Brain & Nervous System
Myasthenia Gravis
An autoimmune disease causing progressive muscular weakness and fatigability, especially in the face, neck, and eyes. Likely rooted in autointoxication from chronic constipation and poor diet. Colon cleansing, nourishing diet, nerve-supporting nutrients, and avoiding solanaceous plants are the main natural approaches.
Also known as: MG, Muscle weakness disease, Neuromuscular disease, asthenia (definition: weakness or lack of energy), atrophy (definition: wasting away of muscle or tissue)
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Autoimmune attack on acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction; Autointoxication from chronic constipation -- cecal pressure releases colon toxins into small intestine and blood; Excess chemicals, toxins, and chronic poor diet disrupting immune function.
First thing to try: Begin a nourishing diet with abundant roughage to prevent constipation.
See a doctor if: This is a potentially serious condition that requires professional medical diagnosis and care. See a doctor promptly — the suggestions here are gentle, supportive measures only and are not a substitute for medical treatment.
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- Autoimmune attack on acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction
- Autointoxication from chronic constipation -- cecal pressure releases colon toxins into small intestine and blood
- Excess chemicals, toxins, and chronic poor diet disrupting immune function
- Thymus gland tumor in adults over 40 (requires medical evaluation)
- Solanaceous plants (tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tobacco) -- block acetylcholine function
Change what you can
- Begin a nourishing diet with abundant roughage to prevent constipation.
- Drink enough fluids.
- Take lecithin (essential for nerve function) and chlorophyll.
- Eat buckwheat, millet, rye, and red potato peeling broth.
- Strictly avoid solanaceous crops: tomatoes, white potatoes, green and red peppers, eggplant, and all forms of tobacco -- these all contain solanine, which specifically interferes with acetylcholine.
- Avoid white flour, dairy, fried foods, meat, animal fats, cheese, and eggs.
- Do not overwork; take frequent rest breaks.
- Walk gently outdoors and build up gradually.
- Helpful nervine herbs: skullcap, hops, chamomile, valerian, dong quai, wood betony, small amounts of lobelia.
🌿 Then assist nature: remedies & protocols
With the cause being addressed, these are the actual things people do for this — ranked by the community. Vote ▲ on what helped you and ▼ on what didn't, and open How to do it for the steps. Each shows two quick signals: Evidence (how much science backs it) and Gentleness (how safe and in keeping with whole, natural health).
★ Start here — our first-line pick, pinned for safety
This is meant purely as gentle, supportive nutrition alongside your neurologist's treatment plan, not a substitute for it -- myasthenia gravis requires professional medical diagnosis and ongoing care.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: A diet built around fiber-rich whole foods supports regular bowel function and steady nutrition, which can help overall energy and comfort, though it does not treat the underlying autoimmune process.
- Build meals around whole grains, vegetables, and fruit for steady fiber intake.
- Drink water regularly through the day to support digestion and comfort.
- Avoid heavy, greasy, or hard-to-chew foods that can tire jaw and throat muscles.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals if chewing or swallowing tires you out.
ongoing daily habit · daily
Caution: This diet does not treat myasthenia gravis and must not delay or replace prescribed medication, thymectomy, or other medical treatment. If swallowing becomes difficult, food may enter the airway -- work with a speech or swallowing therapist if this happens. Any new or worsening weakness, especially affecting breathing, is a medical emergency.
When to get help: Call emergency services immediately for any difficulty breathing, severe swallowing trouble, or sudden worsening of weakness -- this can signal a myasthenic crisis.
Source: Whole-food supportive care traditions
Comments & experiences ▾
Also helps — ranked by the community (vote to reorder)
A supportive daily habit to use alongside medical treatment, not instead of it -- always keep your neurology team informed of your symptom pattern.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Because myasthenia gravis muscle weakness worsens with sustained use and improves with rest, deliberately pacing activity and building in rest breaks can reduce how tired affected muscles become.
- Identify your most demanding tasks and schedule them for times of day when you feel strongest.
- Break up chores or exercise into short segments with rest in between.
- Take a planned rest period mid-morning and mid-afternoon, even on good days.
- Stop an activity at the first sign of increasing weakness rather than pushing through.
ongoing daily habit · daily
Caution: Overexertion can trigger a sudden worsening of weakness, so err on the side of stopping early. Infections, stress, and certain medications can also trigger flares -- report new illness to your doctor promptly.
When to get help: Seek emergency care immediately for shortness of breath, trouble swallowing saliva, or a rapid increase in weakness.
Source: Chronic illness pacing traditions
Comments & experiences ▾
An optional, low-risk self-observation to discuss with your medical team -- it is not a proven treatment and should never replace prescribed therapy.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Some plants in the nightshade family contain solanine, a compound some traditional sources link to interference with acetylcholine activity, so avoiding them is a low-risk trial some people choose to make.
- Keep a simple food and symptom diary for two weeks.
- Note any pattern between eating tomatoes, white potatoes, peppers, eggplant, or tobacco use and symptom changes.
- If you notice a link, discuss it with your neurologist before making major diet changes.
- Continue all prescribed medications regardless of diet changes.
2 weeks to notice patterns · daily tracking
Caution: This is an unproven, traditional idea, not an established medical treatment -- evidence is limited. Do not stop or reduce prescribed medication based on diet changes without your doctor's guidance.
When to get help: Seek emergency care for any sudden increase in weakness, breathing difficulty, or trouble swallowing.
Source: Folk dietary observation traditions
Comments & experiences ▾
How the numbers work: a weighted voting system — trusted published sources cast endorsement votes for each protocol, and your ▲/▼ adds to them. Not medical advice.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- This is a potentially serious condition that requires professional medical diagnosis and care. See a doctor promptly — the suggestions here are gentle, supportive measures only and are not a substitute for medical treatment.
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your myasthenia gravis — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Myasthenia gravis (literally 'muscle weakness') is an autoimmune condition causing progressive muscular weakness and fatigability, without atrophy. It primarily affects the muscles of the face and neck (causing droopy eyelids, difficulty chewing, swallowing, and speaking) but can involve the trunk, extremities, and critically, the respiratory muscles. Adolescents and young women are most commonly affected. The condition causes malfunctioning of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter responsible for inducing muscle contractions. Autointoxication from chronic constipation and toxic buildup is identified as a primary underlying cause, as colon toxins are absorbed directly into the small intestine and then the blood when the cecum presses against the ileocecal valve. When the respiratory system is involved, the condition can be rapidly fatal.
Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune condition in which the immune systemYour body's built-in defense team that fights off germs and helps you heal. More → disrupts the signals between nerves and muscles, causing muscle weakness that characteristically worsens with use and improves with rest. It often affects the muscles of the eyes (causing drooping lids or double vision), face, throat, and limbs, and the weakness can fluctuate through the day.
This is a medical condition requiring specialist diagnosis and treatment, which can effectively manage symptoms — it is not something natural remedies can treat. The most important safety point is that a severe worsening affecting the muscles of breathing or swallowing (a 'myasthenic crisis') is a medical emergency needing immediate care. Around medical treatment, supportive measures help quality of life: balancing activity with rest, managing stress and infections (which can trigger flares), and good nutrition, all guided by the medical team overseeing care.
Common signs
- Progressive muscular weakness and easy fatigability -- worse in the evening
- Droopy eyelids (ptosis)
- Difficulty chewing, swallowing, and speaking
- Double vision (diplopia)
- Emotional stress worsening all symptoms
- In severe cases: respiratory muscle weakness requiring emergency ventilation
🍃 Supporting foods & habits
The gentle, everyday foods and supports that help in the background — secondary to the active remedies above. Vote on what helped you.
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Abundant roughage, whole grains (buckwheat, millet, rye), and high-quality plant protein. Carrot juice and green/yellow vegetables for carotenes. Red potato peel broth. No solanaceous plants (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, white potatoes). No dairy, meat, fried foods, white flour, or eggs.
⚖️ Good to know
- Respiratory involvement in myasthenia gravis constitutes a medical emergency.
- All patients with suspected MG should be evaluated by a physician.
- Myasthenic crisis (sudden respiratory failure) can be life-threatening and requires immediate hospitalization.
- The natural program is most appropriate as a supportive measure alongside or after medical stabilization.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
This autoimmune muscle-weakness disorder is managed by a neurologist with medication and other therapies.
Commonly offered
- Medications that improve nerve-muscle signaling (pyridostigmine)–
- Immune-suppressing drugs and, for some, thymus surgery–
- IV immunoglobulin or plasma exchange for severe flares–
- Avoiding medications that worsen weakness–
Worth knowing
- A 'myasthenic crisis' (severe weakness affecting breathing) is a medical emergency.
- Many common drugs can worsen it — check before starting any new medicine.
- Needs ongoing neurology care.
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
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