How Manmeet beat constipation and arthritis

How Manmeet beat constipation and so-called ‘incurable’ arthritis

Manmeet had been suffering with rheumatoid arthritis in her left knee for around three years.

With no real hope of turning her condition round according to the medical doctors, she turned to us to see if we could assist.

Remarkably, by carefully assessing and correcting her diet, digestive function and nutrient levels, Manmeet was able to make a full recovery from a disease usually considered “incurable.”

This case was especially satisfying for me because my late Mother, her Mother before, and my uncle, suffered with severe rheumatoid arthritis.

I really wanted Manmeet to get well, and she did! Here’s how she did it.

The Problem

Manmeet was taking daily medication for her arthritis in her knee. The medications included:

Methotrexate (known to reduce the body’s folate metabolism)
Folic acid (synthetic version to compensate for the effect of methotrexate)
Sulfasalazine
Steroid injections
Naproxen
Omeprazole

She had tried other healing methods but to no avail.

At 33 years young, she was very concerned that she may need to take these medications for the rest of her life, which carried a strong risk of long-term side effects.

She was in a quandary because the pain was extreme when she didn’t take her medications, but she really did not want to take them because of the possible long term consequences.

Manmeet was also experiencing the following chronic symptoms:

Constipation
Cramping in calves and back of legs
Weight gain

Despite trying other methods of healing, she had not conducted any in depth testing to see what might be causing her arthritic symptoms.

Manmeet’s constipation was of special interest to me because there is a strong link between digestive problems and arthritis.

As you may know, the medical system does not conduct tests to check for the root cause of disease.

Nor does it consider the digestive system as a possible trigger of major disorders elsewhere in the body.

Instead, symptoms are treated using medications and patients are taught to ‘live with’ their symptoms and that the symptoms will probably get worse over time.

The Solution

We began by running two tests: a stool test to check digestion and an organic acids test to check general metabolism, detoxification and B-vitamin levels.

Even though Manmeet only had constipation and no bloating, heartburn or other digestive symptoms, I felt her digestive system was the key to the arthritic symptoms.

Here are Manmeet’s stool test results

You can see from the first page of her test that Manmeet had a parasite called Giardia. Medical doctors do not consider Giardia unless people have sickness and diarrhea symptoms.

It is microscopic, but its little sucker on the underside allows it to stick to the intestinal wall, damaging the intestine, causing leaky gut syndrome and reducing nutrient absorption.

At the bottom of the first page, you can also see she had low Lactobacillus levels, indicating a deficiency in these important gut bacteria.

Important Note:

It is important to note that Giardia has been associated in the scientific literature with reactive arthritis (1).

This begged the question of whether Manmeet’s knee pain had been misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis all along, and that her condition was actually reactive arthritis due to Giardia infection.

Moving on…

The second page of Manmeet’s test revealed yet more interesting findings, as you can see below:

Manmeet had a light Candida overgrowth, which is a type of yeast/fungal organism that can be come problematic when present in large numbers.

She also had three more imbalanced markers.

sIgA – Secretory Immunoglobulin-A

sIgA is the first line of immune defense in the mucus membranes of your stomach and intestine.

sIgA molecules are like little soldiers that guard against unwanted invaders.

They are a little bit like bouncers/doormen at a nightclub, allowing into the club ideal clientele (food, nutrients and useful substances) and blocking riff-raff (parasites, fungi, toxins, etc.).

sIgA levels can become depleted by medical drugs, gluten consumption and gliotoxin released by Candida.

By sticking to the intestinal wall and damaging its delicate structure, Giardia parasites can also deplete sIgA levels.

Manmeet’s sIgA level was very low indeed, likely due to the Candida, Giardia and drugs she was taking for her arthritis.

Anti-gliadin sIgA

Anti-gliadin sIgA is an immune soldier specific to gliadin, with gliadin being a substance that forms part of the gluten molecule.

When anti-gliadin sIgA is elevated, as it is on Mamneet’s test, it is a clear indicator that the immune system is reacting to gluten.

In other words, high anti-gliadin sIgA shows that a person has some degree of gluten intolerance/sensitivity. However it does not diagnose celiac disease per se.

In addition to Candida and Giardia infections, we also know that gluten sensitivity depletes sIgA.

Elastase I

Elastase is an enzyme produced by the pancreas to help digest food.

You can see that Manmeet’s level was low, meaning she was probably not digesting her food properly.

Undigested food poses a problem because it a) becomes food for bad bugs and b) leaks into the blood stream where it can trigger immune reactions that lead to arthritis!

How could all this result in rheumatoid arthritis?

Gluten sensitivity is a known arthritis trigger, as the Healthline website states:

“Sometimes Celiac disease can be misdiagnosed as arthritis, especially if your only symptoms are pain in your joints.” (2)

Chronic infections, including Giardia and Candida, in the digestive system are also associated with the development of arthritis.

Furthermore, damage to the intestine caused by gluten and bad bugs leads to a condition called ‘leaky gut’ whereby unwanted particles enter the bloodstream.

These particles are not recognized by the immune system and can trigger immune responses in other tissues.

The resulting immune response leads to inflammation, which can manifest as muscle/joint pain, headaches, skin eruptions and many more seemingly weird symptoms.

A damaged intestine also results in poor nutrient absorption, which in turn leads to nutrient deficiencies and an inability to keep inflammation under control.

Organic acids test

Manmeet also ran an organic acids test, which is a single urine sample that’s analysed for more than 40 different imbalances.

Her result revealed the following issues:

Impaired energy production in her cells
Vitamin B12 deficiency (almost certainly due to the Giardia infection)
Folic acid deficiency (one of Manmeet’s medications – methotrexate – is known to deplete folic acid)
Biotin deficiency (biotin helps to control inflammation is often seen depleted in arthritis)
Additional confirmation of Candida overgrowth
Additional confirmation of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

I will not show you all the specific test findings because it will take too long to explain them here.

Manmeet’s blood test and vitamin D deficiency

In addition to everything I’ve mentioned above, we also knew from blood testing that Manmeet had a vitamin D deficiency.

We know that vitamin D deficiency is a key factor in the development of autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

Pulling the test results together

Gluten intolerance, chronic digestive infections and nutrient depletion were almost certainly the reasons why Manmeet had developed her so-called rheumatoid arthritis.

To reverse this situation, she would need to:

Remove the offending foods from her diet
Remove the bad bugs from her digestive system
Fix the intestinal lining
Replace the missing nutrients

While it seems complex, this process can actually be fairly straightforward.

Fixing Manmeet’s diet and digestion

Manmeet did a wonderful job of following the program.

She carefully followed a gluten free diet, which in my opinion was probably the most important step.

I also coached her to minimize cow’s milk, soy and sugar intake and we worked implementing this in a simple and practical way.

The next step was to reduce Manmeet’s Candida levels and remove the Giardia parasite.

Before we did this, I made sure Manmeet got her bowels moving properly. There is no point beginning an anti-fungal or anti-parasite program when someone is struggling with constipation.

Some herbs and magnesium citrate helped to restore normal bowel function, then we added the herbs for knocking out bad bugs.

Adding back the missing nutrients

Finally, I introduced specific nutrients, particularly vitamin D, biotin, vitamin B12 and folate into Manmeet’s program in order to replenish the missing nutrients shown in her organic acids test.

I was careful to prescribe sublingual (under the tongue) supplements to make sure Manmeet absorbed them properly and got the biggest bang for her buck.

There was little point giving pills and capsules because she would not absorb them properly, so sublingual lozenges and drops were ideal.

Manmeet’s health improvements

Over time, Manmeet was able to reduce her arthritis medication dosage until she finally weaned off the drugs in autumn 2016.

She is now able to manage her arthritic pain completely through diet.

She can eat a small amount of gluten now and then without problem, but if she eats more than her body can handle, her pain begins to come back.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this is interesting. Here, we had someone being medicated for a so-called ‘life-long’ disease and being told it would only get worse.

Yet with an understanding of various arthritis triggers related to food, infections and digestive function, she was able to completely eliminate her disease and truly take charge of her health.

In addition to the dramatic improvements in her arthritis, she also lost some excess inches round her waist, which were probably only there because of her nutritional deficiencies and reduced energy production.

Incurable just means ‘curable from within’

There are many chronic diseases termed ‘incurable’.

Arthritis is one; irritable bowel syndrome is another, not to mention type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

You can see from Manmeet’s remarkable result that with an understanding of what causes the disorders combined with proper testing, it is possible to transcend medical opinion.

If you have nagging health challenges, perhaps you can achieve similar results to Manmeet.

You don’t have to have arthritis or constipation…

Maybe you are feeling low in energy or mood, or perhaps you have skin problems or regular headaches?

Perhaps you have menstrual problems, or it might be that you have bloating heartburn, stomach cramps and loose stools?

Whatever the symptom pattern is, I am 100% certain you can conquer your symptoms.

Don’t bow down to medical opinion if you have been told there is solution because the solution may simply be related to your diet, lifestyle and digestion.

If you would like some help in unraveling the situation I recommend getting a stool test like Manmeet did.

We currently have a special offer where you save $100 (about £80) on a stool test and consultation package – you just need to enter the discount code 2017NY when you check out.

What’s more, if the test result comes back without providing helpful, I’ll refund every penny. It’s the least I can do.

Anyway, I guess I’ve said all I can for now.

Click here now if you’d like to learn more about how a stool test works.

‘til next time,

Dave.

References:

Halliez & Buret. Extraintestinal and long term consequences of Giardia infection. World J Gastroenterol 2013 December 21; 19(47): 8974-8985.
Could Gluten Be Causing Your Arthritis? http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/gluten-and-arthritis