Do the Math

Reversing autoimmunity by subtraction, not addition

- Phil Escott

It was late 2010 when I was finally diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Of course, the whispers had been there for a decade or more: back pain, a stiff and inflamed wrist, digestive problems, weight gain, nonalcoholic fatty liver with cysts, rosacea, hot flashes—I could go on and on.

So often in this modern world, we are conditioned to think that unless we are at death’s door, we are reasonably healthy, and we get used to these nagging problems, chalking them up to aging or “just one of those things.” We swallow more Ibuprofen, wrecking our guts day by day. By the time I did seek medical help, I was in real trouble. I could hardly walk because both ankles were horribly inflamed and felt like they were full of broken glass; my right knee swelled up like a balloon; and all sorts of skin eruptions broke out that I had never seen before. Add to this brain fog, depression, insomnia, and neurological issues like twitching and spasms that Doctor Google suggested was Lyme disease. I was a real mess.

Even though I always had great faith and a keen interest in natural remedies, even writing about health and fitness in my book Pure Activity and for various magazines over the years, my first reaction was that it would be okay, as the docs would have a pill for it and I’d be all better in a couple of weeks. How wrong I was. Yes, I did try their pills for about six weeks, ending up far worse than I was before, and I soon realized there was no refuge there. As great as modern medicine is for infections, acute cases, and trauma, it has no answers to chronic diseases.