OK, don’t go ewwww! at the idea of cabbage in anything.  My husband only used to eat cabbage under the guise of sauerkraut, but this recipe converted him and your family might like it, too.

Fall and winter are good times to haul out those soup recipes that warm the innards.  I found a recipe for hot and sour cabbage soup on the internet and changed it quite a bit to suit my gluten free needs and the tastes of my husband.  It was a great success so I’m sharing it here.

This recipe doesn’t qualify for meatless Fridays, but all you have to do is leave out the ground pork and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and you’ll be good to go. If you’re good at the technique of adding eggs to soup Chinese style, it will be a perfect Friday feast.

Ingredients for 6 servings

• 60 oz. of chicken broth
• 1 lb. cooked and crumbled ground pork
• 1 small head of green cabbage, cored and shredded
• 2 large stems of bok choy, chopped
• 8 oz. of sliced, fresh mushrooms
• a couple of green onions chopped
• ½ tsp. minced garlic
• 1/3 cu. apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
• 1 ½ tsp. sesame oil
• ¼ cu. gluten free soy sauce
• 1/3 tsp. cayenne pepper
• either 1 tsp. ground fresh ginger root or ½ tsp. ground ginger (you can put in a dash of Chinese five spice if you like, also, which I do)
• If you want the soup to have more bite, add an ounce or two of Szechwan sauce or a few shakes of Tabasco sauce.

My personal tips for making this soup

Because of my various neurological issues, I bought a good sized Salad Shooter which makes shredding the cabbage really easy.  Busy moms or arthritis and fibromyalgia patients, if you have to do a lot a shredding or slicing, this kitchen helper is great for keeping your hands and arms from wearing out or getting sore.

To keep the amount of fat down, I cook the pork sausage and drain off the fat before adding it to the broth.  I like to simmer the soup after bringing it to a boil long enough to make the cabbage fairly transparent.  This could take a couple of hours.

Leftovers?  Yum.  Economical? Yes.  Ground pork costs less than ground beef in our area, and cabbage is also inexpensive.  I use organic chicken broth and cut it with 2 cups of distilled water to bring the cost down, too.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever. Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

Here’s another health related post based on my personal experience.

A friend who works out at the therapy pool when I do told me about Ionic-Fizz Magnesium Plus.  Coincidentally, my Natural Health Doctor had mentioned that people with fibromyalgia are known to be seriously deficient in magnesium. Because I had severe muscle pain for over two months from slicing a roast, he suggested I get a magnesium supplement.

Off I went to the health food store and found this product.  It says on the label it’s good for bone and cardiovascular support and is great for leg cramps.  Hmmm… I thought.  If it stops leg cramps, what would it do for my incessant muscle cramps in my back – the kind of cramps every fibro sufferer has to deal with.

Here’s what happened since I began taking this supplement in February.  The arm pain lessened in a few days and was gone in a few weeks.  The muscle cramps disappeared. I still have burning muscle pain but I can now get through Sunday Mass without squirming and twisting to resolve cramps in my back and around my ribs.

Not knowing all of what magnesium could do, I began noticing another very welcome effect.  I’m a sugar addict.  One of those people who can’t open a box of candy without eating the whole thing.  It runs in the family for generations and has resulted in diabetes in some of my relatives.  Taking this product brought my sugar cravings to an abrupt halt.

Addictions are a result of faulty brain chemistry.  I know this intellectually, but handling it correctly is quite another thing.  Magnesium brings about a proper chemical balance in the brain and helps control blood sugar levels.  This is really important for people suffering from fibromyalgia because most of us are insulin resistant and have blood sugar problems.  My sugar cravings have disappeared and I am finally starting to lose weight.

Pure Essence Labs makes this product.  Here’s what they say about magnesium:

Magnesium is the world’s most overlooked nutrient. Without it, calcium cannot be efficiently deposited to bone tissues. When calcium does not reach the bones, it can form arterial plaque, bone spurs, kidney stones, etc. It can also cause calcification of brain cells, thus undermining mental function.

Over 80% of Americans fail to get even the minimum daily requirement for magnesium. Less than one in 20 get the amount that progressive nutritionists suggest. Magnesium deficiency can lead to osteoporosis, insomnia, cardiovascular problems, migraines, muscle cramps (especially cramps in the legs at night), constipation, poor mental function, lack of energy, high blood sugar levels and countless other problems.

This is what they say about why getting minerals in this fizzy form works better:

The smallest, simplest, purest forms of minerals are “ions.” Calcium and magnesium can be absorbed into the blood in this pure, ionic form through a process of passive diffusion. They can also be bound to amino acids in the stomach, and then absorbed through an active transport system in the first few inches of the small intestine.

Minerals that are bound to amino acids are called “chelates.” Because these minerals are reasonably well absorbed, many nutrition companies try to make chelates in industrial processes. However, commercial chelation processes are not nearly as efficient as the chelation that occurs in the stomach. So, many of the minerals that are sold as chelates are nothing more than mineral salts that are extremely difficult to digest.

Naturally, the harder these salts are to digest, the harder they are to absorb. Since digestion loses power as we age, the older we grow, the less valuable such minerals become. And, even if we could digest them well, the body chemical used to digest them is the hydrochloric acid made in the stomach. Since this is the same digestive juice used to digest protein, the more of it we use to break down minerals, the less efficient our protein digestion will be.

This means that the best mineral supplements are those that are in their free, ionic form. Because they require no digestion, they can be immediately absorbed through passive diffusion, or joined to amino acids in the stomach, and then absorbed via the active transport mechanism. Pure mineral ions are the only minerals that can absorbed in both these ways.

Here’s a partial list of conditions that could indicate a magnesium deficiency and be helped by taking this product:

ADD/ADHD

Alzheimer’s

Angina

Anxiety Disorders

Arrhythmia

Arthritis – Rheumatoid, Osteoarthritis

Asthma

Autism

Auto Immune Disorders – ALL Types

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Congestive Heart Disease

Depression

Diabetes – Type I & II

Eating disorders – Bulimia, Anorexia

Fibromyalgia

Gut disorders – Ulcers, Crohn’s Disease, Colitis, Food Allergy

Heart Disease – Arteriosclerosis, High Cholesterol, High Triglycerides

High Blood Pressure

Hypoglycemia

Insomnia

Kidney Stones

Lou Gehrig’s Disease

Migraines – ALL Types

Multiple Sclerosis

Muscle Cramps

Muscle Weakness, Fatigue

Obesity – Especially Associated with High Carbohydrate Diets

Osteoporosis (just adding magnesium reversed
bone loss)

Parkinson’s Disease

PMS – Including Menstrual Pain and
Irregularities

Raynaud’s

Stroke

Syndrome X – Insulin Resistance

Thyroid Disorders (low magnesium reduces T-4)

Many people with fibromyalgia or other chronic pain issues suffer from quite a few of the above problems.  Magnesium in sufficient amounts taken by this method may be a partial answer for many to start feeling better.

Wellness is a way of life and while we likely won’t ever feel like we did at age 20, taking a natural healing approach can help us improve our quality of life and our mental outlook. God meant for our bodies to be in balance and our bodies constantly strive for it.

My doctor and I are always looking at new and developing approaches to correct the systemic issues I face.  Progress over the past year has been slow, steady, and significant. I hope that readers will find clues for their own solutions in my posts.

The most important thing I’ve learned is to keep looking for ways to address health issues using natural methods that keep stress on the body down.  From personal experience I can also say that a healthy body is an asset to a healthy spiritual life.

Rays of God's Blessings - A Moment of Delight, Photography by Yun, http://www.yunphoto.net/en/

An interesting thing happened on the way to improved quality of life for me in 2010.  Not only did God bless me with an excellent Natural Health doctor who has guided me toward a clearer mind (goodbye fibrofog), He helped me develop my writing voice and skills through blogging.

The best surprises are always from the Lord! It’s only in retrospect that I see what regular blogging has done for me.

• I’ve found wonderful blogs by Catholic/Christian bloggers that have given me opportunities for interaction on faith and Catholic living.

• My spiritual life has improved.  I see what God is doing for others as they risk sharing His miracles in their daily living.

• I’ve made valued friends I’d love to meet in person and have a good chin wag with.  Maybe someday that will happen.  If not, that’s OK.  We can continue to encourage each other via comments and show our caring that way.

• The big surprise: writing has become a wellness skill for me. It means a lot that what I’d hoped to do when I started this blog – help others in some way – is happening and I feel good about that.

Where will writing take me?  I’m not sure, but I hope to be able to bring in a little income to supplement our Social Security. Here’s where you wonderful readers can help me.

Lend Me a Hand – A Corporal Work of Mercy

I’ve joined Suite101 and am learning ways to promote my work to others who can benefit.  This past week I posted a first person article on simple goal setting skills anyone can use, but it’s especially geared to people who may be tempted to discouragement because they suffer from disabilities such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, and other afflictions where quality of life is easily compromised.

It was after I had written and posted the article that I realized the kind of goal setting I wrote about is a wellness skill. I want to inspire others and give them hope. We can’t truly function well without skills, inspiration and hope.

The Blogger's Tool

What you can do:

• If you have time, read the article. It won’t take long.

• If you know people who can benefit from it, send them a link and encourage them to read it.

• If you can write a blog post about it and link to it from your blog, that would be immensely helpful.

• Tell me what you think about it, and, if you wish, suggest other topics I can pursue that would help others.

We are made of body, mind, and soul/spirit.  I’ve learned that when one is in trouble, the other two also need help.  Wellness applies to all three.  I want to write more for Suite101 that will be both practical and uplifting.

God bless you, dear readers, and thanks for reading my blog.

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V.  Praised be Jesus Christ!

R.  Now and forever.  Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

My painting time is one way I connect with God and deal with my fibromyalgia.  When we must suffer, it is always better to do it with joy rather than with frustration and anger. Painting is a way for me to be joyfully with God and find ways of conveying His beauty to others through the images I create.

This past week I was learning how to use various oil brushes and some special effects  in Corel Painter 11.  The photo that was the basis for this image is a close-up of a horse my friend owns.  I cropped the photo so viewers would be drawn to the eye and then went to town.

It took a lot of hand work to paint out whiskers and long hairs, which were distracting elements in the original photo I took.  This is the first time I used a border as part of the image. One thing I’m learning is that no one medium is right for all images.  You have to let the image and idea dictate the medium.  With digital painting, you can experiment to your heart’s content until you get what you want, and you can use many media.  I’m an eclectic sort of person so the flexibility of using many and mixed media really appeals to me.  It’s also very fair to say that if digital art had not been invented, I would not be able to try to be an artist.

I love this horse.  She is gorgeous and powerful and I hope this image conveys that to viewers.  Her eye really is blue, in case you are wondering about it.  Some quarterhorses will have a blue eye, something I learned when visiting my friend. The original image is a little bigger than 11 x 12 inches.

If you would like to use this image, it is signed in the lower right corner.  All I ask is that you:

1. Credit me as painter,
2. Leave a small donation by clicking on the donate button and,
   
3. If you are using it at a web site, link to this post.

If you know people who would like this, please direct them to this post. I am trying to get an idea of what different people look for in art so I can create things that others will like.  Thank you.

One of the greatest blessings given my husband and me this year has been our help from Dr. Stuart Hoover, NHD. Following his advice, Roger lowered his blood pressure to normal without drugs in two weeks and markedly increased his energy levels and stamina.  As for myself, this very skeptical lady has become convinced that there is definitely hope after all.

When I started following Dr. Hoover’s recommendations we were focusing on several key issues verified through saliva testing, which is far more indicative of certain problems than blood testing:

1. Gluten sensitivity,
2. Severe adrenal fatigue,
3. Estrogen dominance.

We also focused on the head, arms and hand tremors I inherited from my mother.  These are known as essential familial tremor and differ from Parkinson’s disease. They get worse when I’m tired and have limited a lot of my activities.  All the conventional literature on this problem indicates that the condition worsens with age and that little can be done for it, although sometimes brain surgery can help.

Aside from the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue issues I wanted to improve, I told Dr. Hoover there were a couple of other areas I wanted to see results in.

1.  My hair has been thin most of my adult life, and got so scant on top I could see scalp front to back after my hip surgeries.  A year after the operations nothing was coming back.  So growing back thinning hair is a big thing to me.  It will never be thick but I really wanted to see a lot more of it on top.

2.  I wanted to see my tremors walked back and if possible, eliminated along with the ulnar nerve damage in both arms.

These were tough challenges no one has ever been able to meet to date.  I’ve had the tremors since my early twenties and bad hair since then, too.

Since mid-April I’ve been gluten free which has vastly improved absorption of nutrients and supplements.  How do I know this?  Because I am growing HAIR!!!! – on my head – where it’s thin. My husband, friends and hairdresser have noticed the improvement.  True, there’s a long way to go, but no other health professional has helped me with this issue even though I’ve asked every M.D. I’ve ever seen.

Dr. Hoover put me on his own formulation for adrenal stress that is loaded with B vitamins.  He also put me on Neuroplex for myelin sheath improvement.  It has a lot of B vitamins, too.  In addition I take a multi-vitamin, D3, Iodoral, DHEA and other supplements.  This combination is also working.  Friends, family, and Dr. Hoover have noticed that my tremor is markedly improved. Moreover, after doing chores like chopping veggies, harvesting in the garden, weeding, and doing minor housework, my recovery time for the use of my arms and hands has also markedly improved. I can now rest for an hour or so and have the energy and control to get up and do something else.  For me, this is HUGE.  In the space of two and a half months there is obvious improvement.

How far will this go?  I don’t know.  But I do thank God for bringing Dr. Hoover into our lives.  We may be limited still, but we are able to function better.  The systemic issues plaguing us may just be made right, and all without drugs. Sure, we all have to die sometime, and I’m not doing this to live longer, just to live with better health.  It’s something I wish for everyone.

Dr. Hoover helps people from all over the country.  If you have health issues and you believe there has to be something better for you than what you are presently doing, find a good natural health doctor to consult with.  Dr. Hoover’s web site is e2health.com and I recommend him highly.

Recently I was tested by my Natural Health Doctor for gluten sensitivity by means of a saliva test.  It was called the gliadin Av, SIgA test and revealed a mild intolerance or reactivity to Gliadin, a term I had never heard of before.

Gliadins are polypeptides found in wheat, rye, oat, barley, and other grain glutens, and are toxic to the intestinal mucosa in susceptible people.  Polypeptides are chains of amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins. (Now is about the time I wish I had taken chemistry in high school!  Since I didn’t, I have to search a lot to understand important aspects of achieving wellness.)

I learned in my studies that protein is a part of every cell in our bodies, and no other nutrient plays as many different roles in keeping us alive and healthy. We need protein to grow and repair our muscles, bones, skin, tendons, ligaments, hair, eyes and other tissues. Without it, we lack the enzymes and hormones we need for metabolism, digestion and other important processes.

With gluten intolerance we aren’t getting the use of the amino acids present in the grain and we are reacting badly to them, often with a low level inflammation of the intestines.  Why is this important to know?  Any disruption in the gut by inflammation prevents us from absorbing the vitamins and minerals we need to be in balance. Our cells can be starving for proteins and for the enzymes and hormones we need to live and feel healthy.

When I was first diagnosed six years ago with severe fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and other neurological issues my holistic practitioner put me on the Atkins induction program.  It didn’t give me energy nor did it take away the fibro pain, but at some level I felt better and I lost 25 lbs. in three months.  This foray into the high protein/low refined carb way of eating was a revelation.  I never felt like I was starving and it was easy to do.  In retrospect, based on what I know now, I think that because it was  totally gluten free, I felt better.  Part of feeling better was overcoming insulin resistance, which is often a factor in fibromyalgia, and that came from eliminating grain and refined sugar carb intake while increasing fresh vegetables, berries and a variety of nuts.

Gluten Intolerance, Weight Gain, and Fibromyalgia

Some people who suffer from fibromyalgia are downright skinny.  A lot more of us weigh more than we should and have a dickens of a time getting to a normal range.  Is part of our problem gluten intolerance? Over at Gluten Free Fox doctors Vikki and Richard Peterson have written a book called The Gluten Effect that tackles the myth that gluten intolerance is marked by weight loss. (You can find the book in Barb’s Custom Shop under the “wellness” category.) Gluten sensitivity affects 40% of the population while only 1% are celiacs.  They write:

“Contrary to classic medical opinion, gluten intolerance is not associated with weight loss the majority of the time.  In fact, it is simply the opposite. Gluten-sensitive patients are overweight approximately forty percent of the time due to various direct and indirect factors. Because of the misperception that most individuals suffer weight loss when they have gluten sensitivity, a greater number of people go undiagnosed.  This perception needs to change.”

…This is one of the many reasons we wrote our book.  Not only are 95% of those suffering with celiac disease never diagnosed but the percentage of those with gluten sensitivity who continue to suffer undiagnosed is about 99.8%. This must change as too many people are suffering needlessly.

The same doctors write about fibromyalgia in their book:

“Anecdotally, we have witnessed over and over again the resolution of the classic muscle aches and tender points in response to gluten elimination. Adrenal fatigue, poor blood sugar control and hidden infections round out the most frequent causes of this condition that we find. Among our patients who have enjoyed this response, there is no question as to the link between fibromyalgia and gluten sensitivity.”

This tells me that we have unearthed another major piece of the wellness puzzle that sufferers of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and chronic pain should look at when trying to find their own, individualized approach to health.  The other key pieces that I have explored and found to be significant for me and for others are:

1. the role of thyroid functioning - large percentages of people have underactive thyroids or their cells are unable to use the thyroid their bodies are producing due to
2. iodine deficiency – about 95% of the population suffers from iodine deficiency which prevents cells from operating efficiently and using the thyroid circulating in the blood;
3. vitamin D deficiency – the range of D3 in the blood needs to be 50-65, not 30+ as some labs say is “normal”;
4. Adrenal gland fatigue and other endocrine gland imbalances;
5. Not enough intake of flouride and chlorine-free water;
6. Type of food eaten;
7. Need for probiotics;
   
8. Stress, stress, and stress and not enough intake of vitamins and minerals for our particular needs.

Our doctors are trained to treat symptoms, but some symptoms point to so many possible diseases that a systemic approach is a much better strategy.  We aren’t going to die of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, but we can get to feeling better if we can find a good Natural Health Doctor who will help us diagnose the whole body and apply the remedies that work the best for us.

Since starting on the gluten-free diet several weeks ago, I have a slight increase in energy and a slight decrease in pain levels.  It looks like it can take 5-6 months to experience the good effects of this program in full.  For more information go to The Gluten Doctors blogspot.

Comments?

You might enjoy my related posts:

Adrenal fatigue, gluten intolerance, and war on ignorance

A holistic approach to treating depression

A fairly cheap way to feel better – iodine

Guaifenesin vs. iodine in treating fibromyalgia

Finally we are getting to the bottom of the chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia issues that keep me limited in activity.  For my readers who may suffer from these difficulties along with insulin resistance and numerous other imbalances, I strongly recommend finding a Natural Health Doctor who can do endocrine gland hormone testing which includes a gliadin test for gluten sensitivity. These tests can be done using saliva collected four times over the day.  No blood drawing is necessary and may even give a false picture because what’s in the blood may not be available to your cells.  That is how many people with thyroid deficiencies end up untreated.  Their blood levels of thyroid say nothing about whether the body cells are able to use the hormone.

What I learned from my current doctor this week is that hormonal imbalance can very well be at the bottom of depression, obesity, insulin resistance, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, insomnia and autoimmune problems such as allergies or diseases like lupus.

In addition to the above, gluten intolerance can be a big factor in creating hormonal imbalances.  It’s really important to know if gluten gives you problems.  Many people today have this sensitivity and don’t know it.  They go to doctors and get prescriptions for symptoms without ever finding out the real issue.  If you have a gluten intolerance, eating wheat, rye, barley, spelt, triticale, kamut and farina will stress your body in a bad way and contribute to adrenal fatigue which leads to other hormonal imbalances. Since everyone’s biological make-up is unique, it is important to look at a large enough picture to know where to start attacking symptoms of imbalance.  Then, with a competent doctor you can begin to solve the problem.  What you need is likely not going to be the same as the next person.

My doctor recommended a combination of supplements for my particular issues and we’ll be getting together in four weeks to see how I’m doing.  This is the first time I’ve felt optimistic about getting better.  We are going to postpone the DNA nutritional assessment I wrote about until we see improvement on the endocrine front.

I’ve been conducting a personal war on my own ignorance for some time now as I’ve continued to search for help.  Please keep looking for someone to help you as I have done.  I know it’s hard because if you are tired all the time just getting out of bed is a challenge.  Don’t give up.  There is an answer for you if you find the right person to help you.  In the meantime, self-education is very valuable.  I recommend Dr. Brownstein’s books, The Miracle of Natural Hormones, and Overcoming Thyroid Disorders Second Edition for insight into some basics.

Because of today’s living styles of dashing about for this, that, and the other thing, stress is a huge factor in adrenal malfunctioning.  Dr. James L. Wilson wrote a very informative and easy to read book, Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome that is a great eye-opener.  Finally, The Cortisol Connection: Why Stress Makes You Fat and Ruins Your Health – And What You Can Do About It will show how the body can get upside down in its cortisol production (mine is) which causes insomnia,  weight gain, and other problems. You can find these and other helpful books in Barb’s Custom Shop under the wellness category.

I’ll be out of town the rest of the week so there may be few posts, but I hope this one will help you in your detective work necessary to start feeling better than you ever have before.

Tip: Look for local practitioners who are members of any of the following: American Alternative Medical Association, American Association of Drugless Practitioners, American Naturopathic Medical Association, and Coalition for Natural Health.

I first mentioned the Nintendo Wii™ in my post:  Holistic Approach to Treating Depression where I wrote about the importance of exercise as part of a wellness program to overcome depression.  The Wii™ was a delightful discovery for me when I was in rehab after having both hips replaced.  Somehow, bowling and softball made regaining my balance and strengthening my legs a lot less onerous, and the occupational therapist I played with was a lot of fun.  Not only was the weather or having to go somewhere (getting in and out of a car was hard) not an issue, the mental lift I got from the exercise made me look forward the sessions.  Since then, I saw that Dr. David Williams [1] wrote about how the Wii™ is being used to help Parkinson’s patients improve balance and coordination.

If we suffer from debilitating conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, Parkinson’s, chronic back or knee pain, a stroke or obesity, our quality of life quickly diminishes.  We can easily lose our range of motion, muscle mass, and will to do even the most basic things like chopping veggies for a healthy dish, dusting the house or loading the laundry into a wash machine.  Getting in and out of a car can be a major project and slowly we find we have cut ourselves off from friends and healthy activities we once enjoyed because it is just too difficult to get out.  Depression sets in and one day we may wake up and ask ourselves, “How in the world did I get here?”

I cannot emphasize enough what Wii™ can do for us by giving us an enjoyable way to get moving, revving up the endorphins in our brains and helping us restore our balance and build muscle mass to help us move our bodies more easily. We can build core body strength, improve fine motor skills, and experience increased energy levels.  It can give us an excuse to invite a friend over for some healthy competition in a golf or bowling game, all without the stress on the body an actual game would cost us.

If you’ve ever wanted an alter-ego, the Wii™ makes it possible.  Using a character of your own creation you can track your wins, losses, and achievements, and it makes goal setting fun.  This is yet another engagement of the brain that helps with healing and improving cognitive functioning.

What I like best is that by playing a game I use the same muscles I need for doing ordinary daily activities, and it makes a good fill-in for the days I can’t make it to the therapy pool.

Probably one of the greatest challenges for a disabled person is to keep a good mental attitude, especially when getting a disease under control seems hopeless.  Playing Wii™ games makes me laugh and laughter lowers pain levels and strengthens the immune system, both of which affect depression levels.  Moving around helps the body throw off toxins that interfere with brain functioning.

If you know someone who could benefit from a Wii™ you will be doing them a great kindness to mention it and even offer to play games with them. How many lonely, depressed people with discouraging illnesses are out there who could be lifted up by playing a game with someone who cares? Who knows – you could be an “angel” in disguise.

[1] February 2010 Alternatives newsletter.  Click on the link at the sidebar for his web site.

Tomatoes and cantaloupe in the Earthboxes, mid-July.

It’s cold today but the sun is shining and I’ve been thinking about spring planting.  For the past three years we’ve been growing vegetables because of high grocery prices, pesticides used by commercial growers, because home-grown tastes better, and because it’s good therapy for us to putter in the garden in the sun. We found a sure-fire way to guarantee good produce – the Earthbox.

I’ve never been one to like pulling weeds and digging in the dirt because of my fibromyalgia pain and fatigue so when we discovered there was a way for decrepit people like us to raise our own veggies we decided to give it a try.  Maybe some of you will find our story helpful, especially if you have arthritis, fibromyalgia, or other physical problems that have inhibited you from growing your own produce.  For us, it’s also part of a wellness attitude – taking charge of our health as much as possible.

Earthboxes are great because we just follow the directions, put the box in a good location, and keep the bad bugs at bay.  You can’t overwater because there is a reservoir that has an overflow outlet that tells you when to stop.  It’s a big help for water conservation.  You also can’t over-fertilize because the plastic mulch keeps the fertilizer from washing away.  No need to weed, either. It’s a good option for people who don’t have a lot of space, too.  We started with four and now have six, one being a permanent home for strawberries.

We’ve put in tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cantaloupe every year. The zucchini prefers to be in the ground although the Earthbox site says you can put in four squash seedlings.  I like these boxes because they are movable.  If you find a better location in the yard for the crop you’re growing you can always take advantage of it. A couple of years ago we hired a handy man to make supports to tie the tomato and pepper plants to and they have worked well. By August the tomato plants in the boxes are like a jungle – so lush and filled with fruit you can’t see the supports.

whiteflies

We’ve learned a few things about handling bugs that attack the plants. Neem is a good, natural pesticide that causes chewing and sucking insects to forget to eat and to mate but doesn’t hurt humans, birds, or pets.  If you spray it early in the morning it will not hurt beneficial insects like bees or butterflies.  It takes longer to work than traditional pesticides because the bugs have to eat it first.  If you’re interested, here are some Neem insecticide products you can check out for your garden from my Amazon store:

Green Light Organic Neem II – 24 oz Spray #07824

Pure Neem Seed Oil – quart I mixed my own spray from the oil.  Warning – it smells stinky to me, but it sure works.  I got rid of all the whiteflies that infested the honeysuckle, daylilies, and tomatoes last year.

Green Light Organic Neem Concentrate – Pint #17016

I found out that putting egg shells in the soil makes tomatoes taste fantastic, so I’ve been saving and crushing mine in preparation for spring planting. Now if the weather would just warm up a little, I could get to the business of soil enrichment.

Home grown produce is good to share with neighbors.  It makes a good excuse to visit friends and share God’s bounty, just one more benefit we like from the efforts of gardening.

Many people suffering from fibromyalgia have stumbled upon the guifenesin protocol pioneered by Dr. Paul St. Amand explained in his book What Your Doctor May NOT Tell You About Fibromyalgia.* It apparently works well for some people although the restriction of avoiding all salicylates can be difficult for some to follow as salicylates are hidden in many items commonly used in the home and for personal hygiene such as toothpaste and lotions.

The use of iodine in treatment of fibromyalgia shows consistent success and is much easier to accomplish, but some people may need both to get well enough to live anything close to a normal life.  Karen Frandsen’s website has a lot of really useful information about treating fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, the accompanying brain fog and depression, hypoglycemia and other bad symptoms.  The holistic approach shows the greatest promise because it gets to the root of the problem and “fixes” it rather than the application of pharmaceuticals which may relieve symptoms but don’t cure.

Karen has a good list of the similarities and differences in the guaifenesin and iodine protocols here.  Be sure to read this because if you need to increase your knowledge, this will be a good reference.

If you don’t have a doctor willing to work with you on a holistic approach (mine moved away), you might be able to find a good family practice doctor who will be open-minded enough to help you as I have.  It’s not a good idea to have to do everything by yourself, but you, the patient are still the only one who can say whether a particular combination of supplements, hormones, exercise, and drugs, if necessary, make you feel better.

*Clicking on the book title above will take you to Amazon.

Since the 1990s considerable research on the use and benefits of iodine has been going on among clinical practitioners who treat fibromyalgia, fibrocystic breast disease and thyroid deficiencies. Doctors Abraham, Brownstein, Flechas and Mercola (See my bloglist) are all M.D.s who are really on to something here.  They have all published books and papers on their research and have helped many patients correct thyroid deficiencies which has been fundamental in reducing pain levels, ending depression and anxiety, managing blood sugar levels and a host of other symptoms that afflict many Americans today.

The following presentation was a major eye-opener for me when I saw it last spring. Thanks to Karen Frandsen at the Fibromyalgia Recovery Group, everyone can see what the conference attendees saw.  She added some additional slides regarding her condition.

Since the Iodine Medical Conference in 2007, research has brought even more information to the fore which we should all know about.  First, the PDF presentation.  You will learn a lot and probably need to look at it more than once if you are not a medical professional (I’m not).  I have seen it more than 10 times and still learn from it.

The use of iodine in the treatment of my fibromyalgia has been a major factor in managing the disease.  I took the iodine loading test through my doctor in November of 2008 and reached my current dosage in March of 2009.  Iodoral is a little more expensive than other supplements I’ve talked about in this blog (vitamin D and niacinimide), but it is not out of reach and for what it does, worth the sacrifice, especially if it gets you off prescription drugs as it did me. Investigating iodine deficiency is to me one of the first places to start in a wellness program.

Lugol’s solution is less expensive but is in liquid form and not as convenient to take.  However, it can be very useful diluted as a swab for a sore throat.  Swanson’s Health Products catalogue labels Lugol’s as a “folk remedy.”  It’s been around and used effectively since some time in the 1800s and was used by medics treating veterans during and after World War II.

I will go into iodine in more depth in future posts.

As patients in an age where a pill is supposed to be the answer to everything and the government is moving towards serious denial of healthcare based on age and disability, I think we need to keep several things in mind:

1. Drug companies want to sell us their drugs.  That’s why they spend billions in advertising to the public, even though we can’t prescribe for ourselves.
2. Most drugs address symptoms, create unpleasant side effects, and don’t provide a cure.
3. Medical schools receive considerable funds from drug companies and most students are taught to treat symptoms with drugs rather than get down to the systemic issues that cause the condition in the first place.

I am not accusing doctors of bad will nor saying that there is no place for drugs.  I am deeply grateful to the surgeon who replaced my crippled hips and the painkillers I took at the time were necessary for recovery. Other situations call for the use of drugs to alleviate symptoms, too.

What I want to make clear is that we must be in charge of our own health because the things I am discovering are not presented in the average doctor’s office.  The pharmaceutical lobby is much bigger than most people realize and it is to their benefit to keep holistic approaches from the public which they do at every opportunity, especially in the area of supplements.   At the same time, every approach to fibromyalgia that has helped me I learned from reading books by medical doctors who practice holistic or alternative medicine.

The most recent discovery I made is what I call the wonders of niacinamide, a form of B-3.  Anyone who has fibro or knows someone with it knows that the brain fog is really awful.  Added to that is the anxiety and depression that accompany a chronic pain condition.  One thing I set out to do after my second hip replacement in January of 2009 was to get the use of my brain back.  After much improvement using thyroid, vitamin D, and iodine, a couple of months ago I started on niacinamide after reading about it in Dr. David William’s newsletter.  Continuing research convinces me that many others can benefit by taking this supplement.

Niacanamide and niacin are two different forms of vitamin B-3 and are slightly different chemically. Niacinamide does not cause the uncomfortable niacin flush. B-3 is an essential member of the B-vitamin family.  What interested me was a report from Dr. Williams about a study done at the University of California, Irvine, on reversing Alzheimer’s using niacinamide.  After reading how it worked in the brain, I decided to try it myself.  Here is part of the report covered at Orthomolecular.org:

Kim Green, Ph. D. neuroscientist, University of California, Irvine

Researchers at the University of California at Irvine gave the human dose equivalent of 2,000 to 3,000 mg of vitamin B3 to mice with Alzheimer’s. (2) It worked. Kim Green, one of the researchers, is quoted as saying, “Cognitively, they were cured. They performed as if they’d never developed the disease.”

(2) Green KN, Steffan JS, Martinez-Coria H, Sun X, Schreiber SS, Thompson LM, LaFerla FM. Nicotinamide restores cognition in Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mice via a mechanism involving sirtuin inhibition and selective reduction of Thr231-phosphotau. J Neurosci. 2008 Nov 5;28(45):11500-10.

Specifically, the study employed large amounts of nicotinamide, the vitamin B3 widely found in foods such as meat, poultry, fish, nuts and seeds. Nicotinamide is also the form of niacin found, in far greater quantity, in dietary supplements. It is more commonly known as niacinamide. It is inexpensive and its safety is long established. The most common side effect of niacinamide in very high doses is nausea. This can be eliminated by taking less, by using regular niacin instead, which may cause a warm flush, or choosing inositol hexaniacinate, which does not. They are all vitamin B3.

B3 and nerves go together. New research confirms that niacinamide (the same form of B3 used in the Alzheimer’s research) “profoundly prevents the degeneration of demyelinated axons and improves the behavioral deficits” in animals with an illness very similar to multiple sclerosis. (11)

(11) Kaneko S, Wang J, Kaneko M, Yiu G, Hurrell JM, Chitnis T, Khoury SJ, He Z. Protecting axonal degeneration by increasing nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide levels in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis models. J Neurosci. 2006 Sep 20;26(38):9794-804. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed See also: Vitamins fight multiple sclerosis. Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, October 4, 2006.

This website is very interesting.  They say: “Orthomolecular medicine describes the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body.”  The site has the niacin molecule on the front page.

I chased down information on William Kaufman, M.D. and his over 60 year work on niacanamide and arthritis treatment as well, and discovered yet more information on the benefits of this supplement.  After reading articles by Dr. Kaufman and Dr. A. Hoffer relating over 60 years of successful clinical applications each, I determined I had nothing to lose by trying several doses a day.

My experiment resulted in a clearer brain, increased mental energy, and increased calmness.  The SADS disappeared, too.  All this occurred in about a month.  The fibro fog seems to have completely departed and there are no side effects.  Niacinamide disappears from the body in a matter of a few hours which is why several doses throughout the day are necessary to achieve an optimum benefit.

According to articles at Doctor Yourself, Niacinamide has also proven effective in treating the following conditions:

• High cholesterol
• Atherosclerosis
• Diabetes
• Osteoarthritis
• Cataracts
• Burns
• AMD
• Cancer
• Alcoholism
• Juvenile Diabetes
• Behavioral disorders

I strongly recommend reading Dr. Hoffer’s article as well as Dr. Kaufmann’s.  Doctor Yourself is a really interesting and informative web site that I have bookmarked for myself.  What worked for me may not work for others, but trying niacinamide in careful doses has no downside that I could find.  Each person’s chemistry is different, but once again, I have found a really cheap way to feel better.