Posted by noa on April 1, 2003, at 19:13:24
In reply to warning--a little rant, but not against you. » JLx, posted by beardedlady on April 1, 2003, at 9:45:55
I heard Dr. Crook speak once on the yeast thing and had a hard time buying his theories because the science seemed very iffy to me. He talked about the "leaky gut" problem where supposedly low level chronic yeast infections cause toxins to leak from our "gut" into our bloodstream, causing ADHD. I subsequently asked around a lot to different doctors, friends and relatives with more science background than I have, etc. and they all agree with the position you are expressing, Beardy--that yeast is not something that we can have for very long as a stable, low level problem--that it either gets taken care of by other flora or it grows out of control. Ie, if you had a yeast problem, there would be no mistaking it! And, that the claims of yeast causing all kinds of non-specific ailments and conditions are not backed up by any serious scientific studies.
OK, that being said, here is a possible OTOH:
I have a relative who has been in total remission for more than a decade from a very deadly form of cancer. Ten years ago he underwent a high risk, experimental procedure--twice for good measure--and came through it. He almost died from the treatment itself. But he came through it. Almost immediately, he also adopted a very strict macrobiotic healing diet (which is even stricter than the "regular" macrobiotic diet). Well, he absolutely credits the diet with his successfully being in remission all these years, under the guidance of a macrobiotic guru, for all this time since the cancer was treated. He works very hard at this diet, and drives a lot of people kind of crazy in the process, but he believes that is what has kept him healthy. And you know what? We may never know if that is true or not. His mother had adopted this same diet but died anyway of a different form of cancer--so his siblings get angry at his adamance about the strict diet. (Btw--his mother died while he was recovering from his experimental treatment). So who knows. But I do understand how he would be so committed to not stopping the macrobiotic thing because he has been healthy and why risk it?
Interestingly, this man is a scientist of the kind who tends to approach every decision, large and small, in life with a scientfic approach---considering all variables ad nauseum and wanting to always do the most "Logical" thing. To the point that it also drives everyone quite crazy (me especially!!) because sometimes the most logical thing is not the best option because you gotta get on and get moving sometimes. One can get extremely paralyzed by considering everything so carefully as he often does. For example, if extended family are all together and we are considering group activites, it can take FOREVER and half a day can be ruined because he wants to go over all the possibilities (I know--kind of OCD). Another example was a situation which led me to tell him (quite emphatically, I might add), "Yes, so and so, I KNOW that it is more logical in terms of redundancy of effort if we wait and transfer the luggage directly from the rental car to the car of the person coming to pick us up here at the rental agency, instead of unloading it from this car, bringing it into the rental office to get out of the rain, and then bringing it out again when we get picked up, but let's give the rental car employee a break! He has to close the store on time, which is going to be right after we get picked up and he really wants to get the check in going so he can inspect the car etc. and be ready to close the shop on time".
You get the picture.
But the macro diet is the one thing that is different. It is kind of like kicking the soda machine and getting the soda to come out and trying it again, and having it work again, and then being convinced that the kick is what gets the soda machine to work. Maybe yes, maybe no. And I understand his not being willing to stop the macro diet to see what happens, given how ill he had been. But it could be totally spurious for all we know.
So that was my OTOH, FWIW. But I do tend to agree with you both about the yeast claims and about how hard it can be to sort out what is causing what if you're taking a lot of different things.
poster:noa
thread:214008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030329/msgs/215200.html