Kelly's Story

I have looked forward to the day when I could post my success story on Dr. Fuhrman’s website. Last April 2016 I went to my doctor because I had unexplained weight loss and dark urine.  When I called for the bloodwork results the doctor said, “If you don’t feel well you should go right to the hospital.”  My liver enzymes were about 20 times higher than normal.  I am not overweight or a drinker so she said it could be autoimmune hepatitis. 

Fortunately, I had heard about Dr. Fuhrman because my husband saw him on PBS and I had a friend who was cured of another autoimmune disease by Dr. Fuhrman’s diet.  Therefore, I began his autoimmune protocol diet the very next day April 14, 2016.

In the meantime, I had my bloodwork re-checked to make sure it was not a fluke and discovered that it was only getting worse.  Then, I followed up with a local liver specialist who also suspected autoimmune hepatitis.  When I asked him about any nutritional treatment he said to me, “You better start taking this seriously.  You are about a month or so away from being hospitalized due to liver failure.”  I was told that I needed to begin steroids quickly and would need to be on them for the rest of my life to prevent my immune system from killing my liver. 

So, I signed up for Dr. Fuhrman’s website and sent him my question which was: “Given my ALT liver enzyme levels which are almost at 500 (normal is 6-29) do I have any time to try your diet before beginning the steroids?”  His response filled me with hope and confidence.  He said I could give the diet a try for a few weeks and if the enzymes didn’t decrease I could go on a low dose steroid until the diet kicked in and then he would help wean me get off of them.  His response did not entertain, even for a second, any chance of me being on steroids my whole life.  I am eternally grateful to him for his quick and encouraging answer.  It was all I needed to give this diet my all. 

I would also like to thank a man named, Jim.  He also has an autoimmune hepatitis success story on Dr. Fuhrman’s website.  He and I are blessed to have a disease that can be clearly tracked by bloodwork.  I read his story over and over again for encouragement.  It was very stressful in the beginning and his story helped me through that time of uncertainty. 

Dr. Benson (member of Dr. Fuhrman's medical practice) explained to me that the basic premise of the diet is that there are generally two possible triggers to autoimmune diseases:  animal products and/or gluten.  Therefore, I needed to eliminate both and eat a Nutritarian diet.  In ONE MONTH, my liver enzymes dropped by more than half!  Therefore, I never had to have any steroids!  I was amazed at the power of food. 

Then, I had a prolonged time where my results seemed to flatline just above the normal limit for liver enzymes.  I realized that I was still consuming gluten as a Catholic when I went to Mass, although I did only receive the “low gluten” host.  This contains less than .002 percent gluten in a host the size of a quarter.  I thought that can’t possibly be keeping me from reaching the normal range, but I decided to eliminate it and switch to the wine for a time.  In two months, I had a significant drop and a month later my liver enzymes were COMPLETELY in the NORMAL RANGE!  Therefore, it took about one year on the diet to be cured and truly the triggers were animal products and gluten.   

I will be forever in debt to Dr. Fuhrman, Dr. Benson, and Jim for helping to heal me and teach me the truth about healthy foods!  I wish everyone could know about the power of good nutrition.