Overcoming multiple sclerosis : an evidence-based 7 step recovery program

477 Pages·2016·13.532 MB·English

by  Jelinek, George

‘I would have no hesitation in recommending Overcoming Multiple PROFESSOR GEORGE JELINEK md
Sclerosis to my patients, but also to my friends and colleagues.’
PROFESSOR GAVIN GIOVANNONI MBBCh, PhD, FCP (S.A., Neurol.), FRCP, FRCPath, OVERCOMING
Chair of Neurology, Blizard Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry
‘Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis combines hard scientific evidence with MO MULTIPLE
practical advice and compassion. It will be of benefit to nearly everybody
U
affected by MS and I heartily recommend it.’ V
DR PETER FISHER FRCP, Physician to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and Director L
TE SCLEROSIS
of Research, Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
I
R
P
Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis is an established and successful program L
C The evidence-based 7 step recovery program
of treatment. Once a diagnosis of MS meant inevitable decline and E
disability. Now thousands of people around the world are living healthy,
O
S
active lives on the Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis recovery program.
C
M
Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis explains the nature of MS and outlines L
an evidence-based 7 step program for recovery. Professor George Jelinek E
devised the program from an exhaustive analysis of medical research
RI
when he was first diagnosed with MS in 1999. It has been refined
N
O
through major ongoing international clinical studies under Professor
Jelinek’s leadership, examining the lifestyles of several thousand S
G
people with MS world-wide and their health outcomes. I
S

Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis is invaluable for anyone recently diagnosed
with MS, living with MS for years, or with a family member with MS. JGp
It makes an ideal resource for doctors treating people with MS. E r
E
L o
O
I f
N
Re
PROFESSOR GEORGE JELINEK MD MBBS DipDHM FACEM
E s
is Head of the Neuroepidemiology Unit in the Melbourne School Gs
K
of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. Eo
He is an international leader in research and treatment of multiple
m r
sclerosis, and co-author of Recovering from Multiple Sclerosis.
d

Cover design: Squirt Creative THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
Cover photograph: Kucher Serhii/Shutterstock
COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED
HEALTH
Overcoming MS_Full Cover_FINAL.indd 1 spine: 34.33mm 1/04/2016 9:32 AM
Praise for Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis
‘A lot of people glibly refer to patient-empowerment and self-management as
if it was easy for every one with multiple sclerosis to do and know how to do.
Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis is a self-help guide that will not only empower
people living with MS, but act as a manual on how they should manage their
disease and their life, written by a person with medical knowledge and a personal
story to tell makes the book more authentic. I would have no hesitation in
recommending it to my patients, but also to my friends and colleagues. This
book is not just about living with a disease, but it sets out a philosophy of how
to live your life, be an active participant in decisions about your health and it
makes you think very deeply about wellness. Being self-disciplined is clearly one
of George Jelinek’s strengths and not everyone will have his self-discipline nor
the desire to follow all of his recommendations. But the inspiration you will get
from reading this book is that you, yes you, could also set-out on a journey of
empowerment and change the way you live for the better. Tomorrow, today will
be yesterday; there is no time like now to start living d ifferently.’
PROFESSOR GAVIN GIOVANNONI, MBBCh, PhD, FCP (S.A., Neurol.),
FRCP, FRCPath, Chair of Neurology, Blizard Institute, Barts and The London
School of Medicine and Dentistry
‘George Jelinek’s Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis is a remarkable and unique book.
Born of his harsh personal experience of multiple sclerosis, it offers sound
scientific evidence-based advice to optimise the chances of people with MS
leading a normal healthy life. Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis combines hard
scientific evidence with practical advice and compassion. It will be of benefit to
nearly everybody affected by MS and I heartily recommend it.’
DR PETER FISHER, FRCP, Physician to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and
Director of Research, Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
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‘Fifty years ago my wife was diagnosed with MS and I was told by her neurolo-
gist what her future would be. At first I lied to her, in order not to take her hope
away, until I realized lying would not solve her problem. It was at that time
that I began exploring the field of holistic medicine and learning from physi-
cians like George. She is still by my side today. Yes, she has some effects of the
disease but has also far exceeded the predictions made decades ago. So take the
challenge and understand it is not about failing but about participating in one’s
life, exceeding expectations and taking responsibility for your own health and
well-being.’
BERNIE SIEGEL, MD, author of The Art of Healing and Love, Medicine &
Miracles, USA
‘As a Pediatrician who has been controlling his MS for 21 years, I wholeheartedly
recommend this book for all people with MS. Diet and lifestyle changes offer
enormous potential in facilitating recovery from this illness.’
JOHN HOVIOUS, MD, USA
‘Professor Jelinek is inspirational in his approach to empower patients to take
control of their multiple sclerosis and responsibility for the management of
their disease. His holistic approach encouraging patients to consider more than
just a pharmaceutical approach to the disease has proven itself as the modern
approach to the management of multiple sclerosis. This is a book that all patients
with multiple sclerosis should read and use as a platform for discussion with
their neurologist.’
DR PETER L SILBERT, MBBS (Hons) FRACP, Neurologist, Perth Neuro­
physiology, Australia
‘I cannot recommend this book highly enough whether you are diagnosed with
MS, a support person or a medical professional. Through his work and research
George Jelinek changes the paradigm of managing MS. Based on scientific
evidence and a deep understanding of the mind body connection this book
provides the tools to take your health and wellb eing back into your own hands.’
DR. MED. MIRIAM NEATBY, Berlin, Germany
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‘In this book Professor Jelinek details the path for recovery from Multiple
Sclerosis and in doing so provides the blueprint for managing modern chronic
illness.’
DR SAM GARTLAND, MB ChB BSc (Hons) MRCP (UK) FRACGP, A ustralia
‘If you are a skeptic, read this book with an open mind, and you might just
discover that overcoming multiple sclerosis is possible. If you are already a
believer in lifestyle disease management, then get ready to be inspired.’
JANINE STASIOR, Ph.D., M.S., ABPdN, Board Certified Pediatric Neuro­
psychologist, Child Development Network Inc., Lexington MA, USA
‘For people living with MS, or their families, this is the book you need to read.
Through reading it you will take hope—a lot of hope—not just from inspiring
stories of recovery, but from a mountain of research all pointing in the same
direction. There is much you can do to change for the better the course of MS
and your life by following Professor Jelinek’s OMS program. These 7 steps are the
essential management of MS although it may take the wider medical profession
another generation or two to catch up to that fact.’
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CRAIG HASSED, Department of General Practice,
Monash University, Australia
‘This book has proved a life line. When I was first diagnosed with multiple
sclerosis it made such a difference to have a template to live. Now 22 years on
after my first MS episode I have remained relatively unscathed and here is the
revised edition to provide me with the inspiration to maintain my cognition
and an opportunity to confront the risks that come with a MS in the long term.
Through Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis I have been given back a rich and blessed
life that felt so close to being torn away. Thank you.’
DR HEATHER KING, general practitioner, New Zealand
‘George Jelinek’s book is the Science, Art and Heart of Multiple Sclerosis. It
provides a mountain of evidence showing his 7 step “total change of life, for
life” program gives people with MS real hope of leading a normal, healthy life.’
PROFESSOR ROB MOODIE, AM, Professor of Public Health, Melbourne
School of Population and Global Health, Australia
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‘We once believed the earth was flat and it took a brilliant mind and a very long
time before the world understood this was not the case. My one hope is that the
world of Neurology and Medicine is much quicker to catch on to the brilliance
of the many minds whose research has been summarised here in simple terms
by Prof Jelinek for everyone to understand.’
DR JOANNE SAMER, MB. BS, Post Grad Dip Health Sciences, GAICD,
Australia. Living well with MS since 1991.
‘This is the book everyone diagnosed with MS should read! As a clinical psychol-
ogist and as a person diagnosed with MS, I cannot recommend it highly enough.’
DR RACHAEL HUNTER, BA (Hons), MSc, DClin Psychol, UK
‘I am a super sceptical medical doctor with MS and I had the great good fortune
to be given George Jelinek’s Taking Control of MS 15 years ago. It was the best gift
ever and the concepts and recommendations were a revelation to me. The infor-
mation was all based on sound scientific evidence and that made it easy to accept
and embrace the recommended lifestyle factors. The only side effects were better
health. The new edition is extensively updated and we need to disseminate the
enclosed valuable the information widely to our fellow MSers and educate our
medical colleagues that there is hope of recovery.’
DR VIRGINIA BILLSON, pathologist, Melbourne, Australia
‘Professor George Jelinek distils years of experience as a clinician-researcher to
provide people with MS with a tool to navigate the vast array of information
in the scientific and lay press to make informed decisions about their health.
He does not profess to have all the answers but his approach offers measured
hope and optimism for people with MS.’
DR PETER VAN WIJNGAARDEN, Principal Investigator, Centre for Eye
Research Australia
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‘This book, written by a professor of medicine, himself a person with MS, gives
a lot of information on dietary treatment and supplementation with vitamin D,
to prevent an unfavourable course of this extremely multi-facetted disease. The
work is actually a scientific one which is written, however, in a non-specialist
language. The book should be on the shelf of anyone with MS, and others inter-
ested in this subject.’
KLAUS LAUER, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Klinikum
Darmstadt, Germany
‘A must read for people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, their doctors, and
family members. Professor Jelinek provides a comprehensive summary of the
evidence supporting a lifestyle approach to living well with multiple sclerosis
and gives clear guidelines about what people with multiple sclerosis can do to
optimise their health.’
PROFESSOR ANNE KAVANAGH, University of Melbourne, Australia
‘Every person with MS should have access to this information and the support of
their family, doctors, and all health care providers to implement it.’
DR ANNETTE CARRUTHERS, general practitioner, NSW, Australia
‘Many people with MS are made to feel like their illness is a mystery and not
much can be done. This book provides the evidence based proof that taking that
view is not only wrong, it’s also misleading. Professor George Jelinek’s t horoughly
researched program not only demonstrates that recovery from MS is possible, it’s
actually pretty straight forward.’
SHANNON HARVEY, director and producer, The Connection documentary,
Australia
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2ND EDITION
PROFESSOR GEORGE JELINEK md
OVERCOMING
MULTIPLE
SCLEROSIS
The evidence-based 7 step recovery program
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2ND EDITION
PROFESSOR GEORGE JELINEK md
OVERCOMING
MULTIPLE
SCLEROSIS
The evidence-based 7 step recovery program
MultipleSclerosis_2e.indd 7 29/04/2016 7:57 am
First published in 2016
Copyright © George Jelinek 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968
(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever
is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational
purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has
given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
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Australia
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Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available
from the National Library of Australia
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ISBN 978 1 76011 255 4
Internal design by Midland Typesetters
Internal illustrations by Tor Ercleve
Index by Puddingburn
Set in 11/14 pt Berkeley by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press
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The paper in this book is FSC® certified.
FSC® promotes environmentally responsible,
socially beneficial and economically viable
C009448
management of the world’s forests.
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For Eva Jelinek
1923–1981
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