To read our story from the beginning click here.
At the end of 2017, I was filled with hope again when God reassured His promise of healing. I was starting 2018 with faith that God was still leading us, and we were on the right path. Seeking help one more time, I reached out to another medical missionary worker who was recommended as being very experienced with autoimmune diseases and gut issues. Mercy Ballard at Years Restored was willing to work with us hand-in-hand to guide us. She warned me that it would take much effort and training, but she was confident that by the grace of God, He would show us the way to bring healing to Lucas. Mercy proposed the Autoimmune Plant-based Protocol that she has used multiple times to help individuals heal. In her experience, it takes two to four months to heal the gut. Due to Lucas’ severity, we were looking at 4 months of the strictest and most disciplined lifestyle before we would see clear improvements. Mercy prayed with me and asked God to guide us as we started this new protocol.
The Autoimmune Plant-Based Protocol
The Autoimmune Plant-Based Protocol recognizes that the root cause of autoimmune diseases is found in the gut. Therefore, the focus is on healing the digestive system. This is achieved through a very strict, predominantly raw, plant-based diet. In addition, natural remedies are catered to each individual to restore the microbiome and heal the gut. The principle is to remove inflammatory foods, replace harmful foods with healing foods, and repair the digestive system with natural remedies. This healing process incorporates a wholistic look at the person. Consequently, all-around healthy lifestyle habits are essential. You can read about these lifestyle principles here.
The Autoimmune Plant-Based Diet
The Autoimmune Plant-Based Diet is rich in raw vegetables, legumes, pseudo grains (quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth), seeds, and low-sugar fruits. It avoids all animal products, gluten, grains, soy, nuts, oils, and high-sugar fruits such as bananas, oranges, grapes, etc. Additionally, the legumes, pseudo grains, and seeds must be soaked and sprouted to decrease antinutrients such as Lectins. The sprouting process makes these foods easier to digest and gives the body the ability to absorb more nutrients—something critical for those suffering with malabsorption or gut issues.
Natural Remedies
One unique aspect of this protocol is that no supplements are used. All-natural remedies come from foods. My husband and I had spent a fortune on multiple supplements with no results. This protocol was certainly a different approach. Natural Remedies are based on powerful foods such as onion, garlic, herbs, aloe vera, turmeric, and ginger. In addition, charcoal, hydrotherapy, and enemas are used in specific cases.
Adopting the New Protocol
Mercy was right when she told me that it would take a lot of training and effort to adopt every aspect of the Autoimmune Plant-Based Protocol. It was a whole new way of eating and cooking. Lucas was still mostly nursing. Because my breast milk was his main source of nutrition, I also had to implement these changes in my own diet. I was already plant-based. Additionally, we had eliminated what seemed like a lot of foods: gluten, soy, rice, oats, peas, most nuts, squashes, and nightshades (potato, tomato, eggplant, bell pepper). Now, we also had to eliminate corn, almonds, millet (all grains), and most fruits. I had to learn to cook with buckwheat, quinoa, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seed, chia, flax seed, legumes and as many raw vegetables as possible.
Another challenge we faced was feeding Lucas. In the two years of unstoppable allergic reactions, our son had learned to associate food with pain and illness. Because of this, he often refused to eat. Furthermore, he had developed sensory problems that led him to not eat certain food textures. One of the few foods he loved was homemade corn chips with avocado. But now we had to find a way to replace the corn chips and add more raw vegetables in his diet.
We immediately implemented these changes into our diet. I bought foods I had never heard of such as buckwheat and mung beans. We purchased a food dehydrator which helped us add raw foods in our diet. The foods we had to eliminate we replaced with other, more healing foods and began experimenting in the kitchen. Mercy guided us and we thought of recipes that could work for Lucas. My mom and I created raw crackers from sunflower seeds and veggies. I started blending avocado with cilantro, parsley, basil, spinach, green onion, garlic, and lemon into a pesto of sorts, which helped us add more raw vegetables into Lucas’ diet. We made raw buckwheat granola with fruit for breakfast and lentil/quinoa crackers with the pesto for lunch.
It was not easy to convince Lucas to try these new foods but with lots of prayer and persistence, Lucas started accepting these changes.
Natural Remedies Implemented
We knew that Lucas’ health struggles all started in the gut. He had a severe case of leaky gut and dysbiosis (imbalance of the gut microbiota). It was crucial to heal the lining of the digestive track, remove the bad gut bacteria, and add good gut bacteria. The diet would certainly help in this process, but more work was needed to help his body heal. There were three remedies we implemented with success:
- Onion/Garlic Broth
The purpose of this broth was to reduce inflammation of the digestive track and kill the bad gut bacteria. Lucas was to drink it three times a day before meals. - Aloe Vera Juice
We blended fresh aloe vera gel with water and stevia leaf—a drink which coats the digestive system and promotes healing of the gut lining. Lucas was to drink this before each meal and at nighttime. - Enemas
There are a number of purposes for enemas. In our case, enemas helped to stop Lucas’ diarrhea and restore his microbiome. We used garlic broth enemas to kill the bad gut bacteria and vegetable juice enemas to introduce good bacteria.
It was not easy giving Lucas these natural remedies. There was a lot of trial and error. We started with the onion/garlic broth and aloe vera juice. We were not always able to give it to him three times daily but we did our best. Juicing would have been beneficial but Lucas refused to drink it. I tried giving him charcoal to drink with water to also help his digestive system. However, because of his sensory problems, he could not tolerate the sandy texture and always threw up.
We quickly realized that drinking the broth and aloe vera would not be enough to balance his gut bacteria. Although Lucas’ vomiting was improving, he still had severe diarrhea. He needed something that addressed the gut more directly. This is where the enemas came in. The thought of doing enemas on my child was not pleasant, but we tried it and Lucas did amazing! It caused him no pain or discomfort. He realized that the enemas brought him relief and never fought us.
We tried onion broth enemas first to stop the diarrhea but that did not work. We moved on to something stronger—garlic broth enemas. Garlic is powerful and can burn. Therefore, we had to be careful to have the right strength. I cooked three garlic cloves in 1 cup of water and strained it to use the broth for the enema. We performed the enema, and, for the first time in two years, his diarrhea stopped! However, 24 hours later his diarrhea returned. We had to do garlic broth enemas daily to keep the diarrhea away. We were excited to find something that worked to stop the diarrhea, but we had no way of knowing how long we would have to keep up with the daily enemas. Furthermore, although Lucas was now having only 2-3 bowel movements a day, it was evident from his stools that he was still not digesting food well.
Faith Required
In April 2018, we were entering the third month of strictly following the Autoimmune Plant-based Protocol. We finally felt we had figured out all of Lucas’ food allergies and had a list of safe foods. His vomiting had gotten much better and it was no longer a daily struggle. However, we knew we were still dealing with malabsorption. Lucas was still not gaining weight, his skin was still covered in eczema, and he still had no strength.
The protocol required the most diligent discipline, which took time and effort. It was draining. It was not easy. We were uncertain of the future. We had tried so many medicines by now that we questioned whether this would be another fail. However, God was teaching me an important lesson. Any medicine that comes from God will required discipline, obedience, and faith.
God had promised healing in 2018. He was moving quickly although we could not fully see it yet. There was one more therapy that God had prepared for us – the Avène Hydrotherapy Center.
One reply on “Part 7 – The Autoimmune Plant-Based Protocol”
Thanks I enjoy and learn a lor with your expereance. God blesse our families.