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Dr Rachna Chhachhi's ‘Healing Autoimmune Conditions’: 6 steps to better immunity
Summary
Managing autoimmune diseases may require medicines as a stopgap situation. A better approach may be to address the root causes instead of the symptoms‘I used to have severe joint pains especially in winter and would not be able to get out of bed,’ says Devanshi, ‘but now I don’t have any joint pains even though I am not as strict with my diet and exercise. I never believed in the holistic nutrition autoimmune protocol but honestly it worked miraculously for me.’ Devanshi completed her post-graduate studies in biochemistry. She is twenty-six now and runs the family business and lives a full life.
AUTOIMMUNE TREATMENT PROTOCOL
My autoimmune treatment protocol, trademarked as the RachnaRestores Protocol®, has steps for healing that can lead one to a quality of life higher than what is possible through medication. Of course, medicines are necessary to provide stopgap relief or douse emergency situations, which is the primary function of medical science. However, autoimmune diseases have no cure and the methods to alleviate symptoms are not well understood. But when we systematically approach the causes of the disease, the immune system flourishes.
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This approach helps you avoid emergencies and provides relief in a matter of just a few weeks, as many of the warriors I have treated and those interviewed for this book have shared. This isn’t an overnight process but a vertical line of healing that takes the autoimmune warrior from a state of demotivation to one of positivity and hope for the future. As was the case with Devanshi and many other warriors, beginning the journey is difficult—but when your symptoms begin to reduce, reports get better, your motivation to beat the disease increases.
Every autoimmune patient struggles daily with symptoms that stop them from living a normal life. In most cases, there is little motivation to do more because doctors have already declared them incurable. The patient has accepted that they will only get worse and that they have to accept the toxic side effects of medications. When someone is in a state of mind where hopelessness is the overriding emotion, just getting them to take the first step becomes difficult. Hence, we have to help them experience small wins.
My treatment takes a year for a warrior to cement the physical and emotional equilibrium in their immunity. The steps are sequential and should be followed in the order that they have been listed. The end result is reduction in overreactivity of the immune system at an emotional level as well as a body cleansed of pathogens. However, not following the sequence correctly can mess up the signalling for the central nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system, causing fatigue and flare-ups. Many warriors have tried to take shortcuts by changing or merging the steps and ended up experiencing a relapse.
A good example of sequential healing can be illustrated with the example of a fractured ankle. When healing a simple fracture, the vertical line approach is the best way. First the patient is put in a cast, then they do physiotherapy followed by strengthening exercises. After the completion of each step in this sequence, they can go back to a normal life. But if someone with a broken ankle decides to go for a walk after two weeks of being in a cast with the justification that ‘walking is healthy’, they will compromise this vertical line approach and can risk permanent damage to the injured area.
So follow the simple structure below:
• rest • repair • recover • restore
When you see your healing steps in the above manner, it becomes easier to be patient and the healing becomes foundationally strong. That commitment is something that the warrior has to make to themselves. My protocol works with any autoimmune condition because it doesn’t address the symptoms but the root causes. When the root causes disappear, the symptoms fade.
Excerpted with permission from Healing Autoimmune Conditions: The Holistic 6-Step Programme to Beat Your Disease by Dr Rachna Chhachhi, published by HarperCollins India.
