Ankylosing Spondylitis Treatment
Diet: Follow a whole foods diet, emphasizing a variety of organic vegetables and ruling out food allergies. Holistic physicians have treated ankylosing spondylitis successfully by identifying and eliminating allergy-causing foods, and recommending avoidance and food allergy nutrients. Researchers at King's College Hospital in London have found a link between ankylosing spondylitis and bowel dysbiosis (incursion or overgrowth by undesirable bacteria, in this case Klebsiella). They discovered that the majority of patients placed on a low-starch diet had stopped the progression of their symptoms.

An overgrowth of Candida albicans (a naturally occurring fungus in the body) can also be involved in creating the damage to the gastrointestinal tract which allows the Klebsiella bacteria to enter the bloodstream. For this reason, and anti-candida, low-fat diet may be very useful, supplemented with friendly bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. bulgaricus to reestablish a normal bowel flora.

Herbs: Many anti-inflammatory and alternative herbs have been used to alleviate the symptoms of anklyosing spondylitis. The following mixture is particularly recommended by herbalists and practitioners of botanical medicine: Combine the tinctures of meadowsweet, willow bark, black cohosh, prickly ash, celery seed, and nettle in equal parts. Take 1/2 teaspoonful of this mixture three times a day. In cases of anklyosing spondylitis accompanied by rheumatoid arthritis, add wild yam and valerian to the mixture and take one teaspoonful of this mixture three times a day.

Juice Therapy: Combine the juice of equal parts of carrot, beet celery, parsley, potato, and alfalfa.

Nutritional Supplementation: Take vitamin C to bowel tolerance (until you have loose stools and/or an excess of gas; at that point, reduce your vitamin C intake by 1,000 mg or more, until bowel symptoms abate and stay on the reduced level).

Alternative Professional Care
If your symptoms persist despite the above measures, seek the help of a qualified health professional. The following professional care therapies have all been shown to be useful for treating or relieving the symptoms of anklyosing spondylitis: Acupuncture, Applied Kinesiology, Bodywork, Chelation Therapy, Chiropractic, Craniosacral Therapy, Environmental Medicine, Enzyme Therapy, Magnetic Field Therapy, Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy, Naturopathic Medicine, Neural Therapy, Osteopathy, and Prolotherapy. (See Glossary for descriptions of these Alternative Therapies.)

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