Other things that help bring relief
The following have worked for me, or others, in the past. Make sure you check any tablets /orcapsules you take for starch using the iodine test. My experience with herbal medicines is that the will typically only work for about 1 or 2 weeks, by this time the harmful microbes become resistant:
- Infra Red Lamp
These are really great and I thoroughly recommend them. These lamps assist in cell metabolism (via mitachondria / krebs cycle) and increase the speed at which wounds heal. They work by assisting the mitachondria on your cells - it is vaguely similar to how plants use sun light in their metabolism. I have hear that these shouldn't be used on people who have cancer - perhaps because we don't wish to 'feed' a cancer and its metabolism.
See links: Far Infrared Saunas and Massage&Infrared - Hot / Cold showers
- Juniper Berries.
I stick about a teaspoon in a thermos and fill with boiled water and sip from that regularly. I believe this is a fairly common plant in some countries?
Mode of action: most likey to be anti-microbial / antiseptic
Update 2005.11.08 : After drinking it I intermittantly get an odd sweet taste in my mouth. The effect lasts a few days. - Ginkgo biloba leaves
Tea made from this - I use this the same way as the juniper berries. Sometimes spelt 'ginko'. This plant is also called the maiden hair tree (not the fern). This tree can live for over a thousand years!
Several times I have made a big pot of tea with a mix of ginkgo, ginseng, and chinese tea and drunk from this over the next few hours (eg: whilst watching a movie). I kept my tummy empty whilst doing this and the inflammation was almost completely relieved.
I don't let this steep for more than about 30 minutes or I will feel a bit groggy, probably because of the plant tannins.
Mode of action: most likey to be anti-microbial / antiseptic - Bromelain
Tricky since this is an enzyme. Make sure you get a product which is fresh by checking the 'Use By' date. Derived from pineapples, therefore do not use this if you are allergic to pineapples. - Laxatives?
After accidentally eating the wrong food you have to wait until the food has left the gut before the inflammation will calm down. As an experiment I would try takinf a small dose of a laxative with each meal for the next day or two. Make sure you eat plenty of food. Eating plenty of dried fruits helps me I think (.. prunes?). Leigh pointed out that Citrucel fiber laxative is a very good choice as it is non fermenting and therefore causes less inflammation / bloating. - Oregano oil
Have not tried this - but I have heard good things about this herb. Deborah has tried it with what seem to be very good results Supposed to have antibiotic-like properties.
Mode of action: most likey to be anti-microbial / antiseptic - Rutin
I do not really want to promote this too much as I believe that it caused a chest infection in both me and my father (Rutin has the capacity to suppress part of the immune system). This supplement relieved iritis / uveitis in me - not sure if it worked for anyone else. Causes tummy pains the very first time you use it so start with a small dose eg: 100mg. Do not ever use this supplement when pregnant.
Thank you for the list. Watch out for MSG and guar gum. These kill me.
Rice doesn\t bother me either; neither do beans or lentils. Dairy is my WORST offender. Next is wheat. With dairy, tho...I get pain within minutes. Next day, I can\t walk. I haven\t tried pysillium. Sometimes oatmeal is okay; sometimes it isn\t ???? Don\t know why. Can\t drink coffee. I get horrific backaches almost immediately. Then leg pains. Causes inflammation in most people, anyway. Even de-cafe gives me pain.
Gonna try the fruit, meat, and veggie diet and see what happens. Thanx (Comment this)
>> Rice doesn\t bother me either; neither do beans or lentils.
actually I found that if I rinsed the lentils it gave me more pain in the knees, feet and hands.. but not much pain in the neck or back. Rice on the other hand caused fungal problems, and by ruining my digestion I believe it prevented me from keeping a healthy weight. (Comment this)
im doing a degree in natropathic medicine, and have had to do a fair amount of research on AS for a friend of mine, have you had a look at the connection between leaky gut syndrome and wheat allergy as a possible root cause of AS. leaky gut can be controlled by avoiding processed dairy of all kinds and avoiding grains for a period of time, (as the mucosal membrane recreates itself in about 7 days).drinking aloe can help this process quicken.
a good natural antiinflammatory is tumeric the spice ( can be taken in a capsule form)
as well as omega 3-6-9, which i would take in the form of epa-dha to get over the enzyme barrier.
i hope this is helpful cheers
greg (Comment this)
cheers
greg (Comment this)
Joel Godin
www.ankylosingspondylitishelp.com (Comment this)
>> could make some money. Let's be honest about who is making money okay?
I am not selling ads for yahoo / google or anyone else. The owners of blog.com put adverts on my site for their own profit.. complain to them if you wish. I get no revenue from this blog whatsoever.
You are selling the diet commercially, it is pretty darn simple. If you are in fact making a loss from your commercial endeavours then all I can suggest is that you give the information for free. "Freely you have received and so freely give".
Please understand that I do not hate you for selling a book, perhaps my post in the links section has given you this false impression. I merely tried to explain my impression of your website as truthfully and honestly as my limited understanding allows. Although I disagree with your methods and the lack of due credit being given in your book to those who shared the details of this diet with you, I still harbour no grudge against you.. as I have previously stated many months ago (see: http://zarkme.blog.com/104838/#cmts )
I do profit from this diet - just not in a commercial sense, rather my health profits from it :-)
There have been some threads regarding your book in the past, perhaps these will interest you:
http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=227749
http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=231744
http://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=242806
(Comment this)
z (Comment this)
I have to remove almost every trace of starch from my diet to feel any real and lasting relief - and that means removing grains, roots, and legumes from the diet.
On the NSD our diet consists largely of fruit, certain vegetables (eg: those from above the ground are not starchy), meat, tofu, coconut, certain nuts (eg: blanched almonds, hazelnuts), olives, fats/oils (eg: olive oil, butter), etc. (Comment this)
My left got serverly damaged over the years and will need to be replaced some day :(
The diet:
Plain and simple to start with. I cut out caffine and sugar. I noticed within a week that the pain had cut down. After doing this for a year now, I have cut my meds in half. I will allow myself naturally sweetend food in fruits and veg, and treat myself to low sugar yogurt (5g/250ml). But that's it. Everyone with AS, cut out the sweets. Seriously. No cakes, cookies, donuts, pastries, candy, CHOCOLATE is a HUGE no-no. After reading through these BLOGS, I'm going to approach the starch diet and see if I can take this further. I still miss my coffee and tea, but the benefits are totally worth it.
Live long and happy everyone. The cure is out there somewhere.
Tim, Toronto, Canada (Comment this)
going to try out the diets. . .
Good work guys... (Comment this)
if you need a bit of help with the diet then be sure to post a comment on the NSD forum at www.kickas.org. They are very friendly and helpful over there.
hope things improve for you,
zarkers (Comment this)
z (Comment this)
John (Comment this)
Post any thoughts and questions on the NSD sub forum at : www.kickas.org .. there are lots of wonderful and very kind people there.
All the best
z :) (Comment this)
However my experience is the bacteria is just too common and our immune systems to pathetic to fend it off, so eventually the infection establishes itself again. Also it seems the microbe developes resistance to the antibiotic pretty quickly. (Comment this)
The inflammation is kept at bay using NS diet, but the calcification not reversed and maybe still happening.
Has anyone tried the Margaret Hills programme/diet?
Her clinic say that any condition known as "…itis" is suitable for treatment. The "cure" would be by your own body becoming less acidic and thereby allowing normal functioning to resume. John (Comment this)