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Detoxification

Detoxification

There are two types of avoidance in a practical sense. The first is absolute avoidance and the second is relative avoidance. The difference falls into the mechanism by which your reaction occurs. On an immune basis, absolute avoidance is necessary because only a small amount of an allergen or antigen will instigate a reaction. The second is a metabolic effect. A small amount of acid-producing food may be tolerated in the presence of adequate buffers. Determining what to avoid is not only difficult but controversial. The issue of avoiding fats or carbohydrates is discussed in food combining and in web page on cholesterol and lipids. Some examples of avoidance are listed below:

Your blood type (O, A, B, or AB) may play a role. Your blood type is a genetically determined characteristic of your immune system that affects your response to viruses, bacteria, chemicals, foods, and stress. Persons with blood type "A" carry the "A" component (called an antigen) on their red blood cells just as "B" blood types carry "B" antigen. Persons with blood type "A" have antibodies against "B" blood components while blood type "B" persons have antibodies against "A" blood components.

Many foods contain "lectins" similar to the "A" or "B" components/antigens on red blood cells. As a result, certain foods can trigger the anti-A or anti-B effect on the immune system just as when a transfusion of the wrong type of blood occurs. For example, milk has a B-like antigen that, if exposed to the immune system of an "A" blood type person, will cause an anti-B reaction.

The word lectin is derived from the Latin verb "to choose." Lectins are defined as molecules of non-immune origin that bind to specific carbohydrate receptors with high affinity. In the laboratory tests, lectins behave very similar to antibodies. In fact, lectins (PHA, Con A, PWM, etc) are used in immunodiagnostic studies to determine cell-mediated competence. Lectins bind to virtually any cell in the body and most enzymes and thereby alter their antigenic composition and thus the immune system’s recognition of the cell or protein.

It is known that 95% of the food lectins we eat are not absorbed into the body and are either digested as a nourishing food or are excreted. Most lectins are destroyed by cooking, but some such as lectins in wheat, maize, bananas, and carrots not only survive cooking but may be enhance by it. Five percent, however, are absorbed into the blood stream and become attached to cellular receptors, which then become targets for the immune system to attack, just as if the wrong blood serotype is transfused. The resulting autoimmune reaction may involve virtually any organ system in the body. Because lectins bind for very long time and they bind to tissues with very slow turnover they have been used to produce animal models of chronic rheumatoid arthritis, extrinsic allergic alveolitis, malabsorption of B12, and acute enteritis. Most of the famous lectins are derived from grains, legumes, and tubers. For example, gluten is a lectin that has been associated with celiac disease. Over 100 common foods have been shown to carry lectins, but the list is growing.

According to the work of Peter D’Adamo, in general, type "A" individuals are predisposed to heart disease (Br Heart J 1968;30: 377-82), cancer, diabetes, and tend to have lower stomach acid, and therefore difficulty digesting meat and processed foods. D’Adamo writes that in general, Type A’s should minimize meat in their diet, especially fatty meats and processed meats such as cold cuts, ham, bacon, etc. Type "A" blood reacts to the sugar in milk as well as tomatoes, potatoes, yams, mangoes, oranges, papayas, and cauliflower.

Type "O" individuals have a higher incidence of stroke compared to blood type "A" individuals. However, a hospital autopsy studies show that the age at death is much later for "O" blood types versus "A" blood types. The foods most problematic for the "O" blood type are wheat, corn, oranges, and oats.

The basis for D’Adamo’s work has been questioned, but "a try it and see" approach can be very rewarding for some individuals.

Although it is not emphasized here, I do not imply that avoiding toxic relationships, environments, and chemical agents is any less important.

Detoxification

The most commonly overlooked aspect of nutritional approaches is detoxification. Most doctors fall into the habit of only detoxifying the organ or system that is evident from superficial diagnostic techniques. We often stop before asking how and why the body acquired and maintains an abundance of toxins or pathological organisms. This relates back to the functional tests and the biological terrain. The most lucid explanation of biological terrain is derived from the work of Enderlein, M.D. using darkfield microscopy. The insight gained from understanding his approach gives you an idea of the severity of the condition and estimates not only the types of therapy that will need to be employed, but also the duration one can expect before health is rejuvenated. The stages of health are outlined into 6 progressive "Reckeweg" phases.

• Excretion Phase - physiologic drainage phase (ex: cough, cold, acute sinuses). The body is in a hyper-reactive state but maintains an organized, non-chaotic response to the challenge. The treatment is thus directed at humoral factors such as diet changes, sauna, salt bath, hydrotherapy, climate adjustment, breathing, psychological therapy, and social changes. In other words adjustments or lifestyle and augmented detoxification.
• Reaction Phase - pathological/inflammatory drainage is hyper-regulation and self-healing (ex: pus, heat, redness, pain, swelling) such as occurs with a bacterial infection. The body has a more focused reaction in one area and tissue injury may occurs. The response is not as organized or clean and as a result tissue casualty occurs. Treatment is also directed at humoral factors but now requires therapeutic intervention such as with drainage acupuncture, neural therapy, homeopathics, anti-microbials, etc. Lifestyle changes will not effect restoration.
• Deposition Phase - the tissue becomes loaded with toxic by-products and is unable to react to outside stress appropriately (ex: gout). Not only is the humoral factors affected but there is a change in the matrix of the tissue. As a result, the response to additional stress in inadequate or at least partially blocked. Tissue damage occurs but is not to the point where the entire organ or organ system is faltering. Treatment must rejuvenate and detoxify the tissue using lymphatic draining, electrical neural therapy (galvanic therapy on acupuncture and reaction points), colon therapy, etc. The tissue toxins no longer will dissipate through "passive" biochemical pathways, direct stimulation or drainage must occur in order to heal the tissue.

Diseases in phases 1-3 are considered to be due to biological constitution and are capable of self-healing with a good prognosis.

• Impregnation Phase - the matrix milieu has become toxic to the point that it causes enzymatic disturbance to the cell membranes. The Na⁺/K⁺ and Ca⁺⁺/Na⁺ pumps are impaired and as a result the cell develops oxidative stress (ex: asthma, fibromyalgia). The organ system is affected but the damage is largely reversible. The response to stress is variable but is no longer physiologic and adaptive. There is a more chaotic response to stress. In the examples given, the asthmatic bronchiole secretes excessive mucus and constricts beyond expected. Treatment is focussed on repairing the membrane in addition to aiding in elimination or drainage. Choices include electrolytes, acidification or alkalization, improving cellular respiration, antioxidants, etc.
• Degeneration Phase - organ and organ system disturbance and/or disease occurs rather than just the cell (ex: diabetes, multiple sclerosis, thyroiditis, metabolic diseases). The depth is now at the cellular level and not just the tissue matrix. The response to stress is diminished because the cells are no longer capable of responding and the milieu is loaded with toxic by-products. The response is clearly chaotic with cell and organ damage. Treatment must now not only include all of the above therapies but also rejuvenative therapies such as specific vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fats, glandular support, etc.
• Neoplastic Phase - cell membrane oxidation/mutation leads to oncogene stimulation (ex: cancer). This cellular phase shows almost no ability to respond to stress, it has become independent from the environment so to speak. The activity is chaotic and uncontrolled even with stimulus. Degeneration is progressed and rejuvenative therapies alone are insufficient to initiate change. Targeted immune and metabolic therapy is required. Detoxification is required but often is too stressful for the organism.
• This outline is a conceptual way to understand what forms of therapy are necessary and the likelihood of success. For successful detoxication (as well as successful nourishment), the first therapeutic step must be to ensure adequate circulation to the specific detoxication organ or organs:
  • Hepatobiliary - liver and gallbladder. One technique is a hepatobiliary flush.
  • Urogenital - kidney, prostate, uterus
  • Gastrointestinal - parotid, salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, colon
  • Respiratory - lung, sinus and related mucus membranes
  • Cutaneous - skin, hair, nails

Nourishment

A theme that will recur throughout any successful program is specificity. In other words, individualization. In this next section, nourishment is discussed. It is termed nourishment rather than simply "nutrition" because there is the implication that nourishment is more than nutrition. The difference is not only in effectiveness but also the subtle bioenergetic component that nourishment provides even when nutrition may not. The difference is bioenergy. It is what separates living matter from substances that comprise the components of life but have no energy. After all, a living human organism has the same chemical makeup as a dead one.

The difference is energy. There have been many terms for such energy - "chi" or "vital force" for example. Applying this bioenergy is what makes some health care providers healers rather than technicians dispensing data, diets, and drugs. Healing requires bioenergy. An analogy is about lights. The light bulbs are nutrition, the on-off switch is the bioenergetic control. You can have the best and brightest light bulbs (nutrition) but they will only provide light when the bioenergetic light switch is on. Likewise, you may have the light switch on, but without proper bulbs there will be no light. It is crucial to differentiate this in treatment. The use of raw unprocessed whole food concentrates including herbs is the only way to get both bioenergy and biochemistry. They are living matrixes with a defined bioenergetic profile. Homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, electrical treatments, magnets, prayer, etc. are only bioenergetic. Sometimes that is all that is needed, the bulbs (the nutritional condition) are fine. Conversely, isolated fractions and combinations thereof of vitamins, chelates, etc are often synthetic in origin without bioenergy - the lights don’t come on.