Contents
FOREWORD
PREFACE
1 WHAT IS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS?
2 THE NETHERLANDS LECTURE
3 DIETARY MANAGEMENT
4 VITAMINS, MINERALS AND TRACE ELEMENTS
5 OIL OF EVENING PRIMROSE
6 HYPERBARIC OXYGEN
7 HOMOEOPATHY AND PHYTOTHERAPY
8 ACUPUNCTURE
9 ENZYME THERAPY
10 DENTAL CARE
11 EXERCISES, DRINKING AND SMOKING
12 CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
About the Author
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.
He lectures throughout the world and is a regular broadcaster on BBC radio.
Books available from the same author
By Appointment Only series
Arthritis, Rheumatism and Psoriasis
Asthma and Bronchitis
Cancer and Leukaemia
Heart and Blood Circulatory Problems
Migraine and Epilepsy
The Miracle of Life
Multiple Sclerosis
Neck and Back Problems
Realistic Weight Control
Skin Diseases
Stomach and Bowel Disorders
Stress and Nervous Disorders
Traditional Home and Herbal Remedies
Viruses, Allergies and the Immune System
Nature’s Gift series
Air – The Breath of Life
Body Energy
Food
Water – Healer or Poison?
Well Woman series
Menopause
Menstrual and Pre-Menstrual Tension
Pregnancy and Childbirth
The Jan de Vries Healthcare series
How to Live a Healthy Life – A Handbook to Better Health
Questions and Answers on Family Health
The Five Senses
Also available from the same author
Life Without Arthritis – The Maori Way
Who’s Next?
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Jan De Vries
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licenced or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Epub ISBN: 9781780570891
Version 1.0
www.mainstreampublishing.com
Copyright © Jan de Vries 1985
All rights reserved
The moral right of the author has been asserted
This edition 1992
Reprinted 1997
First published in Great Britain in 1985, reprinted 1987 and 1989 by MAINSTREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY (EDINBURGH) LTD
7 Albany Street
Edinburgh EH1 3UG
ISBN 0 906391 98 9 (paper)
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for insertion in a magazine, newspaper or broadcast
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Foreword
I FIND it uniquely pleasant to be connected with a book on methods of controlling Multiple Sclerosis. Thirty-five years ago I was solemnly informed, by no less a person than the President of the Multiple Sclerosis Society himself, that I should prepare for the end. My condition, in his opinion, was beyond hope. And a pitiable condition indeed it most certainly was. No-one looking at me — unable to walk, to balance myself, to stand up, to see to any purpose, to talk clearly, to pick up a pen even, far less to write — would have questioned his opinion. But I am stubborn. And though others may have agreed with him (and who’s to blame them?) I disagreed violently. I had my helpless carcass removed from the Queen Square Hospital by my loving wife and brought home. What happened then, I explain later in a lecture I gave in The Netherlands (see chapter 2). But before I leave you to read the book in peace, I have a few observations to make about its author.
Jan de Vries and I first met when he arranged that I should give a lecture in Amsterdam — with Jan himself translating it into Dutch — a language of which lam totally ignorant.
Then began an association which has lasted now for 12 years. It is based, I think, on a mutual respect. I respect him, for the breadth of his knowledge and his constant endeavour to widen it by studying different techniques in many different countries. He respects me, for reacting positively to the expert prediction of my imminent death, taking my future into my own hands, analysing my problem correctly and then solving it.
Our opinions meet in the realisation that there is no one and only way to control Multiple Sclerosis (or any other degenerative “disease”), no one and only cause, no one and only way to help even one individual. Certain guidelines appear to be applicable to most people who are degeneratives. (Since we are all degenerating, after a certain age — that being the price for living — I should perhaps refer to people who are degenerating too quickly.) I soon became aware that the regimen which had helped me, also helped a great variety of other people in that unfortunate category.
The fact that the correct diet helped not only Multiple Sclerosis sufferers, but also victims of other degenerative complaints, was first brought to my attention quite fortuitously.
A lady, who had put her husband on my regimen, rang up to say she wanted to come to London to visit me. As she intended to drive well over 100 miles, I tried to dissuade her, but she wouldn’t listen. When she arrived the following day, it was to present me with a bottle of brandy and a huge basket of flowers, like the ones that stand beside filmstars on gala occasions. I was completely taken aback. “Don’t tell me your husband has begun to improve already,” I said. “It’s not my husband,” she replied. “It’s me. My arthritis has gone completely.”
This is the story that emerged. Her husband had said the regime would be too horrible to follow. To encourage him to persevere, she joined him in following the diet strictly. And in the event her arthritis had vanished (physical problems clear up more quickly than do nerve problems).
What does this have to do with Jan de Vries? Not much, I suppose, except that it illustrates the sort of gratitude we both evoke from those we help. I can’t speak for Jan, of course, but personally, over a period of fifteen years or so, I have helped clear up almost every degenerative “disease” in the book.
The case that is perhaps most outstanding is that of a composer, whom I first met in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. He was in hospital and on a breathing machine twenty-four hours a day. His problem was Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, known there as Lou Gering’s disease, after a famous baseball player who died of it and known in Britain also as Motor Neurone Disease.
I had been taken to see him by his sister, a screen-writing friend, who told me that he was in danger of being taken off his life support machine. Five doctors had met that morning, she told me, to decide on his future, and the vote had gone three to two against him. Quite understandably — there are queues of deserving cases waiting to be helped and he had had his time. His own doctor had argued so persuasively on his behalf that he had been granted a “stay of execution”.
At that point I took over. He had money and was in a private room with a male nurse and also had his own fridge. I threw out the junk that was in there and stocked it with the appropriate foods. Then I had a long talk with his nurse.
A few months later, he was back home and on his machine only at nights. He acquired a secretary with a knowledge of music to whom he could dictate and began work again. Before I left America (three years ago) he had already published two records of groups of songs. I had a letter a week or so ago, telling me that he is still busily at work. Significantly too, since I last saw him he was hospitalised with pneumonia and came through unscathed.
Anyone who knows the customary course of this “disease” — down and out in a year or so — will have to admit that something remarkable was achieved.
I report this case in detail, though I’m writing a foreword to a book by Jan de Vries. I know he has had many similar experiences, but they cannot carry conviction at second hand. This is the sort of triumph that Jan has accomplished and he has done it time and time again. It is for Jan himself to tell you of them and to explain, in wiser language than mine, the various methods he has adopted.
Roger MacDougall
Preface
A FEW years ago I attended a lecture where a medical doctor spoke on the subject of Multiple Sclerosis. He stated that he could give thirteen possible reasons for Multiple Sclerosis but that we have to compare this disease to an Agatha Christie thriller and find the answer to the mystery on the last page. However, he went on to say that the answer had not been found yet.
Listening attentively to him while he listed the thirteen possible causes, I never heard him mention the word “diet”, which created the impression that Multiple Sclerosis as a degenerative disease and diet were not interconnected.
During question time I asked him whether he thought that there was no connection between Multiple Sclerosis and diet. He replied that there was absolutely no relation, but that he had heard of people who stressed the importance of a dietary connection. These people, however, were only interested in making money out of this particular affliction. I could not help but inform him that when I studied acupuncture in China, I did not come across Multiple Sclerosis cases. Unfortunately, to my great surprise, visiting Taiwan a couple of years ago to attend a congress in the city of Taipei, I was slightly surprised to be asked to give a lecture on this subject.
I asked the organisers on my arrival for the reason behind their choice of subject and was told that Multiple Sclerosis used not to be a problem there, but unfortunately nowadays it was. One of the Chinese professors blamed the convenience foods as well as the foods imported from the West into Taiwan.
In a way I was quite happy to hear this, as I had always felt that diet had so much bearing on this dreadful disease. When I told the lecturer about this particular incident he responded by saying that China was a great distance away. I suggested we stay nearer home and look at the geographical distribution of Multiple Sclerosis and relate this to the intake of foods rich in linoleic acid or fatty acids, such as fish.
If we look at the Faroe Islands, we see that there is a very low incidence of Multiple Sclerosis. The Faroe Islanders have a Danish genetic background and remained fishermen. In our own Shetland Islands, however, a drastic change in diet took place, in line with the agricultural influence from Britain. With the British diet, the Shetland Islanders acquired the British incidence of Multiple Sclerosis. Similarities are noticeable in the Netherlands and in Scandinavian countries.
Although Multiple Sclerosis occurs in most western countries, with a higher incidence in the cities, we cannot underestimate the fact that the highest percentage of Multiple Sclerosis is noted in the Orkneys and Shetlands in northern Scotland. In these particular areas, occurrence of Multiple Sclerosis is three times higher than in the rest of the UK, followed by New York City, which has the second highest rate in the world. It is also interesting to see that the intake of fat in the north of Scotland is 19% greater than elsewhere in the United Kingdom and, of course, one cannot forget the fact that the intake of alcoholic drinks is very high in Scotland.
It is a fact that incidence of Multiple Sclerosis is low in tropical countries. This would appear not to relate so much to the temperature as to dietary management.
In 1960 a lady consulted us in our clinic in The Netherlands. She had made a remarkable recovery, on a diet designed by Dr Evers from Germany. When I examined the diet regime I noticed that the advised fat-intake was very low. Large amounts of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and grains were recommended. From that time on we treated Multiple Sclerosis according to the Dr Evers methods and we achieved a certain measure of success.
After having settled in Britain about fifteen years ago, a lady-patient informed me that she had been following the Roger MacDougall diet. She followed his instructions carefully and had improved quite considerably. Of course I was interested in her story and wrote to Roger MacDougall. He immediately replied with the message that he felt like a caller in the wilderness. After a lot of research and then strictly adhering to a gluten free diet, he had achieved great success in his own management of the disease. Any assistance in establishing his diet and views would be most welcome.
I went to see him shortly after, on a visit to London, and could not believe my ears when I heard him running down the stairs. When he opened the front door, I found myself looking at a most active person and the thought immediately arose that if this man had spent a period of more than twenty years in a wheelchair, a miracle must have happened. After a long conversation with him I came to the conclusion that this man did not just have a remission; the credit for his present condition must largely be ascribed to his dietary regime.
Later on I had to go and see some Dutch patients who stayed in the Hilton Hotel and as we found we still had so much to discuss, he decided to come along with me. Both of us walked the length of Piccadilly and his step was faster than mine.
My curiosity about his methods was aroused and I decided to do some double tests. I put a group of people on the Evers diet and another group on the MacDougall diet. Undoubtedly the last group made more progress than the first group and since that time, working along the lines of this dietary regime, some surprising successes have been achieved.
I do hope that from the following chapters Multiple Sclerosis sufferers will gain a little more enlightenment and will also learn the importance of eating the proper food. Several other methods which will help their condition are also described.
However, let there be no misunderstanding: Multiple Sclerosis is NOT curable. Let me quote Roger MacDougall on that point: “As well try to cure a Chinaman of being Chinese. I was born a Sclerotic. It’s in my genes. It’s the hand I was dealt at conception with which to play out the game of life. Short of genetic engineering, I will die a Sclerotic. But I have lived a symptom-free life for more than fifteen years, except for a few brief lapses when I have been foolish enough and indulgent enough to break the rules. If I mistreat my body, it responds by renewing the old familiar symptoms — weirdly in exactly the reverse order in which they vanished. First to return is a touch of nystagmus (the last to go), then comes a slight paralysis in my right hand — my worst hand when I was crippled and the second last symptom to clear up. I’ve never dared to go on misbehaving and find out what would happen next.”
The important point then is that Multiple Sclerosis, though not curable by present drug dependent medical methods, IS CONTROLLABLE.
1
What is Multiple Sclerosis?
A FEW years ago I was asked to give a lecture on Multiple Sclerosis for an international congress. The possible causes of it, what really was Multiple Sclerosis and in what way could it be diagnosed. I informed my listeners that while treating the problem over the last twenty-five years, I had found several times that Multiple Sclerosis had been wrongly diagnosed. We should, therefore, be careful not to label a patient with Multiple Sclerosis as soon as certain possible symptoms occur. Proper testing and investigations should always be carried out. I also said that it was easy to place a patient with symptoms which are difficult to diagnose under the umbrella of Multiple Sclerosis.
Immediately after I had finished this lecture, the well known neurologist, Dr Sanchez Perez from Spain, stood up. To my great surprise he fully agreed with this statement and said that this mistake was made too often. This brings us to the questions: what really is Multiple Sclerosis and is there an answer to the problem?
As we know, Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of the nervous system where the protective sheath of the nerve fibre suffers damage. This, of course, can result in some very nasty physical symptoms.
First we see that muscle co-ordination is affected throughout the whole body, speech impediment can occur, loss of balance, co-ordination movements of hands and limbs and double vision. Often these problems become progressively worse.
Very often Multiple Sclerosis will start with small sensations — it can be a little dizziness or perhaps some pins and needles, as it is often described, or tiredness and fatigue.
The name Multiple Sclerosis means “many scars”. It is a slowly progressive disease that is characterised by disseminated patches of demyelination in the central nervous system. This results in multiple and varied neurologic symptoms and signs, usually with periods of remission and exacerbations. Women are affected somewhat more often than men.
The disease is very difficult to diagnose accurately, as it mimics many other neuro-muscular disorders. The symptoms are related to the site of demyelination. The periods of remission occur when the signs and symptoms are less troublesome or may even disappear completely. These periods of remission can last for weeks, months or even years.