Case: Samia came to me because she was suffering from panic attacks and skin eruptions on her face. She was very dedicated to healing herself and wanted to know about everything she could do to help herself. She came to me looking very drawn and pale.

Upon perusal of her iris, I discovered that Samia had a heavy case of candida as well as some problems in her spinal area. I recommended simply that she first go on a mild candida diet and see a chiropractor. I also gave her some Pau d'arco to help her clear the candida from her intestines.

I saw Samia a month later and was astounded at her progress. The candida signs in her eye had lessened and she even looked much healthier. She was glowing. Samia confided in me that she had seen the chiropractor twice, that she had followed the recommendations I had given her a month earlier and has also taken the tea daily.

With the candida cleared up, Samia now wanted to work on some of her anxiety problems, which had lessened significantly during her healing process, but were still present. During this second visit I gave Samia some herbal tea containing skullcap, hops, chamomile and catnip. She was to continue to follow a diet of no sugar or white flour and take the new tea three times a day.

I saw Samia another month later and was amazed. Almost all the discolorations in her eyes had gone, and what had once been one blue and one green eye, were now both blue eyes. Samia related to me that she was feeling great lately and that her anxiety was almost gone. I told Samia that she could start relaxing her food restrictions at this point. I also told her to keep the tea handy on days when she needed some nervous system support, but to stop taking any herbs on a daily basis. To maintain her present health I recommended that she minimize her consumption of sodas, coffee, white breads and white sugar and take the tea for the nervous system I had given her when she needed to.

The next month Samia went on a vacation to England and came back. Upon her return she wanted me to do another iridology reading for her to see if she looked any better. I told her that she had improved so much before she probably would not see such dramatic changes again but she insisted on coming for an appointment. When I saw her she still looked healthy but a little thin. She excitedly shared with me that in England she had discovered a wonderful book about candida and that she had been following the diet in the book exactly as well as taking a number of extracts they recommended. She had been doing this for two months.

I listened and congratulated her on her enthusiasm and discipline but reiterated the fact that she could really let up on restricting so many foods from her diet, especially since she was so thin. I also mentioned that she did not have to take so many of the supplements that the book recommended.

I did not see Samia after that until four months later when she took a class with me. She had become even thinner but she looked happy with herself and chatted on about a new project she was doing, how well she was eating and how healthy she felt. I was happy to see her trying to take care of herself so well but I feared she was overdoing it a bit so I recommended again that she not restrict her diet so extremely and that she not take so many herbs.

Two weeks later I received a call from a mutual friend who said that Samia had been rushed to the hospital with a collapsed lung. The doctors told Samia that her condition usually only happened from a trauma to the chest or in anorexic conditions. Samia chuckled at their assessment and said that she did not understand how any of that could have happened to her. However, to an outside observer, including her physician, it was obvious that Samia had induced an anorexic condition in herself, albeit for none of the traditional reasons. Because she had not done this to lose weight, deal with psychological issues or improve her body image, Samia did not fit the profile of a typical anorexic. In fact, just the opposite. Her friends all knew her as the girl who took very good care of her health.

When I visited Samia in the hospital she asked me once again about her diet and I emphasized that now was not the time to think about dieting for any reason, but about gaining some of the weight she had lost in the hospital and filling her body with an abundance of healing and healthy foods from many food groups. She expressed concern about the number of medical drugs she had taken in the hospital and also expressed a desire to detoxify her body. I recommended that instead of going on a traditional detox, which is often strenuous to the body, that she eat normally, but drink certain juices like raw potato or fresh apple juice to clear her body of any toxins she felt she might have.

A week later Samia was recovered and I called her at home. I was glad to hear that her friends had been bringing her meals every night and staying to eat with her. She sounded much more energetic and is hoping to avoid the same problem in the future.

Karima Burns, MH, ND performs online health consultations and gives an at www.herbnmuslim.com