I was diagnosed with ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura) back in 1990 after not being able to shake the flu.
My platelet count hung around 40 but my hematologist had no idea what to do about it except to put me on Prednisone or take my spleen out. The theory was that the spleen was destroying my platelets, which I now know is a false hypothesis. We need our spleen.
As an RN I knew the dangers of steroids and after two weeks I stopped it and stopped going to doctors because I didn’t want to take drugs or to have my spleen removed for I knew that wasn’t the answer.
I would get petechiae (bleeding around every little hair follicle on my legs that looked worse than measles.) I had massive blood-filled bruises on my legs. I would also get so much mucous in my throat I couldn’t talk without constantly clearing my throat. I struggled with these issues for years trying to figure out what was causing the low platelets.
Twelve years later while searching on the internet for answers I came across the website, “Celiac Disease.” I was shocked to read that ITP can be caused by a severe allergy to gluten. So I immediately stopped making my five loaves of whole bread at a time, stopped making my own granola and oatmeal cookies and stopped eating anything made with wheat, rye, oats or barley. It was hard to give up bread, rolls, pasta, pizza, pies, cake, cereal, crackers, pancakes, waffles, and everything made out of wheat and other gluten grains but I did and was totally amazed when my platelet count began going up instead of going down.
One day at a church potluck I sat next to an MD. So I asked him, “Did you know that ITP can be caused by a serious allergy to gluten?” He said, “No, I’ve never heard of that!”
I finally realized there was no MD or hematologist that could help me so I stayed on a gluten-free diet and my platelet count gradually went back to normal which takes about a year of staying off gluten grains.
I learned that consuming even one molecule or bread crumb of gluten would set me back another year to heal the intestines. So it was critical to make sure there was no gluten in my food.
Even foods like soups or gravies thickened with flour, plus ketchup and most seasonings have gluten in them. In fact, most processed food contains gluten as a filler or thickening agent which is hidden on labels as “natural flavors” or “spices.” So, it’s vital to read labels or just stay away from processed food and eat fresh food. When mankind tampers with our food it is no longer “food.”
When leaving all gluten grains out of one’s diet it is very important to add protein foods such as beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, etc. into the diet since you can’t use the protein from gluten grains. Even if you’ve been a vegetarian all your life, if you want to survive you must eat meat. Beef especially has vitamin K which helps clot the blood. Red meat, beef and lamb is the most high quality, high energy, nutritious and valuable food on earth. It’s healing ability is beyond compare.
The protein in animal foods builds muscle on athletes, it strengthens frail elderly patients, it builds up the heart muscle to avoid developing a weak heart and heart disease, it feeds the brain and nervous system with healthy fatty acids needed to build up the myelin sheath that protects the nervous system and keeps the brain from shrinking to avoid neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
This most amazing food is what doctors for the past forty years have been telling their patients to avoid to avoid heart disease. This is just the opposite advice from what they should be telling their patients.
By removing red meat from man’s diet that God gave us in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, it is creating a massive genicide that is causing more heart disease, more strokes, more diabetics, more Alzheimer’s disease, more Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases in patients than ever before
It is also interesting that most people in the world who have ITP are blood type O. There is a lot of information on diet and blood type. In fact, just about every blood type O person would have much better health if they left the gluten grains out of their diet. Many of their crazy symptoms would disappear! When a blood type O continually consumes gluten grains it sets up a chronic inflammation that wears down the immune system trying to defend itself against the gluten poison.
Grains today have been hybridized and genetically modified which are not the same as what our grandparents ate. This makes grains very indigestable for humans. Grains were not a part of Adam and Eve’s diet in the Garden of Eden. Gluten grains are a poison to ITP people!
Due to my personal experience with ITP, several years ago, I went from being an RN to a therapist, then to becoming a Naturopathic physician and an invited guest speaker on how to restore health naturally.
Please let me know if this suggestion helps you. It’s not a quick fix because the little wave-like cilia inside your small intestine that becomes flattened in the presence of the sticky glue-like gluten has to be dissolved and eliminated from the intestines that has clogged it up) to allow the delicate wave-like cilia to stand up to be free/floating and able to pick up nutrients from your food.
Long term ITP can be very dangerous, especially for children and the frail and elderly. When the cilia that absorbs nutrients from our food are prevented from doing their job by the sticky gluten in grains, it can cause serious malnutrition and “failure to thrive” syndrome.
Unfortunately. Most MD’s do not understand the connection between the food we eat and our health problems so they do not know that gluten could be the cause of many of our puzzling health issues.
In my practice I am continually researching to find natural “cures” that can help reverse our diseases without resorting to drugs that do not cure, but often make things worse and the body more toxic.
Hope this helps someone.
Blessings!
Dr. Bonnie Carlson, RN, DMT, PhD, ND
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