Download Ankylosing Spondylitis or Marie-Strumpell Disease

Ankylosing Spondylitis or Marie-Strumpell Disease
A nkylosing spondylitis is an inflammatory disorder of unknown origin, which primarily affects
the spine but can also affect other joints. This disease usually starts in the second or third
decade of life and involves men three times more frequently than women. It has also been
called Marie-Strumpell disease or Bechterew's disease.
Inflammation of the sacrum and the iliosacral joints are one of the earliest manifestations of the
disease. However, it can rapidly progess to involve the lumbar and thoracic spine as well. Joint
arthritis of the extremities may soon follow. Although the exact cause of the disease remains
unknown, an autoimmune process is strongly suspected. This would make it fall into the
category of diseases such as: lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma. X-ray or an MRI of
the sacroiliac joint usually makes diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. Traditional treatments
have not proven to be very effective.
I was taught in medical school that autoimmune diseases were the result of an overactive
immune system since the body was essentially attacking itself. Consistent with my training,
almost all of the medical therapies offered to patients with an autoimmune disease are based on
this same premise. This is why most of these patients are placed on chemotherapeutic
medications, which primarily suppress the immune system.
Medications like Methotrexate, Plaquinil, D-penicillamine, and Immuran are just a few of the
potent medications that are used. Corticosteroids like Prednisone are also used not only
because of its strong anti-inflammatory qualities but also because they suppress the immune
system. These therapies have not been shown to be very effective in ankylosing spondylitis and
most physicians will usually recommend NSAIDS along with basic physical therapy.
Since specializing in Nutritional Medicine, I have seen amazing results in my patients with
autoimmune diseases who are using an aggressive nutritional supplementation program. My
only explanation for such unbelievable results is the fact that they are not dealing with an
overactive immune system, but rather a confused immune system.
The immune system is intended to be our reliable protector. It is always checking for self (one's
own body) while looking for non-self (any foreign substance or abnormal cell). When the
immune system finds a virus, bacteria, or foreign body it destroys and eliminates it from the
body. However, in the case of autoimmune diseases the immune system actually attacks itself
rather than a foreign substance. If it attacks the joint space, a person is diagnosed as having
rheumatoid arthritis. If it attacks the bowels, it manifests as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.
When the connective tissue is attacked, a person might end up with scleroderma or lupus. If the
myelin sheath around the nerve is the target, multiple sclerosis (MS) ensues.
In addition to my patient's traditional medication, I recommend my patients with ankylosing
spondylitis to also start an aggressive nutritional supplement program. In doing so, I am not only
building up their NATURAL antioxidant defense systems, but also building up their own
NATURAL immune system. I find this helps on both sides of the disease.
I believe the immune system becomes less confused and begins to recognize "self" again. This
means the immune system more readily identifies outside invaders--not attacking "self" as
readily. In addition, the antioxidant defense system is also built up to balance out the
tremendous number of free radicals being produced. This brings the root cause of the damage-oxidative stress --back under control. Therefore, it is absolutely critical for autoimmune patients
to be placed on the most potent antioxidant combination available.
Am I promoting alternative medicine? Absolutely not. I never take my patients off their
medications until they've experienced significant improvement. Nutritional supplementation is
always used in tandem with their present medical regimen. In doing so, they not only tolerate
their medications better, but the nutritional supplements actually enhance the pharmaceutical
effect of the drugs.
My goal is to have patients improve to the point that their rheumatologist or specialist is able to
decrease or eliminate some or all of their medications. I can't emphasize this enough. However,
one should never stop taking the medications prescribed to him or her by the specialist without
their direction and approval. The advice of one's personal physician is pertinent to one's health
and such decisions must always involve the physician.
Nutritional Supplement Recommendations
I recommend that all my patients take the basic nutritional support I refer to as cellular nutrition.
This foundational regime provides all the necessary micronutrients to the cell at ideal levels (not
RDA levels) for significant health benefits as documented in the medical literature. When the cell
is given maximum support, it can then determine what it does and does not need. Over a
six-month period each cell is able to not only overcome nutritional deficiencies but also to
optimize ALL the nutrients, which are needed to combat oxidative stress .
The synergistic affect of providing all the nutrients needed by one's body at the most
advantageous levels results in optimizing and rebuilding the body's natural immune system,
antioxidant, and repair systems back to their fullest fighting potential against disease.
Minimal support for Cellular Nutrition :
My minimal recommendation for creating cellular nutrition is to simply take Usana's Essentials,
which are made up of a bottle of their Mega Antioxidant and a bottle of their Chelated Minerals. I
recommend taking 2 Mega Antioxidants and 2 Chelated Minerals in the AM with breakfast and
again in the PM with your evening meal. Usana's Essentials provide all of the antioxidants,
B-cofactors, and antioxidant minerals at those optimal or advanced levels that I recommend for
everyone. These are the levels that have been shown to provide a health benefit in our medical
literature. Again, these should be taken with food for better absorption and better tolerance.
Optimal support for Cellular Nutrition :
For the most favorable results for basic cellular nutrition , I also recommend adding to the Usana
Essentials BiOmega-3 (2 capsules daily), which provides the essential fats that are so important
for optimal health. I also recommend adding Active Calcium (4 tablets daily) to provide
additional calcium, magnesium, vitamin K, Boron, and vitamin D that our bodies need.
Optimizers
It is critical that you know the necessity of adding optimizers to your foundational cellular
nutrition for optimal results. Patients who are suffering from a chronic degenerative disease or
illness are under more oxidative stress than the average healthy individual. Therefore, adding
potent Optimizers to the basic cellular nutrition offers you the best chance to bring this oxidative
stress back under control. The synergy and increased potency created by this approach to
nutritional medicine is why I'm able to get such consistent results in my patients.
However, to suit each individual's unique needs, I always offer both an optimal and a minimal
plan for cellular nutrition and for adding Optimizers. Obviously, one's improvement will be
quicker and more consistent with the optimal recommendations; however, a minimal regime can
still produce significant clinical results.
Recommended Optimizers:
Optimal:
• Proflavanol C 100--4 tablets daily (may substitute 2 Proflavanol C 200 available in My
Health Pak)
• Procosa II--4 tablets daily
• Coquinone 30--2 tablets daily (May substitute 1 Coquinone 100 available in My Health
Pak)
Minimal:
• Procosa II--4 tablets daily
• Proflavanol C 100--2 tablets daily (may substitute 1 Proflavanol C 200 available in My
Health Pak)
Optimal Recommendations
Nutritional Supplement
Mega Antioxidant (Mega AO)
Breakfast Lunch
2
Dinner
2
Chelated Mineral (Multi Mineral)
2
2
Active Calcium
2
2
Proflavanol C 100
2
2
Procosamine II (Procosa II)
2
2
Biomega-3
1
1
Minimal Recommendation
Nutritional Supplement
Mega Antioxidant (Mega AO)
Breakfast Lunch
2
Dinner
2
Chelated Mineral (Multi Mineral)
2
2
Procosamine II (Procosa II)
2
2
Proflavanol C 100
1
1