Cold/Winter and Lupus/Raynauds

BRRRRR!

I know I know this is a REALLY weird day to talk about winter...it's supposed to be 95 degrees here in NY today...but something has been on my mind and I need to figure out if I want to spend another cold winter here in NY...if I want to move I need to plan NOW!

I decided to write this post because I really have seemed to dislike the winters in NY the past few years. Actually the dislike has turned to dread/uneasiness and even fear/hatred. It is a strange gut feeling that winter is just not "good" for me. Does this have anything to do with Lupus? Hashimoto's? I'm not sure....
Does it have to do with Seasonal  Affective Disorder or lack of Vitamin D from the sun? Getting out of the house less? Too much snow and cabin fever/feeling trapped in the house?
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/natural-medicine/home-remedies/home-remedies-for-seasonal-affective-disorder.htm Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

At one point in my life I did try living in an extremely warm and humid climate (the Houston TX area), but it seemed to bother me as well...maybe the humidity???

I had seen something in Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment for Lupus a long while ago, that said although Lupus patients are usually fraught with rashes/inflammation and sores many think it is a "hot" disease when in fact in Chinese Medicine it is considered a "cold" disease. It is also a damp disease. So the herbs to treat Lupus would be the cold and damp herbs, this should balance the body to not run so cold and damp and run on an even in between keel. What if a person lived in a hot, dry climate like Arizona, would that also help the disease heal/ the body to balance? In other words would more cold and dampness in the way of weather bother the Lupus patient's body/symptoms even more? Just curiosity....

I also heard Jamie Oliver recently say that in the winter 3x more people die! I was thinking is that true? What's up with that? See the link below on Can Winter Be Bad for Your Health?

Also can the climate you live in affect your disease? Just something I was pondering...I know I really think summer is better for raw cooling foods and winter is better for warming cooked foods this is kind of common sense. Can you eat raw foods in the winter? Sure, but use your blender and make slightly warm soups ( 105-110 degress). Use your dehydrator and make enchiladas, pizzas and such.

For Raynaud's I would think common sense would tell us thin the blood, clean the blood, and make sure all organs have support that produce and clean and tonify the blood and then relax the blood vessels why are they spasming?...see the link below on Chinese Medicine Advice for Raynaud's Relief. Please ask your doctor before you try anything new on your own.... but also remember if your doctor doesn't want you to try something that feels right to you, find a doctor that really listens and really has a proven track record with alternative treatments.

PS- If I had listened to my Rheumatolgist I would have never changed my diet and by changing my diet felt incredibly better! My Rheumy said to my face "Changing your diet won't help your Lupus, you can eat whatever you like" I am sure glad I didn't listen to her and listened to my Holistic Chiropractor/Nutritionist instead!!!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8442413.stm  Can Winter be Bad for Your Health?

http://www.itmonline.org/journal/arts/raynauds.htm Chinese Medicine Advice for Raynaud's Relief

Gluten Sensitivity Masquerading as Lupus- Rheumatology Article

Springtime and Curly Onion Grass

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1754806/

Household Insecticides May Be Linked to Autoimmune Diseases

This is the second time this has come up for me lately...I  had an aura reading at a naturopath recently and she told me I had pesticide residues in my body. OK I know aura readings are "out there" but I worked as a veterinary assistant and in kennels when I was younger and gave a whole lot of the "old fashioned" NASTY "flea dips." Insecticides are TOXIC, use natural products as much as possible. NEEM oil is a good one..Read below....



Household Insecticides May Be Linked to Autoimmune Diseases

Study suggests a connection with lupus, rheumatoid arthritis

By Randy Dotinga

HealthDay Reporter

(HealthDay News) -- New research suggests a link between women's exposure to household insecticides -- including roach and mosquito killers -- and the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

The scientist did not find a direct cause-and-effect relationship between insecticide exposure and the illnesses, and it's possible that the women have something else in common that accounts for their higher risk. But epidemiologist Christine Parks, lead investigator of the study, said the findings do raise a red flag.

"It's hard to envision what other factors might explain this association," said Parks, an epidemiologist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences who was to present the study over the weekend at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in Philadelphia.

Previous research has linked agricultural pesticides to higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, two diseases in which the immune system goes haywire and begins to attack the body. Farmers, among others, appear to be vulnerable.

Parks and her colleagues wanted to find out whether smaller doses of insecticides, such as those people might encounter at home from either personal or commercial residential use, might have a similar effect.

The researchers examined data from a previous study of almost 77,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79. Their findings were to be released Monday at the American College of Rheumatology's annual scientific meeting in Philadelphia.

Women who reported applying insecticides or mixing them -- about half -- had a higher risk of developing the two autoimmune disorders than women who reported no insecticide use. This was the case whether or not they had lived on a farm. Those who used or mixed the insecticides the most -- judged by frequency or duration -- had double the risk.

Even so, the risk of developing the diseases remained very low. Overall, Parks said, about 2 percent of older adults develop the conditions.

Parks said the insecticides that the women used included insect killers, such as those designed to eradicate ants, wasps, termites, mosquitoes and roaches. They didn't include insect repellents.

There are some caveats to the research. For one, it's not clear exactly what products the women used or when. "Over time, there have been major changes in what products were available for home use," Parks said.

And while researchers tried to take into account the influence of factors like age that may boost a woman's risk of getting autoimmune diseases, it's possible they missed something that boosted the risk of illness.

Could gardening, which often entails insecticide use, be a contributing factor? That's possible. But Parks said a lot of insecticide use takes place inside the home, not outside in the garden.

For now, she said, the findings indicate the need for "more research on environmental risk factors and better understanding of what factors might explain these findings, what chemicals might be associated with these risks."

She declined to speculate on how insecticides might cause problems in the body.

"I would recommend that people read the labels and take precautions to minimize their personal exposure" to insecticides, she said. "This is the case regardless of whether these results are implicating a chemical that's on the market now or was before."

Lupus Hope Healing Plan NEW!!!

I realized that as my blog grows in size, it is not so easy for me to counsel people to print it out and read it like a book... Although if you have enough ink in your printer and a well working printer that is still an option.

For those who don't have the patience or time to read Lupus Hope in it's entirety, look at my new Lupus Hope Healing Plan blog. http://lupushopehealingplan.blogspot.com/  It gives just the basics of what I have done and what I will continue to do in the future to try to heal my Lupus. I am so much healthier than I was! I took charge of my life and my health and YOU CAN TOO!

Please visit my new blog to get the basic health plan and then for more detailed information check my Lupus Hope blog at http://lupushope.blogspot.com/

Books to Read on Healing

You can request many of these books through your local library. Ask the librarian for the book/s you are interested in and if they don't have the book, many times they can do an interlibrary loan (get it from another library).

"The Lupus Recovery Diet" by Jill Harrington (title says it all)

"Pain Free in 6 weeks" by Sherry RogersMD (total toxic load on the body, ways to heal, holistic)

"The Gluten Connection" by Shari Leiberman (diseases that can be exacerbated by gluten)

"Gluten Toxicity..." by Shelly L. Stuart R.N., B.Sc.N. (how gluten can wreak havoc in the body)

"Living on Live Food" by Alissa Cohen (A raw food diet, tons of recipes and testimonies)

"The Great Life Diet" by Denny Waxman (A macrobiotic diet)

" The MS Recovery Diet" by Anne Sawyer (healing MS through diet)

"Living Well with Autoimmune Disease..." Mary J. Shomon (holistic)

"The Ageless Woman" by Serafina Corsello, MD (MD+alternative/holistic)

"Dr. Mercola's Total Health Program" by Dr Joseph Mercola (diet for your specific body type)

"Arthritis..." 2nd Edition by Ellen Kamhi PhD RN HNC and Eugene Zampieron ND MH(AHG)(Holistic and Alternative by the "Natural Nurse" and a Naturopathic Doctor)

"An Alternative Approach to Allergies" by Theron Randolph MD and Ralph W. Moss PhD

"Celiac Disease a Hidden Epidemic" Peter H.R. Green MD and Rory Jones

"Food That Helps Win the Battle Against Fibromyalgia" by Deirdre Rawlings N.D., Ph.D.

"Breakthrough, Eight Steps to Wellness.." by Suzanne Somers(interviews cutting edge doctors)

""The UltraMind Solution.." by Mark Hyman MD(healing your broken brain, through healing your body first)

" The Cure Heal Your Body, Save Your Life.." by Dr. Timothy Brantley

"52 Ways to a Healthy You" by Laura Lewis

"The Women's Guide to Thyroid Health" by Kathryn R. Simpson, MS (Holistic, root cures, thyroid disease)

"Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests are Normal" by Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS

"The Optimum Nutrition Bible" by Patrick Holford

Dr. Andrew Weil's Guide to Optimum Health" CD Set

 "Health Wars" by Philip Day

"Cereal Killers..." by Dr. Ron Hoggan and Scott Adams (celiac disease treatments and other diseases that can affect a celiac patient- outrageous book!)

"The Sinatra Solution" by Stephen T. Sinatra MD (reversing heart disease with diet and holistic medicine)

"Is Your Cardiologist Killing You" by Sherry Rogers MD (research into the protocols tat cardiologists employ and why holistic approaches are safer and work better)

"Your Child Doesn't Have to Die" by Leanne Sorteberg (Holistic medicine and nutrition healed her child's cancer)

"The Detox Strategy" by Brenda Watson CNC with Leonard Smith MD

" ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine..." by John LaPuma MD (healthy cooking and halting disease with foods)



A link to my recommended raw food  "un-cookbooks" (you know what I mean! Raw Food!)
http://lupushopecookbook.blogspot.com/2009/08/great-raw-food-books.html

A link to some of my favorite Vegan and Macrobiotic Cookbooks
http://lupushope.blogspot.com/2010/05/some-favorites-vegan-and-macrobiotic.html