In this section I will discuss some of the ‘treatments’ which can be used in a number of conditions but require a little more explanation.
Low dose naltrexone
Naltrexone is a drug which is been used for many years in treating people with opium and morphine addiction, and also alcoholism. It blocks the opioid receptors on the cells.
All cells in our body including our brain and immune system have these opioid receptors, and they are designed to respond to endorphans to keep healthy. For example in the immune system there are messergers (cytokines) which increase inflammation, and others which decrease it. If these are unbalanced, they can lead to inflammatory diseases, or at the other end of the spectrum allergic diseases.
It was discovered that taking naltrexone in a very low dose (the usual treatment dose is 50 mg a day, low dose is from 0.5 to 5 mg a day) has many health benefits. The low dose only lasts for about 2-4 hours, during that time the receptors are blocked from the endorphans, and the body responds by creating more endorphans. This increase in endorphans lasts for about 24 hours. After the 2 or 3 hours blockage subsides, the body benefits from the increase in endorphans, and it has been shown to reduce many immune diseases such as Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, thyroiditis etc. It is also been used in the treatment of cancer, and can significantly reduce pain.
In a low dose, naltrexone is almost no side-effects, other than possibly making people dream a little more. Currently it is not used as part of a conventional medicine, I’m not certain why? It certainly is worth a trial in people with these diseases, it is a great deal easier to take an infinitely safer than most medications. It is best to start a low dose 0.5 mg taken at night, increasing if necessary up to a maximum of 5 mg, taken before bed.