However, I have major disagreements with the study’s recommended treatment–Avonex. Someone please help me understand why ANYONE would use a drug that costs $1,200 per month–yes, you heard me correctly, $1,200 per month–and in no way, shape or form treats the cause of the disease. (If you are thinking corporate drug company greed that sure sounds right to me.)

You will be able to see the flaws with this recommendation yourself by reading the following story of one patient with MS who came to see me. Like nearly all severe chronic disease cases I see, his event started shortly after a severe emotional trauma occurred in his life. When he came in I had him stop the Avonex immediately, as I don’t believe that there is any indications at all to ever use this drug. He followed a raw-food, metabolically appropriate, diet and received plenty of energetic emotional treatment. Over the next few weeks 10 of his 12 initial symptoms all but disappeared and the remaining two improved. He said he hadn’t felt so good in years.

If he had waited a few more years and came in a wheel chair, I suspect it may not have been possible to obtain the same results. At some point the damage does become irreversible. Prior to my application of nutritional typing and effective emotional interventions, it was uncommon to see these types of improvements with MS, but now I am really shocked if we don’t see them. Fortunately, I am seeing these types of improvements quite regularly now in the MS patients we are treating.

For more information on MS treatments please see the related links after the story below.

By Matt Bolson
Woodridge, IL

“I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) on May 1, 1999 and was put on Avonex [an Interferon beta drug]. The drug cost me $1,200 a month and for the over two years I was on it my symptoms continued to get worse and I had fevers and many other drug side effects.

I realized that I needed to find out how to get some positive results and then I came across an article in Dr. Mercola’s newsletter, which I’d been reading for about two years, called “MS Drugs a Waste of Money“. I really wanted
to get off the drugs so I made an appointment to see Dr. Mercola.

I’ll never forget Dr. Mercola’s response when I asked ‘When can I go off the drugs?’ He asked me what time it was, and I said ‘It’s 2:00.’ He replied, ‘Well, how about right now?’

After I saw Dr. Mercola and stopped taking the drugs, it took about one and a half to two months of following his program before I began feeling better. I had been following a low-fat diet, which is what is typically recommended for MS, but found out that this was conflicting with my nutritional type, which turned out to be protein type.

I began eating dark meat chicken and red meat, which I love but hadn’t eaten in almost three years, and raw coconut and avocados. I’d never thought to eat raw coconut or avocados before, but now they’re just about my favorite foods on the program.

I also began to eat raw meat–bison and beef–and noticed an immediate change in how I felt. I also juice, mostly spinach and celery, almost daily.

When I started the program I was in the middle of an exacerbation and was feeling weak and numb, but soon I began to feel better. I used to get nerve and spine pain, searing head pain and fevers and now it’s all gone.

But there were two major factors that I learned at The Optimal Wellness Center, aside from the dietary changes, that really made a profound difference in my recovery. First, I had to learn that I didn’t have MS, I had
symptoms associated with it. Next, I had to believe that I could overcome this disease, even though that goes against everything you hear in mainstream media.

I did EFT with Linda, an EFT therapist, and that really helped me to accept these two truths. Learning and believing these two factors was imperative to my recovery. I was also able to see my progress each month with the live blood cell analysis from Jordan. Being able to see my blood on the screen and actually see it improve was the coolest thing I’d ever seen!

I’d also suffered from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for my entire life, but when I changed my diet my stomach repaired itself almost immediately. Now I continue to improve, feel great and am completely off the MS drugs. Dr. Mercola’s program has really made a difference for me.”

The usual prescription for MS is a cartload of highly toxic medications, including:

• Prednisone, a steroid hormone that can significantly impair your immune system, and cause diseases like osteoporosis and cataracts
• Interferon. This drug is quite deceptive, because even though it’s a natural substance, it’s typically given in a dose that shuts down your body’s natural feedback loop. As a result, it tends to do more harm than good.

It is my strong recommendation to not use these drugs, and if you’re already on them, to wean yourself off as soon as possible, as they are some of the most toxic drugs used in the field of medicine.

At face value Dr. Zamboni’s approach appears to be a much better option for symptom relief than MS drugs. It is very new, but seems to offer some help with symptoms with a minimum amount of side effects.

His approach is based on research that found higher levels of iron deposits in the brains of MS patients. These deposits were often formed in the core of the brain, clustered around veins that drain blood from the head.

Dr. Zamboni found that nearly all of the patients he examined had narrowing, twisting or blockage of these veins. He reasoned that the blockages were occurring due to a dysfunction of drainage in the veins, and his “liberation treatment” to restore blood flow to these veins has been showing promise to relieve MS symptoms.

However, research suggests that abnormal handling of iron by your body could also lead to the development of brain disorders, so it could be that excess iron is also a contributing factor.

Why Checking Your Iron Levels is So Important

Excess iron can cause damage to the endothelium, the inner lining of blood vessels as well as create massive amounts of free radicals. It can also lead to diseases like cancer, and can damage your DNA.

So if you have MS it is very important to check your blood for iron overload, a process that is easily done through a simple blood test called a serum ferritin test. I believe this is one of the most important tests that everyone should have done on a regular basis as part of a preventive, proactive health screen.

The healthy range of serum ferritin lies between 20 and 80 ng/ml. Below 20, you are iron deficient, and above 80, you have an iron surplus. Ferritin levels can go really high. I’ve seen levels over 1,000, but anything over 80 is likely going to be a problem.

The ideal range is between 40-60 ng/ml.

If you find your iron levels are high, donate your blood. Normally a person would require 1-3 blood draws per year, up to as many as one per month if your system can tolerate it, until your ferritin levels have been sufficiently lowered.

MS Can be Treated With Natural Options

MS is a chronic, degenerative disease of the nerves in your brain and spinal column, caused through a demyelization process.

Myelin is the insulating, waxy substance around the nerves in your central nervous system, and when the myelin is damaged by an autoimmune disease or self-destructive process in your body, then the function of those nerves deteriorate over time, resulting in a number of symptoms, including:

• Muscle weakness
• Imbalance, or loss of coordination
• Astigmatism
• Tremors

This is a very serious illness, and I used to dread when people came to my office with MS because there really wasn’t much I could do for them. Since that time, and in researching a vast array of natural health therapies, I realized there are a number of different strategies available, some of which I’ll share with you here.

But first I want to point out that, more often than not, some form of hidden emotional wound can be found in patients suffering with autoimmune diseases like MS. Typically, this wounding occurred at a very young age, almost always before the age of 7, and typically before the age of 5.

Frequently, these emotional injuries result in physical damage decades later, and we’ve found that without effective intervention to address these underlying emotional injuries, you may not be able to get significantly better.

Strategies like meditation, prayer, and Meridian Tapping Techniques (MTT) are particularly effective and need to be part of your overall treatment strategy in order to truly address the root of your illness.

Along with addressing the emotional component, you will want to work with a knowledgeable natural health care practitioner who can help you to:

• Optimize your vitamin D levels

In the near future I believe it could be considered malpractice not to carefully monitor the vitamin D level of patients’ with autoimmune disease as the evidence is so profoundly compelling of how useful it is in these condtions.

As with virtually all other autoimmune diseases, optimizing your vitamin D levels is an essential step. Ideally, your level should be somewhere between 70-90 ng/ml, which you can find out through a simple blood test. I recommend using LabCorp for this if you’re in the U.S.

Ideally you’ll want to raise (and maintain) your vitamin D levels by regularly exposing large amounts of your skin to sunshine, or by using a safe tanning bed.

If for any reason neither is available to you, you can use an oral supplement of vitamin D3. Doses for an oral supplement could be as high as 10,000 IU’s a day depending on your current level, so it’s very important to monitor your levels regularly.

• Optimize your essential fat intake

You need to make sure you’re getting a good supply of high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fats such as krill oil.

Part of optimizing your essential fats also includes avoiding damaged, processed fats found in most all processed foods. Especially damaging are the omega-6 fats found in soy-, canola-, and corn oil. These are usually highly oxidized and also contain trans fats and cyclic fats that imbed themselves into your cell membranes, distorting the cellular functions.

• Eliminate sugar

Another crucial element is to eliminate as much sugar as possible from your diet. Cutting out processed foods will go a long way to reduce excess sugar, in addition to eliminating the majority of damaging fats in your diet.

• Eat raw food

This is an important principle for optimal health that I normally recommend for everyone. However, I’ve found that for people with severe autoimmune disease, it’s even more important. Some of the most dramatic improvements we’ve seen in patients using nutritional changes have come about as the result of eating their food raw instead of cooked. That includes eggs and high-quality, organic meats as well.

• Eat the right foods for your Nutritional Type

With Nutritional Typing and some of the emotional work it is very unusual when a person with MS does not improve. Without out a doubt Nutritional Typing has been the most profound nutritional intervention I have ever seen.

Emerging MS Treatments to Keep an Eye On

We’ve seen phenomenal results in patients with MS who have followed the above recommendations, and I’m confident that if you suffer from MS and apply them, you too will notice a dramatic improvement in your condition.

However, there are a few other newer treatments that are worth looking into as well, especially low-dose Naltrexone (LDN), along with alpha lipoic acid.

Naltrexone (generic name) is a pharmacologically active opioid antagonist, conventionally used to treat drug- and alcohol addiction — normally at doses of 50mg to 300mg. As such, it’s been an FDA-approved drug for over two decades.

However, researchers have found that at very low dosages (3 to 4.5 mg), naltrexone has immunomodulating properties that may be able to successfully treat cancer malignancies and a wide range of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, and Crohn’s disease, just to name a few.

Dr. Bert Berkson is an expert on this regimen. For more information about his findings and successes using this combination, please review this previous article.

Mercury is clearly a neurotoxic poison that should also be avoided, so avoiding contaminated fish and refusing or removing mercury dental amalgams are also important aspects. Many still do not realize that the majority of a “silver” filling is in fact mercury, and despite its obvious risks mercury fillings are still used in the field of dentistry.

We are making strong efforts to have mercury eliminated from dental practices in the U.S. and will hopefully succeed in that mission within the next few years. Until then, however, it’s up to you to choose a dentist that has the good sense not to use it, and find a qualified biological dentist to help you safely remove any you already have.

Additionally, there are now a few new supplements to help eliminate mercury from your system. One in particular that appears to be very effective, developed by Dr. Boyd Haley, is called Oxidative Stress Reliever, or OSR for short.

Finally, what about using marijuana to help relieve MS symptoms? Well, marijuana will never be a cure for MS, and may contribute to mental deficits. You are far better off addressing this challenging disease at its source by making the dietary and lifestyle changes described above.

Before I delve into the topic at hand, I want to remind you that the information imparted here are my personal findings and recommendations – the result of seeing some 20,000 patients or more, and doing my own research within the field of natural medicine. It’s by no means a comprehensive or decisive review.

I urge you to add your own comments in the forum below, called Vital Votes. Many of you have knowledge and insights into disorders like multiple sclerosis that I do not, and it’s only by sharing our knowledge that we, as a community, can create a body of effective solutions for those who struggle with these types of diseases.

If you’re not already registered, take a moment to join the community now – it’s free.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a very serious illness, and I used to dread when people came to my office with MS because there really wasn’t much I could do for them. Since that time, and in researching a vast array of natural health therapies, I realized there are a number of different strategies available, some of which I’ll share with you here.

What is Multiple Sclerosis?

MS is a chronic, degenerative disease of the nerves in your brain and spinal column, caused through a demyelization process.

Myelin is the insulating, waxy substance around the nerves in your central nervous system, and when the myelin is damaged by an autoimmune disease or self-destructive process in your body, then the function of those nerves deteriorate over time, resulting in a number of symptoms, including:

• Muscle weakness
• Imbalance, or loss of coordination
• Astigmatism
• Tremors

If you go the conventional route, you should know that neurologists (the specialists who typically monitor these types of diseases) routinely prescribe a variety of very toxic and dangerous medications to their MS patients that in no way shape or form address the underlying cause of the disease.

It is my strong recommendation to not accept these drugs, and if you’re already on them, to wean yourself off, as they are some of the most toxic drugs used in the field of medicine. These drugs include:

• Prednisone, a steroid hormone that can significantly impair your immune system, and cause diseases like osteoporosis and cataracts
• Interferon. This drug is quite deceptive, because even though it’s a natural substance, it’s typically given in a dose that shuts down your body’s natural feedback loop. As a result, it tends to do more harm than good

Fortunately, there are many alternatives to these toxic treatment methods offered by conventional medicine.

How to Treat Multiple Sclerosis Without Dangerous Drugs

Many of the recommended strategies for MS are identical to the principles I’ve been teaching on my site for years, but a few stand out as being specifically applicable to the treatment of an autoimmune disease such as MS.

Optimize your vitamin D levels – As with virtually all other autoimmune diseases, optimizing your vitamin D levels is an essential step. Ideally, your level should be somewhere between 70-90 ng/ml, which is done through a simple blood test. I recommend using LabCorp for this if you’re in the U.S.

Ideally you’ll want to raise (and maintain) your vitamin D levels by regularly exposing large amounts of your skin to sunshine, or by using a safe tanning bed.

If for any reason neither is available to you, you can use an oral supplement of vitamin D3. Doses for an oral supplement could be as high as 10,000 IU’s a day depending on your current level, so it’s very important to monitor your levels regularly.

Personally, I believe it’s medical malpractice to treat someone with an autoimmune disease and not address and monitor their vitamin D levels.

Optimize your essential fat intake – Secondly, you need to make sure you’re getting a good supply of essential fats, such as omega-3s.

Part of optimizing your essential fats includes avoiding damaged, processed fats found in most all processed foods. Especially damaging are the omega-6 fats found in soy-, canola-, and corn oil. These are usually highly oxidized and also contain trans fats and cyclic fats that imbed themselves into your cell membranes, distorting the cellular functions.

You’ll also want to increase your intake of healthy omega-3 fats. My favorite is an animal-based source such as krill oil, or fish oil. But plant-based fats high in ALA are very beneficial as well. Good sources include flax seed and chia seeds.

Eliminate sugar – Another crucial element is to eliminate as much sugar as possible from your diet. Cutting out processed foods will go a long way to reduce excess sugar, in addition to eliminating the majority of damaging fats in your diet.

Eat raw food – This is an important principle for optimal health that I normally recommend for everyone. However, I’ve found that for people with severe autoimmune disease, it’s even more important. Some of the most dramatic improvements we’ve seen in patients using nutritional changes have come about as the result of eating their food raw instead of cooked. That includes eggs and high-quality, organic meats as well.

Supplements and Other Helpful Strategies

There are a number of supplements that can be helpful as well, including:

Low-dose Naltrexone and alpha lipoic acid – One of the newer ones is low dose Naltrexone (LDN), along with alpha lipoic acid. Naltrexone (generic name) is a pharmacologically active opioid antagonist, conventionally used to treat drug- and alcohol addiction – normally at doses of 50mg to 300mg. As such, it’s been an FDA approved drug for over two decades.

However, researchers have found that at very low dosages (3 to 4.5 mg), naltrexone has immunomodulating properties that may be able to successfully treat cancer malignancies and a wide range of autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, and Crohn’s disease, just to name a few.

As explained on the informative website www.lowdosenaltrexone.org, when you take LDN at bedtime — which blocks
your opioid receptors for a few hours in the middle of the night — it is believed to up-regulate vital elements of your immune system by increasing your body’s production of metenkephalin and endorphins (your natural opioids), hence improving immune function.

Dr. Bert Berkson is an expert on this regimen. For more information about his findings and successes using this combination, please review this previous article. If you’re a member of my Inner Circle, you will have already received the full interview with Dr. Berkson on this topic.

Mercury detox – Mercury is clearly a neurotoxic poison that should be avoided, so avoiding eating fish and refusing or removing mercury dental amalgams are also important aspects. Many still do not realize that the majority of a “silver” filling is in fact mercury, and despite its obvious risks mercury fillings are still used in the field of dentistry.

We are making strong efforts to have mercury eliminated from dental practices in the U.S. and will hopefully succeed in that mission within the next few years. Until then, however, it’s up to you to choose a dentist that has the good sense not to use it.

Additionally, there are now a few new supplements to help eliminate mercury from your system. One in particular that appears to be very effective, developed by Dr. Boyd Haley, is called Oxidative Stress Reliever, or OSR for short.

Very Important to Address All Early Childhood Emotional Traumas

I also want to emphasize the emotional component of autoimmune disease.

Just as vitamin D deficiency seems to be present in most cases of autoimmune disease, there is also typically an emotional element involved.

More often than not, some form of hidden emotional wound can be found in patients suffering with autoimmune diseases like MS. Typically, this wounding occurred at a very young age, almost always before the age of seven; typically before the age of five.

At that age your consciousness is not yet well formed, and it’s easy to incur a serious emotional insult that would not have been nearly as devastating if you’d been a few years older.

Frequently, these emotional injuries result in physical damage decades later, and we’ve found that without effective intervention to address these underlying emotional injuries, you may not be able to get significantly better.

Strategies like meditation, prayer, and energy psychology techniques are particularly effective and need to be part of your overall treatment strategy in order to truly address the root of your illness.

By applying these principles and others available on this site, we’ve seen phenomenal results, and I’m confident that if you suffer from MS and apply them, you too will notice a dramatic improvement in your condition.