正文
拜读了Dr. Susan Blum's
,
特此推荐给受自身免疫性疾病困扰的朋友。
Dr. Susan Blum, a board-certified physician in preventive medicine and an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, also the founder of Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, New York. She herself suffered from hypothyroidism and successfully treats it by following the revolutionary program described in this book.
Let’s go to Dr. Susan Blum’s story first:
Let’s go to Dr. Susan Blum’s story first:
“A decade ago when a friend asked me why my hands were so yellow. I actually hadn’t noticed this before, but she was right, so I immediately had blood work done to find out why. “You have hypothyroidism,” my doctor told me after the lab results came back. Me? A thyroid problem ? I couldn’t believe it. Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone. This hormone is necessary to help the body convert
beta-carotene , a nutrient found in yellow and orange fruits and vegetables,
into vitamin A. Because this conversion wasn’t happening, all the beta-carotene from my healthful diet wasn’t being properly processed. Instead, these nutrients were building up in my body, and one symptom of this was my yellow hands. In retrospect, I realized that this wasn’t the only one. Another was the fact that I had to work really hard to keep from gaining weight, and a third was that I was often very tired. But at the time I didn’t realize these were
signs of a problem. They had been part of my life for so long that I considered
them “normal.”
beta-carotene , a nutrient found in yellow and orange fruits and vegetables,
into vitamin A. Because this conversion wasn’t happening, all the beta-carotene from my healthful diet wasn’t being properly processed. Instead, these nutrients were building up in my body, and one symptom of this was my yellow hands. In retrospect, I realized that this wasn’t the only one. Another was the fact that I had to work really hard to keep from gaining weight, and a third was that I was often very tired. But at the time I didn’t realize these were
signs of a problem. They had been part of my life for so long that I considered
them “normal.”
Further testing revealed even more bad news. I had an autoimmune disease called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. In other words, my immune system, which is normally the body’s defense in the daily battle against infection and invaders, was no longer protecting or defending me. In fact, my immune cells had turned against my thyroid, attacking it and damaging it to the point where it was struggling unsuccessfully to make enough thyroid hormone. I was shocked. But my primary care physician just shrugged off this upsetting news. “It’s no big deal,” he said. “You’ll just take thyroid hormone replacement medication and be fine.” No big deal? Maybe not to him, but my intuition told me something wasn’t right. My body was out of balance, and I wanted answers. To understand my illness, I decided to use it as an opportunity to explore all that traditional and nontraditional medicine had to offer me. I didn’t want to take a pill that would only mask the problem and just manage my symptoms. I wanted to know why those symptoms were there in the first place.
As a result, I discovered that because of a genetic predisposition, I’m at high risk for autoimmune diseases. I also learned that my body has trouble removing mercury from my system. (Mercury is a toxin that’s damaging to tissue in our bodies and a potential cause of autoimmune diseases.) I went on a gluten-free diet and reduced my mercury exposure by no longer eating fish high in this heavy metal (such as tuna, swordfish, eel, and striped bass), and over the course of two years I had my many dental amalgam fillings removed. I began to drink protein shakes that reduce inflammation and enhance the function of the liver. (Since the liver is the body’s main detoxifying organ, this helps it clear mercury and other toxins from the body.) Two years after I learned I had Hashimoto’s and started the journey to treat my autoimmune disease using functional medicine, my antibody levels were normal and my disease was cured. I had great energy and my weight was easy to maintain.
My health journey has taught me what my body needs, how to ask, and how to listen. Reversing a chronic disease takes time and effort, but it can be done. My story is proof of that. I did it for myself and made the professional decision to help other people living with autoimmune diseases do it, too.
The four steps to healing and preventing autoimmune disease are:
• Step 1:Using food as medicine
• Step 2:Understanding the stress connection
• Step 3:Healing your gut
• Step 4:Supporting your liver
The book, The Immune System Recovery Plan, is divided into four parts, corresponding to the four steps.”
Dr. Blum summarizes the method and theory she applied to treat herself is Functional Medicine, 功能医学－－－西医的新分支学科. Functional medicine is an approach that considers the whole person, not just his or her symptoms, by treating these root causes of the disease, supporting the body’s optimal functioning through diet and lifestyle, and give back yourself the gift of health and well-being. 这和中医的整体辨证疗法，治病应治根的理念异曲同工，不谋而合。
A functional medicine expert is like a medical detective gathering all the clues of your past (where you grew up, your family situation, traumatic events, health history, etc.) and your present (potential toxins in your environment, social life, stress level, relationships, diet, workout regimen, sleep habits, symptoms, etc.). Armed with this information, a functional medicine expert tries to uncover how and why your body is not functioning well.
A functional medicine expert is like a medical detective gathering all the clues of your past (where you grew up, your family situation, traumatic events, health history, etc.) and your present (potential toxins in your environment, social life, stress level, relationships, diet, workout regimen, sleep habits, symptoms, etc.). Armed with this information, a functional medicine expert tries to uncover how and why your body is not functioning well.
Dr. Blum finally points out the root cause of the autoimmune diseases:
“More people today than ever before have autoimmune diseases, and this epidemic is partially the result of an environment that bombards us with toxic food, stress, chemicals, and heavy metals. And while we cannot live in a bubble, we can protect our health by becoming more aware and changing what comes into our homes, into our families, and into our bodies. Every single one of us has both a choice and a responsibility to care for ourselves. What’s most important to know is that we do have control over what happens to us. Yes, being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease is something to take seriously. But it is not a life sentence and should not be treated as one. You don’t have to live in pain or take debilitating medication for the rest of your life. You can heal your own immune system. I know this not only because I’ve experienced this with many of my patients but also because I have lived it.”
一句话“防病重于治病” Pay attention to your diet and start from your grocery shopping lists.
哇，Menmei仙侠光临寒舍，蓬荜生辉.
欣赏您睿智的美文 和独到的健康养生覌。
愿您新的一年幸福，平安，快乐。
In fact, it is becoming more difficult to maintain a healthy body in today world due to various reasons like environmental toxins, toxic/GMO food, life stress, plus abuse of medicines like antibiotics, vaccines.
Human body is a most marvelous machine in the world, we need respect the machine: feed the healthy food, but not over feed; make sure food flow through it smoothly; don't over stress it; give the machine enough break, it will repair itself with its own pace.
My experience: I had over fifteen plus years pollen allergy which is also considered as an auto-immune disease, there is no way to cure from western medicine perspective. Three years ago, I started meditation (禅坐) for curiosity. After two years, I found that my allergy is totally gone. Plus I feel that my 精，气，神 is in my peak state in my life.
To maintain health, we need to learn from our 老祖宗!