Whether you suffer with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what foods you eat -or lack of “good” food- is often a real mountain to climb because problem foods certainly can cause lots of problem symptoms. They cause digestion problems at the least and readily add to immune dysfunction and a general increase in overall symptoms. Can suicide be one of those symptoms? You decide.
The truth is our bodies react to the foods we eat!
Foods were a big problem for me many years ago and for Mary Moeller, my interview guest yesterday. Read more about her fascinating story below… .
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by Cinda Crawford on February 26, 2010
in General
For today’s show I am interviewing Mary Moeller, author of Fibromyalgia Cookbook, A Daily Guide to Becoming Healthy Again (revised). I am impressed with this marvelous lady. She has lived in the deepest trenches of Fibromyalgia, not only fighting for herself but for her young daughter to get well, too.
As a Licensed Clinical Nurse, Mary worked in a doctor’s office at the time she grew more and more ill. No traditional medicines helped her. But Mary found her way out of the long, deep “illness” ditch and walked out a winner.
Through the aid of a caring doctor and her own intensive, investigative work, Mary uncovered many secrets of what it takes to get well from an illness like Fibromyalgia. Both this week and at least one more week, I am featuring my interview of Mary Moeller on the Friday podcast edition of the Health Matters Show. Access the audio below by clicking the right-facing arrow or feel free to download the file.
(18 minutes 5 seconds)
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I heard Joan Borysenko speak again recently. She is a fascinating lady and author. Her book and DVD, the Power of the Mind to Heal, will surely be required information for all those folks who want to have me work with them one-on-one in the healing process.
She talks about how the power of the mind is an incredible tool in life. Your mind has the capacity to keep you stuck in your current reality or move you forward!
I’ve decided to put this book on the “suggested” reading list for the Learn How to Healyourself membership series that’s coming up shortly. (The whole course is almost ready!)
I encourage you to go ahead and pick up your copy of Joan Borysenko’s book or DVD. The DVD is listed below. Find the book in my Amazon store in the tab above or to the right under Cinda Recommends.
As you contemplate how to heal, please don’t let fear of the unknown stop you. Instead, be brave and know that all things are possible. Like beauty, health can be in the eye of the beholder, so to speak.
Okay, now answer this question and the ones that follow: How brave are you when it comes to stepping out into the future?
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As reported in MedPage on Sunday from work at the Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunisitic infections in San Francisco, current studies about the XMRV, Xenogrophic Murine Leukemia-related Virus, indicate that many secrets about XMRV are unfolding gradually, but that we’re probably only at the beginning of the process.
To date there is a tremendous amount of controversy surrounding XMRV. Most of it is coming from the UK after a series of studies found no correlation between XMRV infection and CFS or CFSME.
However, these studies are in question by many people because of how they were constructed, patient-wise. It is suspected that they didn’t use the accepted diagnostic criteria to qualify their sample patient population. We’re left to conclude that the results they obtained could be skewed.
Example: if you looking for blondes in a group of black-haired people, do you think you’ll find any blondes??
Similar to the early days with the HIV retrovirus, there’s certainly more that we don’t know than what we do know or what we can prove. Some instances of XMRV showing up in prostrate cancer victims and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers has been obtained. Per Stephen Goff, PhD of Columbia University in New York City, he “cautioned that has yet to be any clear evidence linking it to disease.”
However, there is more news from Dr. Goff and this time it’s better:
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Recently the Journal of Disability Policy Studies published new information about the number of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) sufferers. A Constructive Debate With the CDC on the Empirical Case Definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
In essence, the number of people considered to suffer with the illness has gone up by a multiplying factor of 12.7. That means that now the new United States patient population for CFS is a whopping 4 million!
I suggest that we don’t become too alarmed yet, because some of this difference could be due to the interpretation of the case definition used by the CDC: what is CFS, what symptoms does someone have to have to be classed as having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and all of the rest of the criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, that is required to meet a literal diagnosis. That’s because… .
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I use the expression, the use of CBT to treat ME, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, very gingerly here because I see very little treatment going on. The prevalent attitude of treating ME (also known as CFSME) with a treatment regimen that involves cognitive behavior therapy and an exercise protocol is surely missing the bigger point, even though it is the prevailing attitude in the UK. How can you treat someone if you basicly think they’re faking it??
(Did I say this “CBT attitude” was sponsored by the psychiatric community alone? No, I didn’t, but it ain’t called cognitive behavior therapy for nothing. And the CBT group surely has won over and convinced many otherwise sensible medical professionals into believing that because no one has proven a definite cause and effect relationship for ME, surely the tens of thousands of people affected by it must be making up all the symptoms in their heads! That’s just plain and simple hogwash.)
Since ME is regarded as mostly a psychosomatically inspired illness and not a true physical entity, the UK brand of medicine insists that it can be treated by talk therapy and exercise, no matter how sick or disabled the patient.
This philosophy and treatment regimen does not take into account how physically ill someone is, even if that person had been perfectly healthy before coming down with the severe illness symptoms attributed to ME.
The following is a sampling of one public letter written to BMJ, the British Medical Journal, about this horrific issue and after Lynn Gilderdale’s death, a lady who committed suicide recently after suffering for so long, being believed so little and getting no real help during her lifetime:
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During this interview and the previous one with Dr. Mike Funicello, DC, he explains why you may be sick with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what happens during the illness process, what you can do at a physical level to relieve the trauma your body has stored, plus he offers a tantalizing opinion of where health comes from. By all means, take time to listen to the whole Health Matters Show today!
(Then when you get a chance, go back and review the previous interview, if you haven’t already heard it.)
When energy is stored in your body after a traumatic event, it has the capacity to influence your health very negatively and for a very long time.
(This whopping interview is 23 minutes long and includes information that could potentially help you. Listen here on the website by clicking the right-facing arrow on the left of the blue bar. To download this interview to your computer, iPod or telephone, right click your mouse directly over the hyperlink that says, “Download MP3″. Then left click it to save the file where you can find it on your device. Enjoy. 
)
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Because there’s a common belief that a human being is more of a spirit walking this earth, a spirit which is simply clothed in human flesh, we’re looking closely today at the issues of mind, body, spirit and how principles that apply to this type of thinking can help us get healthy again.
Now, believing we’re spirit is not such a far out concept, if you keep in mind that each of us is made of components of mind, body and spirit. We happen to physically live in flesh. You know how that flesh can be unforgiving when it comes to how you suffer with a chronic illness, one like Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Example: The body’s skin covering eventually sags as skin cells are not as robust and collagen and hormones are less plentiful. The body can allow infection to take hold, if the blood and immune system are not as capable of fighting off invaders. In time the body has trouble regulating itself and being functional and capable. It breaks down eventually, allowing old age to creep in and physical death to occur.
This fact partly can be attributed to the opposing nature of body vs spirit… .
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For someone suffering with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), a really, revealing reality check would not only include looking at what we know about symptoms, but also figuring out how to reverse the illness and how to get well.
The whole thing sounds like a whoppingly big task and it is, as evidenced by all of the back and forth controversy around issues like the XMRV retrovirus research. But hang in here just a minute, because there’s more to this.
Before you can even think of getting better, you must figure out what your body is lacking and what it needs to perform at its best again. (If your mind/body/spirit had everything it needed perfectly, you wouldn’t be ill.)
Most people suffering with CFS find such a comprehensive task too daunting to attempt. They exhibit signs of immune, endocrine, neurological abnormalities and more. They are too tired and too sick. But we’re not speaking of the specific things that are amiss. What we’re talking about looking at today are the big heading items: What’s Wrong With Me, What Can I Do About the Illness, etc. Luckily, it is not impossible at all to examine such issues and I’ll tell you why…
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So far it is not proving to be an easy road confirming a conclusive Chronic Fatigue and XMRV relationship in the latest research, according to the CFIDS Association of America. Most people want to believe that their is some type of viral or retroviral link between XMRV and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to help legitimize the illness and point to a verifiable cause, but alas, another study provides no such proof.
A study published Feb. 15, 2010 in Retrovirology reports results from XMRV tests using PCR and viral neutralization assays on samples from 170 CFS patients and 395 controls.
To keep abreast of the latest results on this controversy, go to the CFIDS Association website and this page. They promise to keep you informed about the latest developments.
Plus, they are hosting a live webinar this Thursday. See the details below and sign up today. This is a great way to stay informed about what is happening.
On Thursday, Feb. 18 at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern standard time), Dr. Vernon will present a 90-minute seminar over the web (“webinar”) about the Association’s research program and the six studies we currently fund. She will put the latest findings into the context of a dynamic, multidisciplinary approach to studying CFS. Advance registration is required.
Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show
It’s important that you do a Fibromyalgia Reality Check, because… whose job is it to figure out what’s going on with you and to figure out the illness… if not yours?? Like the old game show, This Is Your Life we’re talking about This Is Your Health and your body. Both have been torn apart by pain, muscle aches, brain fog and countless other symptoms.
You need to get real about this and figure out what you can do about your symptoms not just endure them. Now that’s a real reality check.
If you sit around and wait on scientific researchers to tell you what’s going on in your body, you may never discover the right answers or, at the very least, you’re going to get the answers that “they” want you to hear. And, chances are, you will continue to be sick. So let’s begin with this newly-recognized job of yours.
To do this effectively, you need to…
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I constantly strive to get you the best information about Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and this week I sought out a great guest to interview, Dr. Mike Funicello, DC. He and I talked about how to get well from Fibro and CFS. We could hardly stop talking once we began!
During the interview I wrote down a few of his words and phrases like passionate and the people you serve.
I could hear the passion in his voice and I believe that he truly feels the need to serve his patients. That led me to a conclusion: someone with that kind of attitude is a great asset to the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome communities.
He would actually be glad to see you coming in the door and he’d want to know how he could help you get well!
(Podcast audio, listen or download. 25 min 45 seconds)
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Getting well from Fibromyalgia or any other long term illness can be a lot like preparing and selling a house. To put your house up for sale you have do whatever it takes to get it into great functional shape, looking good and performing really well again. Believe it or not, the same goes for you if you suffer with Fibromyalgia: you’ve got to do what it takes.
Can getting well from Fibromyalgia be that easy? Not really, but this simple hilosophy will head you in the right direction of anticipating and planning for the healthy state of your future body.
This week we’re focusing on the topic of how to get well from Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. On Friday, Dr. Mike J. Funicello will speak with us and share his philosophy and practical experience of what makes people like us (with Fibro and CFS) sick and what can help us get well. I encourage you to begin thinking about these things and be sure to tune in to the Friday 3 pm EST broadcast.
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If you come down with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the first thing you want to know is the cause, but how do you determine the cause when the illness’s myth, fiction and reality are all so obscure, so complicated and so mixed up together?
Case in point, most of us involved in any fashion with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) can recite the signs and symptoms of the illness by heart.
However, the issues of a cause and cure continue to be debated for more than the twenty years that most people have known about this illness. At this point in time, I refuse to believe that there is one single cause to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Here’s why… .
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The Health Matters Show is now on Kindle.
I’m guess we’ve finally arrived because the Health Matters Show is now on Kindle! This is fun. I invite you to check it out if you own one of these fantastic little devices, I invite you to check it out. Kindles are great.
Or- If you don’t have one yet, check out Amazon’s latest offer for buying a Kindle. They have come down in price. *I really appreciate you accessing your Amazon.com links from here, because I make some income if you make a purchase. That helps keep my enterprises going.
Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Host of the Health Matters Show
Whether you suffer with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what foods you eat -or lack of “good” food- is often a real mountain to climb because problem foods certainly can cause lots of problem symptoms. They cause digestion problems at the least and readily add to immune dysfunction and a general increase in overall symptoms. Can suicide be one of those symptoms? You decide.
