Self-Diagnosing

I have never been one to run to a doctor for every little sniffle or twinge of pain. I'm also not a person that has elevated medical professionals to god status. I recognize that all are human and therefore fallible. I also have always had multiple allergies to medications. Every prescription drug I have ever taken has at some point caused a reaction ranging from hives to water retention to high blood pressure. (Most over the counter ones have too.)

So for me, popping pills is not only uncalled for, but potentially dangerous. I resolved within myself many years ago that should I ever develop a chronic disease (I.e. high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, etc) it would have to be treated and healed holistically.

Before I ever heard that Hippocrates had said, "Let food be thy medicine," I once read someone state that they believed when Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden, God had already supplied through food, plants, herbs, water and more, all we would ever need for natural healing. This just made sense to me. Isn't it exactly like God to provide a way before we ever knew we needed it?

Sure, I read this about 16 years ago, and I am still in the process of trying to live it out. I also choose to be thankful for the gift of the Internet (although at times it is also the bane of my existence!) because at my fingertips is a plethora of tried, true and yes, sometimes crazy information. For instance, when I came across The Gerson Therapy, I believe through the Holy Spirit's discernment I was able to recognize it for the healing miracle it is. There have been many more epiphanies since then and usually, they just make sense. God not only gave us healing herbs, plants and foods...He also gave us brains and His Spirit for discernment.

With my recent juice fast, I promised that You'll Know It All and today's post regards my mistake of listening to the fears of others. For a few years, whenever I get into a discussion with someone about veganism, vegetarianism or just reducing their meat intake, inevitably it comes out that they heard "somewhere" that you can't get enough B-12 without eating meat. The truth is, everyone loses the ability to absorb vitamin B-12 as they age. This is why it is often the elderly that get B-12 injections.

Because I didn't want my metabolism to slow down or lose any of the wonderful energy I was experiencing, I bought into the "need" for supplementation. I researched the best, ordered it and started taking them. But within two days, this woman that had been fine on only 4-6 hours of sleep, walked for 8 hours a day on vacation and still had energy to spare, was barely able to drag herself out of bed, felt lethargic throughout the day, had zero energy for exercise and was ready to collapse into bed by 8 p.m. My weight loss had also stalled even though I was eating well. This was unacceptable to me. I experimented with dosage and when to take it. I was still eating good, whole foods, about 75% raw, juicing 1-2 times per day and I couldn't understand why my symptoms were beginning to include muscle and joint pain, intolerance to cold and by yesterday, even kidney pain.

My research since this began about a week and a half ago has brought me to the possibility of adrenal fatigue. Since most Americans have some degree of it, this is highly likely. And the information leads me to believe that I was probably healing from adrenal fatigue since beginning my dietary changes in mid-May, but the start of the B-12 vitamins that I did not need threw the delicate balance of adrenal function over the edge.

So I've immediately suspended the use of any supplements, am going to attempt a juicing detox for at least three days and see if I notice improvement. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, if you'd like more information about adrenal fatigue, here are two websites that helped:

7 mistakes of adrenal fatigue
women to women

Food Matters

Absolutely!

And with this juice fast, I have been trying to remind myself of that often. I've watched this documentary several times and learn something new with each viewing. It was even one of the first places I heard of the Gerson Therapy for healing cancer and other chronic diseases.

If you're tired of treating symptoms and want to get to the heart of healing and healthy living, watching this is a great place to start. It's currently available on Netflix and you can watch the first 40 minutes free at their website, http://www.foodmatters.tv/

"Dying to Have Known"

I've watched this documentary before, but I try to watch something about food and health whenever I feel like I'm in a nutritional slump...during the holidays is prime nutritional slump season! The documentary filmmaker also made The Beautiful Truth and he is definitely in favor of the Gerson Therapy about which both of these documentaries are written.

If you're not afraid to think outside the box and you're interested in natural healing, health and nutrition, watch one or both of these...you may be shocked at exactly how readily available cures to numerous diseases and ailments are to us. Dying to Have Known attempts to provide a more balanced look at the Gerson Therapy by interviewing doctors and researchers from traditional medicine. These naysayers are entitled to their opinions, but the one thing they keep going back to is that there is no "proof". Even though there are thousands of documented cases of patients healed with the Gerson Therapy, these "experts" lead you to believe that because there has been no "double-blind" study, it can't be affective. Eyewitness, first-hand patient testimony is enough for me. And I am one of those testimonies.

I will readily concede that I have not followed the Gerson Therapy faithfully, nor to my knowledge did I have any form of cancer when I began. But even without adhering to it completely, which I would not endorse anything other than full commitment to it, I have reaped the benefits of the Gerson Therapy nonetheless. Some of the healing I've experienced is undiagnosed so I guess I don't qualify as a reliable source. I'm putting myself out there to reveal some of this...but I know there are many that are more than disgruntled with traditional methods of healing.

If you'd like more information from me, don't hesitate to message me at a.barthauer@gmail.com or leave your e-mail in the comments section. But probably the best place to start is by watching one of the documentaries, now available on topdocumentaries.com. Food Matters is also available on the website for now and mentions the Gerson Therapy too. I've mentioned The Gerson Miracle on here before. This documentary is not as well done, but it is informative about the therapy. There are also several books available about the Gerson Therapy.





The Beautiful Truth

I rewatched this movie over the last two days and was reminded yet again of why I so fervently believe that God created our bodies with the capacity to heal themselves...when we are fueled by the right foods. I first saw this documentary on Netflix over a year ago and the information in it has changed my health forever.

This film specifically focuses on the Gerson Therapy...a health regimen that I have researched in depth and follow loosely. No, I'm not the perfect example of a person healed by the Gerson Therapy because I haven't followed it exactly. But then again, I wasn't trying to heal myself of cancer, fibromyalgia, diabetes, high blood pressure, muscular dystrophy, migraines or any number of the other diseases that have been cured by the Gerson Therapy. Yes, that's right...I am saying there are hundreds, possibly thousands of people that have been cured of debilitating, life-threatening diseases by following the health therapy that Dr. Max Gerson created in the 1930's.

The Gerson Institute does have a website with lots of information. I have also purchased and read just one of the many books documenting this amazing therapy.


But if you just want a brief overview, watch The Beautiful Truth on http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ which has been my favorite website for the last few months. [My children will tell you their Mom does love documentaries!] The Gerson Miracle is another documentary about this therapy, but I didn't think it was quite as good. There is very similar info, the quality of the film just wasn't as good.[You can go the http://www.gerson.org/, donate $5 and watch The Gerson Miracle there.] I've also seen Charlotte Gerson, daughter of Dr. Max Gerson who carries on his work to this day in her 80's, in the documentary Food Matters.

What I like best about The Beautiful Truth is that it's easy to understand and written from the perspective of a father and his teenage son who is researching the Dr. Gerson for a home school project. Garrett, the film maker's son, puts a human face on what otherwise could be very dry information.

If you watch the documentary, some of the claims may seem outlandish or unbelievable...and some of the parts of the therapy may turn you off...but before you completely turn it down...talk to me. Let me tell you my story, (which is not posted here because it might make some squeamish!) and then you can decide if The Gerson Therapy can help you with whatever your health concerns may be.

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