Yes!! I Found a Book to Help Autoimmune Sufferers

[Annesse]

Hi farmgirl~He uses the term "damaged", so maybe that is not quite as bad as destroyed. If the pancreas is not able to produce enough enzymes to produce insulin or digest food properly, then the disease manifestations could be so varied that we may not even associate them with the pancreas. For instance, studies show that MS patients lack phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that is derived from "high protein foods". Protease break down high protein foods and release essential amino acids. Phenylalanine is needed to produce dopamine. Here are some of the symptoms of dopamine deficiency.

• Stiff, rigid, achy muscles
• Cognitive impairment
• Impaired motor skills
• Tremors
• Inability to focus attention
• Poor balance and coordination
• Strange walking pattern (gait), frequently with small steps

These are all symptoms found in MS, but a person with MS would most likely never consider that these symptoms originated with a lack of protease.

Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is also common in Celiac disease, and yet most CD patients most likely don't have many of the symptoms you mentioned. (Gluten is a protein and protease are needed to digest proteins). This would also explain the connections CD has to diabetes. Here is some information on this from a future edition of our book.

"Direct evidence of the involvement of the pancreas can also be found in CD. In the study entitled “Is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in adult coeliac disease a cause of persisting symptoms” researchers concluded, “Low faecal elastase is common in patients with coeliac disease and chronic diarrhoea, suggesting exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.”

In an additional study entitled “Pancreatic endocrine and exocrine changes in celiac disease,” researchers concluded, “In summary the endocrine and exocrine function of the pancreas may be impaired in celiac disease and their pathogenesis may be closely linked."
The impairment of the pancreatic endocrine function in CD, which is responsible for insulin release, would explain the connection CD has to diabetes. Type I diabetes occurs at a rate of about 0.5% in the general population, but at a rate estimated at 5-10% among celiacs."

[Annesse]

Hi farmgirl~One more thing I just thought of. The lack of DNase1 has been determined to be a "causative" factor of lupus, which I had. And yet, it took me 10 years to make a connection to one of my symptoms (the facial rash) and my GI tract. I wasn't experiencing any of the symptoms you mentioned to any degree that would have make me think my lupus originated in my pancreas. It's weird ,I know, but that is why the researchers use the term "subclinical".

[jenny2008]

Annesse..thanks for replying.. i have your book.. i am trying to understand... so basically when i eat protein i am harming myself unless i eat something fermented with it? does apple cider vinegar help??? i just wish there was more of a clear cut diet to follow..

also did your dryness go away with your eyes after eating like this? how long did it take??

[jenny2008]

Annesse.. can you just briefly describe a typical day of eating on your diet..?? and again how long before we would start to see changes in the dryness.? i know everyone is different but based on your findings??

[Annesse]

Hi Jenny~The healing portion is one-third of the book, so really it is not just about what you eat, but what you don't eat as well. Also, it is important to remember that many things can destroy these enzymes. I know what you mean about a set diet plan. Yvonne Kenney, the founder of the Fibromyalgia Coalition International is planning on writing an entire book devoted to menus etc. that replace these enzymes, since she is convinced the lack of these enzymes is the cause of fibromylalgia and CFS. My daughter and I are still in "research" mode, making additional connections in cancer, CD etc, back to these enzymes, so we have not devoted much attention to a menu plan. I am really worried about oversimplfying the healing process. You will only get out of this what you invest. It will take a different approach than most people are used to.

My best advice to you would be to join a support group that is doing the diet etc.There are several that we are aware of. One has about 140 members, but as the members get well, they move on with their lives and don't post as often. One is on Daily Strength. It is called "Curing Autoimmune and Mimics." I did not start the group, so I have no control over content etc. If you go back through the posts, you will get a good idea of their healing journey, how they sourced the foods etc. (You can just Google the title of the group and it will come up.)

A more recent group just started on Facebook. They have about 40 members and came from a CFS forum called Phoenix Rising. Again, I have no control over the content. If you would like, I can send you a link. I am not sure what the group is called off the top of my head.

[Annesse]

Here are a few additional studies on the involvement of the exocrine pancreatic function in Sjogren's. The first study found "exocrine pancreatic impairment" in 63% of the patients tested. I think the 2nd study is important because it brings out the fact that the symptoms related to pancreatic involvement in Sjogrens were a "mild and intermittent abdominal pain."

Exocrine pancreatic function in Sjögren's syndrome.
Coll J, Navarro S, Tomas R, Elena M, Martinez E.
SourceInternal Medicine Service, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract
Pancreatic function testing was carried out in 19 patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) (nine primary type, ten secondary) by the N-benzoyl-tyrosil-p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) test, serum immunoreactive trypsin (IRT) levels, and stool fat measurements to evaluate the incidence and type of exocrine pancreatic alterations in this disease. Exocrine pancreatic impairment was found to be present in 63% of the patients. Three types of secretory patterns were observed: (1) normal PABA test results and normal IRT levels (37% [7/19] of the patients); (2) normal PABA test results and elevated IRT levels (42% [8/19]; and (3) low PABA test results and elevated IRT levels (21% [4/19]), including two patients with steatorrhea. Functional pancreatic impairment tended to be more severe in patients with longer disease duration and it was related to the degree of alteration of salivary flow but not to labial salivary gland histologic changes or the type of SS. Inasmuch as hypertrypsinemia was the common marker of pancreatic dysfunction in all patients, we suggest a periodic measurement of serum IRT levels in the follow-up of patients with SS to detect early stages of pancreatic involvement."

Here is a link to the 2nd study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8568334

The exocrine pancreas is where DNase1 and protease are synthesized, so this is a strong indication they are lacking in Sjogrens. The first study I orignally posted states there was a significant decrease in exocrine enzymes in Sjogrens patients.

[jenny2008]

thanks for the support groups u mentioned..if u could send me a link that would be great!

[Annesse]

Sure thing jenny~I also can give you my diet for today. I guess it is pretty typical.

Breakfast~organic coffee raw milk latte with about a TBS. of honey. I put a TBS. of honey (honey needs to be raw and organic) in a cup and pour a shot of hot espresso over it to blend the honey. I crush about 1/3 cup of ice in a blender and add 1/3 cup of pastured raw milk, then pour in the shot of expresso and honey. Blend in a blender. It is pretty amazing. I have had people say it tastes like a liquid candy bar.

About an hour later- peach kefir smoothie. (crushed ice in blender, about 1/12 cups homemade kefir, 2 organic peaches, honey to taste, shot of organic vanilla extract and blend) Delicious! Didn't get very much because my son and his girlfriend came over just as I was finished making it.

Just came in from garden and picked some strawberries and raspberries to freeze for winter fruit kefir smoothies.
I'll update you as the day progresses.

[jenny2008]

thank you very much.. do you or did you have dry eye??? before the diet?

[Annesse]

Yes, I did have dry eye. I was also bedridden for quite some time. We are getting more and more feedback all the time on how replacing these enzymes is helping people with these diseases. Most of the original Amazon reviews on the book came from the Daily Strength group when it was first formed. Since that time they are just back living their lives. Some of these people were really sick though. I think it is also important to understand that taking nutrients into your body that you are unable to metabolize is a very bad idea. That is one reason I posted the link to the cancer site I made some posts on. Cancer cells are using the dysregulated iron in autoimmune disease to divide and proliferate. That is just one example. So, it really is just more than diet. A good understanding of the disease process is pretty important as well.

I just had half a cantaloupe from the garden. I'll snack on soaked and oven dried pumkin seeds if I get hungry. They are from our garden pumpkins. Also, picked some cukes and will be making some fermented pickles this afternoon.
Dinner will be Shepard's pie and garden broccoli. I will try and post the recipe for the pie. And of course,something fermented like pickles or sauerkraut.

[Annesse]

Here is a link to the Shepard's Pie recipe.

http://www.marthastewart.com/319350/...-shepherds-pie
All ingredients were organic.
I used green peppers from the garden instead of celery.
The ground beef was pastured and organic.
I used olive oil instead of safflower.
Milk was raw.
Cheese was raw, organic and made from milk from cows on pasture.
I just used a tomato from garden instead of paste. (paste is usually in a can)

Here is some of the new info on Sjogrens and TNF. In the section on TNF we show that TNF is regulated by protease and is elevated in lupus, MS, CFS, RA etc. TNF is a cytokine and if not properly regulated it can do much damage.

In the study entitled “Tumor necrosis factor-alpha in tears of patients with
Sjogren syndrome,” researchers discovered TNF in the tears of patients with
Sjogren’s syndrome, but did not detect TNF in the tears of normal controls
(Oshida, 2004). The researchers concluded, “TNF-alpha was detected in
the tears of patients with SS, and tear TNF-alpha levels showed a significant
correlation with the grade of corneal epithelial damage, suggesting that TNFalpha
is a potent mediator in keratoconjunctivitis sicca.”

[jenny2008]

If you stray from it and eat something like a piece of candy , etc... does it throw the whole diet off?? also with the fermented veggies-i am trying to figure out how to make saurkraut-i hve a glass jar but not sure how to make it---and also can it be heated up on the stove (probably not microwave right?) ??? i would think heating would destroy the enzymes???

also how long did it take on this diet for you to find relief from your dry eyes..sorry for so many questions..happy labor day!!! ) and i thank you!!

[jenny2008]

Gals-guys..i am ready to try this... im looking into ordering some saurkraut or calling the local health stores and see if they carry it.. i am assumiing to refrigerate it but not heat it up on the stove or microwave?...

my big question is still can i have a 'treat' once in awhile..family is coming in next thurs... and then the dang holidays!! i missed 2 holidays earlier this year when i went on my strict GF diet that didnt help at all..BUT i didnt add fermented veggies..i too thought they aggravated rosacea (which it says they do) but maybe if they are eaten correctly like the book describes they wont???

Also,,,, is Peanut Butter -organic safe to eat once in awhile?
Jennifer..

[jenny2008]

Annesse-whenever you can answer my questions would you also advise if you little protein? I know you said you were making shepherds pie for dinner but i didnt see a lot of other proteins in your sample diet? thanks!!! and also i know you prefer pastured meat--i cant find that where i live.. is eating organic antibiotic free hormone free ok if i eat the sauerkraut and other fermented veggies?

[Annesse]

Hi Jenny~No, the diet won't aggravate Rosacea. In fact, as the studies referenced in the book show 100% of rosacea patients (UCLA study) were found to have abnormal peptides on their skin. This is what is triggering the immune response according to the researchers. These abnormal peptides are coming from the inability of the body to form normal peptides due to a lack of amino acids. By restoring your body's ability to break down dietary proteins you should be able to quickly and completely eliminate rosacea. My 10 year long lupus rash was completely gone in 10 days on this diet. Your meat does need to be pastured or else it will not contain B12. I believe this is not a "diet" in the typical sense of the word. This is a way of life. The way you were "designed to eat." It can be a gradual change (mine was) or you can just jump right in and completely cut out all of the things that are harming you and replace them with foods and lifestyle changes that will heal you. This is a personal and individual journey. We just point you in the right direction. It really is about diet and lifestyle "principles" not a specific detailed plan on what you can and cannot eat. We all live in different parts of the world and have access to many different healing foods or health destroying foods. I don't want to tell someone in South Dakota to eat pineapple in December for instance, but if you live in Hawaii, and can get organic pineapple, that may be a good choice. By taking responsibility for your health and educating yourself on the disease process you will be able to make wise decisions about your food and lifestyle. And perhaps equally as important, to make them at a sustainable pace.