Arthritis, Rheumatism and Psoriasis

JAN DE VRIES was born in 1937 in Holland and grew up during the difficult war years in occupied territory. Although he graduated in pharmacy, he soon turned to alternative medicine. His most influential teacher was Dr Alfred Vogel in Switzerland, and they have worked together closely for 35 years.

In 1970 he and his family moved to Scotland and settled on the west coast in Troon, where he set up a residential clinic called Mokoia. He also has clinics in Newcastle, Edinburgh and London. Since 1990 he has been involved in Klein Vink in Arcen, Holland, doing research into the efficacy of herbal medicine for the European Commission.

ARTHRITIS, RHEUMATISM AND PSORIASIS

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SOME YEARS AGO, after the birth of my fifth child, and having left the maternity hospital a couple of days after the birth, I was showing off my state of fitness to my family by hanging out the washing. I became aware of some discomfort in my neck, which later developed into the most severe pain I have ever experienced. A hormone called Relaxin, produced by the body to facilitate childbirth and still circulating in my system had helped to dislocate the fifth cervical vertebra in my neck. The only way to get me out of bed was for my husband to cup his hands behind my neck and give me a very painful lift. The night before I was to be admitted to hospital, as this painful manoeuvre took place, there was a loud report from my neck and an immediate relief of pain. I had just experienced my first neck adjustment, albeit at the hands of a very unskilled manipulator.

From this time I suffered many bouts of neck pain, accompanied by tingling in my fingers and, worst of all, dizziness and unsteadiness of gait. Patients are not inspired with confidence by the sight of their doctor staggering about the consulting room! Wearing my surgical collar prolonged my consulting time, as I had to explain about my disability to each patient. Massage, traction and heat treatment all failed to relieve my problem.

A friend showed great concern for my predicament and, despite my reluctance and scepticism, persuaded me to go with her to Troon to consult the now famous “Healing Dutchman”. Meeting Jan de Vries opened new horizons. After two treatments with acupuncture and neck adjustment, and many doses of Araniforce, my neck problem disappeared. Soon I was sending many of my own patients with spinal problems on the road to Troon.

Jan and I have done a lot of work together over the past two years. I am grateful for the opportunity of working with and learning from him. This has been of great benefit to myself and to my own patients with special problems.

This book, Jan’s fourth, is about arthritis. It describes the alternative approach to treatment of this crippling disease in all its forms. Rheumatoid arthritis is one of the most painful and debilitating diseases to afflict mankind. It can strike at any age and causes much misery, not only to the victim but to his or her whole family. Of my 2,500 patients I have twenty-three cases, so it is not an uncommon illness. Osteoarthritis in all its manifestations can also be very disabling and is one of the most common ailments we GPs have to deal with.

One of my patients had been housebound with rheumatoid arthritis as long as I had known her and, despite having been treated with a cornucopia of medicines, still suffered from large weeping nodules in many joints, as well as the usual pain and stiffness. After treatment from Jan she is now able to go shopping and last year even visited her daughter in America.

My brother, also a GP, developed rheumatoid arthritis three years ago. The two drugs initially used to treat him have now been removed from the drug list by the Committee for Safety of Drugs. Neither had relieved his pain and stiffness anyway. I eventually persuaded him to see Jan. After his initial doubt about taking Jan’s “liquidised grass”, as he cynically referred to the medication, he had a noticeable improvement in his joints within a short period. He is now very happy to continue taking the same “liquidised grass” and, like myself, he refers a number of his patients for treatment by the alternative methods. Many people with different types of arthritis have benefited from Jan’s dietary advice, acupuncture and medication. What I like about this method of treatment is that the medication not only is effective, but also causes no hepato cellular damage, no bone marrow depression and no gastric upset, side-effects unfortunately seen all too often with modern drug treatment.

No one yet knows all the answers about the cause of this terrible affliction. However, Jan has found more answers than most. This man, with his vast knowledge, has given arthritic sufferers much comfort and has also given orthodox practitioners much food for thought.

RECENTLY, an attractive lady in her middle forties, whom I have known for at least fifteen years, came to see me. I remembered her visiting our residential clinic along with her husband for a course of general treatment. At that time they were a basically healthy couple with nothing wrong with them. They lived a careful life in that they neither smoked nor drank and both followed a well-balanced diet.

I had not seen her for a number of years and I noticed that her once beautiful hands and fingers had turned into gnarled, swollen claws and enlarged, twisted knuckles. The rest of her body had also stiffened and twisted. I wondered how her health had been allowed to deteriorate to such an extent and how rheumatoid arthritis could have taken such a grip. It is because of these so far unanswered questions that I have hundreds of other patients visiting our clinic every week.

Though I paint a terrible picture here, such a sight is all too familiar when we look around us. Many people are stricken with prolonged periods of severe pain which makes moving, sitting and sleeping difficult. The only relief is some pain-killing drug which after a while has a less and less helpful effect. Cortisone is often prescribed, but again this does not produce a cure. Once such treatment has commenced, it is generally necessary for life.

I took a long time to interview this particular lady, for the simple reason that she was desperate for help and prepared to co-operate fully, which in cases of arthritis is very necessary. Where did she go wrong in her life style? Was there maybe a connection with the “change of life” which she had just started? Or were there other reasons?

I discussed the balance of her diet with my patient and felt that there were certain vitamin, mineral and trace element deficiencies. Another factor which did not help, however, was that her place of work had concrete flooring. The energy flow which should help her is cut off by the wearing of rubber-soled shoes and by concrete floors.

The smallest things can influence patients who are prone to any kind of arthritis. Several of those known to us will be discussed in this book. I have seen many patients over the years and have also been able to help many of them. I felt that this lady was not beyond help and we immediately decided on a programme containing a well-balanced diet, a few natural remedies and some acupuncture treatment. I was convinced that after a while she would begin to experience some relief. I have often witnessed in the past that these swollen fingers and enlarged knuckles will reduce in size if the body is steered in the right direction.

Millions of pounds have been spent by clinics and research associations, but seemingly to little avail because a definite cure for rheumatism and arthritis has still not been found. In the field of alternative medicine, though, there is at last a strong possibility of a breakthrough. For the past hundred years or more the application of herbal and homoeopathic therapies have produced some remarkable results. It is, therefore, well worth anyone suffering from these and related problems seriously considering alternative therapy.

It is now generally accepted, too, that although some people may inherit tendencies towards certain ailments from their forebears, incorrect diet greatly contributes towards producing illnesses like arthritis and rheumatism. Our diet should be absolutely natural and acid-forming foods, in particular pork and processed meats, should be excluded. A correction of our diet, combined with treatment by herbal and homoeopathic remedies can provide great relief from these crippling diseases which, especially in the UK, are so much on the increase.

Which influences on our bodies lead to the development of these conditions? Well, an important one is stress, which is everything and anything that threatens or damages us—fear, a heavy workload, our diet. In the stressful world we live in, there are many factors which affect us. Some stress however is avoidable, as we can discipline ourselves to stop smoking, for example. It is of the utmost importance that we learn to meet stress and tackle it. Physically, we must learn to keep putting back what we take out of our bodies. Our nutrition must therefore be very good.

At the base of the brain there is a tiny gland called the pituitary. At any sign of stress this gland releases a hormone which sounds the alarm. The hormone travels in the blood until it reaches two small glands that sit on our kidneys in the middle of the back, the adrenals. When the adrenal glands pick up this hormone, they too release their own hormones. The chief of these is called cortisol (which we also know as cortisone).

The body’s reaction is quite dramatic: sugar reserves pour into the blood for immediate fuel; proteins and fats are broken down to make more energy; calcium is taken from our bones to be used by nerve and muscle; pain, stiffness and inflammation miraculously disappear; blood pressure rises so that oxygen, sugar and calcium travel more quickly to the tissues. This stress reaction is highly protective. Normally the threat ends and the above reactions are reversed. Proteins are built up again and the cells repaired; calcium is put back into our bones; blood pressure drops to normal and all our familiar aches and pains reappear. The body’s reserves will have been spent and even more nutrients will be needed for repairs. More vitamins, minerals, protein, fats and carbohydrates will be needed than usual.

The adrenals produce cortisol from the hormone deoxycortisol (DOC for short). DOC itself has a remarkable action. It helps the body fight infection and damage by setting up inflammation around bacteria or toxins and walling them off, as in boils for example. Swelling, pain and fever may result, but the body will have been protected. Normally, sufficient DOC will be converted to cortisol to remove the pain and swelling once the intruder has been dealt with.

When the diet does not supply the vitamins needed by the enzymes that make and balance these hormones, the DOC may fail to be converted and the areas of pain and swelling may become permanent and collect calcium. Cortisone treatment is not the easy solution. This inhibits our own DOC production, thus lowering resistance. Our bones become further demineralised and other mineral reactions cause water retention (moon face). The constant robbing of proteins may eat away our stomach cells and give us ulcers.

The whole vitamin spectrum must be used when nutrition has broken down so severely. Aspects of our diets must change. When we eat sugar our blood sugar level rises quickly and we feel full of energy, which is why we like it. Another gland, the pancreas, is alerted and insulin is released to take the sugar and store it. When we eat sugar frequently our pancreas becomes trigger happy and takes out too much at a time. We then develop low blood sugar, or hypoglycaemia. The adrenals are alerted and we go into stress reaction. Calcium is taken from our bones. So when we eat sugar we can cause “holes” in our bones, not just in our teeth.

When our nutrition is inadequate at this point, or when the stress situation does not come to an end, our body will come under further threat. By robbing Peter to pay Paul, it will do the best it can for as long as it can, but sooner or later we will find that we have no more reserves and that we make no more adrenal hormones. In other words: we have no further resistance. Disease is the result.

The removal of calcium from the bones when under stress is clearly one feature of the arthritic process. Normally, calcium moves continuously between blood and bone to maintain a balance. A hormone from the parathyroid glands in the neck takes calcium from the bones when the blood level drops. Calcitonin, a hormone from the thyroid gland, encourages calcium back to the bone. Vitamins are needed for us to absorb calcium from our food and also to help the bone to mineralise.

The balance of calcium in the body is very delicate. If the blood level drops, our muscles may go into spasms and convulsions. If our bones are continuously leached, they may bend or break. If blood calcium stays high, as in stress, then calcium may be deposited in arteries, tissues, muscles and joints. This tendency appears to be caused by prolonged stress without adequate nutrition, a parathyroid imbalance or vitamin deficiency.

Few of us realise that we are addicted to salt. Salt is a stimulant. It hits the adrenals and we go into stress reaction. Most of us eat ten times too much salt in a day because we like the “high”.

The blood is naturally 80% alkaline. The alkaline-forming foods are mainly fruit and vegetables, yoghurt and seeds. If we eat an all acid meal, such as an egg on toast with coffee, we use up calcium and other minerals in our body’s effort to restore the alkaline balance. It is difficult to heal arthritis in an acid body. Our intake therefore should be 80% alkaline and 20% acid.

Calcium must be added to the diet during the healing programme. The bones will only re-mineralise when there is sufficient calcium in the diet. Calcium enters into solution in an acid medium and is precipitated and deposited in an alkaline medium. This simple but profound statement provides the key to unlock the mystery of arthritis.

Nowadays we can realise why arthritis and related diseases occur so frequently. We only need to look at the “anti-sources” of potassium which form such a regular part of our diet and lifestyle, for example alcohol, coffee, laxatives, salt, sugar and stress. Good sources of potassium on the other hand are: potatoes, bananas, dates, figs, molasses, cider-vinegar, apricots and raisins. We should eat plenty of these foods.

In every type of arthritis, the diet of the patient has to be altered from a poor sub-nutritive diet to an energy-producing one particularly rich in potassium. Potassium deficiency can produce rapid calcification of the arteries, muscles and joints. A diet low in potassium causes types of arthritis which are preceded by rheumatic disorders—aching muscles first, and fixed joints afterwards. Diet, therefore, is very important.

I advise all arthritis patients and patients suffering from arthritis-related diseases never to eat any of the following: pork, sausages, bacon, ham, gammon, white flour, white sugar, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, tomatoes, vinegar, mayonnaise, rhubarb, butter, cream and spices. It is also advisable to reduce the intake of tea and coffee, and salt should be used sparingly. Better still, use a good sea salt like Dr Vogel’s Herbamare salt.