(NaturalNews) When emergency medicine professor George Jelinek was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 45, he was told the disease was progressive and incurable. He had reason to believe it; he had seen his own mother suffer from the disease until she needed a wheelchair to get around, until, eventually, she took her own life.
But, rather than accepting the diagnosis, Jelinek dived into researching what the scientific evidence actually said about MS. To his shock, he discovered that a rigorous program of lifestyle changes could halt and even reverse the progress of the disease.
Seventeen years later, he says he has “‘no symptoms — I’m perfectly well.”
“I’m actually fitter and healthier than I have been at any time in my life,” said Jelinek, who runs and swims regularly.
Numerous studies have since backed Jelinek’s program up, which is explained in detail in his book, Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis: An Evidence Based Guide to Recovery.
Lifestyle change cures ‘incurable’ disease
MS occurs when the immune system attacks the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells, causing a slowing of the nerve signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The disease is characterized by a wide range of neurological symptoms, including muscle stiffness and spasms, and loss of control over bodily functions. Although the disease itself is rarely fatal, it can lead to complications – such as infections – that can be deadly.
The doctor who diagnosed Jelinek repeated the conventional wisdom: there is no way to prevent the progression of MS.
“It was, ‘Look, buddy, I’ve got terrible news. You’ve got this incurable progressive neurological disease and there’s nothing you can do about it’,” Jelinek recalled.
But Jelinek did not take his doctor’s word for it. Instead, he began to pore over the medical research, uncovering obscure and overlooked studies from as far back as the 1930s. He also formed an international network of MS patients that has now grown to 16,000.
Based on his research, Jelinek put together a program of lifestyle changes backed by the evidence. He decided to test the program on himself, and promoted it to the members of his MS community.
“It took years for the symptoms to disappear,” he said. “It was gradual, but seven years after diagnosis I realised I no longer had them.”
“And we have found age doesn’t matter, nor does it matter how disabled you are — it’s possible to stabilise the illness at any stage.”
Five simple steps
The five components of Jelinek’s program are:
1. Diet. The program calls for patients to stop eating meat, dairy and any foods high in saturated fat, and to instead eat a plant-based diet supplemented with seafood and an extra 20–40 mL of omega-3s per day, preferably in the form of flaxseed oil. Supplementation with B-vitamins may also be needed for some patients.
2. Exercise. Patients should be sure to get 20–30 minutes of exercise per day, five days per week, preferably outdoors.
3. Sunlight/Vitamin D. Light-skinned patients should get 15 minutes of sunlight (without sunscreen) five times a week; darker-skinned patients may need more. Patients should also take a vitamin D supplement of 5,000–10,000 IU daily, as needed to bring blood levels up to 150–225nmol/L.
4. Meditation. Patients should meditate for 30 minutes per day. Like all the other components of the plan, the benefits of meditation have been proven through numerous scientific studies.
5. Medication. In contrast with conventional MS treatments, Jelinek’s plan saves pharmaceuticals for a last resort. The plan cautions patients and doctors to weigh the benefits of drugs against the side effects, and to use them only in serious cases. For such cases, however, the plan calls for careful adherence to prescribed medication.
The program is also recommended for close relatives of MS patients, who are at elevated risk of developing the disease. Following the program may actually help prevent the disease in the first place.
Of course, these steps can benefit everyone, not just those seeking to treat or prevent MS. And a great way to boost your diet is with superfoods such as clean, organic chlorella.
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