My name is Michael and I'm new to this forum but I'm not new to the health field industry. I've been a Shaklee Health Advisor since the age of 16 and I've been on the products since I was just 3 years old.

I've been through a wise range of medical issues as small as the common cold or as big as a Traumatic Brain Injury. I asked a question in the subject line of this post and the reason I wanted to know if anyone actually prevents illness is because that's what I do. And, I really try my best to let people know that it really is possible to prevent most illnesses so I try to teach others that every little bite of food that you eat makes a big difference in how much health your body has.

It's like having a car engine and trying to use the wrong kind of fuel to keep it running or using the wrong size bolts to keep it together! It just wouldn't work and the same is true about your body, you can't feed it junk and expect it to perform like a top athlete.

Instead of me trying to explain myself here, you can just take a look at the link in my signature to find out for yourself but only if you really want to know!

My first reaction was to challenge the statement, "[I] prevent disease."

I was actually afraid to ask the question I REALLY wanted to ask (still fear motivated), because I thought I might have to endure a sales pitch. Funny me!

Prior to my journey to recovery from bipolar disease and addiction, I always tended to avoid the truth. I never imagined the freedom I have received from acknowledging and accepting the truth. I have come to understand also that knowledge is not the truth. Knowledge is a pathway, rather, to experience; and EXPERIENCE is the truth.

So I ask you, Michael, what is your experience in the matter of preventing bipolar disease and addiction? ...honest question from someone who wants to get better.

Thanks!

Jim Rist

www.cerebral-storm.com src="http://www.mdjunction.com/components/com_joomlaboard/ emoticons/unsure.png" alt="" style="vertical-align: middle;border:0px;" />

Wonderful question but I'm not gonna sit here and try to tell you that I know very much about being bipolar because I don't, nor do I know everything about every disease David but getting back to Jim, that's why I want to point out that "Good nutrition cannot prevent every disease but any disease that can be prevented can only be stopped with proper nutrition!"

You see, the human body is a lot more resiliant than most people give it credit for but it's just like any other highly developed mechanism whereas it won't put out what you want unless you give it the fuel it needs to support that kind of out put.

I'm not saying you can fix any disease by simply eating right but if you've gone for most of your life without eating properly, finally starting to eat right is, in fact, going to make whatever disabilities you have less severe! Case in point, you have to consider my own disability which is severe brain damage and you have to think about how unlikely it was that I've reached the recovery I have but that was only because I really tried to eat right after my accident (something all my doctors thought was a waste of time).

As far as being bipolar, that's not really a health problem as much as it is a phychiatric or mental issue. Therefore, propler nutrition can only help the additional health concerns that come from being bipolar. From what I understand, bipolar disease is something you have to manage more than you can cure it but proper nutrition would really make managing it a lot easier. Asking me how to cure bipolar disease is the same as me asking you how to cure brain damage, there is no cure but I do everything I can to help my body perform as close to normal as I can by providing my body with the right nutrition on a daily basis.

On the other hand, my feeling about addiction is that you have to put your attention & energy on something else such as really learning how to eat properly. I mean, prior to becoming a Health Advisor with Shaklee, I had a really bad addiction myself and even though it's a little too personal for me to discuss here, I broke that addiction when I decided to really learn how to eat properly.

As much as I don't want this to be a "sales pitch", the only way for you to learn even part of what I know is to visit my homepage which can be found on my profile.

Thanks for your response. Diet, exercise, discipine, recreation, rest, and social interaction---does that cover the things we need for good health? No argument here!

Wait...! It was MORE than that, wasn't it? Our conversation was more on the order of "I'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours." Am I right?

Well-l-l-l...! THAT is exactly what recovery support groups do--they allow members to share experience, strength, and hope. My friend of some years now likes to say, "Identify, but don't compare." Our sharing allows us to identify, because, in some way, we've had a common experience. The very foundation of recovery is experience.

So here is a website where you can see "more of mine."

http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-114.htm

CAUTION: Please do not instantly adopt as truth everything you read or hear on the topic of dual diagnosis, bipolar disease, mental illness, addiction, alcoholism, or substance abuse. Please look for supporting information from other sources; look for authority and experience underlying opinions; look for research; and, most of all, please begin to talk with and listen to others who have gone through what you are going through and to others who have had experience similar to yours. Find out what works for them. Become aware. This is not a time to hide your feelings or to ignore your instincts.

I have expressed an interest in starting an online support group for dual diagnosed individuals, consisting of dual diagnosed individuals, and conducted entirely by dual diagnosed individuals who can share experience they have had with their own recovery. The above disclaimer is an important one, for it reminds us all to put aside our opinions and to search for the facts and the truth as it applies to our recovery.

My dual diagnosed mind is a choatic mechanism, and it does not easily receive facts, opinions, information, ideas, and reasoning from others. Your post, Micheal, and your website leave me confused for that very reason. Although I will not challenge you as to what you said nor what you do, I WILL challenge you to simplify things. I merely asked you what your experience is in the matter of preventing bipolar disease and addiction. Although I read and re-read your response to my question, I have not yet found in your response a direct answer to my question.

I want to throw this challenge to everyone who cares to join in with a dual diagnosed support effort. We have all been through the war of opinions, advice, and criticism from others; and we've all at times literally risked our lives faithfully chasing "a new idea or a new direction" from someone who says, in effect, "I've never tried this myself, but I believe it will work for you."

The challenge...? Well, let's put it this way: That which stinks is not necessarily a lie; and that which smells sweet is not necessarily the truth.

Above all, "The truth has a smell of its own," doesn't it?

If dual diagnosed folks are going to come to this site for support, they have the right to come without fear--mainly fear of misdirection.

Thanks again, Michael. PLEASE, keep coming back.

Your friend,

Jim Rist

www.cerebral-storm.com

I apalogize for my assumption that you were on the same thought path I was on the day I wrote my response and I'd be more than happy to simplify my answer, making it a lot more direct.

You asked what my experience is in the matter of preventing bipolar disease & addiction and I have absolutely no direct experience with preventing bipolar disease at all but I had a very severe addiction from the time I was 12 years old - spanning for about the next 15 years of my life. Please don't worry about what my addiction was but I can tell you that I tried EVERYTHING to break it. All my efforts were to no evail until I decided to become serious about being a Health Advisor with Shaklee.

The only reason I suggested you visit my Shaklee site was because I thought you had asked how to cure your bipolar disease, that's all. I know there is no cure for that just like there's no cure for my disablity either - TBI or Traumatic Brain Injury.

Although, now I see that's not what you asked me and I'm sorry. I guess there's no reason for you to read any more of my Shaklee site unless you're looking for a way to reduce the negative effects of your own disability - which is what Shaklee did for me!

keep coming back!

Kindest regards,

Your friend, Jim

Yes Michael is on the right track here with natural medicine. There are thousands of people out there who not only believe that natural medicine and eating correctly can prevent disease (mind or body), they not only believe it but have tried it. There is lots of information out there for those truly interested in being free.

I'll let you in on a secret, you have attracted to yourself whatever is in your life. That might seem harsh, but if you can be painfully honest with yourself you will see that the good and bad things in your life are there because of you. The thoughts and words that you send out to the universe will bring back to you what you have created. I am very very aware of the good things that support groups have done for those with mental problems and addictions. The one flaw is they never stop being an addict - they never stop being sick. That is the one thing you will say for the rest of your life. "Hi my name is so and so, and I AM fill in the blank." This speech condemns you to whatever it is you are labeling yourself as, forever. I am not talking about denial. NEVER! I am talking about when you are in recovery, speaking health to yourself. When you have recovered, never ever going back to being that "addict". That is the past. You create your own reality always. And the important thing to remember is, its not just words that create, but thoughts. We are amazing fields of energy that is connected to the whole universe. Our thoughts are sometimes more important than even our actions. You can trip over a pebble and not affect anything negatively...... but the thought that might accompany your trip "man I am such a loser", that creates a loser. Whether you can or cant, whether you are or aren't, you're right. Get that? Very deep.

So listen I just wanted to share an example people out there in your shoes who have been CURED. Yes I mean cured, not recovering, but cured.

At the 8th International Conference on Systems Science in Health Care

co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation,

in Geneva, September 1st to 4th, 2004; this author had been invited by the University of Geneva, on behalf of the International Society on System Science in Health Care [ISSSHC], to present a poster titled -

"The quick and highly effective cure and prevention of many cancers, many incurable physiological, neurological, cardiovascular, late-onset, auto-immune, degenerative and chronic diseases, influenza, many allergies and birth defects, by natural nutritional means"

This news item explained that this man, a father of two, had suffered for 20 from bipolar. Bipolar was actually a common occurrence in his family line, and he was frustrated with the lack of improvement in his condition despite the long term treatment of lithium therapy. In his desperation he tried a "vitamin and mineral" supplement long given to pigs for a similar condition. His improvement was fast and dramatic. So dramatic in fact that investigators at the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) did a preliminary study with 10 people suffering from bipolar disorder - and achieved the same quick and dramatic improvement.

So James, I just want to encourage you in your speeding recovery and complete healing. Another thing that our doctor told us, many people suffer from disease and mental instability because our diet lacks the vitamins and minerals that people used to get from our earth. Some even suffer just because they don't eat healthy. Anger for example is common just because of a bad diet.

Anyway, hope this is helpful, and I look forward to your response.

My name is Jim, and I am bipolar, alcoholic/addicted. That is my identity, but not necessarily my destiny.

Truth plays a great role in my recovery.

Thank you for your essay, naturegirl. Can we agree that diet, exercise, discipline, recreation, and social interaction are at the foundation of good mental and physical health? If we can agree, then we should put that appeal on the back burner for awhile. Okay?

You posted the following:

"This news item explained that this man, a father of two, had suffered for 20 from bipolar. Bipolar was actually a common occurrence in his family line, and he was frustrated with the lack of improvement in his condition despite the long term treatment of lithium therapy. In his desperation he tried a "vitamin and mineral" supplement long given to pigs for a similar condition. His improvement was fast and dramatic. So dramatic in fact that investigators at the University of Calgary (Alberta, Canada) did a preliminary study with 10 people suffering from bipolar disorder - and achieved the same quick and dramatic improvement." --naturegirl, www.mdjunction.com--

For the benefit of those of us who are dual diagnosed, I would like to ask you and others, when you cite experience other than your own, to give us direct access to the third party or third party account of his own experience.

Yes, I believe there is some truth in what you wrote. The chaotic mind, however, may find some difficulty in seeing and employing that truth. Ask any therapist, doctor, or clinician why the bipolar patient acknowledges the value of suggestions such as dietary, exercise, or spiritual remedies; but why the patient paradoxically is unable to employ the remedies with any lasting effect. Ask the patient the same question.

The answer to that question, when known, will probably reveal or suggest the cause for the disease.

In the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, it is written that "...at times the alcoholic will have no effective mental defense against taking the first drink." Why? The answer to that question would explain the cause of alcoholism.

I would like to hear the ten people involved in the Canadian research tell of their recovery experience. That in my mind is the only truth I can accept, first hand personal experience. In the matter of mental illness and addiction I encounter many faulty opinions. I implore you, naturegirl and everyone commenting on these diseases, to recognize the vulnerability of the diseased mind--to respect the deadly nature of misdirection among those who have the diseases--to understand that one faulty opinion seeded into the diseased mind may take root and grow to tragic consequences. The best way to avoid deadly consequences to others is to share my EXPERIENCE rather than my opinion. I leave opinion to the "experts", who, in a commercial sense at least, seem MORE than willing to say, "I've never actually done this, but I believe it will work for you."

To someone chronically afflicted with BP/addiction/alcoholism, the way out is probably not "quick and dramatic."

For the record, I believe that your suggestions will probably help us in recovery; I believe that there is a cure for my diseases; I believe that my diseases could have been prevented. Why do I believe these things? ...because I want to believe them! Does that sound like hope?

It is my experience that my hope and my belief are powerful and essential tools to my recovery. It is my experience that no remedy works effectively for my diseases without hope and belief. Your experience, however, might be different....

Thanks again for your advice, naturegirl!

Jim R

www.blessedtobebonkers.com

www.cerebral-storm.com