raw, fresh, organic (ideally home grown) produce creates the healthiest gut flora, provides enzymes to reduce aging and repair injuries, and heals the body from the inside out. The most important aspect of any natural health protocol is diet. The first step to reversing diseases like cancer is to repair the gut.

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The Vegan Diet: Why It Is a Big Deal

Recent studies show that more and more people in the U.S. are choosing to reduce or give up meat in their diet because of the growing body of evidence linking meat consumption to obesity, digestive problems, heart disease, some types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and early death.

What is the problem with meat? Most people eat conventional factory farmed meat, which may have risks due to the presence of chemicals or diseases.  On top of that, most people eat way too much of it. Americans consume 60 percent more meat that Europeans and 4 times more than other developed countries. One study found that meat-eaters are 27 percent more likely to die early and 20 percent more likely to die of cancer.

Out of an estimated 16 million vegetarians, (5 percent of the population) about 8 million people are vegan. So, when people give up meat, they either switch to a vegetarian diet (no meat but the diet includes eggs and dairy) or the new trend, which is vegan (no meat, or dairy, or animal-derived products).

Like the featured image? Check out the collard green wraps recipe here.

Why Do People Eat Vegan?

There are usually 3 reasons why people choose a vegan diet:

  • to protest the exploitation/cruelty of animals by the agricultural industry
  • to reduce the environmental costs of agriculture
  • to improve their overall health and live a healthier life

To Protect Animals

Many people choose a vegan lifestyle because they are against the exploitation of animals by the agriculture industry. Vegans believe animals should not be used against their will and made to suffer and die as resources for human needs.

Vegans believe animals are sentient beings with rights not unlike humans. Vegans are against animal testing, large animal breeding factories, and poultry, cattle, and dairy operations where animals are often kept in less than ideal conditions. There are reports of animal cruelty in many livestock operations. Ten billion animals are slaughtered every year for human consumption in the U.S.

Protect the Environment

Vegans are against the environmental costs of livestock agriculture, including the use of large amounts of land and water, use of chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers, topsoil erosion, and pollution. According to the EPA, chemical and animal waste runoff pollutes more than 173,000 miles of rivers and streams annually and is the nation’s leading cause of impaired water quality. Nearly 20% of worldwide pollution is attributed to the meat industry.

Resource use is a concern to vegans. It is estimated that it takes 40 calories of fossil-fuel energy to create every 1 calorie of feed-lot beef in the U.S., but it only takes 2.2 calories of energy to create plant proteins.

In addition, 70% of the grain produced in the U.S. is used to feed animals raised for slaughter. Livestock animals consume five times as much grain as is eaten by the population.  According to a Cornell University professor of ecology, David Pimentel, if that same amount were used to feed people directly, nearly 800 million people could be fed globally.

Researchers at Loma Linda University in California have concluded that consumption of meat and dairy should be drastically reduced in order to cut the environmental footprint (use of resources). They rated vegetarians and vegans as requiring 30 percent fewer resources.

To Improve Overall Health

Statistics show that most Americans eat an overabundance of foods that are high in fat, sugar, and the added chemicals contained in processed foods.  The vegan diet is designed to eliminate many of the health risks associated with meat consumption, (such as higher risk of disease) and increase consumption of healthy raw foods like vegetables, nuts, grains and fruits. Vegans (and vegetarians) are known to have lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower body/mass indexes (less fat), and lower rates for type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. So, the vegan diet, when combined with a healthy exercise lifestyle, especially for those who actively work out or compete in athletic events,  produces healthier people.

Why is Vegan Better?

A vegan diet can be healthier than a conventional diet for many reasons.  Vegan foods include whole grains, a variety of vegetables, fruits, and beans, that are rich in essential vitamins, contain lots of needed fiber, are low in fat, and contain no cholesterol. Calcium is derived from eating vegetables like broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices, and nut milks (soymilk, almond milk, etc.). Iron is obtained from eating things like chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products.  Vitamin B12 (which does not occur naturally in plants) can be supplemented in pill form or in products that are fortified with it. Most fruits and vegetables contain essential ingredients like carbohydrates, vitamins, folate, minerals like magnesium and potassium, antioxidants, and phytochemicals (carotenoids, anthocyanins) which help prevent disease.

Some people believe they cannot eat vegan because they won’t get enough protein, but vegans get protein from many sources. For example, green vegetables like kale, broccoli, seaweed, peas, and spinach are good sources of protein and so are various kinds of beans like lima, black, pinto, edamame, and lentils. Grains are another way to get protein and these include brown rice, whole wheat bread, pasta, quinoa, and bulgar. Nuts such as peanuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, and walnuts are protein rich. Vegans also eat lots of berries, (strawberries, blueberries, etc.) because they contain antioxidants and phytochemicals.

The Problems with Meat, Dairy, and Fish

Meat

The standard American diet is usually centered around red meat. But when red meat is  consumed in excess quantities, it can cause a person to have higher than normal levels of cholesterol and saturated fats. Diets rich in animal fats are associated with higher risks for obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, and several types of cancer.  Red meat also contains carnitine, which causes hardening of the arteries, and studies show that increased carnitine is associated with increased  cardiovascular disease. A meat diet may cause an excess of iron, which studies show can increase your chances for Alzheimer’s disease and colorectal cancer. Most of the processed meat (lunchmeat) is unhealthy because it contains carcinogenic compounds.

The FDA reports that foods high in protein such as meat, poultry, and seafood can cause outbreaks of foodborne illnesses like E.coli and salmonella. Additives are used in the meat industry to enhance the color and appearance of meat, like pink slime and meat glue, which have questionable health benefits.

The EPA estimates that 95% of pesticide residue in the American diet comes from meat, fish, and dairy products.

People on a meat diet have shorter lives and more disability later in life, according to author Michael F. Roizen, M.D., author of “The Real Age Diet”. He says animal products clog your arteries, give you less energy, slow down your immune system, and increase the rates of cognitive and sexual dysfunction.

Dairy

Recent studies are showing that as many as 75 % of the world’s adult population may be lactose intolerant, which can cause a number of health problems. Milk products like cheese and yogurt have been heavily promoted as part of a healthy diet in the U.S. for many years, and only recently has evidence been coming out to the contrary. High intake of dairy products can raise an individual’s cholesterol levels which can lead to obesity, digestive problems, and heart disease. The problem comes from the combination of animal products derived from unhealthy animals and a diet high in refined sugar.

According to Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D. of the Institute for Medical Functional Medicine, dairy consumption has not been proven to increase athletic performance. It does not protect bone strength and may even reduce it. And he says dairy products can increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer by 50%.

Dairy animals are often given supplemental steroids, growth hormones, and antibiotics, all of which may pose health hazards to humans. There has been concern over whether these additives can cause cancer in humans, but the scientific evidence is inconclusive.

Fish

Fish, although high in protein, can contain varying amounts of carcinogens like PCBs and DDT and also heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium. These contaminants are linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and neurological deficits.

Conclusion

With all the growing evidence pointing to the health hazards associated with a meat-centered diet, it is no wonder that more people are adopting a vegan (and vegetarian) diet. The benefits are obvious for anyone who wants to live a longer and healthier life. And, with the number of people eating vegan, it is not surprising that an increasing number of restaurants catering to vegetarians and vegans, and there are also numerous meat and dairy substitutes now available to consumers.

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Galactagogues Foods, Herbs, and other Ways to Increase Breast Milk Production

If you Google ways to increase your breast milk supply, you’ll find a wide range of advice, not all of it healthy. Ideas range from prescription medicines to drinking Gatorade, and most of them are poor choices. Many advocate increasing refined sugar intake through sugary drinks and fruit juices.

If your breast milk supply is low, the first two things you need to ask yourself is, “Are you getting enough to eat?” and “Are you drinking enough water?” While sugar can help increase milk supply, extra sugar can also lead to diaper rashes. Instead of fruit juices or refined foods, reach for fruit and water first. Here are four simple, healthy ways to increase your breast milk supply.

Hydration

Proper hydration is the number one key to keeping a good milk supply flowing. Drinks like Gatorade, with all of their artificial flavors, colorings, and additives, actually hinder your milk supply. A good rule of thumb is to drink an 8-oz glass of water every time you breastfeed and carry around a water bottle to sip on throughout the day. Make sure most of what you drink is water, but if the idea of plain water is unappealing, other options do exist.

Other good sources for hydration include coconut water and fruit infusions. Besides tasting great, coconut water is a great source of minerals and electrolytes. Fruit infusions are flavored waters that have traces of vitamins and minerals; they are easy to make at home. Although it may be easier said than done for some, try to avoid caffeinated beverages. If you do drink coffee or tea, make sure to drink extra water.

On the other hand, too much water in the system can inhibit breast milk production. Stay hydrated, but don’t keep adding fluids to the body if hydration is not the problem.

Breast Pumping

While not the first go-to for many mothers, pumping, if done in addition to nursing, can be a highly effective way to increase supply. Tricks include pumping after each nursing session, adding an extra pumping session or two during the day, cluster pumping, power pumping, and nursing vacations.

Cluster pumping is when you nurse and pump every half hour or hour for a couple of hours.

Power pumping is like interval training for breastfeeding. Plan to do this for a couple of days. Pick an hour where you can sit and relax. Pump for twenty minutes, rest for ten, pump again for ten, rest for ten, then pump again for ten minutes.

Nursing vacations include spending two to three days, trying to relax and nurse and pump as often as possible.

All of these techniques help increase supply by mimicking the increased demand from a baby during a growth spurt. Simply put, increased demand for milk will increase the supply.

Natural Galactogogues

Because breast milk production is maintained by local feedback mechanisms (autocrine control), more frequent and more thorough emptying of the breast typically results in an increase in supply. A galactagogue is a substance that promotes lactation in humans and other animals. Natural galactagogues include foods, herbs, teas, and nutritional supplements. If the breast milk supply is low, even after breast pumping, it may be time to look at galactagogues, but do consider a thorough evaluation with a natural health care practitioner who is familiar with maternal health issues. Maternal hypothyroidism is a common cause of low breast milk production, and medications can also reduce milk as well.

Healthy Foods

Oatmeal is probably the most well-known choice of food for increasing breast milk production. If you want to try oatmeal, skip the instant ready packs and choose fruit instead of refined sugars to sweeten it. A well-balanced diet consisting of 80% fresh produce is is the foundation for optimal health, and for most moms, adding more fresh, raw, organic produce to the diet may be enough to stimulate milk production. Other favorites of nursing mothers include carrots, seaweed soup, garlic, fennel, fennel seed, cashews, alfalfa, asparagus, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, coconut, fennel, chaste tree fruit, chicken soup, cilantro, papaya (some say green works better), pumpkin, dates, and ginger. All of these foods are powerhouse sources of nutrients that also help in milk production.

Herbs, Teas, and Nutritional Supplements

As mentioned, garlic, ginger, and fennel seed can increase milk production. Other options along the herbal variety include fenugreek, anise, coriander, cumin, dandelion, dill, caraway, red clover, red raspberry, nettle, marshmallow root, borage, and blessed thistle. These are commonly made into teas or tinctures and are widely appreciated for their ability to increase milk supply.

The most common herbal remedies for increasing breast milk production include:

Garlic & Ginger are two herbs that seem to help with almost every health ailment. Both are known galactagogues, and there are also additional benefits to consuming both of these while breastfeeding. Ginger root stimulates the body in many ways, including the release of milk. Eating garlic or taking a garlic supplement can stimulate the supply of milk and can reduce the risk of  mastitis (and alleviate it). Babies have also been found to enjoy the taste of breast milk when their mothers consume copious amounts of garlic and therefore, nurse more often.

Red Raspberry Leaf is a regular ingredient in pregnancy and breastfeeding teas and tinctures. It helps to increase breast milk production, and it also helps the uterus recover after birth. Red Raspberry Leaf is incredibly high in vitamins and minerals, including Niacin (a B vitamin).

Alfalfa is  great for increasing breast milk production while providing the body with many vitamins and minerals. It is particularly high in Vitamin K, which helps to staunch bleeding. Many midwives encourage clients to consume alfalfa for six weeks before birth and for several months after birth to help avoid hemorrhaging, to help the body recover from the birth, and to help the body produce plenty of breast milk.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a member of the pea family and is  commonly used around the world for centuries as a herbal galactagogue. It has been theorized that fenugreek may affect milk production due tot he fact that milk glands are similar to sweat glands, and fenugreek stimulates sweat production. The herb is usually discontinued once milk supply has reached the desired output, but there is not risk with using the herb long term.

It’s said that with fenugreek you can judge the proper dosage by smell. Once you have reached the ideal dosage of fenugreek, your sweat is said to smell like maple syrup.

Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis) is widely used in Europe due to the observation that it increased milk supply in cattle in the early 1900’s. No human trials have been done; however, limited studies involving animals have shown a milk supply increase of up to 50%.

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), also known as St. Mary’s thistle, has been historically used in Europe. Early Christians thought that the white veins on its leaves represented Mary’s milk.

Inositol and Choline are two vitamins in the B complex family that have been used for centuries to help increase breast milk production. Too many B vitamins in the body can hinder milk production, and taking just one or two B vitamin nutrients without the other B vitamins for long periods of time can cause problems. The effectiveness of nutritional supplementation is highly individualized, as it depends upon whether someone happens to be deficient in something they may never have otherwise noticed.

How To Increase Your Milk Supply Without Losing Your Mind (By Mom Loves Best)

Conclusion

Not all breast milk is created equal. The better the mother’s diet, the better her breast milk will be. Eating a truly healthy diet consists of 80% raw produce, more vegetables than fruit. A healthy diet isn’t found in packages. Healthy foods don’t have ingredients that only a chemist would understand. A healthy diet eliminates artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, MSG, trans fats, and GMOs. The healthiest diet is a diverse, organic diet filled with nutrient dense foods and plenty of clean water. A healthy diet makes the healthiest breast milk. If a breastfeeding mother consumes pesticides in her food, they will be passed on to her baby in her breast milk.

While building a good milk supply may seem challenging, the number one thing to keep in mind is that the more you feed the baby, the more your body will produce. The ideas mentioned in this article are meant to help support your body’s efforts to produce milk. Keeping yourself in the best possible health will help your body in your endeavors to feed your baby. Taking a nutritional supplement can help with making sure you get all the nutrition your body needs.

Supplements that Promote Lactation:
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Foods to Eat and Foods to Avoid If You Have MS

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.

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Five Foods That Fight Depression

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.

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Naturally Treat Multiple Sclerosis – Therapies, Diet, Pain Management, Alternative Medicine

One day you stumble when you’re walking down the street. The curb seems a bit higher than it used to be. Maybe your first symptom is blurred or double vision. Or perhaps it’s the sudden onset of weakness, fatigue, or physical sensations like pins and needles.

Multiple sclerosis, commonly referred to as MS, is an autoimmune disease with a range of symptoms. It may present with a sudden onset or its course may be slow or intermittent. Symptoms may appear, disappear, and return years later. There is no specific progression with definite symptoms. Episodes can last for days, weeks, or months and alternate with periods of reduced or no symptoms. Because of the nature of the disease and how it attacks the central nervous system, it can affect many parts of the body, including the bowel, the bladder, or the eyes, and it can interfere with speech and swallowing.

Multiple sclerosis affects approximately 70,000 people in the UK and around 400,000 in the United States. The disease is usually diagnosed in young adults. Women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with MS than men.

Contents

Symptoms of MS

Symptoms of MS may include one or a combination of the following:

  • Abnormal vision – blurred vision, double vision, loss of color perception, and loss of depth perception. Can present as loss of vision, usually in one eye. Eye movement is painful.
  • Numbness or Weakness – typically occurs on one side of the body or in the legs and trunk. Loss of dexterity. Difficulty lifting or holding items. Difficulty swallowing.
  • Clumsiness, tremor –loss of balance, lack of coordination may result in tripping and dropping things, walking as if intoxicated, slurred speech.
  • Brain fog – difficulty concentrating, remembering, processing information, even speaking. During an MS flare, some people pause between words when speaking.
  • Dizziness – could feel like motion sickness.
  • Tingling or pain could be experienced as pins and needles, pain, or electric shock sensations that occur with neck movements.
  • Fatigue
  • Bladder and bowel problems.
  • Psychiatric symptoms – depression, unstable mood, anxiety.
  • Dysesthesia – burning, aching, or “girdling” around the body
  • Trigeminal neuralgia – a stabbing pain in the face that can be brought on by random facial movements, like chewing, yawning, sneezing, etc.
  • Joint Pain – MS does not affect joints directly like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or fibromyalgia. However, joint pain, typically in the knees and hips, is very common in people with MS.

But this is only a partial list. There are many more symptoms, which is one of the reasons diagnosing multiple sclerosis is difficult. Here are a few more reasons a diagnosis is hard to reach:

  • Many MS symptoms are the same or very similar to symptoms that occur with other diseases.
  • There is no blood test for MS.
  • Symptoms usually come and go, and this cycle can go on for very long periods of time with little progression of the disease.
  • More than 50 symptoms are linked to MS, and each person develops symptoms differently.
  • MS symptoms include fatigue, sexual dysfunction, depression, cognitive difficulties, and other similar symptoms that are typically attributed to stress and often not taken seriously by health car practitioners.

Like many other autoimmune diseases, a definitive MS diagnosis may not be reached for years.

“…39% of people with MS wait more than a year for a correct diagnosis, during which time we are often dismissed, accused of malingering, told that we have suffered strokes, or are depressed and anxious.” – Penny Anderson

What is MS?

MS is both an autoimmune disease and a chronic neurological disorder. In the case of MS, the immune system attacks the central nervous system – the brain, the spinal cord, and the optic nerves. MS attacks the fatty myelin sheaths which insulate the nerve axons in the brain and the spinal cord, as well as the nerve fibers themselves, resulting in interference with the transmission of signals along the neuropathways. This leads to the production of hard scars or scleroses (aka plaques or lesions) in the central nervous system.

Relapsing – Remitting MS

The most common form of MS is relapsing-remitting. Symptoms occur and remain for days or weeks followed by a partial or complete remission that lasts for months or years.

Secondary – Progressive MS

Secondary – progressive MS involves a steady progression of worsening symptoms, with or without periods of remission. Around 60-70% of those with relapsing – remitting MS develop secondary – progressive MS.

Primary – Progressive MS

A minority of people with MS (10-20%) fall into the category primary progressive MS with a gradual onset of symptoms that steadily progresses without relapses.

Progressive – Relapsing MS

Progressive – relapsing MS is the least common type. With this type of MS the neurological decline is steady though there are signs of attacks as well.

What Is Known About MS?

Little is known about this disease. According to conventional medicine, there is no accepted cause and no known cure. Although MS is thought to affect 2.3 million people worldwide, this number is merely an educated guess due to difficulties faced in the study of the disease and the fact that mandated reporting is not required. However, gender, genetics, age, geography, and ethnic background all suggest possible factors that may influence susceptibility.

Although MS is generally diagnosed in adults age 20-50, it is also found in young children and in the elderly. Women are twice as likely to develop MS as men, except in the elderly. Elderly men and women are equally affected.

MS is more common in Caucasians of Northern European ancestry, though it does occur in most ethnic groups. Geography is an interesting aspect. The farther away 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.

“In general, MS is more common in areas farthest from the equator. However, prevalence rates may differ significantly among groups living in the same geographic area regardless of distance from the equator. For example, in spite of the latitude at which they live, MS is almost unheard of in some populations, including the Inuit, Yakutes, Hutterites, Hungarian Romani, Norwegian Lapps, Australian Aborigines and New Zealanders — indicating that ethnicity and geography interact in some complex way to impact prevalence figures in different parts of the world.

Migration from one geographic area to another seems to alter a person’s risk of developing MS. Studies indicate that immigrants and their descendants tend to take on the risk level — either higher or lower — of the area to which they move. The change in risk, however, may not appear immediately. Those who move in early childhood tend to take on the new risk themselves. For those who move later in life, the change in risk level may not appear until the next generation. While underlining the complex relationship between environmental and genetic factors in determining who develops MS, these studies have also provided support for the opinion that MS is caused by early exposure to some environmental trigger in genetically susceptible individuals.” – The National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Genetics

Genetic factors seem to play a big role in determining who develops multiple sclerosis.

  • In the United States the likelihood of a developing MS is a little more than 0.1%.
  • For those with relatives who suffer from MS, the risk increases. For first-degree relatives such as children, siblings, or non-identical twins, the risk rises to approximately 2.5-5%.
  • The identical twin of someone with MS (who shares all the same genes) has a 25% chance of developing the disease.

(Note: If genes were solely responsible for this disease, that last statistic would be 100%.)

Potential Causes and Contributing Factors of Multiple Sclerosis

Like most health conditions, illnesses, or diseases; it appears that many factors combine to produce this disease, rather than one factor alone. People with multiple sclerosis have been found to have a variety of abnormalities in their neurotransmitters, including increased levels of noradrenaline, glutamate, aspartate, glutamine, glycine, and asparagine. There also seems to be a correlation between these imbalances and the severity of their neurological symptoms and progression of the disease.

Professionals speculate many different causes for MS, and often a combination of causes including infection (viral, bacterial, parasitic, or fungal), leaky gut, food allergies, and nutrient decencies.

Parasites Could Be Behind MS

Steven Fry has discovered a previously unknown protozoa in the blood of patients suffering with autoimmune disorders such as lupus, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and others. In his research, Dr. Fry found 75 medical papers dating back to the 1880s that discuss finding a malaria-like organism in the blood of those diagnosed with MS. Dr. Fry identified a malaria-like protozoa that may be transmitted by mosquitos or ticks.

Dr. Fry is not the only researcher to suggest that multiple sclerosis and other chronic conditions might be caused by a parasitic infection.

Lyme Disease or Other Bacterial or Viral Infections May Cause or Contribute to MS

It’s not uncommon for Lyme disease to be misdiagnosed as MS and for MS to be misdiagnosed as Lyme disease. Some doctors and researchers go so far as to say it’s the same thing or that the Lyme bacterium causes MS.

Our research didn’t come up with credible evidence that any one specific type of bacteria, including Lyme, causes MS over any other major factor, but it does seem likely to be a contributing factor. Treatment should address the probability that anyone suffering from Multiple Sclerosis is dealing with an underlying infection. Considering how weakened the immune system is and how much more prevalent infection is within the body than most doctors realize, it behooves anyone with multiple sclerosis to take the right nutrition to help the immune system fight and kill bacterial, viral, fungal, and protozoal infections while keeping gut flora balanced and healthy.

Candida, or Other Fungal Infection

When Candida and other fungi overtake the body, they release a variety of toxins that result in many of the same symptoms that are listed for MS. Many fungal proteins are similar to certain grains and some proteins within our own body. Many speculate that fungal infections in the body turn on an autoimmune response by overwhelming and confusing the immune system. The theory is that the immune system responds to similar proteins that are not the infection. The immune system may be attempting to fight Candida, but ends up attacking itself in the process.

Leaky Gut

Our gut flora is only as healthy as our immune system. Anyone with a damaged immune system has a damaged gut. Eventually, when the gut is damaged from poor diet or other factors, it becomes more permeable, or “leaky.” Anyone who is dealing with a chronic infection or an autoimmune disease (which is also likely involving a chronic infection) should assume they have a “leaky” gut.

Where there is systemic Candida, there is a leaky gut. There are many theories on the cause of autoimmune diseases, but we know the immune system is “tricked” into attacking healthy tissue. In the case of MS, the immune system seems to consider the myelin sheathing in the central immune system as a foreign invader, an infection, and it tries to get rid of it.

A virus may trigger the process in susceptible people (with the right genetics). A parasite, a bacteria, and Candida may do this, too. The body becomes much more sensitive to food, especially food with proteins that are similar to the proteins casing the problem, and these proteins will leak into the bloodstream, undigested, from a leaky gut.

Gluten, Celiac Disease

Research has indicated strong links between multiple sclerosis and celiac disease. Researchers in Spain analyzed the prevalence of celiac disease in people with confirmed multiple sclerosis and in their first-degree relatives. The researchers included 72 MS patients, 126 of their first-degree relatives, and 123 healthy control subjects. The study found the following:

  • 1% of MS patients had celiac disease compared to 2.4% of control subjects
  • 32% of 1st degree relatives of MS patients had celiac disease

If the body’s intestinal tract is not healthy, as in, the gut is leaking, then gluten molecules are getting into the bloodstream undigested and causing serious problems in the body.

Many studies have shown improvement in MS patients when gluten is eliminated from the diet. This can also be said for eliminating gluten from the diet of those afflicted with many other autoimmune diseases. It all makes sense when you connect the dots with gut flora (and specifically how Candida causes a permeable gut), gluten (and how it can cause and exacerbate a leaky gut), and how our immune system works.

Deficiency

Many studies have shown that people with multiple sclerosis have lower levels of vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin B9, magnesium, vitamin E, and other key nutrients as well (including many more antioxidants). Many professionals also speculate that a lack of healthy fats may play a role.

Acidity

Many professionals believe that acidity plays a clear role in the disease’s onset and progression. The myelin sheath is an electrically insulating phospholipid layer that surrounds the axons of many neurons in the central nervous system. The body is electrical, and the central nervous system runs on electricity. The myelin sheath is kind of like the rubber coating on a power cord that keeps the electricity contained, controlling the body’s electrical signals.

Hypothyroidism

The process of myelination (the process of forming a myelin sheath around a nerve) is dependent on the thyroid hormone.  Many have been initially diagnosed with thyroid disorders only to find out that they have MS. Many of the symptoms are the same, and anyone with multiple sclerosis should pretty much count on having a slow thyroid as well. If the central nervous system is not working right, this will disrupt thyroid function. If the thyroid is not working right, this will disrupt the central nervous system. If the immune system is not working correctly, neither will the thyroid or the central nervous system and visa versa.

Neck pain, hip pain, and many of the previously mentioned MS symptoms are also symptoms for serious thyroid problems.

Oral Infection

Dr. Hal Huggins, a Colorado dentist, has treated thousands of people with multiple sclerosis with a cure rate of approximately 85% by safely removing mercury fillings and properly treating infections.

Cavitations are infections of the jawbone caused by lingering or perpetual infections of anaerobic bacteria from root canals and incomplete or incorrectly performed extractions and fillings. These ongoing infections have been linked to multiple health issues including heart disease, breast cancer, and MS.

Mercury and Other Heavy Metals

Mercury is not only highly neurophilic (meaning it is attracted to and binds tightly to nerve tissue) and highly lipophilic (attracted to and binds tightly to nerve tissue), which is bad news for the nervous system. Mercury is attracted to the neurons themselves, as well as the fats that make up the myelin sheaths.

Mercury exposure can come from many different sources including seafood, food grown in toxic soil (food from China and many parts of the U.S.), and dental mercury amalgams.

Other Heavy Metals

It is believed by many experts that autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, and Alzheimer’s may be due at least in part to toxic metals such as mercury, aluminum, and lead.

Heavy metal toxins cross the blood/brain barrier, resulting in a wide variety of symptoms including all of the symptoms mentioned for MS. Heavy metals produce free radicals and damage the myelin sheaths (remember, the body is electric), and disrupts the CMS signals, degrading the body’s nervous system, disrupting the body’s ability to communicate with itself. The immune system recognizes myelin sheath tissue damaged by the free radicals as foreign proteins, which results in an autoimmune process. Anyone with multiple sclerosis would do well to consider heavy metal toxicity as one of the primary contributors.

Vaccines

Vaccines contribute to heavy metal toxicity and more. Vaccines include aluminum, mercury, formaldehyde, GMOs, and many other toxic substances that are directly injected into the bloodstream or inhaled. There has been considerable suspicion about a link between hepatitis B vaccination and the development of multiple sclerosis.

A recent study examined data regarding a mass vaccination in the mid 90s. Twenty million French adults were vaccinated between 1994 and 1997 thanks to the World Health Organization’s recommendation in 1992 to mass vaccinate for hepatitis B to eradicate the virus. The result was a sudden increase in multiple sclerosis. In 1998, the French media exposed the phenomenon (apparently the media is not controlled by Big Pharma over there). Vaccination numbers fell. A firm link between the rise in vaccinations and a corresponding rise in the number of MS cases was established.

Environmental Toxins

Any toxic load amplifies free radicals, and free radicals are linked to MS. Limiting toxic exposure is imperative for those suffering from an autoimmune disease. Studies have shown that exposure to organic solvents or other toxic chemicals increases the risk of developing MS. It’s well known that those who live or work within toxic environments are much more likely to develop autoimmune diseases. Some get so sick that the mere smell of mattresses, books, car interiors, particle board furniture, and other everyday items are simply too toxic and overwhelming for the body.

Therapies, Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals, and Other Nutrients for Multiple Sclerosis

Sick people have an imbalance of vitamins, minerals, fats, and PH, along with an abundance of toxins. The modern lifestyle most of us live causes these imbalances, but also, once the person is sick, the disease exacerbates the imbalances. A sick body uses lot of nutrition and maintains acidity, toxicity, and other imbalances. In other words, even if you always got plenty of a certain nutrient growing up and well into the onset of MS, you may still benefit from said nutrient.

Vitamin D

Study after study shows that when people are chronically ill they are or were vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is a hormone produced when we get sunlight. We can also get vitamin D from foods like fatty fish, mushrooms, beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks. Vitamin D is stored in fat and released as needed, but this does not work right for particularly toxic people or overweight people. On top of this, most of us in the modern world do not get nearly enough vitamin D in the summer regardless of our ability to store it, and most of us do not get enough in our diet to make up for our lack of outdoor life. People with MS or any other autoimmune disease will likely feel an immediate improvement by supplementing with a low to medium dose of vitamin D. Very high doses of vitamin D for long periods of time can be problematic.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Many studies have shown those with MS and other autoimmune diseases respond well to healthy fats. You can find many studies specifically on just omega 3s or DHA or linoleic acid or coconut oil, etc. for autoimmune disease treatments, but the key to getting well is to get a wide range of beneficial fats. Different fats play different roles in our health.

Antioxidants

Studies have shown that those with MS need more antioxidants. Selenium, vitamin C, vitamin E, Lipoic acid, N-acetylcysteine, and lycopene supplementation have all shown positive results in studies for those with MS.

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an antioxidant and it’s essential to healthy mitochondrial function and energy production. A lack of CoQ10 is associated with many disease states including heart disease, hypothyroidism, cancer, and many neurodegenerative diseases. Several clinical trials with CoQ10 have yielded positive results for those who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s. CoQ10 can also regenerate the antioxidant capacity of vitamin E in the body.

Vitamin B12

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 as 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. Taking just one B vitamin for long periods causes problems.

Magnesium

Magnesium is essential for a wide variety of functions. Some research indicates that magnesium deficiencies may be associated with some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and a number of other chronic and progressive ailments.

Ginkgo Biloba

It is believed that Ginkgo biloba improves blood flow and can influence neural activity and improve cognitive performance. Ginkgo leaf has shown in studies to improve brain function for those with Lyme disease, depression, dementia, and many more diseases including MS.

Curcumin (Turmeric)

Curcumin, an active component of turmeric, is anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic and is a powerful antioxidant that boosts the immune system and much more. Curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory effects. Countless resent research with many different health issues has shown that curcumin can significantly reduce symptom severity and in some cases reverse disease. From studies on cancer to lupus to fibromyalgia to MS, studies have shown that turmeric spice should be a staple in everyone’s pantry.

Ginger

Ginger is a powerful herb that reduces pain, inflammation, and nausea. Ginger has a warming effect as it stimulates blood circulation. It boosts the immune system, inhibits the common cold, Salmonella, stomach ulcers, and gastrointestinal discomfort. Ginger can help reduce many symptoms of MS, and it also plays a substantial role in guarding against brain oxidative stress and neurological degeneration.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is another amazing herb that should be in everyone’s kitchen. Researchers are just starting to get excited about cinnamon, and more and more research is being done. In regards to MS there’s limited research, but one study with mice was very interesting. True cinnamon (Cinnamonum verum) powder was fed to mice with the animal equivalent of multiple sclerosis. The cinnamon altered the abnormal immune response we see in those with MS. The spice preserved regulatory T cells, inhibited damaging immune cells known as Th17), and blocked inflammatory cells from invading the spinal cord. Cinnamon also promotes remyelination of damaged myelin. Mice had an overall significant reduction of symptoms.

Echinacea

For MS patients, Echinacea research generally supports the plant’s ability to promote immune cell health and its anti-inflammatory potential for the central nervous system.

Chelation Therapy

Chelation (pronounced key-LAY-shun) therapy is a treatment for removing heavy metals from the blood. With conventional medicine, chelation therapy involves injections of a chelating agent called ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) into the bloodstream. EDTA binds to heavy metals and minerals in the blood, which are then excreted in the urine.

Side effects can include nausea, vomiting, pain around the injection site, headache, hypotension, and hypoglycemia as well as serious and potentially fatal effects including hypocalcemia (a drop in calcium levels so low it can affect the heart and brain), damage to the kidneys that may result in kidney failure and the need for a transplant or lifelong dependency on dialysis, and bone marrow depression.

Alternative medicine uses supplements and foods to chelate heavy metals from the body. In fact, a proper diet with a wide range of produce and herbs constantly removes heavy metals from the whole body without disrupting its mineral balance. Garlic, cilantro, amino acids, onions, activated charcoal, and chlorella are excellent at removing heavy metals.

Marijuana

Many report relief from pain and muscle spasms from marijuana, but ingesting or smoking marijuana is hard on the thyroid and the entire endocrine system as well as the immune system. Frequent use of marijuana may accelerate MS.

Other Therapies That May Improve MS Symptoms

Oxygen therapy, acupuncture, magnets, chiropractic, essential oils, various message therapies like reflexology, pressure point messaging, and other treatment modalities have been shown to slow progression of MS. These treatments do not focus on the root cause of MS, but they can help accelerate healing and potentially help reverse the disease when a proper diet is followed.

How to Treat Multiple Sclerosis Naturally – Step by Step Protocol

When people are sick they tend to look for the easiest solution – the absolute minimum they can do to feel better. Never really healing all the way, they find themselves chasing health, believing it to be elusive, an impossible condition to attain or maintain. When someone is so sick that they have multiple sclerosis, a complete, holistic, and long-term approach is critical. Some treatments may improve symptoms in the short run, but to truly get better and to ensure that the body does not relapse, a new lifestyle needs to be adapted.

Daily Journal

It’s easy to forget how sick we were. This tendency to minimize can seriously impede getting well and accepting what needs to be done in order to stay well. Keep a journal. Write down what you ate and how you felt with specific symptoms and severity. This will have many benefits, including the ability to identify trigger foods without relying on memory, and a better understanding of how your body responds to foods and new activities. It also makes it much harder to forget how damaging one night of drinking, or one cheeseburger can be when you’re trying to repair the body.

Diet

A healthy diet is a diet consisting exclusively of a wide variety of produce and other whole foods. Ingredients should be bought separately in most cases, and as unadulterated as possible. A full 80% of the diet would be raw produce, with more vegetables than fruit.

Put your juicer to good use daily but sweet juices (most of the fruits, carrots, and beets) should be restricted or eliminated due to their high sugar content until the gut flora is balanced and the gut lining is healed.

Include ginger, turmeric, and cinnamon in your foods, and check out this golden milk tea recipe. Eat salads, like this one, with lots of garlic and other foods that balance the gut and chelate heavy metals every day.

The Intestinal Tract

Anyone suffering from a disease of this magnitude has an impaired digestive tract. Fixing the immune system means fixing the gut. The immune system is only as healthy as the gut, and a damaged gut overworks the immune system. Your body will continue to be inundated with infectious flora and undigested protein molecules, which the immune system perceives as foreign proteins, foreign invaders it must attack, as long as the intestinal tract is damaged.

No one can properly digest gluten, MSG, refined sugars, chemical additives, GMOs, or other toxic ingredients when the gut is damaged. The sicker one is, the sicker one’s gut is. The sicker one’s gut is, the greater the negative effect of toxic foods and other poor lifestyle habits.

Candida

In our toxic, antibacterial, chemically laden world, fungi is able to flourish in our guts. Candida, in particular, is an incredibly resilient and opportunistic creature that resides in anybody’s body in abundance when they suffer from MS. Testing for an overabundance of Candida does not yield accurate results unless the person is at the time of the blood test so overwhelmed with Candida that it shows up in the blood work. Anyone who has too much Candida, and consequently has Candida infecting his or her body (which can happen the same way viruses, bacteria, and parasites can infect anywhere in the body), has moments when the blood is overrun with Candida, but this is not the typical norm. If you’re sick enough to have MS, or any other autoimmune disease, assume you are dealing with an overgrowth of Candida and other fungi.

Undecylenic acid (SF722) is very good at killing Candida and other fungal infections. Wormwood is one of the best for killing parasites, and probiotics should be utilized as well to ensure the non-beneficial flora gets replaced by the good guys.

Addressing Imbalances

Many of the vitamins and minerals needed for optimum health are hard to come by in food alone thanks to our current farming practices. Whenever possible, buy whole organic produce grown by small farmers who take organic standards, nutrition, environmental issues, and food quality very seriously. If the budget is tight, before spending money on a slew of vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, etc., get your diet right and get your gut flora balanced. Then consider what vitamins, minerals, fats, etc. you need.

Anyone with MS should benefit by supplementing with vitamin D, vitamin E, COQ10, selenium, magnesium, healthy fats, and B12, but minerals should be taken with other minerals and B vitamins should be taken with other B vitamins.

Supplements that address the immune system are a good idea considering the chance of an underlying infection. But don’t forget, even if it is an infection causing all these problems, an infection is still a symptom. Heal the immune system with the right diet, and then supplement that foundation with herbs that help the immune system. Echinacea, oil of oregano, and vitamin C will go a long way to boosting the immune system, and providing other benefits as well. In fact, oil of oregano and vitamin C are also powerful antioxidants, which is something anyone with MS needs a lot of.

Heavy metal chelation without injections can be done with supplements including food grade charcoal, food grade clays, and concentrated foods with chelation properties. I am yet to meet anyone with MS who wasn’t vaccinated or who doesn’t have a history of oral infections with metal fillings. (Usually both).

Conclusion

If you think you may have MS, or if you know you have it, it’s time to be strict. If you want to get well, to actually be well, or to at the very least, radically slow the progression of the disease, you need to completely eliminate toxic foods from your diet for a very long time. This includes gluten, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, soy, artificial sweeteners, MSG, GMOs, any chemicals that don’t belong in food, and alcohol. It’s also time to do a lot more reading. See the further reading list below and read all of the articles. Find out everything you can, not just about MS, but about how the body works. Keep refining and perfecting a holistic approach, not a here-and-there approach. If money is very tight, skip supplements and put every extra penny you have towards the healthiest, freshest food you can find. Most of all, don’t accept conventional medicine’s sentence. You do have a choice. You can choose to heal your body.

Recommended Supplements:
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Boost Health Without Sacrificing Yum – A Conversation With Food Babe, Vani Hari

How can you lose weight while still eating what you crave? Where can you find cheap options to eating healthy and yummy? What 6 simple habits can dramatically improve your overall wellbeing and help you lose weight naturally? In this interview, Food Babe, Vani Hari, will en”lighten” us.

Vani Hari is a revolutionary food activist, the creator of FoodBabe.com, the author of the #1 bestselling book, The Food Babe Way, and was named one of the Most Influential People On The Internet by Time Magazine. In her work, Hari has influenced how food giants like Kraft, Subway, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, and Starbucks create their products, steering them towards more healthful policies. Vani teaches people how to make the right purchasing decisions at the grocery store, how to live an organic lifestyle, and how to  travel healthfully. The success of her writing and investigative work can be seen in the way food companies react to her uncanny ability to find and expose the truth. She lives in North Carolina and travels around the world to speak about health and food awareness. She is currently planning her next campaign.

Cortney: On my first trip to Europe, 20 years ago, I was stunned by the almost total lack of obesity. Now historically fit populations–Europe, Japan, you name it–are catching up to the U.S. What would you say is the number one cause of this increase in obesity throughout the world? Toxic food, sedentary lifestyles, or something else?

Vani: Worldwide obesity is influenced by a number of things, including those that you mentioned. Obesity rates are going up all across the globe, and we need to ask more questions about the food we are eating and the chemicals that are polluting our environment as these may play a role. Certain chemicals that have infiltrated our food have been coined “obesogens”, and many of them are not listed on ingredient lists.

Obesogens include such things as pesticides, antibiotics, and food packaging materials, like plastics, that can leach chemicals into our food. As I explain in detail in my new book, The Food Babe Way, obesogens can trigger our bodies to store fat even though we might be restricting calories. The effects are complex. Some of these chemicals increase the number of fat cells, others expand the size of fat cells, and still others influence appetite, cravings, fullness, and how well the body burns calories. I’ve made it my mission to teach people to take a closer look at what they are eating, to read ingredient labels, know where it comes from, and to demand transparency from the companies that are feeding the world.

Tip #1: Read Ingredient Labels & Know What You’re Eating

Cortney: One of the things I love about The Food Babe Way is that it urges us to do more of what fit populations have always done; they eat simple, nutritious food at home. Could this one simple habit be the answer to the problems we were just talking about and the key to dramatically improving the quality of our lives and health?

Vani: No matter where you live, you have the choice to take your health into your owns hands or hand it over to food manufacturers. People who eat more food prepared in their homes avoid thousands of unnecessary food additives that they would otherwise be exposed to. I encourage everyone to prepare as many meals at home as possible. When I make food at my house it is far more nutritious and tastes way better than anything I could find at a restaurant. I created The Food Babe Membership Program for this reason, to provide anyone looking for extra guidance with an easy plan to follow for making healthy food at home.

Tip #2: Prepare Your Own Healthy Meals As Much As Possible

Cortney: My sister, who lives in suburban Illinois, tells me about how difficult it is to find a variety of toxic-free food nearby and how she has to pay more for fewer options. How can the right food choices at the right price point be made available to the majority?

Vani: Thankfully, more affordable organic food choices are becoming available in conventional grocery stores like Walmart, Target, and Kroger. However, I know that sometimes this isn’t even an option. Use Local Harvest to find local farmer’s markets, co-ops, and family farms, which are great sources of organic produce, grass-fed beef, fresh herbs, and other organic goodies. There are online organic grocery stores with competitive prices, such as Thrive Market, which is similar to a Whole Foods Market, but available to anyone with an Internet connection. Also, consider starting your own garden. You might think this is a crazy suggestion, but hear me out. Growing your own food isn’t as hard as you might think and it’s definitely the cheaper route to having access to healthy eats all the time. My mother has always had a large vegetable garden. She takes great joy in cultivating her vegetables and preparing meals with them. She always encouraged me to have my own garden, too.

Tip #3: Grow Your Own Food & Take Advantage of Locally Grown Healthy Options

Cortney: Another obstacle to eating right is when we don’t listen to the needs of our bodies. How is that connection lost, and–more importantly–how can it be regained?

Vani: Many of us are living a fast-paced lifestyle, eating meals on the run without taking the time to consciously consider how the food we are eating could impact our bodies. This leads to weight gain and sickness, which I know from first-hand experience. Several years ago while I was working as a management consultant, I let my work life take over and that’s when I had my wake up moment. I was sick, overweight and looked horrible. It was then that I made a conscious decision to avoid processed food. If there was something I really wanted to eat that I knew was filled with additives, artificial ingredients, or other questionable substances, I would make it at home with my own organic ingredients so I could indulge. And then something dramatic happened. All the issues I had as a child—asthma, eczema, allergies went away. I was on six – eight different prescription drugs depending on the season and I’m on zero today. My weight normalized, and I actually lost another 5 pounds on top of that! I began to have more energy than I had when I was years younger! All you have to do is clean up your diet and be more conscious of not putting unnecessary chemicals in your mouth. The way you treat yourself, the way you treat your body, what you put in it, can make a HUGE life changing difference.

Tip #4: Listen to & Love Your Body

Cortney: In his book, Integrative Nutrition, Joshua Rosenthal talks about the difference between primary and secondary nutrition. Primary foods include thriving relationships and purpose-driven careers, while secondary foods are what we put in our mouth. I’ve met many fit, vibrant people who do not eat well. Can we chalk these examples up to great primary nutrition?

Vani: It all comes down to your beliefs and the practices those beliefs generate. For example, when I stopped thinking of food as “good” or “bad” and started asking questions like, “Is this going to serve my cells, my body, my health?” that shift in focus let me dismiss any disordered thinking so that my body and mind were able to receive the primary and secondary nutrition they needed to function at optimal levels. It’s about learning to accept and love yourself. Louise Hay’s work helped me a lot in creating and aligning new, positive thought patterns and self-talk with my purpose. And those perspective shifts allowed me to look and feel great without the struggle.

Tip #5: Change Your Beliefs, Change Your Body

Cortney: Speaking of primary nutrition, the Blue Zones–areas in the world where people live into the 100s–are historically known for higher levels of health and vibrancy. Could we apply what these micro populations are doing to create a health plan for the rest of the world?

Vani: Studies on the Blue Zones have shown that overall these people have strong relationships with their friends and families, and simply enjoy their life. I try to take time out every day to spend time with my loved ones, and also to exercise (outside if possible), meditate, and get out to meet new people. Personal relationship building is imperative to good health – no doubt about it! This is an area of health that many of us do not give much weight, but we should pay more attention to it. Of course, I think the local diets of the Blue Zones contribute to longevity as well. When food hasn’t been processed or packaged for a long shelf life, and hasn’t traveled miles to get to you, it is better for your health. That’s why I encourage people to get out and meet local farmers, go to farmer’s markets, and take advantage of the food that is grown locally in your area.

Tip #6: Take Time Every Day to Connect with Loved Ones, Exercise, & Meditate

To learn more about Vani Hari and her work check out her website or  purchase her book through Amazon: The Food Babe Way. To find alternative grocery stores, try The Local Harvest.

Recommended Reading:

Recommended Reading: