Archive for April, 2010

Last week, we began a series on the subject How We Contribute to Our Own Physical Problems. We learned that in Genesis 1:29 God told man what he should eat in order to be properly nourished and that most physical problems experienced today are because man has deviated from that original God given diet. Here is how we concluded Health Tip #648:

Sickness Results When Man Leaves Garden Foods

So, what are those substances that cause our physical and emotional problems today, and when eliminated have made it possible for tens-of-thousands to recover from these same problems? I’ll name the single most dangerous and destructive substance first:

Animal Source Foods (Number One Cause of Sickness)

Abundant research and the testimonies from tens of thousands who have written me over the past 18-years reveal animal sourced foods are the single most dangerous and destructive substances we can place into our physical bodies and are the cause or contributing cause of most of the physical problems being experienced today.

Following is just a partial list of the physical problems being experienced today that are caused by the consuming of animal sourced foods: heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), diverticulosis, diverticulitis, crones disease, colitis, ulcerative colitis, cancer (colon, prostate, breast and more), diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, heartburn, acid stomach, gout, and the list goes on and on.

There are four primary reasons animal sourced foods cause the above listed problems: (1) Animal sourced foods are dangerously high in fat content; (2) are highly acidic; (3) dangerously high in protein; and (4) putrefy in the intestinal tract.

Animal Fat Causes Clogged Arteries, Heart Attacks and Strokes

In Health Tip #648 we learned that it is the fat in animal source foods that are the primary cause of high blood pressure, clogged arteries, heart attacks and strokes. We also learned that by simply removing animal source foods from our diet we can almost always eliminate any fear of high blood pressure, clogged arteries, heart attacks and strokes.

In Health Tip #648 we also learned that drugs, stents and bypasses are incapable of stopping this build up of fat in the arteries, the cause of these problems, if we continue to consume animal sourced foods.

The likelihood of a person who never consumes animal sourced foods ever suffering with high blood pressure, a heart attack, stroke or clogged arteries is almost zero. Yet almost everyone who consumes animal sourced foods has some degree of narrowing of their arteries coming from the fat contained in those animal sourced foods they consume. In fact, in vegan groups around the world, heart attacks, strokes, clogged arteries, and high blood pressure are almost unknown.

Acid in Animal Foods Cause Acid Stomach, Osteoporosis & More

In this Health Tip we want to deal with all the acid found in animal source foods:

Multiple millions of people around the world suffer with GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease), commonly called acid reflux and/or heartburn. These people suffer daily with pain and discomfort which often affects their quality of life. For many, this suffering has made their life so miserable some have told me they wanted to die.

When a person goes to a doctor suffering with GERD or acid stomach or heartburn what does a doctor usually prescribe for these conditions? Is it not prescription drugs such as Pepsid, Protonix, Nexium, Zantax or another antacid drug? Or perhaps in milder cases it is an over the counter drug like Tums or Rolaids.

Do these antacid drugs ever cure the problem or rather do these drugs simply suppress the symptom, while the problem continues and often worsens, leading to new problems developing, which often lead to not only more suffering, additional drugs, but sometimes even surgeries?

The Tragic Story of Cathy’s Experience with Antacids

Let me share with you the true story of a young mother by the name of Cathy, who came to me recently for help. She had been treated for a year and a half for what the doctor initially thought was an acid stomach problem.

In the December 2008, experiencing stomach pain, Cathy goes to her doctor. Not running any tests to determine what was causing her stomach pain, the doctor prescribes Protonix, a drug designed to “manage erosive acid reflux”. Not long after starting to take this drug, she developed a rash on her hands.

Some of the potential adverse reactions listed in the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) for Protonix include allergic reactions, rash, constipation, depression, vertigo, etc.

In May 2009, still suffering with stomach pain her doctor sends her to a gastroenterologist who once again runs no tests to ascertain the cause of her stomach pain, stops the Protonix and prescribes another antacid drug: Nexium.  The normally prescribed dosage of Nexium is 20mg daily, but this doctor tells her to take 80mg daily. Following are some of the potential adverse side effects listed in the PDR for Nexium: abdominal pain, diarrhea and headaches, along with numerous others.

Her stomach pain intensified, so has an endoscopy. The endoscopy shows no significant problem and the doctor tells her to continue taking 80mg of Nexium daily, a drug remember that at 20mg daily has a potential adverse side effect of abdominal pain.

In June 2009, after experiencing rapid weight loss and severe lower stomach pain she stops the Nexium on her own.

In October 2009 Cathy is admitted into the hospital for suspected intestinal blockage. A CT scan and colonoscopy revealed multiple fistulas. Because fistulas are associated with Crohn’s disease, she was diagnosed as having Crohn’s, and prescribed the prescription drugs Flagyl and Cipro, antibacterial drugs “formulated to chemically suppress Crohn’s symptoms”.

Flagyl is designed to “reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria and only to be used to treat or prevent infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused by bacteria.” The list of potential adverse side effects from this drug in the PDR is long and scary, and there “have been some reports of breast and colon cancer developing in Crohn’s disease patients who have been treated with Flagyl”.

Cipro is an antibiotic with another long list of potential side effects including: “nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headaches, rash,” etc. In fact, the potential adverse side effects from this drug cover a whole page.

In November 2009 her doctor sends her to an urologist who orders a cystoscopy. The cystoscopy revealed a fistula near the bladder and told her she needed to immediately see a surgeon for surgical removal of the fistula. The surgeon not only tells her she needs to have immediate surgery, but also prescribed a new drug, Humira. She refused the surgery but did start taking the prescription drug Humira.

Humira is used to “reduce the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease . . . . and prescribed for those who have not responded well to conventional drug treatment”. Of this drug we learn from the PDR the following: “Patients treated with Humira are at increased risk for developing serious infections that may lead to hospitalization or death. Serious infections have happened in patients taking Humira…Some have died from these infections. Humira may also increase the chance of getting lymphoma or other cancers… hepatitis B, blood problems, heart failure, and new or worsening psoriasis.”

On April 1, 2010, due to continuing pain and deteriorating health, and after being under a doctor’s care and doing everything the doctors had told her to do for over a year (except for the surgery which she refused), and after spending tens of thousands of dollars, Cathy decided to take her health into her own hands, by stopping all doctoring and drugs.

The first thing Cathy chose to do after stopping all drugs and doctoring, in a desperate effort to improve her health, was simply change what she had been eating and start exercising. Stay tuned – and please pray for Cathy as she attempts to undo the damage done by all those drugs! Cathy’s husband has joined her in this diet and lifestyle change, and is doing all he can to help and encourage her.

No Improvement in Health Care Methods or Results In 2,000 Years

Cathy’s experience going the medical route with her stomach pain is a classic example of what this editor has been saying for a long, long time – “That there has been no improvement in the way physical problems have been dealt with by the medical community for the past 2,000 years or the results obtained, in spite of all the money that has been poured into so-called health care, especially in recent years.”

Following is what the Bible says were the results of going the medical route with a physical problem 2,000 years ago, and as you read it, see if you can detect any improvement in the results people obtain going the medical route then, compared with the results people obtain going the medical route for physical problems today.

“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” (Mark 5:25-26)

Isn’t it amazing how what was written in the Bible 2,000 years ago concerning the experience a women had going the medical route for a physical problem in Bible days, so accurately describes the results Cathy obtained going the medical route for her physical problems this past year!

Is There A Better Way to Deal with Stomach Pain than Antacids

Stomach pain can have numerous causes, but one of the big causes of stomach pain is too much stomach acid being produced after years of consuming animal source proteins and then the antacids taken in an attempt to neutralize that excess acidity. All animal source foods are high in protein, require a very acidic stomach environment for digestion, and leave an acid ash upon digestion that negatively impacts the blood’s alkaline pH.

As the body starts to experiencing discomfort as it reacts to this excess acid, people start trying to reduce or eliminate the discomfort by taking a prescription or over the counter antacid drug.  Do these antacid drugs correct the problem; or rather do they simply suppress the symptom while often exacerbating the problem?

Here is something a lot of people don’t understand about stomach acidity: The stomach environment must be highly acidic in order to properly digest protein, but excess acidity in the stomach will cause problems. Now while most of the body requires an alkaline environment in order to sustain optimal health, the stomach requires a highly acid environment in order to properly digest a meal that is high in animal protein.

When a person takes an alkalizing antacid in an effort to neutralize the large amounts of acid being produced to digest the animal products, it often over compensates by overly neutralizing the stomachs acidity, making it impossible for the body to properly digest foods. This lack of sufficient acidity causes more stomach pain and additional problems because now the stomach cannot properly digest foods.

Next Week: We’ll talk more about pH levels and their effect on the body.