Lucibee
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
I found this episode very interesting, but I was quite concerned by some of the things that Sarah Myhill was saying. So I've started a new thread here (with a link back to main thread). Hope that's OK.
I don't doubt her passion, and it seems clear that she has helped a lot of people with their conditions, but her approach is highly unorthodox - so I'm not surprised that she has met with resistance from the GMC and others.
The first thing that struck me was her definitions of ME and CFS, and how she seems to be treating 'chronic fatigue' primarily.
Gary asked her what she actually does, and this was her reply:
(I'll paraphrase from here on)
She then talks about finding root causes. How you "don't need an expensive doctor" or expensive tests - just a basic package as a starting point, as "the basic starting point for treating all cases of chronic fatigue syndrome and all cases of ME, and indeed for preventing heart disease, cancer and dementia, is exactly the same."
This basic package seems to be about learning to pace effectively - so that's all well and good. But then it moves onto the car analogy and the idea that we are using the wrong fuel, and how that is causing all Western ills.
This next bit bothered me:
(This post is now getting a bit long, so I'm going to break here.)
I don't doubt her passion, and it seems clear that she has helped a lot of people with their conditions, but her approach is highly unorthodox - so I'm not surprised that she has met with resistance from the GMC and others.
The first thing that struck me was her definitions of ME and CFS, and how she seems to be treating 'chronic fatigue' primarily.
Gary asked her what she actually does, and this was her reply:
I think that the only thing I do that’s different is that I ask the right questions.
I mean the point here is that chronic fatigue syndrome and ME are not diagnoses. They are clinical pictures, and we have to ask the question why.
Now, chronic fatigue syndrome – pure chronic fatigue syndrome – is the clinical picture we see when energy delivery mechanisms are impaired.
ME is the clinical picture we see when we have chronic fatigue syndrome, ie poor energy delivery mechanisms, and inflammation. And that inflammation can be there for reasons of allergy, for reasons of chronic infection, or for reasons of autoimmunity.
So with that “road map” as I call it, we can start to look at the different symptoms, try and explain which mechanism applies to which symptom.
Because if you can work out the mechanism of why things are happening, then that has obvious implications for treatment.
(I'll paraphrase from here on)
She then talks about finding root causes. How you "don't need an expensive doctor" or expensive tests - just a basic package as a starting point, as "the basic starting point for treating all cases of chronic fatigue syndrome and all cases of ME, and indeed for preventing heart disease, cancer and dementia, is exactly the same."
This basic package seems to be about learning to pace effectively - so that's all well and good. But then it moves onto the car analogy and the idea that we are using the wrong fuel, and how that is causing all Western ills.
First of all, you’ve got to have the right fuel in the tank. Then you’ve got to have your engine working well. Then you have to have the accelerator pedal set correctly. And the adrenal box working as well. And the product of all those interventions is the core temperature. So by measuring core temperature, it gives a very good handle on energy delivery mechanisms.
This next bit bothered me:
Now, with respect to the fuel in the tank, the human body, in fact all mammal bodies, from horses and cats to dogs and whatever, all human bodies, all mammal bodies function best when they are running on fat and ketones. And fat and ketones are the evolutionary correct diet. Or the evolutionary correct fuel, rather.
Now, part of the reason why we are seeing epidemics of chronic fatigue syndrome is because we have been given nonsensical and evolutionary incorrect advice that carbohydrates are in some way good for us.
Now carbohydrates are a very useful evolutionary tool because they allow us to get fat in autumn. What happens in autumn? We have a carbohydrate bonanza. We have fruit, we have root vegetables, we have pulses, we have grains. We eat them in an addictive way and that gets us fat. And that is survival value for the winter.
So, in short, sharp bursts, metabolic syndrome, running the body on carbohydrates is very helpful for survival.
Of course, primitive man stopped eating carbohydrates because he had to. The autumn harvest dried up, he’s into winter, he’s back into hunting mode.
But in order to make us eat those foods, nature had to get us addicted to them, and carbohydrates are very addictive. Sugar is one of the worst addictions that I see.
And because we are now clever, because we have evolved fantastic, incredibly complex and brilliant systems of agriculture, we can eat carbohydrates all year round because we can, and we do, and to my mind that is a major driver of chronic fatigue syndrome, because we are – it’s a little bit like we are putting petrol in a diesel car. It’ll chug over for a bit, but it will break down eventually.
So the starting point is a paleo-ketogenic diet.
(This post is now getting a bit long, so I'm going to break here.)