The Autoimmune Protocol

I find this article particularly interesting as it points to the fact that the medical world tends to isolate the autoimmune diseases when, however, they really should be considered together as they all are the result of rewritten DNA which causes the body to attack its own tissue. Also, autoimmune diseases all stem from deficiencies and/or bacteria, and of course the bacteria runs wild because of the deficiencies ... causing a giant chain reaction to ensue, therefore, the importance of having a "protocol" to treat the deficiencies AND the bacteria to reduce or eliminate the attack.

A very insightful article, but I do want to point out that I do not endorse the supplements listed here. My take on supplements, unless they are in their most natural whole and living form, which 97% of the supplements aren't but are chemical creations by pharmaceutical companies, is that they add to the chemical load in the blood, which the liver has to clean, causing further stress to the liver. I promote careful selection of whole foods, oils in their natural state like in the nut or avocado, and eating as much raw as possible to load the body up on enzymes which support digestion, metabolism, etc. In any regard, the following article has some good insights and discussion of vitamins and minerals needed to support a healthy immune system and to counter-respond to the autoimmune attack. 

It is not ironic at all that autoimmune protocol is very similar to protocols for eliminating systemic candida from the body, especially as untreated candida bacteria is clearly a route to an autoimmune disease. Entries I've already written related to the this connection are: Infectious Diseases: Candida Species, Daily Candida-expunging Protocol, Biamonte Ctr - Treating Candida, part I, Biamonte Ctr, Treating Candida, part II, and a very interesting entry, The 5 Stages of Candida, as well as a few entries indirectly connected too.

The Autoimmune Protocol by Regerative Nutrition

Introduction

Autoimmune diseases result from the body's immune system being incorrectly activated to defend against organs, tissues or substances that are naturally present in the body. These body components are attacked by the immune system as if they were bodily invaders. Essentially, the body attacks it's own cells. There are many different autoimmune conditions (over 100), just like there are many cancers, however unlike cancers, each autoimmune condition tends to be individually named and treated as a singular condition rather than grouped together under the auspices of "autoimmune". Regardless of what organ or part(s) of the body come under attack (and hence the name given to the condition) there are common underlying contributing factors with all autoimmune diseases. It is these underlying factors that we seek to address. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad, stepped, approach to dealing with the underlying factors of autoimmune conditions. We also provide recommendations that are specific to many autoimmune conditions, these recommendations can be found in the health conditions list here, but these recommendations are made for support of the main protocol detailed here, not in place of it.

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Autoimmune conditions include but are not limited to:

Lupus, Type 1 Diabetes, Scleroderma, Celiac, Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn's Disease, Autoimmune Hepatitis, Graves' Disease, Myasthenia Gravis, Myositis, Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS), Uveitis, Polymyositis, Raynaud's Disease, Demyelinating Neuropathies, Osteo-Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis (also the rarer forms of arthritis e.g. Reiter's, Behcet's and Sjogrens Syndromes), Ankylosing Spondylitis, Migraine and cluster headaches, Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, M.E. (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Asthma, Psoriasis, Macular Degeneration, Hypertension, Sciatica, Prostrate Inflammation, Emphysema, Cystitis (especially Interstitial Cystitis) and all inflammatory bowel diseases.

Many other chronic health disorders are increasingly being recognized as having an auto-immune component, including diseases traditionally recognized as 'degenerative' such as Alzheimer's and certain Circulatory Disorders.

The underlying causes of autoimmune diseases

1. Infections known and unknown

Infections of various types, known and unknown (but usually Candida Albicans overgrowth) contribute to auto-immune disorders. Eliminating these chronic infections, even if you don't know they are there, is essential to achieve freedom from or at least amelioration of auto-immune disorders.

2. Heavy metals and other toxins

After infections, the most important and prevalent underlying cause of autoimmune disorders is body toxicity (heavy metals, pesticides etc).

The Autoimmune Protocol 

Step 1 :  Essential supplementation for Support through the stages of elimination

• Zell Immunocomplex
• Vitamin D3
• Immuno Calm OR
• Kalawalla: Supplied only as a back up for those who cannot tolerate liquorice. Immuno Calm should always be the first choice over Kalawalla alone.

It is beneficial to start with these remedies as the first step, as they will calm the immune system before you start on the elimination of underlying causes. By calming the immune system initially one should be more able to tackle the requirements of the coming stages of elimination. These remedies should be maintained throughout all steps of the programme. We suggest that these be introduced at least 2 weeks before you proceed with Step 2, longer if after 2 weeks you are not yet responding and demonstrating a noticably calmer immune response.

Step 1 should also include one of the anti-infection remedies from Step 2. We suggest that Iodine be selected, as you will use this throughout all 4 steps.

Step 2 :  Dealing with the underlying infection(s)

We have complete information on dealing with infections in our separate article here.

In brief, this article suggests the use of the following specific anti-infection remedies/supplements:-

• Iodine - Lugol's 7% Solution
• Olive Leaf Extract
• Colloidal Silver
• Vitalyza 3 - Elemental Silicon

Supporting the action of these above remedies is dealt with in Section 1 of the article which relates to boosting the immune system. In brief, this article suggests the use of the following remedies/supplements:-

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D3 (Which you should already be using since Step 1)
• Zell Immunocomplex (Which you should already be using since Step 1)

Note: Remember to continue with the Step 1 remedies throughout this step.

There are some additional measures that can be taken in dealing with Candida Albicans overgrowth. Please see the full article here.

Note on Iodine: this should be continued after the completion of step 2, as it has a continuing role in immune system function. For more details of its use in this regard see Step 4 below, where you may wish to replace or enhance the Lugol's solution with Seagreens, another source of Iodine with the additional benefits of many nutrients and trace elements.

Step 3 :  Dealing with the underlying toxicity

We have complete information on dealing with heavy metal toxicity etc. in our separate article here.

In brief, this article suggests the use of some of the remedies you will already be using at this point with one additional remedy/supplement:-

• Deep Cell Detox

Deep Cell Detox is a combination remedy, consisting of Seagreens, MSM, Alpha Lipoic Acid and Acetyl L Carnitine.

Note: Remember to continue the Step 1 remedies throughout this step and the Iodine from Step 2.

Step 4 :  Normalising and supporting the immune system

Research suggests that the three most important, identifiable, components for immune system integrity are Vitamin D, Iodine and Vitamin C. It is commonly believed, by researchers, that deficiencies in these three immune system essentials are widespread, to the point that the vast majority of people living in northern climates are significantly deficient. In addition, Zell Immunocomplex is an essential broad-acting nutritional remedy for rapidly creating a competent immune system. Seagreens is a useful but non-essential add on to the protocol at this point. It can be introduced to either replace or supplement the Iodine.

By the end of Step 3 you will already be using all 4 of these supplements. At this point, these 4 are all you need, however for continuing improvements to your overall health we would suggest that as a minimum you adopt the Core Regime Essentials, better still the full Core Regime.

Potassium, Vital for Cell Development

In our fast food and convenient instant food world today, millions are suffering the consequences of the commercialized, processed foods that by their denaturing are potassium deficient. In result, skin and muscle tone become bad, the flesh does not cling firmly to the body's bony framework, lines and wrinkles fill the face and skin. One common ailment visible in many today is the prolapsing eyelids, that is, flabby excess skin starts to hang over the eye and making thousands turn to eyelid surgery every year. Droopy eyelids, wrinkled skin and loss of skin and muscle tone are the signs of potassium deficiency, not specifically related to the aging process.

Too bad potatoes are too starchy for me ... but there
so many other vegies that I CAN eat (see below!)

Potassium helps prevent hair loss, brittle teeth and nails, sinusitis, runny nose, toxic waste in the body, plus stunted growth. Potassium is vital for cell production and cell growth as well as the maintenance of the body. "Potassium deficiency is a proven contributing cause of many illnesses including: arthritis, kidney stones, atrial fibrillation, adrenal insufficiency, celiac disease, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, ulcerative colitis, hypothyroidism, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, Crohn's disease, lupus, atherosclerosis, diabetes and stroke." Linda Page, ND, PhD Healthy Healing (www.healthyhealing.com). Parkinson's patients, people with systemic candida, IBS and cancer patients all need the revitalizing of potassium-rich foods to combat the evil happening within their bodies due to disease onset.

The human body can be likened to a flower or vegetable garden. Potassium is necessary for the health production of the substances that lend rigidity to plant stems and increase their resistance to the myriad of attacking diseases. Likewise, potassium is the element that changes seeds into plants and fuels the blooming of flowers. Without sufficient potassium, plants become stunted, and if the insufficiency continues, plants wither, turn yellow and die. In the same way, humans (and animals) also suffer from slow degeneration leading to cell death from potassium deficiency.

The healthy human body, balanced with vital potassium and other vitamins and minerals, can better withstand the attack of diseases and the aging process. People create their toxins by their eating and living habits. The properly nourished, healthy body gets a new bloodstream, a river of life continually circulating nutrients throughout the body, every 90 days. Every 11 months a set of billions of miraculous blood cells are replaced, and every 2 years the body rebuilds an entire new set of bones and hard tissues. The two great enemies of this recreation of the body are the toxic poisons from foods, air, water and soil that we ingest and the nutritional deficiencies created by an unhealthy diet. The truth of "we are what we eat" is exemplified by our dietary choices.

Potassium could be called the great detergent of arteries. It slows down hardening and clogging processes that cause harm to the whole cardiovascular system, and makes the flesh healthier and tenderer. There is little doubt, in animal or man, that the main function of potassium is to keep the tissues healthy, soft and pliable, as well as work to head off heart attacks and strokes. It can be said that potassium is to the soft tissues what calcium is to the hard structures. Potassium keeps the body young and supple, calcium keeps our frame strong and erect.

Body signs of potassium deficiency

• bone and muscle aches and pains, especially lower back
• the body feels heavy, tired and moving is an effort
• dizziness and/or shooting pains when straightening up after leaning over
• morning dull headaches upon arising and when stressed
• dull, faded-looking hair that lacks sheen and luster
• scalp itchiness and dryness; dandruff; premature hair thinning or balding
• hair is unmanageable, mats, often looks straw-like, is sometimes dry and sometimes oily
• eyes itch, feel sore and uncomfortable and appear bloodshot and watery
• eyelids may be granulated with white matter
• eyes tire easily and will not focus as they should
• physical and mental tiredness with the slightest effort
• loss of mental alertness and onset of confusion, making decisions difficult
• memory failure, even familiar names and places are easily forgotten
• easily impatient and irritable with family, friends, and people in general
• nervousness, depression, in a mental fog, difficulty accomplishing things due to mental fatigue, even the slightest effort leaves exhaustion, upset and trembling
• at times, hands and feet are chilled, even in warm weather, a clear sign of potassium deficiency

Much of this information comes from the insightful book Apple Cider Vinegar: Miracle Health System by Bragg and Bragg.

Barlean's Olive Leaf Complex

Ugh, again. I've been having some neuropathies lately in my left foot especially but also left hand again, and they are directly related to food. I just couldn't figure out why until I also started to have pain, like before, in the knotty groin veins that are rubbery hard and arteriosclerotic. When the pain went into the second day, I jumped onto the internet to look up the symptoms of arterioslerosis and how diet can be used to control it. While I do have the symptoms, the causes on several pages are unanimously from a high-fat diet, resulting in sticky blood cells. Well, my diet is very low fat so as not to feed the candida ... but then it occured to me that maybe I just wasn't getting enough fat, and that would also be why my vitamin A is low because to utilize vitamin A, fat is essential.

So, I jumped up and looked through my cupboards for something that would help the low fat problem but wouldn't compromise my strict candida diet. I found a bottle of Barlean's Olive Leaf Complex, which I'd been meaning to try for some time. One tablespoon is the recommended daily allowance so I drank one tablespoon. Almost instantly I felt better and the neuropathies died down a bit while the pain in the veins eased! The next day I took it again with the same results! I was so impressed that I wanted to share my good fortune with my cat, Aulait, who's had nutritional problems since I got her at 4 months of age.

I mixed up her barley green solution that I've been giving her quite regularly since she got sick shortly after I got sick; she was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, and I had to take her into the vet every 4 months (3 times) because she would relapse. However, once I started the barley green solution, I've never had to take her back to the vet even though he said the problem would be for life! That said, the last couple of months, the muscles on her back have been getting more and more crawly (obviously a nutritional problem b/c it is certainly not thrombocytopenia) and it's pained me to see that and not know what to do. BTW, I've had to hide all plastic bags and vinyl in my house since I got her because she tries to eat them ... so maybe she's missing some natural oils too! So, I loaded up her barley green syringe with some Barlean's Olive Leaf Complex and slowly shot it into her mouth. She was not too impressed and clamped her mouth down at one point, but I got it in and then finished up with the better tasting plain barley green water. Amazingly, she seemed more relaxed afterwards! The next night I gave her another tiny bit (maybe 1/8 teaspoon) with barley green and she has been definitely better since! If only I would have known earlier!


2 1/2 years ago, both my cats and I got sick at about the same time. Whenever I drank the water in my apartment, my cheeks would tingle, among other strange things. I had been starting to get my energy and weight back from Grave's Disease (hyperthyroidism) and at first thought I was in the 40% who would relapse within two years of getting off the meds, but those symptoms were just plain WEIRD and didn't match my previous symptoms! Aulait developed very red eyes and seemed to get stiff - not good, since she was just a young 3-year-old at that time. Since I got her at 4 months, she has been a picky eater and has just refused to eat many cat foods even though she is hungry. While I've never figured out what dry ingredient(s) she's refusing, with wet cat food, she detests foods that have filler meats (her most hated is Fancy Feast, which looks like nothing but filler, so smart cat!) Cafe, on the other hand, had the cat-killer disease panleukopenia as a tiny kitty and I knew her system was compromised because she always had bad breath and extremely waxy ears growing up (I read later that both were signs of candida in cats and dogs ... if only I would have known to give Cafe barley green on her road to recovery to help heal her tortured GI track). Anyway, at just 2 years of age (the same time I was having problems with my apt water) Cafe started to have renal failure. I limped her along for 6 months even though I was getting sicker and sicker myself, but when she relapsed I had to be merciful and put her to sleep. Ah, if only I would have known about diet control for disease soooo many months ago ... as well as moved ... we would all have been better.

Anyway, I'm going to study more up on this Barlean's Olive Leaf Complex. So far my system is loving it and Aulait acts less anxious. It seems to be a nice treatment for both of our various symptoms, but I don't want just a quick-fix cure-all symptom-masker, I want to treat the underlying problem - broadly speaking, it's nutritional, specifically, candida and vitamin A deficiency for me, and for Aulait ... I'm not completely sure except that I do know her problem is dietary too. So, she sometimes gets mini-doses of what helps me.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Written several weeks later:

The olive leaf extract was helping Aulait and I so much that I decided to buy a bottle for my parents to try, specifically for my dad who has Parkinson's. Mom gives the extract to dad in a tiny med cup while she's fixing the afternoon meal and which gives time for the extract to interact in a relatively clean esophagus and empty stomach. Wow! As a Parkinson's victim, Dad frequently has bouts of choking and difficulty swallowing - not as bad as some people because Mom and Dad share some of their meals with my younger brother who has a multitude of food allergies so needs a very specific wheat-free and other allergen-free diet. Anyway, Dad doesn't analyze food as being a problem, but he's been commenting from Day #1 that the olive leaf extract has been soothing to his throat and calming down tightness, numbness, and other strange feelings he has. It's also eliminated a lot of the coughing he's had to do during a meal when food seems to stick in his throat. So, wow! Bet you can't guess what's gonna be in Dad's stocking this Christmas?

Candida's Illustrous Beginnings

July 2009 was the beginning of my long nightmare. It began with a vile panic attack in the middle of the night - intensively scary - and never before experienced. Family members had talked of their panic attacks but me having panic attacks didn't make sense. I had no reason to be upset, stressed or down. I was finishing my dissertation and figured it would be completely written in just three more days, and then I had a great vacation scheduled. Nothing to worry about ... but after a second equally strange and very different kind of panic attack I suddenly was stressed and couldn't concentrate; the dissertation took another 2 weeks. I became agitated, unfocused, lost sleep, and oddly I had developed asthma and intense pains in the side of my left calf and sometimes along the shinbones triggered by heat and direct sunshine. [Candida can affect all parts of the body and it may attack one area one day and then move to another and another; it is only predictable in that it will continue to ravage the body slowly, or in my case, quite rapidly. Systemic candida is very unpredictable ... but I was not to self-diagnosis myself (more on that in future postings) until 1 1/2 years later.]

Doctors, times several, told me I was stressed; a few told me I should see a psychiatrist; one (and because of the Korean medical system at that hospital, I was forced to see him again and again) told me I had anxiety disorder and whipped out his RX pad. I told him I had no reason to be stressed and if I were, I probably had low vitamin B since the Bs play a big part in the nerves. He looked at me like I was on something. Since he was the consulting physician, I was forced to meet him again ... and again. Later, when I developed throat inflammation, he slipped an anti-depressant prescription (Xanax) in among four other drugs to help my reflux, which he said I had (I didn't), among the stomach coaters and other drug cocktails commonly prescribed for reflux problems here in S. Korea. By this time I was accepting his prescriptions to keep him from getting angry so that we could at least talk about the problem, and then I would go home and do research based on what terms and things he mentioned. On the way home I would either fill the one drug that I thought was necessary or just toss the whole prescription. I've rarely taken medicine in my life and have never much believed in their necessity, and especially since living in S. Korea I've become very cynical about the drug world as Korea is known for its over-consumption, dependence and yet high-immunity to drugs ... so most frequently the prescriptions just simply went into the trash.

By September my asthma was flairing more and more and I had developed tremors and strange neural sensations mostly limited to the left side of my body, as well as a whole host of other crazy symptoms. After 3 emergency room visits - one for probable food/environment reaction with throat swelling and two related to vitamin B allergic reactions affecting the heart. [Outcome: no heart attack so I could go home; a later doctor pointed out that my EKG line wasn't steady but not considered "bad". Still later I found the answer: Vitamin B is usually produced in a fermentation process but people with candida become intolerant to fermented foods, and I had soon afterwards figured out that 40 minutes after taking a multi-vitamin B, the heart pain and extreme chest tightness started. I tried several different brands of multiple B vitamins but also had the same reaction. Then in the book "Supplements Exposed" I read that synthetic B1 is usually the trigger to people having multiple vitamin B supplement reactions. Ah hah! So now, to daily maintain healthy nerves and keep my stress low, I MUST eat my B vitamins only through foods!]

Anyway, I finally I got past that doctor and met other doctors: neurologists and a MS specialists, ENT specialists, endocrinologists ... and then the bone pain started. So then I met a succession of bone doctors and ended up in a pain rehab clinic where a compassionate doctor [functioning on the belief that the doctor knows best for his patient who doesn't know what he/she needs] gave me a very powerful steroid injection in my left cheek and two spots in the left side of my neck, after of course my telling him emphatically three times that I didn't want steroids [Oct or Nov 2009]!

So three days later another kind of hell began - lingual tears (in the groin area) followed by the beginning of arteriosclerosis in the groin area, and my lymph system went crazy! I was sent to a cardiologist because of the lingual tears and it was in his office I learned that I had been given a very powerful steriod .... There was nothing I could do except detox myself for months on an even more intense all-vegetable diet. For over four months, everytime I had a fish or a little chicken, the lymphs in my groin, armpits and neck would swell painfully. [Later I learned the nodes in my neck were mostly my salivary glands, which means my adrenal glands were involved. Adrenal stress and liver toxicity, evil results of candida ... as well as other diseases!] My whole system was loaded with toxins - not only from the candida but now also with steroids.

At some point, one of the many doctors gave me a battery of tests, liver and pancreas among them, but all came back within the margins of normalcy ...

ERGH! I was desperate! Those kinds of tests reveal a problem that shows a disease outcome. I was pursuing the source of the problem so that I could hopefully prevent full-blown disease. I already knew that if the liver test came back abnormal, then there would be only about 30% productivity of it left, but wasn't there a test that could show smaller amounts of impairment? And just why was the area under the cartilage of my right side hurting like crazy, particularly the spot under rib #10? He asked incredulously, "Do you think it's your liver?" and strongly recommended I go to the psychiatrist.