Salt and Autoimmunity

Melinda wrote: Sandi go to penzeys.com and check out the spices - also sign up to receive the catalog at home, lots of times on the catalog there is a coupon for something free [probably can get whatever it is free on a mail or email order]. Mural of Flavor is good, I like Northwoods Fire but it does have coarse flake salt in it. Their cinnamons are good. I just love going into their store and looking at the spices and I don't even like to cook.

There's a Penzey's (I think it might be the original one) a block from my house. I have a spice drawer full of their seasonings--they're great!

The Penzey's catalog is wonderful all by itself. Feature articles, pictures, recipes, I always looked forward to it.

There are a couple things I like to take in hand, sit and read, not read online - Penzeys catalog and Neurology Now.

Hey Sandi,

Just checking in. Saw this thread and it made me smile. Salt? I have a little hypertension so we don't use much salt when we cook. And that's the key. We cook and NEVER eat processed food. Not even tomato sauce from a jar.

Go crazy and try homeopathy. I dare you. Double dare.

Doing great! Wish you all the best.

Cheers,

John

The trigger of what causes ITP is still elusive. Researchers know oxidative stress, caused by free radicals, plays a role in many autoimmune disorders. This study of children and adolescents looked at a possible direct link between platelets in ITP and oxidative stress. Researchers assessed oxidant–antioxidant systems and evaluated effect of antioxidant therapy on platelet count (PC) and bleeding score (BS) in ITP patients. In the six-month prospective, randomized double blind study 39 patients were newly diagnosed with ITP (ND), Group 1 (G1), and 39 patients had chronic ITP, Group 2 (G2). Both groups were compared with 39 healthy controls. Half of each group, G1A and G2A, each received daily antioxidant therapy, while Groups G1B and G2B received placebo. Key primary endpoints were the difference in change from baseline to six months in ITP-specific bleeding assessment and total antioxidant capacity (TAC).

Results showed TAC was significantly lower in newly diagnosed ITP patients compared to chronic ITP patients. Both groups showed lower levels than the healthy controls. At the end of the study both BS and PC improved a great deal in patients who received antioxidant compared to placebo. Researchers concluded there were reduced antioxidant mechanisms in ITP patients. Antioxidant therapy reduced the oxidative stress in both the newly diagnosed and chronic ITP patients. Some well-known antioxidants include Vitamins A, C, and E. Eating an anti-inflammatory diet also helps reduce oxidative stress.

Elalfy MS, Elhenaway YI, Deifalla S, et al. “Oxidant/antioxidant status in children and adolescents with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and the role of an adjuvant antioxidant therapy.” Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015, Feb 7: doi: 10.1002/pbc.25434 [Epub ahead of print]
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25663642
informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/09537104.2011.610909

John:

Double dare, eh? That is one thing I don't think I could bring myself to do, at least not at this point.

Good for you with the salt!

Hey Sandi,

I get it. I've been there. Years ago my sister was doing homeopathy and I thought how does this stuff work? She was treating her young children for ear infections (instead of using antibiotics if at all possible). Many times she would wake up in the middle of the night and have to deal with a problem. Well she would go to the medicine cabinet and get out one of her homeopathic remedies (I think there are more than one to choose from for ear infections). She played around with it a bit but on the whole it seemed to work. No trotting off to the doctor and having to get an antibiotic prescription which the patient is now forced to take for a minimum 5 or 10 days, whatever is prescribed. And not to mention the increasingly known fact that antibiotics have a nasty habit of screwing up your gut flora (called side-effect). So the skeptic in me never tried it for my kids. Why? There was no possible reason not to try it. It was an attitude/ bias I had that said this is quacky.

So now here I was back in my ITP hole, deep in this hole. I was really scared that I would be forced to take Rituxan, which is, call it for what it is, a cancer drug. And I thought, why am I not trying homeopathy? I've tried just about everything else. I was fortunate that I work with someone experienced with ITP patients and she nailed it on the first shot. The rest is history.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Best wishes,

john

John
I am intrigued by homeopathy. It suits my mind/body/spirit philosophy. My hold back has been trying to figure out how one goes about finding someone who actually knows what they are doing. How did you investigate and find such a practitioner? Can it be done long distance, ie could I use your local practitioner? I also wanted to try reiki, but again, I have not figured out how to separate the experienced from the rest.

I look forward to your insights.
Emily

Hi Emily,

I worked with April Bowen who is a poster here under the avatar "april".

Here is a comment from her made some time ago (post #17457).

pdsa.org/forum-sp-534/8-natural-treatment-methods/16325-treating-itp-through-diet.html?start=30

She is in California and I am in Canada. We worked it out via email and telecon. GL.

cheers,

john

John
Thank you. It looks like she is no longer on the board but i will try and google her. From your posts years ago it looked like you made dietary changes and used reiki. I did not see any other treatments once you got off the prednisone. When i have talked to homeopathic practitioners they have these little balls of "medicine" that you are supposed to take. I have not taken them since I have not trusted anyone!
Emily