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Thomas Kruzel, N.D. writes about naturopathy, diet and multiple sclerosis (MS) below. Quote: "Naturopathic physicians view multiple sclerosis (MS) as they do other disease processes, that is, from a wholistic perspective. The illness is seen as a combination of physical, mental/emotional and in some cases, spiritual aspects."
Multiple Sclerosis and Alternative Medicine Naturopathic physicians view multiple sclerosis (MS) as they do other disease processes, that is, from a wholistic perspective. The illness is seen as a combination of physical, mental/emotional and in some cases, spiritual aspects. A naturopathic physician will use a variety of diagnostic methods to evaluate the patient. These range from conventional testing, such as laboratory studies, magnetic resonance imaging and ultra sound examination, to the less well known pulse and tongue diagnostic procedures. By using a combination of diagnostic modalities, as well as listening to what the person has to say about his or her illness, the physician is better able to assess the disordered internal environment. Given 10 individuals with MS, the physician is presented with a set of symptoms which have a commonalty and some which are unique to certain individuals. In the Naturopathic view, these symptoms are the body's way of telling the affected person that something is wrong and that it is attempting to correct the imbalance imposed on it by the disease. The pattern of symptoms experienced by the patient becomes even more important than the diagnosis, as it allows the physician to select the medicines with which to treat the person. This is based upon the vitalist tradition of medicine which was first expounded by Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine. Prior to the early part of this century, MS was not recognized as a specific disease entity except in rare cases. The incidence of the disease, especially in industrialized nations, has risen in the past 50 years to its present level. Conventional medicine generally views MS as being an incurable disease characterized by periods of decline and remission. Naturopathic physicians do not see the disease process as being incurable or one of inevitable decline, as they believe in the healing power of nature, or vis medicatrix naturae. What is important to understand is that the healing ability of the body begins early at the onset of the disease before any destruction of the nervous system or pathology takes place. This is why early diagnosis is often missed by conventional medicine as it relies primarily on the presence of diagnostic markers such as the presence of oligoclonal proteins in the spinal fluid or a poor flicker-fusion response. These changes are not seen until there is a considerable progression of the disease. Because any symptom is seen as an attempt by the body to correct itself, MS may be treated early, allowing for a greater rate of success and recovery. In my experience, even patients who are in the advanced stages will benefit from natural therapeutics as they act in harmony with the normal body healing processes. Naturopathic physicians may use a variety of therapeutic modalities ranging from conventional drug therapy to diet and nutrition, homeopathy, physical medicine, acupuncture, and the use of plants or botanical medicine while treating the whole person, not necessarily the "disease". Diet: Naturopathic physicians have long held that most of the chronic degenerative disease of our modern era are diet related. The higher incidences of multiple sclerosis parallel increased rates of cancer, heart disease and arthritis, as well as other chronic degenerative diseases, and all of these coincide with the introduction of high fat, high refined sugar and processed food diets which has become the standard diet of most Americans. There has been a considerable body of research which bears this out, most notably that of Francis Pottenger, M. D., Weston Price, DDS and Roy Swank, M. D.. One of the cornerstones of treatment for multiple sclerosis is dietary. Roy Swank M. D. and his colleagues have shown that diets low in fats cause the illness to go into remission and the symptoms to diminish. Further, in following patients over a period of 35 years, he has shown that those who follow this diet have lower disease progression rates than those who do not. Most significantly, it has been shown that many patients are able to lead normal lives with just dietary manipulation alone. My own experience with patients bears this out. I not only use the Swank Diet for MS but have found it to be of benefit for other chronic degenerative illness as well. The MS patient begins to experience changes in the disease process within 4 to 6 weeks of starting the diet, often sooner. The longer the person continues with the diet the more improvement occurs. Even persons with severe manifestations of the illness receive some benefit. Inevitably, at some time in the process, the person will go off the dietary recommendations to see if in fact it is really helping or they are just going through a period of remission. In every case symptoms begin to return within a short period of time and will resolve when the patient begins to follow the proper diet again. That some individuals are more susceptible to high fat diets than others has been shown by D'Adamo through the testing of red blood cell groupings to determine their genetic susceptibility. The naturopathic physician is highly trained in clinical nutrition and possesses the knowledge of the therapeutic nutritional effects of different foods, vitamins and minerals in the treatment of disease. To this end the physician may choose to test the patients blood for genetic factors which determine the type of diet best suited for the patient or do allergy testing to determine what agent is contributing to the illness. ..... Naturopathic medicine offers much in the way of relief and possible cure for the person afflicted with multiple sclerosis. In my experience and other physicians who treat patients with natural medicine, even a person in the advanced stages of the illness will experience some degree of relief. The treatment however, takes commitment by the patient in order to become well. This is simply because it is the patients who cure themselves, not the physician. Because of this, those who have a good mental attitude about over coming the disease will progress better than those who do not. I consider this the third cornerstone of the treatment for multiple sclerosis and one of its most important aspects. Naturopathic physicians undergo a rigorous 4 year medical education program similar to medical or osteopathic physicians. Besides receiving training as general practice doctors, naturopathic physicians are thoroughly educated in the uses of clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, counseling, physical medicine, homeopathy, surgery, natural childbirth and acupuncture. Each practitioner may emphasize an area of practice such as childbirth, pediatrics or general medicine, or maintain their practice as a family practice doctor. Naturopathic physicians are licensed in Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon and Washington but practice in most states. Information about where to find a naturopathic physician nearest you may be obtained from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. References: The Multiple Sclerosis Diet Book - A Low Fat Diet for the Treatment of M.S. R. Swank, M. D., B. Dugan 1977 Doubleday New York Materia Medica with Repertory O. Boericke M. D. 9th Ed., 1927 Boericke & Runyon Phila. Gut Ecosystem Dynamics III - The Clinicians Guide to the D'Adamo Serotype Polymorphisms P. D'Adamo, N. D., Townsend Letter for Doctors Aug/Sept. 1990 The Homeopathic Emergency Guide - A Quick Reference Handbook to Effective Homeopathic Care T. Kruzel, N. D., North Atlantic Books Berkeley 1992 Dietary Lectins - Food Allergies & Blood Type Specificity P. D'Adamo, N. D., Townsend Letter for Doctors June 1991 Lectures in Naturopathic Hydrotherapy W. Boyle N. D., & A. Saine, N.D., Buckeye Naturopathic Press East Palestine, Oh. 1988 The Principles and Practice of Medicine 21st Ed. Harvey, M. D., et al. Appleton-Century-Crofts, Norwalk, Ct. 1984 The Merc Manual 14th Ed. MSD The Web That Has No Weaver Ted Kaptchuk, O.M.D. Congdon & Weed New York 1983 Traditional Foods Are Your Best Medicines R. Schmid, N.D. Ocean View Publications Stratford 1987 Pottenger's Cats: A Study in Nutrition - Edited Writings of F. Pottenger, M. D., E. Pottenger & R. Pottenger, M. D., The Price- Pottenger Foundation 1983 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration W. Price The Price-Pottenger Foundation LaMesa, Ca 1945 by Thomas Kruzel N.D. Published by American Association of Naturopathic Physicians Read the complete article at http://www.healthy.net/scr/Article.asp?Id=729 BACK to articles |
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