Even today, many lupus sufferers are told by medical experts that “diet doesn’t matter.” They are also told that “there is no cure for lupus.”
When it comes to diet, if what you eat is important when you’re healthy, then what you eat when you’re sick isn’t just important, it’s essential. So much so that it can make or break your health and quality of life.
Another falsehood is that lupus cannot be cured. As someone who has cured lupus, I disagree, and I am not the only one who is now lupus free. At a minimum, lupus symptoms can be greatly reduced with a significant return to a better quality of life if the right steps are taken. That starts with your diet.
Many in the scientific community say that at least 80 percent of your immune system is affected by your digestive tract. Therefore, it is the first line of defense that you must work with to control the symptoms of lupus.
One powerful way to aid your digestion is to ensure that your body has the ability to absorb and therefore utilize the nutrients in your food. Two sources that support this are digestive enzymes and probiotics.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms that work to support the microflora in your GI (gastrointestinal) tract. The word probiotics in Greek means ‘for life’.
One of its main functions is to support the digestion and processing of waste. (Now consider the term ‘antibiotics’ and its function). Probiotics are also commonly used to help prevent diarrhea by replacing healthy bacteria lost, often caused by antibiotic use. They nourish, rebuild and provide a protective barrier to the intestinal lining and restore the good bacteria in the gut.
What are digestive enzymes?
Enzymes are energized protein molecules necessary for all life. They convert the food we eat into the energy we use in our bodies.
Digestive enzymes interact and work synergistically with vitamins, minerals, water and other nutrients to perform vital functions and are not changed or consumed in the process. They are responsible for running all of the body’s functions, such as digestion, cell/tissue/organ repair, maintenance of bones, skin, muscles, and nerves, as well as energy production and brain stimulation. Without these, our bodies would not be able to sustain life.
Where does the body get enzymes?
The enzymes are secreted from the gastrointestinal tract and are found in raw foods.
Eating a diet rich in raw foods aids the digestive process and therefore reduces the body’s need to secrete its own. If your body has to rely on its own enzymes when you eat cooked and processed foods, your body and pancreas are put under more stress. Therefore, less energy is available for other important processes, such as rebuilding and replacing damaged cells and tissues, which can reduce the effectiveness of the immune system.
“The medical profession tells us that all disease is due to a lack or imbalance of enzymes. Our lives depend on them!”
Dr. Dickie Fuller
The consequences of incomplete digestion
When food molecules are not properly digested and broken down into their smallest form, the body can regard them as a foreign substance and attack, causing inflammatory conditions and immune sensitivity. This is similar to the autoimmune response in lupus, which can lead to symptoms like arthritis, not to mention food allergies, digestive problems, fatigue, muscle pain, heart disease, asthma, and migraines.
Studies have shown that for a number of chronic diseases, including lupus, arthritis, diabetes, allergies, skin conditions, immune deficiencies, cancer (and more), reduced levels of enzymes have been found.
The benefits of supplementing your body with digestive enzymes and probiotics are many and include:
- Increase nutrient absorption
- Promote the synthesis of vitamins.
- Inhibit disease-causing organisms
- improve digestion
- Prevent upset stomach and reduce constipation
- Improve resistance to allergies
- Helps eliminate toxins
- assimilate fats
- purify the blood
- Increase the activity of white blood cells
- Support the endocrine system (hormones in the body)
- Balance cholesterol and triglyceride levels
- remove yeast
- Increase energy levels
- Helps clean and dislodge accumulated cavities from the colon
- Helps kill viruses and parasites.
- Helps release energy from digestion for other essential healing functions
Healing lupus with healthy digestion
Many alternative health practitioners believe that all health problems are related in some way to the digestion process. In addition to eating easy-to-digest foods, you can benefit from supplementing your diet with digestive enzymes and probiotics.
Everything in your body depends on nutrition and its own absorption. It is useless to select highly nutritious foods if their nutrients are not fully absorbed. If you have digestive problems, it is also a good idea to consult a health specialist.
With plenty of healthy enzymes that ensure higher levels of digestion and absorption of your food, you’ll see a difference in your health. The potential for a cure for lupus through diet should not be overlooked, and I hope that physicians will take up the care of their patients with natural modalities for the treatment of lupus and other diseases in the future.