Picture yourself enjoying an early morning snuggle session with your kids who love to jump into bed with you and enjoy some early morning bonding with you and your spouse. As you attempt to get out of bed, however, you feel what seems like an electric shock that started at the base of your neck and progressed down your spine ending at your feet. Your whole body starts to tingle and your leg becomes numb. It's like bumping your funny bone but your whole body tingles and goes numb, not just your arm. This was a totally new experience, and deep down, you knew this was serious.

Over the following weeks the symptoms continued to deteriorate to the point where walking became more difficult and climbing the stairs was almost impossible. After 90 days of agony and testing, you are diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS). An inflammatory disease where the insulating covers of the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord are damaged. This condition often cause disabilities and leads to damage to the optic nerve. Damage to the optic nerve can lead to hazy or blurred vision and ultimately the sudden loss of vision. As the disease progresses, additional symptoms like memory loss, intense pain, incontinence, extreme fatigue, and ultimately, the inability to walk can occur.

So, you ask yourself, what causes this devastating disease ? And the answer is we don't know. We do know the cause of the symptoms, however. It's the result of the destruction of myelin (a fatty sheath that surrounds and protects nerve fibers in the central nervous system). As MS progresses, myelin deteriorates, leaving the delicate nerve fibers exposed. This causes the nerve fibers to lose their ability to communicate with each other which results in the victim experiencing pain, numbness, loss of vision, and a host of other discomforts.

So your next question is if there's no cure what's the treatment ? Mainstream medicine's approach is the ABC treatment composed of three injectable drugs, Avonex, Betaseron /Betaferon, and Copaxone. This treatment is intended to stimulate the patient's immune system. There are two major problems with this approach, however. Number one, the ABC treatment is only effective 30% of the time. And number two, the side effects bring new problems to the table (like we don't have enough problems already ?). Then there's the extreme financial burden the patient hast to endure, between $10,000 and $30,000 a year.

So if you elect to go with the ABC treatment you can expect to be injected with three drugs that are 70% ineffective, you will be subjected to numerous side effects and it will cost you somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000 a year (over $400 a week ).

As an advocate of holistic medicine, you totally reject the ABC approach. So your next question is "how can I treat this illness with natural remedies ?" Research has confirmed the fact that natural treatments are frequently more effective than drug treatments with virtually no side effects.

So you consult with a holistic healthcare professional and the natural approach begins. The first step is to check for food allergies. When you eliminate the foods you are allergic to, you notice a gradual improvement in your symptoms. Next you alter your diet to consist of fresh organic vegetables, lean organic meat, berries, and no processed foods and as time passes you notice an additional improvement in your symptoms.

We are all individuals so there is no specific diet that will work for everyone. But there are some common elements that will work for the majority of us. The following are some of those common elements.

Green Vegetables Are Essential : Green Vegetables are high in minerals that stimulate the activity of antioxidants which are properties in our genes that stimulate the body's defense against free radicals.

Avoid Wheat and Dairy : They trigger a multitude of autoimmune diseases. If you must indulge, use small amounts of organic versions.

Eliminate Sugar : It spawns candida albicans and increases inflammation in the body. One study discovered candida albicans increased the risk of contracting MS.

Avoid Alcohol : Alcohol intensifies MS symptoms because it's produced from sugar.

Avoiding the pharmaceutical approach and employing the natural approach will save you money, allow you to avoid the side effects, and will be more beneficial in the long-run.