For anyone who might be interested in knowing more about what's happening with the food industry and how our access to natural supplements might be alterered in the future, read these links. My doctor had some info on the subject of Codex Alimentarius. It made me realize why groups of people are developing small communities where they can grow their own foods. How would this affect ours or our doctors ability to treat our chronic conditions?
Ally,
I am so glad to see you investigating and sharing your food discoveries with the group. I would really like to know how you are feeling? Are any of your food changes helping you in your quest to feel better with your lupus? Please share that part with us. I know that we would all like to know if there are things that are exaserbating your lupus or making them feel better.
You go get 'em my friend,
DeAnne
Ann,
We must be on a wave length. :') Here is a youtube lecture on the subject. She has a few others too....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTs408Nzl0A
Ally
Ann A. said:
Ally,
Interesting that you should post this today. I am completing a homework assignment that deals with the Codex Alimentarius. The Codex Alimentarius is definitely controversial. The controversies make it clear that food and nutrition policies are POLITICAL.
I have to read parts of the "food code." http://www.codexalimentarius.org/
Then I have to read what some of the people who support it have to say. Then I have to read what the critics have to say. My reading assignments look like a phone book. I want to crawl back into bed. But the sooner I read all of this stuff, the sooner I will finish.
Have a great day. And thanks for starting a discussion on the international food code. See you later.
DeAnne,
I've never been officially diagnosed with lupus. I had positive SS-A for sjogrens and possible lupus. I have FMS and CFS plus now am being tested for Lyme and some co-infections. My ANA keeps coming negative. They are all so overlapping, but all involve the immune system and inflamation. It doesn't matter if you have one or all, bottom line is to decrease the inflamation. My decrease in symptoms mainly came from dietary changes and decrease of the stress in my life. I hope I don't have lupus. I believe my mother had it since she had the rashes and all the other symptoms that go along with it, but I don't get rashes.
The Lord only knows what we all have been eating over the dedades and through the generations to cause all this autoimmune proliferation among so many.
I'd like to "go get em" lol
Ally
whathappensinvegas said:
Ally,
I am so glad to see you investigating and sharing your food discoveries with the group. I would really like to know how you are feeling? Are any of your food changes helping you in your quest to feel better with your lupus? Please share that part with us. I know that we would all like to know if there are things that are exaserbating your lupus or making them feel better.
You go get 'em my friend,
DeAnne
Ally,
I am so pleased that you are taking the bull by the horns as the saying goes. A member here (can't remember who) said "lupus never comes to the party alone". I truly hope you don't have lupus as well, but much of what you do suffer from is suffered by other with an "official" lupus dx. I really think you can share both good and bad experiences. I know I want to know how you feel...I care about you and want you to feel well.
You are strong, my friend,
DeAnne
Ann,
Well, if I had to go by the government's track record, I know exactly where I'd stand. Sometimes I picture the governing body like a cat in a giant litter box, covering up it's poo poo and pee pee as it goes along. After awhile you can't distinguish the pee from the poo.
Ally
Ann A. said:
Ally,
LOL - I have to read this telephone book before I can decide where I stand on the issue. I am usually willing to allow my opinion to be swayed by facts but in this case it is somewhat difficult to separate the facts from the opposing opinions.
This is what one of my professors has to say.
There are charges of misinformation being made by both sides. Honestly, it’s difficult to sift the gossip from the truth without reading through the Codex reports with the
assistance of a trade attorney. Our assessment is that this is a situation worth
monitoring.
So the topic is on my "keep monitoring" list.
Allergic said:
Ann,
We must be on a wave length. :') Here is a youtube lecture on the subject. She has a few others too....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTs408Nzl0A
Ally
Ann A. said:
Ally,
Interesting that you should post this today. I am completing a homework assignment that deals with the Codex Alimentarius. The Codex Alimentarius is definitely controversial. The controversies make it clear that food and nutrition policies are POLITICAL.
I have to read parts of the "food code." http://www.codexalimentarius.org/
Then I have to read what some of the people who support it have to say. Then I have to read what the critics have to say. My reading assignments look like a phone book. I want to crawl back into bed. But the sooner I read all of this stuff, the sooner I will finish.
Have a great day. And thanks for starting a discussion on the international food code. See you later.
Gee, would I say a thing like that? hee hee
Ann A. said:
Ally,
Are you suggesting that the governments which are supposed to be protecting us are full of people who really work for the global conglomerates which feed us foods that make us ill so that we can then give our money to big pharma?
Can you hear me really laughing our loud?
Allergic said:
Ann,
Well, if I had to go by the government's track record, I know exactly where I'd stand. Sometimes I picture the governing body like a cat in a giant litter box, covering up it's poo poo and pee pee as it goes along. After awhile you can't distinguish the pee from the poo.
Ally
Ann,
Yes, the glutamine incident. Well, I won't throw the baby out with the bath water. :') I should have told him about my sensitivity to msg and he should have asked. It will be a learning experience for both him and I.
You've gotten a handle on things over the years in a similar way as I. It's an ongoing process.
Ally
Ann A. said:
Dear Ally,
My dance card is definitely not as full as yours. I have only been dx with two autoimmune/chronic inflammatory conditions. If you count DLE and SLE as separate conditions then its three with the Hashimotos. I was dx with lupus 45-46 years ago. And I must admit that I feel much better now than I did two decades ago. it has been more than 20 years since these conditions have required that I visit an emergency room or be hospitalized.
One of the most important reasons for my increased well being is that after 20 years of trial and error I started doing a much better job of identifying and protecting myself from triggers. I am extremely photosensitive. I still have the remnants from a rash that started in June when I allowed sunlight to shine on my right wrist for 5-10 minutes total time. I went to my docs office and after my exam I washed my hands. I reapplied my sunscreen to every part of me that I thought would be exposed to the sun. Unfortunately, I did not apply it far enough above my right hand. And all it took was parking the car and walking into and out of Walmart and then into and out of Barnes and Nobles. When I couldn't get the rash to go away, I finally figured out that I need to protect myself from the florescent lights in the fitness center when I am on the treadmill. Other triggers for me include changes in barometric pressure and changes in altitude.
My docs refer to the lupus as "being under control." Occasionally, I get these small flare ups that require me to take extra special care of myself, but it has been long time (knock on wood) since I had a major flare. Not only have I not experienced any recent large scale flare ups but right now am not taking any lupus medications. For years I was taking Plaquenil to help me through the summer. But last year the side effects were so traumatic that my docs agreed with me when I decided to stop taking it.
Once I made it to a point in my life where I was not battling one flare after another, it was easier for me to pay attention to things that increase my over all feeling of well being. These include eating a nutrient dense whole foods diet, getting the right amount of the right kind of exercise, and really using the techniques that I learned for coping with stress over the years.
I have been stuck in the house for weeks, healing the ulcer that I caused by swallowing an ibuprofen (when I was dx the only FDA drug approved for lupus was aspirin. Then there was a brand new prescription drug called Motrin). My tummy needed to remind me that it would tolerate no NSAIDS. I got the message and threw the rest of them in the trash. But if God wills it and the creeks don't rise, I will be back on my regular schedule tomorrow.
I will be in the pool for my water aerobics class at 9. Then I will swim laps for half an hour. Then back to the treadmill. I am still gonna work on walking a 5K. This time, however, I am going take it slowly, very slowly. This exercise regimen really helps me cope with stress. I definitely have more energy when I get to the pool and the fitness center. But at this point in my life the symptom that i find most troubling is the fatigue. I want to have more energy. And that is why I am ready to Mind my Mitochondria.
The snow prevented UPS from delivering my book on Friday. When It comes I will let you know if Wahls' "intensive nutrition" anti-inflammatory approach is different in any significant way from what the other web docs promote. I am very glad your dietary changes have been beneficial to your health. I am also glad that you have found yourself an integrative physician who practices functional medicine - even with the glutamine incident LOL.
"Be Weller"
Allergic said:
DeAnne,
I've never been officially diagnosed with lupus. I had positive SS-A for sjogrens and possible lupus. I have FMS and CFS plus now am being tested for Lyme and some co-infections. My ANA keeps coming negative. They are all so overlapping, but all involve the immune system and inflamation. It doesn't matter if you have one or all, bottom line is to decrease the inflamation. My decrease in symptoms mainly came from dietary changes and decrease of the stress in my life. I hope I don't have lupus. I believe my mother had it since she had the rashes and all the other symptoms that go along with it, but I don't get rashes.
Thanks, I'll like perusing that website, interesting. Yes, you do have to know the opposing opinion well before you decide what you really think. How else would you know?
Ann A. said:
http://www.westonaprice.org/
Well, if you would say something like that you might enjoy the articles and videos on the Weston Price website. Weston Price is a rallying place for those who promote what are termed "traditional" diets. This viewpoint is at the opposite end of the spectrum from "conventional" approach represented by the USDA and AND. This means that you might still find the site interesting even if you wouldn't. Isn't there an old adage that says you have spend time studying the opinions of those with whom you disagree in order to be clear on exactly what it is with which you disagree. Dang that is a twisty sentence.
Allergic said:
Gee, would I say a thing like that? hee hee
Ally,
Just to add a note, I have never had a positive ANA, mine was confirmed through kidney biopsy. Just a thought, sweetie,
DeAnne
Allergic said:
DeAnne,
I've never been officially diagnosed with lupus. I had positive SS-A for sjogrens and possible lupus. I have FMS and CFS plus now am being tested for Lyme and some co-infections. My ANA keeps coming negative. They are all so overlapping, but all involve the immune system and inflamation. It doesn't matter if you have one or all, bottom line is to decrease the inflamation. My decrease in symptoms mainly came from dietary changes and decrease of the stress in my life. I hope I don't have lupus. I believe my mother had it since she had the rashes and all the other symptoms that go along with it, but I don't get rashes.
The Lord only knows what we all have been eating over the dedades and through the generations to cause all this autoimmune proliferation among so many.
I'd like to "go get em" lol
Ally
whathappensinvegas said:
Ally,
I am so glad to see you investigating and sharing your food discoveries with the group. I would really like to know how you are feeling? Are any of your food changes helping you in your quest to feel better with your lupus? Please share that part with us. I know that we would all like to know if there are things that are exaserbating your lupus or making them feel better.
You go get 'em my friend,
DeAnne
DeAnne,
Yea, I don't rule it out at all. Doctors are hung up on the lab tests, and antibodies can be very elusive. This I know. I had a positive SS-A and the rheumy still blows me off about that. That's why I like my integrative MD, at least he keeps exploring and doesn't give up. Thanks, Ally
whathappensinvegas said:
Ally,
Just to add a note, I have never had a positive ANA, mine was confirmed through kidney biopsy. Just a thought, sweetie,
DeAnne
Allergic said:
DeAnne,
I've never been officially diagnosed with lupus. I had positive SS-A for sjogrens and possible lupus. I have FMS and CFS plus now am being tested for Lyme and some co-infections. My ANA keeps coming negative. They are all so overlapping, but all involve the immune system and inflamation. It doesn't matter if you have one or all, bottom line is to decrease the inflamation. My decrease in symptoms mainly came from dietary changes and decrease of the stress in my life. I hope I don't have lupus. I believe my mother had it since she had the rashes and all the other symptoms that go along with it, but I don't get rashes.
The Lord only knows what we all have been eating over the dedades and through the generations to cause all this autoimmune proliferation among so many.
I'd like to "go get em" lol
Ally
whathappensinvegas said:
Ally,
I am so glad to see you investigating and sharing your food discoveries with the group. I would really like to know how you are feeling? Are any of your food changes helping you in your quest to feel better with your lupus? Please share that part with us. I know that we would all like to know if there are things that are exaserbating your lupus or making them feel better.
You go get 'em my friend,
DeAnne
Ann,
My ANA was negative more than once, but who knows? I had a positive SS-A, and then since it's come up negative twice. Sometimes I wonder about the labs themselves. One of my old gyn's told me that she can't even rely on laboratory results anymore since they are "corrupt and inaccurate." That was her opinion and she was always a straight shooter. Sometimes ya just don't have an answers with these things.
Ally
That's interesting. I have never rashed up at all. That's the thing with the autoimmune conditions, they fluctuate so much. I realized that the first time I attended a lupus support group and heard each person tell how they had the symptoms but it took them more than a year to "catch" the antibodies on a lab test. I guess maintenance is the best way to go.
Ann,
My sister has vitiligo and also went through two years of fighting mold toxicity. Her attitude is this, "we are our own best advisors when it comes to our health" , and I have to agree. It's common sense, if something doesn't agree with you or makes you feel bad, you just stay away from it. Your body is telling you something. And, yes, we are all different, God made us that way.
Ann A. said:
Ally,
You know how much I love the concept of "biochemical individuality." We are each similar in someways but in other ways unique. That is why each of us must pay attention to our own bodies and our own experiences. We must each figure out what triggers our flares and what brings us relief. According to the Lupus Foundation of American 2/3 of people with lupus are photosensitive. I am in that 2/3. The first time that I ever rashed up was after a day playing in the Pacific surf and sunbathing. But that was after I had already been diagnosed through biopsy of the lesions in my ears. Took me a couple of trips to the beach to really get it. Once I got it I left Southern California and moved to Chicago so that I would not have to put so much energy into hiding from the Sun.
It took other experiences to understand how I respond to changes in barometric pressure and high altitudes. There are cities in the U.S to which I will not travel. When I visit certain states, Arizona being one of them, my friends who live in the high places have to come down and meet me in the valley.