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About
Lupus
The Lupus
Foundation of America, Inc. says:
“Fad
diets, advocating an excess or an exclusion of certain types
of foods, are much more likely to be detrimental than beneficial
in any disease, including lupus.”
It is
a good thing Vanessa and her mother did not read this first
– otherwise she would likely be tied to a dialysis machine
for life and heading for a premature, painful, death.
I find
it hard to understand what motivates people, like those from
the Lupus Foundation, to make such statements, especially
when the current scientific information does not support their
negative position. Lupus is a disease of people living in
Western countries, consuming the American diet. For example,
lupus is rare in rural Africa – the first case of lupus
was described in Africa in 1960; by contrast, today in the
USA, African-Americans have the highest incidence of lupus
of any sub-population of people – reflecting the differences
in diet in these genetically similar people. Animal studies
show diet will cause and cure this disease and there have
been case reports of people cured of lupus with a healthy
diet (see my web site
www.drmcdougall.com under “Diet, the only hope for
arthritis,” and “Common Diseases, Arthritis”
for scientific literature citations).
Lupus
(also known as systemic lupus and lupus erythematosus) involves
the whole body, including the immune system. In sensitive
people food proteins (usually animal proteins) enter the bloodstream
through a “leaky gut.” The body makes antibodies
to these foods proteins. Unfortunately, the antibodies do
two things that cause problems:
- antibody-antigen
complexes are formed that persist and become stuck in the
skin, joints, and/or kidneys, and cause an inflammatory
reaction (like slivers of wood stuck under the skin);
- antibodies
are made to these foreign food proteins that also attack
the person’s own tissues (skin, joints, kidneys and
other tissues).
By both
mechanisms the tissues become inflamed, eventually die, and
are replaced by non-functioning scar tissues. People with
lupus commonly suffer with a characteristic “butterfly-rash”
on their face, severe deforming arthritis, and nephritis of
the kidneys. Traditional medical treatments fail to arrest
this disease. A healthy, pure-vegetarian, low-fat, diet will
dramatically benefit and often cure people of this disease
– as in Vanessa’s case. Approximately 1.5 million
people in the USA suffer from lupus – you must know someone
you can help. The same applies to other forms of inflammatory
arthritis (rheumatoid, psoriatic, ankylosing spondylitis,
etc.)
Even
though these results do not occur with everyone, they are
typical for people who make the diet and lifestyle changes
of the McDougall Program.
-John
McDougall MD
Contact
the McDougall Program: office@drmcdougall.com
(800)
941-7111 or (707) 538-8609
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This
is not a story about weight loss but a story about a miracle.
My 17 year old daughter, Vanessa, tried to join the Air Force
in October of 2001. She scored well and passed everything,
but the urine test. She had too much protein in her urine.
We had her drink a lot of water and go back the next week.
The same thing occurred. We then went to our family doctor
who sent her for several tests. She showed positive signs
for lupus. 
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