Profile

  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a condition arising out of the immune system
  apparently destroying the myelin sheathing which surrounds nerve tissue in
  the brain and spinal cord, which makes up the central nervous system (CNS).
  Lesions or patches of damage occur where the fatty myelin sheathing
  protecting these nerves has been damaged. Nerve function is thus severely
  disrupted, resulting in obvious signs of motor dysfunction presenting a whole
  spectrum of symptoms. No two cases of MS are exactly the same. The damage
  and resultant effects are as unique to each patient as their fingerprints. 

  The disease is almost always restricted to young and middle-aged adults, with
  an approximate 60%/40% spread across females and males respectively. The
  geographical spread of incidence is also quite telling with MS, with the disease
  more prevalent in northern latitudes, with 50-100 cases per 100,000,
  compared with 5-10 per 100,000 in the tropics. The exception to this spread is
  Japan, where the disease is rare. The Faeroe Islands (the Danish islands north
  of Britain) had never experienced any signs of multiple sclerosis until the
  British Army landed there during World War 2 with all its supplies to set up a
  garrison.

  Symptoms

  Early symptoms include clumsiness, weakness, heaviness, tingling and
  electrical sensations, blurring of the vision, haziness, eyeball pain, sensation
  of drunkenness, incontinence, numbness, loss of sexual function. More
  severe symptoms include shaky movements of the limbs (ataxia), speech
  impediment problems (dysarthria), involuntary rapid eye movements and
  other motor coordination problems. 'Attacks' of symptoms occur usually
  followed by periods of remission.

  MS symptoms vary in intensity and duration, depending on which of the
  many different manifestations of the disease the patient has. 

  Causes

  The cause(s) of MS are officially unknown, but, as with the disease-spread
  information above, tantalising clues lead us to zero in on the chief areas of
  action. MS is on the increase, medicine bringing a vast array of drugs
  (steroids, etc.) to bear with very limited success on what is generally regarded
  in many cases as a degenerative 'auto-immune disease' - that is, that the
  patient's immune system has apparently been triggered to attack and destroy
  key cells in the body (see also Diabetes and Arthritis). 

  If we review the following key factors about MS, we can begin to build a profile
  of who's at risk… and where:

  · The disease mostly occurs in young to middle-aged adults
  · It marginally favours women
  · It is more prevalent in the northern latitudes
  · Japan is an exception
  · It does not occur in non-industrialised, agrarian societies
  · It appears as though the immune system has acted dysfunctionally to
  destroy key cells

  From this short summary, we may surmise that:
  · Sunlight, enzymes and vitamin D appear to play a role in avoiding MS
  · There's something in the Japanese diet and lifestyle that appears to restrict
  the deployment of MS
  · MS appears to be a disease of industrialisation, wherein foreign proteins
  (antigens) have challenged the immune system
  · The immune system, which, by the way, does not act dysfunctionally (there's
  always a good, underlying reason why it does what it does), has been given a
  key motivation to attack myelin cells in addition to the invaders 

  Commentary

  Many hypotheses have been offered to explain how MS is caused: viral
  infections, food intolerances, leaky gut, all of which may provoke the immune
  system into reacting in a 'dysfunctional' way to attack specific cells - in this
  case, myelin. But what precisely is the mechanism that may cause the
  immune system to do such an obscure thing? The answer may well be
  'molecular mimicry.'

  Molecular Mimicry

  …Molecular mimicry is a theory, under research since 1985, whereby invading
  foreign proteins (antigens) appear to have a very similar amino acid chain
  make-up to certain healthy cells in the body, thus 'fooling' the immune
  system into destroying not just the invading protein, but also the healthy cells
  appearing to be very similar to it. Important to note: most of the evidence so
  far researched on MS (which, by the way, is considerable) does show that the
  immune system has wreaked the havoc on the myelin sheathing. 

  Problems with the immune system will occur when healthy proteins existing
  in a person's body (i.e. myelin basic protein) correspond very closely to
  trouble-making proteins that make up bacteria, fungi, yeasts, etc. One MS site
  explains the proposed mechanism this way: 

  "To understand how molecular mimicry works in the induction of
  autoimmunity, one must understand the basic mechanisms of an immune
  response to a foreign invader in the body. The immune system recognises a
  part of the protein portion of the invader. It does this with T cells which have
  receptors which bind to short segments (up to 10 amino acids) of a foreign
  protein. It is helped in this task by so-called antigen presenting cells such as
  macrophages. 

  A macrophage will engulf a foreign invader (e.g. a bacteria or food particle)
  and break it down into fragments. A special molecule in the macrophage then
  carries a protein fragment (peptide) to the surface of the cell and 'presents' it
  to the millions of circulating T cells. A T cell which has a matching receptor
  locks onto the presented protein fragment. The T cell then becomes activated
  and stimulates other portions of the immune system to begin an immune
  response against all proteins which contain a similar-looking amino acid
  string. The details of what constitutes a similar-looking string are beyond this
  summary, but suffice to say it has been found that a variety of similar, yet
  somewhat different strings, can be recognised by the same T cell." 

  Dr Roy Swank

  Dr Roy Swank, Professor of Neurology at the University of Oregon Medical
  School, has done much research into MS. He found that diets heavy in
  saturated fats are implicated in those exhibiting MS symptoms. The patient's
  ability to neutralise oxidation (free-radical components) in their body was also
  seen to be severely compromised. Swank proposed a diet for MS sufferers,
  which is remarkably similar to the Food For Thought and Anti-Candida
  regimens discussed in this book. Swank found that this diet retarded the
  disease process and reduced the number and severity of attacks. 

  Also up for discussion is whether the chicken comes before the egg. Do food
  intolerances cause MS, or are food intolerances the result of an
  MS-compromised immune system? Do fungi provoke the immune system
  into destroying not only the fungi, but healthy myelin cells also, which may
  have a similar amino acid signature to the fungi? 

  Medicine uses immune-suppressing drugs in the belief that MS is the result of
  a dysfunctional immune system and therefore, by reducing the effectiveness
  of the immune system, one may retard the spread of the illness. This is what I
  term a 'scorched earth' policy, where the only cunning plan you have come up
  with to halt the advance of the enemy is to burn and destroy all the land in the
  path of his advance in the hope that you will starve him into submission. Not
  such a great strategy, in my humble opinion.

  Critters

  What we do know from testimonies and other reports on successful treatment
  of MS is that the disease, if caught early enough, may be halted and even
  reversed using a combination of lifestyle and dietary factors outlined below. 

  Gerald Green is a herbalist who lives in Sussex, England. His grandfather was
  Nobel laureate Professor Fritz Huber, a leading German scientist who died in
  the mid-1930's. An elderly gentleman experienced in healthcare, Gerald
  submitted some of his MS case histories to me, with the permission of his
  patients, which showed the benefits of an anti-Candida regimen, along with
  sensible supplementation and changes in lifestyle. 

  Gerald Green works on the premise that ALL MS patients have a microbe
  problem, and that it is pointless trying to combat the disease unless you
  addressed the underlying causes first. He suggests patients adopt his strict
  anti-Candida diet. This diet, I had found, was cropping up in various
  permutations in highly successful cancer treatments all over the world, from
  the Gerson Therapy pioneered by the famous Dr Max G, through to clinics in
  Mexico and the UK across to physicians prescribing it in one form or another
  to their patients as far away as the Philippines and New Zealand. The diet
  itself may also explain why Japan escapes the full brunt of MS, unlike other
  industrialised nations of comparable latitude. Many Japanese citizens still
  adhere to their national, alkalising diet of rice, vegetables and lots of fish,
  although, it must be said, the fast-food monster has now taken its grim hold
  on those islands, with unfortunate, if predictable consequences for the future.

  It is my conclusion that fungi are suspected of playing the key, primary role in
  this disease and may well contain the amino acid chains mimicked, in which
  case the immune system may be correctly attacking fungal infestation while
  its attack template is also destroying healthy cells in the body - in this case,
  myelin sheathing cells intrinsic to the successful operation of the central
  nervous system.

  Clearly not everyone, who has overgrowths of yeasts/fungi/ parasites, is
  getting MS. The disease in my view must have a certain number of factors
  working synergistically to bring on the problem. The following may be such a
  profile:

  · A western, industrialised diet rich in refined, processed sugars and grains -
  aspartame may be an implicator
  · A diet low in polyunsaturated fatty acids
  · Lack of regular exercise
  · Low intakes of Vitamin D and other vital nutrients
  · Other, non-defined stressors predominant in young to middle-aged adults 
  · Leaky gut syndrome brought on by yeast/fungal damage to the gut lining,
  thus allowing MS-triggering food/foreign proteins to gain access to the
  bloodstream via a permeable intestinal lining
  · The immune system creates templates for the invading proteins which
  inadvertently take out the healthy myelin cells also
  · Drugs prescribed may weaken the immune system, giving the appearance of
  retarding the disease
  · Halting the disease at source will therefore necessitate addressing the diet,
  lifestyle and fungal issues of the patient

  Take action

  An MS sufferer will usually have other, sometimes minor symptoms, which
  may not seem connected to their disease, i.e. acid reflux, athlete's foot, jock
  itch, thrush, digestion problems, bowel gas, etc. Patients should also be aware
  of foods to which they are sensitive, which should be eliminated. Ideally a
  diary should be kept keeping track of problem foods and any observable
  effects of eliminating them from the diet. The following will be of benefit to
  the multiple sclerosis sufferer:

  · DIET: COMMENCE THE ANTI-CANDIDA DIETARY REGIMEN, ensuring
  that the Foods to avoid and supplementation are rigorously adhered to
  · DIET: See Foods to avoid section of THE FOOD FOR THOUGHT
  LIFESTYLE REGIMEN
  · DIET: Avoid all animal foods, except cold-caught oily fish (no farmed fish!),
  which should be consumed daily (salmon, mackerel, herring, etc.). Normal
  protein intakes
  · RESTORING NUTRIENT BALANCE: COMMENCE THE BASIC
  SUPPLEMENT PROGRAM, ensuring:
  · ANTI-CANDIDA/FUNGAL SUPPLEMENTATION, including wormwood,
  Essiac, fennel, peppermint tea, etc. Physician may also prescribe anti-fungal,
  anti-mycotoxic drugs in addition to the above, as directed
  · Vitamin E, 800 IU per day
  · Flaxseed oil, 1 tbsp per day
  · Brain/CNS supplementation (ideally 'Ingenious' - see A Guide to Nutritional
  Supplements)
  · Pancreatic enzyme supplementation, two capsules taken three times daily
  away from food
  · Selenium, 200-400 mcg per day
  · Vitamin B12 supplementation, as directed by your physician
  · Vitamin C complex (ascorbates plus bioflavonoids), 4-5 g, twice per day (in
  the event of diarrhoea indicating threshold level has been exceeded, reduce
  intake to just under threshold level) 
  · Gingko biloba, as directed
  · Hawaiian Noni Juice, as directed
  · TIP: Those with mild MS symptoms should exercise in a gym four times a
  week both with weights and on a stationary cycle or 'Stairmaster' with arm
  movement extensions. Those with more severe forms of the disease should
  try assisted movement exercises and massage to improve comfort and
  circulation
  · TIP: This regimen is a long-term lifestyle change and, once again, must be
  adhered to strictly

  Extracted from Phillip Day's new release, The ABC's of Disease, published by
  Credence Publications (English language only at this time).

  Release Dates:
  UK, Ireland, Europe and Russia: 5th September 2003
  USA, Canada and South America: 15th September 2003
  Australia, New Zealand and Asia: 1st November 2003 

  More information is at: www.credence.org