Liver Toxicity Linked to Aspartame;
Fungal Nails
Cured with Vinegar and Honey
Editor:
I am writing to you to thank you for your publication. I have been searching for a magazine such as yours for several years to educate myself in the many uses of herbs to maintain good health and alternative methods for treating illnesses. This education became especially important to me when my husband was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy and required a heart transplant. My first copy of your magazine was given to me by another subscriber and I was very impressed with its high standards, professional opinions, documentation of studies, and down to earth information that I was unable to obtain through health food store books and magazines. Now that the magazine has been made available to patients, I hear overtones in your editorials that you might have to water down the information to meet the level of understanding for those subscribers. I am not a doctor; however, I subscribed to your magazine because I needed straightforward information to assist in my husband's health care. I am not saying that I always understand completely what I read, but I didn't understand everything I read in the Merck manual either. Through cross reference I was able to decipher the needed information in order to cure a problem that doctors in the Seattle area could not. I strongly urge you not to change the format of the magazine. I believe that if you lower the standards that you currently have, you will end up being no different than the magazines I can buy in the health food stores. Your magazine is outstanding and one of a kind in my opinion.
As stated earlier, my husband, age 51 at the time, was transplanted with a 17 year-old heart. At the time everyone thought that he was the perfect candidate because he had a perfect tissue match with the donor and was in fairly stable condition the day of the transplant. The surgery itself went smoothly, but shortly after that he developed a very bad itch on his arms. The doctors thought it was just dry skin and suggested changing soaps. On September 3rd 1992, my husband had a biopsy of the heart and complained of being very tired and thirsty. A blood draw showed that he had a blood sugar level of 1,345! The doctors were surprised that he was awake and able to carry on a conversation. He was diagnosed as having CMV virus and diabetes. He was put on heavy medication to combat the virus and was started on a sugar-free diet. He was in the hospital for over a month and when we finally returned home every food source in the house was converted to accommodate a diabetics needs. That is when the real trouble began. Shortly thereafter my husband began suffering from gastrointestinal trouble. Diarrhea, gas, bloating, and upset stomach. The itching became so bad that it covered his entire body and he was literally scratching himself to the point of bloodshed. His bilirubin was climbing rapidly and when it shot up to 8.5 the doctors were discussing a liver transplant. He had no history of drug or alcohol abuse and no family history of liver trouble. The doctors tested for everything. All the results were perfect. They even performed a corn test where my husband had to eat a whole can of corn and they timed how long it took for the corn to show up in his stools. He passed this scientific test as well.
For some unknown reason, his liver was no longer producing bile. With the continued diarrhea, all of the antirejection drugs were at extremely low and dangerous levels. Rejection of the new heart was constant and he had to be treated with high levels of steroids to compensate for the low cyclosporine levels. All of us were confused and frustrated. My husband had been hospitalized with numerous staph infections and even contracted clostridium as a result of eating too much hospital food. That's when I went to Dr. Matchett and bought a Merck manual. I began reading about hepatic failures and although many of the words were foreign to me, I was soon able to understand the terminology that the doctors were throwing at me. This new knowledge gave me the confidence to discuss my husband's condition on a more even level with the doctors. Finally one late night my prayers were answered. I was determined to read the whole manual from front to back if that was what it took and I turned to the back of the book and began reading a chart on liver conditions. I located the symptoms that were similar to my husbands and the solution was very clear ... reduce intake of phenylalanine. I jumped off the couch and grabbed up a packet of Equal from the kitchen. In comparing the words in the book to the packet in my hand I realized that my husband's liver condition was linked to the ingredients found in Equal and every diet food in the house.
Within two months my husband's bilirubin was down to 3.0 and the itching was gone. The doctors were still not convinced that it was the sugar-substitute products that was causing the liver problem. They had taken him off of Imuran and boosted the steroids to keep him from rejecting the heart. Imuran can have a bad effect on the liver. They were convinced that he was regaining his health because of the absence of Imuran, not the phenylalanine. I was battling with them and gave orders that if he was hospitalized for any reason that he was not to be put on a sugar-free diet. They agreed. I also told them that my husband was allergic to milk and that I was eliminating all cows milk products from his diet. They were concerned that he would not be getting enough calcium in his diet and suggested that I buy him calcium supplements. I selected a calcium that was chelated and would assist in fat absorption. It had all the bells and whistles, so to speak. I was so proud of myself. My husband was getting better and I had found the solution. My ego trip was short-lived. One month almost to the day, my husband was in bad shape again. His bilirubin was back up to 8.5 and climbing. The doctors were calling for more tests and I felt like the nightmare was starting all over again. I was not to be defeated. One night I sat down and reviewed all of the notes that I had written down in my transplant book. I kept asking myself, what was different? what changes had we made in the medicines? None. Then it hit me. The only change I had made in the last month was that I started him on the new calcium. I went into the kitchen and grabbed up the bottle and carefully began reading off all of the ingredients. There in the fine print was the word aspartame. I considered this to be kind of a blind study. My husband didn't know that it was in the calcium, but his body sure did. I was later told that it is often used as a binding agent. Since that time my husband has continued to improve. His liver function is perfect, he is back on the Imuran, and off of steroids completely (not without suffering from all side effects from the drug first!) In my husband's medical folder it states the wife says that the husband is allergic to Phenylalanine. Laughingly I said to a medical person, I don't care how you have written it, just make sure you follow it.
The last story that I will share with you is another one that our Group Health doctor will verify. As a result of numerous infections treated with high-powered antibiotics my husband began losing his fingernails. It first started with a white, milky patch underneath the nail that quickly spread back to the quick, lifting the nail off the bed of the finger until it eventually fell off. With a history of staph infections and slow healing process, the doctors were concerned about infection. One nail after another became infected by this fungus and quickly the white, milky patch was replaced with a bright green moss that could actually be scraped off. We watched carefully as five fingernails fell off and now several toes were showing signs of problems.
The only treatment that the doctors could offer was Ketoconazole, which was out of the question because it is very damaging to the liver and interferes with Cyclosporine levels. They offered their apologies and sent us on our way with the bleak news that he would never be able to grow nails again or if he did it would take years and they would more than likely be deformed. Once again I began my quest for a cure and was surprised with what I came up with. One day my father called me and said that he just bought me a book called The Vinegar Book. I began reading it and was excited about the prospect of helping to cure my husband's fingernail problem by balancing his pH factor. It would stand to reason that he would have a pH imbalance with all of the numerous antibiotic treatments that were prescribed. Not being a pickle eater, he threw a fit about drinking vinegar! Not giving up the battle, I bought a bottle of raw, unpasteurized vinegar with lots of mother in the bottom of it, mixed one tablespoon of vinegar with a tablespoon of honey in a cup of water and after the first glass he was hooked. He stuck with this treatment of drinking only one glass a day for over 1 ½ months. Within that time he grew brand new nails and the fungus disappeared under the other affected nails. Upon returning to the doctor's office after just a month and a half, my husband proudly showed the doctor his new nails. His exact words were, had I not seen your nails just a month ago, I would never believe this to be true. He quickly began asking questions as to what we had been up to and where I obtained information about the vinegar. He actually bought the book for himself and also for the Group Health library. My husband and I strongly believe that the vinegar has helped him to regain strength in his bones and muscles that suffered so much during the heavy steroid treatments. He still has three compression fractures, as a result of the steroids, that give him trouble, but certainly not like it was.
I have documentation of my husband's nails from two Group Health doctors and would be willing to share this with your readers if you think that someone out there would benefit from the knowledge that we have gained through our crisis. Prior to my husband's transplant, we were just a normal couple surviving day to day without any troubles. Suddenly we were faced with a very scary world of doctors and hospitals. By researching and gaining knowledge about alternative methods and medicines we have become stronger individuals who no longer fear doctors or leave all the decisions about our health care in their hands. We have learned to research, question, and document information that is given to us. Not all doctors appreciate us asking questions about whether or not a procedure is necessary or if there are other options to consider. However, we are happier when we take an active role in our health.
Katie Taylor
