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Conversations on Wellness

Detox Your Body to Begin Your Transition to Wellness

Over the period of your lifetime, eating a typical ‘Western style’ diet, your body has become highly contaminated with a lot of very nasty substances, much of which you are hauling around with you every day, and will remain in your body indefinitely.  If your typical diet consists of dairy, white bread, meat, French-fried potatoes, processed packaged foods, or street-corner junk food, you can be assured that your colon is compacted with undigested particles of putrefied food mixed with mucous and pus, called mucoid plague, that has firmly entrenched itself into the lining of your colon.  Some of this disgusting poison is making its way into your blood stream every moment.  It is common for autopsies to reveal 20 pounds of this junk, or more, in a typical case.

In some notable autopsies, such as Elvis Presley and John Wayne, the impacted plague stuck in their colons exceeded 30 pounds.  This is not the record, as others have had over 40 pounds of junk in their colons at death.

This mucoid plague is toxic in the extreme and is the root cause of a great deal of human disease, including cancer, colitis, Crohn’s, absorption problems, digestion problems, psoriasis and even the common cold. 

Your Digestive Tract

Like the epidermis, your outer skin covering, you have an inner skin that extends from your mouth to your anus. This inner tract keeps whatever you ingest through your mouth separated from your body, except for those certain digested molecules that can pass through this skin by a process of osmosis.  These molecules that pass through the inner skin are supposed to be viable foods that your body needs for energy and cell replacement parts.  These viable molecules are separated from the nonviable food components, which remain outside your body, to be moved along and discharged from your body via the anus.

Bowel Habits

If all of the matter that you ingest through your mouth is clean, pure, viable food and water, this process will sustain your body’s needs for energy and replacement parts without creating any health problems and the waste will be moved out with the assistance of fiber and roughage, leaving your inner skin nice and clean. This process will be very nice and regular, based on the frequency of your meals.  Humans have a very long digestive tract due to the nature of extracting all available nutrients from plant foods, which can take up to one day in passage.  You should have a bowel movement, releasing the waste material, once for each meal that you consume.  The bowel movement should be an easy natural process that relieves any pressure built up in the colon.  The discharge should be relatively soft, moist, light in color and weight, and relatively odorless.  If you eat three meals each day, you should have three bowel movements during the course of each day.

Ideally, you should eat your largest meal in the morning, consisting of fresh fruits and fruit juices.  Fruits begin the digestive process while in your mouth, as most contain their own digestive enzymes which react with the saliva in your mouth and move through the stomach quickly.  This meal will be processed by your body’s digestive system very quickly, as fruit is the easiest food to digest.  Do not combine with any other type of food for at least 45 minutes from the end of your fruit breakfast.  Food combinations is something that must be controlled, as categories of foods require differing digestive processes using different bile acids and enzymes. Mis-combining can result in fermentation and gases.

If you have a morning exercise routine, you can either perform this routine before or after your fruit breakfast.  Some people feel that exercising before eating any food is the most beneficial for them.  I do not argue this point one way or the other, but morning is an excellent time to do your daily exercise routine.  If your lifestyle permits, you can eat a brunch or lunch later consisting of something like oatmeal, eggs, whole-grains or vegetables.  Later, after work, but within 8 hours of breakfast, eat your last meal, which should be the lightest meal, consisting of more vegetables, legumes, seeds, fatty vegetables, avocados, squash, egg plant, zucchini, or whatever you prefer.

In the ideal case, your meals should be eaten within an 8-hour time period, or as close as possible, leaving your body with an 8-hour period of digestion and another 8-hour period of cleansing. Many people make the mistake of leaving insufficient time for their body to complete its digestive process, followed by a time for detoxing. Eating too much over too long can stress your body and contribute to many health problems.  Your body needs to detox, even if your diet is very sound. Your body produces much waste material and dead cells that have to be discharged each day.

Fasting

You are not going to enjoy life until you completely rid your body of the putrefaction and obstructions in your colon and digestive tract.  It is always a good time to modify your diet towards improvement, but, essentially, the first order of business is ‘get clean’.  Your colon, the large intestine, is about as long as your body height and has a diameter about the size of your wrist.  But, it you have been eating a poor diet and not giving your system sufficient time to clean out prior to putting more in, you may be shocked to find your colon distended to over 12 inches in diameter, but the passageway for feces is less than pencil thin.  If your bowel movement patterns differ from the above description, you are in need of a good cleansing.  The mucoid plague in your colon may resemble a hardened blackish-green truck tire.  You have got to get this problem fully corrected to even get started on your path to wellness. Because we are not regularly confronted with the sight of this problem, we find it easy to pretend it does not exist.  But the health issues that result from it are sure reminders that do not alleviate, but worsen over time.

This source of contamination can be poisoning your body 24/7, causing a host of problems.  This root cause alone, can account for over 200 documented allopathic diseases, when it is really only one and the same.  In fact, for all the thousands of diseases of allopathy, there are only 5 root cause pathologies, in reality.  But all the doctors like to have a syndrome named after themselves so they can celebrate their fame and importance.  Drug companies and medical researchers love all the names, because they can specialize more products as each one needs a separate research grant and more new shots and pills.  Remember, allopathy claims that every symptom is a new disease caused by a new germ that requires a new pill, shot or surgery, etc. Ironically, they never seek the root cause, because this would reveal the scam and severely reduce sales.

Furthermore, no allopath would have the first clue as to how to rectify this problem, even if they ever did find it, because it is not a germ, therefore not even supposed to be a problem, so there is no pill. Meanwhile, the germs in your body are what are keeping you alive and trying to resolve your real health issues for you.

Cleaning out the colon is not a rapid process.  You must start with intermittent fasting.  Fasting has been a medical practice dating back to as far as written history exists.  It is a well-known and effective remedy known since ancient times, all throughout the world….known to all except allopathy.  If your dog gets sick, you may notice that he/she will not want to eat. This is fasting.  Your dog will quickly return to health, because he/she has been following this practice life-long, thus has no mucoid plague build-up, and because he/she has a very short carnivore digestive tract that does not retain foods for long periods of nutrient extraction.  You may notice that your dog has a bowel movement about one hour after eating.

The detox cleanse starts with giving your body a break from digesting food.  Many people will not find it easy or comfortable to begin fasting for long periods, so, to begin, we start with daily intermittent fasting periods of 4 hours.  The fast is broken with fruits initially, then later with vegetables.  This dry-fast is total elimination of both food and water during the 4 hour period.  It will put the body under stress to come up with both nutrients and liquids from within itself. The endogenous water that your body comes up with is from a process of metabolizing fat cells.  This water is quite different from the exogenous water that you would normally drink, were you not fasting.  It is of superb quality, containing no negative imprints of any kind.  Using this unique water, your body’s cells start to experience a miraculous rebirth.

During this type of total intermittent fasting, your skin changes function, from being an organ of excretion to one of absorption, taking in any water that is available from the air, as well as carbon dioxide and nitrogen for manufacture of amino acids.  Since there is no water available to wash away endogenous toxins, each cell uses a dormant process of burning its own trash. Bacteria consume the remaining wastes.

Inflammation Needs Water to Manifest

During a total fast, there becomes a state where no water is available for inflammation to manifest. In cases where imbalance of bacteria are a problem, fasting can cause rebalancing to occur due to water starvation of hungry cultures. Fasting also stimulates the immune system function, activates anti-inflammation mechanisms, purifies the blood, clears blood vessels, cleanses the GI tract and renews its mucosal lining. In addition, it promotes tissue regeneration and eliminates parasites.  Each of the 100 trillion cells comprising the body literally undertake a ‘house cleaning’.  Only the strongest and healthiest cells survive, while unhealthy cells, cysts and tumors dissolve through autolysis, a process whereby the body sacrifices its weakest cells for the survival of the organism.

People who are heavily impacted and toxic may experience discomfort during initial periods of fasting.  Each individual will have a pace at which they are capable of progressing through this initial detoxification.  This pace must be determined and taken into account in scheduling the process.  Everyone will want to purify their body as fast as possible, but it is best to set a pace that can be sustained without undue discomfort.  You cannot expect to totally rectify a problem that may have taken a life-time to accumulate by an overzealous approach.  It is going to take time, depending on the extent of the problem and the tolerance of the individual.  A transition diet in conjunction with a custom fasting program will get the job done in the most effective manner.

 Pus is an ugly term that no one likes to think their body may contain a lot of.  It is a thick, viscous slippery discharge comprised of dead cells, mucin, inorganic salts, infected tissues, white blood cells, bacteria, tissue debris, serum and other nasty ingredients.  It is commonly found in areas of infections which the body is trying to eliminate by isolating and discharging the trash.  It is also considered to be the same as dead animal meat that is rotting in the colon after being eaten, in an already decomposed state from ‘aging’.  Dairy is also a pus producing product when in the colon, due lack of digestability. On feed-lot dairy farms, over-milking of animals is common and the teats are infected, discharging cow pus into the product.  This is all very disgusting and everyone would like to pretend this is not the case and some how the junk just disappears once it passes the lips. Unfortunately, this is not the case and the junk just gets more rotten the deeper it goes into our body.  Much of it is trapped and remains in the colon for the duration. This is one of the five fundamental pathologies of all disease and is usually chronic, manifesting in the form of hundreds of different symptoms. You go to the allopath and get some pills to sedate you, or block nerve function or kill all your gut flora indiscriminately and, because the symptoms abate, you think you are cured of something.  Meanwhile, you’re a disease-ridden body that is just getting sicker by the day.  Other symptoms appear and you go to get more pills.  This is a vicious never ending cycle that goes on until you are dead.

Pus and mucous forming foods are acids, free-radicals, that scavenge everything that is good or healthy in your body and cause all of the thousand diseases of allopathy.  As we have discussed before, acid is sickness, alkaline is health.  This state is determined by the foods that you eat.  No one can or should eat all acid-forming, or all alkaline-forming foods.  We need to eat both types, but find the balance on the side of slight alkalinity.  This does not mean that you can or should eat meats or pepperoni pizzas or Big Macs.  You should never ever eat this type of junk under any circumstance. But you need the essential oils and other vitamins and minerals found in some acidic foods.  You must make sure that you are safely on the side of alkalinity in the balance.

 To help you find this balance, we have below, a list of foods and their attributes relative to this topic. You can use this information to make your grocery lists and food selections.

.    ACIDIC PUS-CREATING FOODS:

• ANIMAL FLESH:
• Blood of Animals
• Eggs (All Kinds)
• Lard
• Meat (Beef, Chicken, Horse, Dog, Mutton/Lamb, Turkey, Veal, Pork, etc.
• Bacon, Ham, Sausage, Gammon, Chitterlings; Wild Game: Bison, Rabbit, Venison, etc.)
• Margarine (Made with Animal Fat)
•  
• FISH (PUS-CREATING):
• Crustacean (Crab, Crawfish, Lobster, Shrimp)
• Fish (All Types)
• Mollusks (Clam, Oysters, Mussels, Snail, etc.)
• Roe (Caviar)
• Salmon
• Shell Fish
•  
• DAIRY PRODUCTS (PUS-FORMING):
• Butter, Cow
• Buttermilk
• Cheese (All Kinds)
• Cream
• Crème fraîche
• Kefir
• Milk (All Animals and Kinds; Raw Organic, Skim, 1 or 2 %, etc.)
• Yogurt
•  
• PROCESSED FOODS (PUS AND/OR VERY MUCUS-FORMING):
• Dried Convenience Foods
• Fast Foods
• Frozen Convenience Foods
• Packaged Convenience Foods
• Processed Meat
•  
• CONFECTIONARIES/CANDY/SWEETS (PUS AND/OR VERY MUCUS-FORMING):
• Baked Goods (All kinds including pies, cakes, pastries, etc.)
• Candy (All Types; Bars, Caramels, Chocolate, Fudge, Jelly candies, Rock, Taffy
• Gelatin (Jello)
• Ice Cream (Dairy and Non-Dairy)
• Marshmallow
•  
• ACIDIC, FERMENTED, OR DISTILLED DRINKS/SYRUPS:
• Alcoholic Beverages (All Kinds; Ale, Beer, Brandy, Champagne)
• Syrups (Brown Rice, Barley Malt, Chocolate, Corn, Artificially Flavored)
• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Kombucha Tea
• Soft Drink (Soda Pop)
• Vinegar (White, Apple Cider)
•  
• FERMENTED FOODS AND SAUCES (ACID-FORMING STIMULANTS):
• Fish Sauce
• Fermented Vegetables (All; Kimchi/cabbage and other veggies, Olives)
• Pickles/cucumbers. Sauerkraut/cabbage, etc.)
• Miso
• Sauces with Vinegar (Hot Sauce, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayonnaise, Relish,
• Tartar, Barbecue, Salad Dressings, Salsa, etc.)
• Soy Sauce

• PH-Neutral Foods:

• CEREALS (MUCUS-LEAN):
• Barley
• Breads (All Kinds; Barley, Black, Rye, White, Graham, Pumpernickel, etc.)
• Cereal Grains (All Kinds; Maize, Farina, Kamut, Millet,
• Oats, Quinoa, Spelt, White Rice, Brown Rice, Whole or Refined Wheat, etc.)
• Pseudocereals (All Kinds; Amaranth, Buckwheat, Chia, Cockscomb,  Quinoa) 
• Pastas
•  
• BEANS (MUCUS-LEAN):
• Beans (All Kinds and Forms; Black Beans, Black-eyed peas, Fava Beans, ETC.
•  
• NUTS AND SEEDS (MUCUS-LEAN):
• Nuts (All Kinds,Almonds, Brazil, Cashews, Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Pecans)
• Seeds (All Kinds; Sunflower, Pumpkin, Hemp, Seasame, etc.)
•  
• STARCHY OR FATTY VEGETABLES AND FRUITS (MUCUS LEAN):
• Artichoke
• Avocados
• Cassava
• Cauliflower (Raw)
• Coconut Meat
• Corn
• Durian
• Fungi (Mushrooms)
• Green Peas
• Olives
• Parsnips
• Peas (Raw)
• Plantain
• Plantains
• Pumpkins
• Raw or Baked White Potatoes
• Raw Squashes (Winter, Acorn, Butternut, etc.)
• Raw Sweet Potatoes
• Rutabaga
• Turnip
• Unripe Banana

• ALKALIZING (ACID-BINDING), NON-MUCUS-CREATING:

• RIPE FRUITS: 
• Apples
• Banana
• Black Cherries
• Blood Orange
• Cantaloupe
• Cherries
• Grapefruit
• Grapes
• Honeybell Tangelos
• Honeydew
• Lemons
• Mandarin
• Mangos
• Nectarine
• Oranges
• Peaches
• Pears
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Raisins
• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Sweet Cherries
• Tangerines
• Watermelon
•  
• DRIED OR BAKED FRUITS (MUCUS FREE):
• Apples
• Apricots
• Bananas (my favorite fruit to bake)
• Cherries
• Dates, (Dried)
• Figs (Dried)
• Grapes/raisins
• Mango
• Pineapple
• Strawberries
•  
• VEGTABLES (MUCUS FREE):
• Arugula
• Cabbage
• Collard
• Dandelion Leaf
• Kale
• Leafy Herbs (parsley, dill, basil, thyme)
• Lettuce (green, red, romaine, Boston bibb)
• Mustard Greens
• Spinach
• Celery
• Cucumbers
• Dandelion
• Green Onions
• Onions
• Peppers (Green, Red, Yellow, or Orange)
• Red Beets
• Sea Vegetables (Dulse, Kelp)
• Sprouts (Alfalfa)
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
•  
• BAKED OR STEAMED VEGETABLES FRUIT,ROOT, STEM,    
• Acorn Squash (baked)
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussel sprouts
• Butternut Squash (baked)
• Carrots (steamed and eaten with raw salad)
• Green peas
• Peppers (green, red, yellow, or orange)
• Spaghetti Squash (baked)
• Sweet Potato (baked)
• Zucchini (steamed or baked)

 As we discussed above, fasting is the way to alleviate colon-related problems.  Fasting is not something that you do for a week or a month and then stop.  You must go through a clean up process by following the above instructions and increasing the duration of your fast as well as the clean-up of your diet.  As you get your problems a little more resolved, you will find that you have the capacity to fast longer periods, more frequently and to exercise more discipline in your eating habits.  You will know when you have achieved your first objective of colon cleansing and repair.  You will feel the difference in your energy, clarity of thought, bowel habits and general state of health and well-being.  Now, at this point, it is imperative to maintain your program to avoid falling back into the old habits.

Do not wait for your autopsy to cleanse your colon.  When you are living in accord with Nature, you will definitely know the difference.  Now you know why and how to stay well.

ShamanIAm

Conversations on Wellness

Body Fluids must be Alkaline at all Times

In what seems like a Christmas miracle, the inoperable brain tumor of an 11-year-old girl in Texas has disappeared, and doctors say they don’t know why. Roxli Doss was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, in June, 2018. The girl’s medical team are equally in a state of disbelief. Cancers are not supposed to be able to do this.  

We are all exposed to carcinogens everyday.  Learn to make your body a place where cancer cannot exist.          

Part One: Introduction

“The time has come to shift the conceptual framework away from the idea that cancer is something bad that happens to the body, to something the body does in order to survive in an increasingly toxic and nutrient-deprived environment. Only then we will begin to unravel the mystery behind the colossal failure of the conventional medical system.”

Let’s understand something right now.  There is no intent to eliminate cancer.  The Matrix has gone to great lengths to perfect cancer and intends to sustain it indefinitely, at least while the population is above the limits they feel comfortable with 

Cancer is a $500+ Billion a year industry from which millions of people and thousands of companies make a very prosperous income. Cancer is, first and foremost, a product of the Matrix.  In parts of the world where “Westernization” has yet to reach, cancer incidence is statistically insignificant. Cancer results from denaturing the environment, chronically exposing life to unnatural foods, irritants, toxins, chemicals, refined sugars, meats, dairy and many other un-natural products. It also stems from bad life-style habits and practices, including cosmetics, cleaning products, aerosols, cigarettes, household-pest poisons, some building products and even some food preparation processes.

Cancer is not a disease. It is a malfunctioning body defense mechanism gone wrong due to chronic inflammation or irritation. It stems from the rise of the cities, smokestacks, chemical plants, oil refineries, food processing plants, feed lots, steroid injections, antibiotics, preservatives, dyes, smog, pollution, toxic irritants like asbestos and cigarette smoke, lead in paints, mercury in amalgams, aluminum in cookware, aluminum sprayed in the atmosphere, plastics in containers, fluoride in drinking water, pesticides, herbicides, depleted soils, genetically modified foods, ad infinitum. Credit-based affluence has brought about not only a departure from Nature but chronic stress, loss of spirituality and gross excesses of every imaginable kind. This is how cancer incidence reached almost one in every two persons in the US, where more money is spent on so-called “healthcare” than any other civilization on Earth.

 

Most allopathic physicians in the world today claim that cancer is such a complex problem that they have no idea what cancer is, how it develops, or how to eliminate it. They identify  thousands of different forms of cancer, each requiring billions of dollars of research to glean some knowledge of its insidious properties. In the allopathic paradigm, we “catch” sicknesses, each type being different from another, for which we take pills, shots or have surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments to alleviate the symptoms while leaving the root cause totally unaddressed. There is no drug, vaccine, or “magic bullet” that will ever cure cancer. This has been known for well over 70 years.

However, cancer is not something inevitable that is just happening to people for no reason.  Nothing just happens.  There is always an underlying cause, whether obvious or not.  Therefore, cancer is avoidable.

To quote Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling…. “Everyone should know that the war on cancer is a fraud”.

Cancer is a failure of the immune system.

Most of the cells in our bodies are germs or archaea that are vital to our immune system. It is when the immune system is compromised, overloaded or disabled that the cancer causing mechanism can thrive. It does not fit the allopathic paradigm to have cancer be curable, or better still, totally avoidable, by diet, lifestyle and a healthy attitude at zero cost. There would be no research grants, no patent drugs, no use for the operating rooms, chemotherapy and radiation equipment, and no oncologists then. This would inflict a crippling blow to Western economies that rely on this spending to comprise a large portion of their reported annual GDPs.

Continue reading “Immunity from Cancer”

Conversations on Wellness

Autoimmune Diseases

Like all diseases, autoimmune disease is a result of an induced state of imbalance as a consequence of problems of diet, life-style, toxicity, and stress.  Autoimmune diseases are characterized by the body directing immune response against its own tissues or bones, causing prolonged inflammation and subsequent tissue destruction or bone loss. Autoimmune disorders can cause immune-responsive cells to attack the linings of the joints–resulting in rheumatoid arthritis–or trigger immune cells to attack the insulin-producing islet cells of the pancreas leading to insulin-dependent diabetes.

A healthy immune system recognizes, identifies, remembers, attacks, and destroys foreign proteins, viruses, fungi, parasites, and cancer cells or any health-damaging agents not normally present in the body. A defective immune system, on the other hand, wreaks havoc throughout the host by directing antibodies against its own tissues. Any disease in which cytotoxic cells are directed against self-antigens in the body’s tissues is considered autoimmune in nature. Some such diseases are called celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, pancreatitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren’s syndrome, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and other endocrinopathies. Allergies and multiple sclerosis are also the result of disordered immune functioning.

Aging

Age is recognized as an important factor in the appearance of autoimmune disease. Measurements of healthy centenarians and unhealthy 60-70-year-olds show the difference in physiological chemistry between the two groups. Healthy centenarians have very low levels of autoantibodies in their thyroid, adrenal, pituitary, and hypothalamus.

Autoimmunity is partly the result of environmental exposure to foreign substances. The immune system may also be suppressed or weakened as a result of factors not associated with a degenerative disease, but due to the intake of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, drugs, refined sugar, poor diet, pasteurized dairy products, meats, and lack of sleep. These lifestyle factors can have a substantial effect on the trends of autoimmune diseases. As we age, our autoimmune system declines in its effectiveness due to oxidative damage caused by the recurrent presence of significant amounts of acidic free radicals (refer to topic: “Alkalize or Die”).

In addition, proteins can become glycated, that is, a sugar molecule is attached to the protein. The accumulation of these glycated proteins in the body affects the immune system because the immune system sees them as altered proteins that have different structure and function. Regarding these substances as foreign, the immune system develops antibodies against them.

The possibility of becoming allergic to oneself, with the associated autoimmunity and inflammation, increases as one accumulates these damaged glycated proteins. For this reason, it is critical to increase antioxidant intake with age and maintain alkalinity in your bodily fluids.  Acids are oxidants.  Alkalis are antioxidants.

The body is made up largely of proteins, so its health depends upon its freedom from damage (as through oxidation or glycation) and upon its timely removal as part of normal protein turnover. The body’s antioxidant system and other lines of defense cannot completely protect proteins. Nature’s second line of defense is the body’s system for repairing or removing damaged proteins. While some protein repair mechanisms exist, it is difficult for the body to repair most protein damage. Yet, it is essential to efficiently remove aberrant and unneeded proteins to fully protect against autoimmune diseases. Methods to protect against excessive protein glycation will be discussed later in this protocol.

Basic Pathways of Autoimmune Dysfunction

Autoimmune diseases are called by hundreds of different names by allopathic medicine. A holistic perspective views these as a single set of diseases resulting from immune system failure or overload due to consumption of corrupt and degenerate food, polluted air, chemical-laced drinking water, excessive or chronic worry, and failure to correct spiritual, emotional and energy imbalances.

One consideration is the continued exposure to heavy metals and environmental pollution that overload the immune system. On a daily basis, we battle with pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, genetic modification, industrial wastes, cigarette smoke, and automobile exhaust. Our air, water, and food in particular are full of toxic substances. Vaccines are loaded with heavy metals and toxins. There is no doubt that these toxins play a role in immune dysfunction. But junk/fast foods, considered by many people as safe, actually impair immune function. Refined and artificial sugar consumption in all forms will impair the ability of leukocytes cells to destroy pathogenic biological agents.

Oxidative stress is a major factor in autoimmune diseases. It can be compared to rusting and corrosion of metals from the action of damaging acid molecules known as free radicals that are a natural byproduct of the body’s metabolism as well as bad foods. The electrically charged free radicals (acids) attack healthy cells, causing them to lose their structure and function and eventually destroying them. Free radicals are not only produced by our bodies, but they are also ingested from toxins and pollution in the air we breathe.

Chronic systemic inflammation is related to several autoimmune disorders, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, fibromyalgia, and Crohn’s disease. Inflammation can be traced to destructive cell-signaling chemicals known as cytokines that contribute to many degenerative diseases. In rheumatoid arthritis, excess levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1(b) (IL-1b), and/or leukotriene B4 (LTB4), are known to cause or contribute to the inflammatory syndrome that ultimately destroys joint cartilage and synovial fluid. Alkalyzing foods will often lower cytokine levels and control the inflammatory state.

Nutrition to Improve Autoimmune Health

The autoimmune system needs a good nutritional foundation over a long period of time to alleviate or reverse lifestyle autoimmune dysfunction and to assist with combating fully developed autoimmune diseases. Sufferers of autoimmune dysfunction will benefit from foods containing vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene and omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA).

Slowing the Damage to Healthy Protein:

L-Carnosine is a dipeptide amino acid found naturally in the body that helps to slow the formation of glycated protein end products. Recall that glycated protein may be unrecognizable to the immune system, thereby triggering an autoimmune attack. Since the normal removal of damaged protein declines with aging, slowing the development of protein crosslinking (glycation) may help to reduce an autoimmune reaction. In addition to its antiglycation effects, carnosine has been found to modulate immune system neutrophils, thus suppressing an autoimmune response. L-Carnosine is available in turkey and chicken breast.

Reducing Inflammation:

Foods containing vitamin E delay or prevent the onset of autoimmune diseases. Obtain omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) from cold-water fish oils, flax, or perilla oils–along with borage oil, evening primrose oil, or black currant seed oil, which contain the essential omega-6 fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). These can alleviate many symptoms of autoimmune disease through their anti-inflammatory activity.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a prosteroidal hormone that decreases with aging. Decreases in DHEA levels have been linked to a number of chronic and degenerative diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, depression, stress disorders, and neurological functioning. Tuna and egg yolks are good sources as well as vitamin D from sun exposure.

As a result of aging, immunity becomes compromised due to dysregulation of cellular hormones (cytokines and growth factors) that govern the immune response. Too much or too little of various cytokines produce disease states or compromised responses to various autoimmune challenges.

Lessening Free-Radical Damage:

Antioxidants are a broad group of alkaline compounds that destroy or neutralize free radicals (acids)  in the body, thereby protecting against oxidative damage to cells caused by the normal aging process or daily exposure to pollutants and toxic substances. Antioxidants are found naturally in healthy food, especially fruits and vegetables.

The most effective of the antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, green tea extract, beta-carotene, grape seed-skin extract, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and selenium.

Vitamin C may be the most important water-soluble antioxidant, having an ability to scavenge both reactive oxygen and nitrogen radicals. In controlled studies, vitamin C has demonstrated antiatherogenic, anticarcinogenic, antihistaminic, and immunomodulatory benefits. Sources are fresh fruits and vegetables.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble, essential nutrient for humans. Increased risk for coronary artery disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer has been reported in regard to vitamin E deficiency. Sources include peanuts, almonds, avocados, whole grains.

Green tea belongs to the flavonoid family. Green tea catechins are potent free radical scavengers and have also demonstrated anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic (arterial hardening), and antimicrobial activity.

Beta-carotene is a dietary precursor to vitamin A. Beta-carotene has demonstrated immunomodulatory effects in male nonsmokers and has demonstrated increased lymphocyte counts in healthy male smokers. Beta-carotene’s antioxidant activity may prevent oxidative damage to DNA and inhibit lipid peroxidation.  Foods high in beta-carotene include sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, butternut squash, cantaloupe, lettuce, red bell peppers, apricots, broccoli, and peas

Grapeseed-skin proanthocyanadins have demonstrated several antioxidant activities, including inhibiting the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Other research has shown tumor-protective, cardio-protective, and liver-protective benefits. Grapeseed oil is available in most groceries.

CoQ10 has shown antioxidant activity within the mitochondria and cellular membrane. CoQ10 levels decline with aging and are strongly related to increased cardiovascular disease, especially congestive heart failure. CoQ10 has shown usefulness in treating periodontal disease and boosting energy levels.  Sources include organ meats, spinach, broccoli, calliflower, legumes, peanuts, and soybeans.

Selenium is a trace mineral that is essential for healthy immune function, providing protection to immune cells from stress-induced oxidative damage and neutralizing the effects of some toxic metals. Low dietary intake of selenium is associated with cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Sources include seafoods, organ meats, cereals and grains.

Modulating the Immune System:

The immune system functions because of adequate amounts of circulating antibodies. Antibodies are proteins with a unique concave region (combining site) in which they can combine with foreign proteins (antigens). Antigens are most often surface molecules found on the membrane of invading or diseased cells. After the antigen and antibody combine, the new complex produces a number of changes that inactivate or kill the invading cell. This function is known as humoral or antibody-mediated immunity.

Lymphocytes are the most numerous cells of the immune system and are responsible for antibody production. B-cells are lymphocytes that produce humoral immunity. T-cells are lymphocytes formed in the thymus shortly before and after birth. When T-cells come into contact with foreign antigens, the antigen binds to protein on the surface of the T-cell, making it sensitized. Sensitized T-cells destroy invading pathogens by releasing a specific and toxic poison to the cells of bound antigens. T-cells can also indirectly destroy toxic invaders by releasing a substance that attracts macrophages to the area that will ingest and destroy (phagocytose) the pathogen. This function is known as cell-mediated immunity. T-cells regulate natural killer cell activity and the body’s inflammatory response to disease.

In a healthy body, circulating antibodies attack and destroy pathogenic invaders by means of humoral or cell-mediated immunity. In autoimmune disease, circulating antibodies seek, attack, and destroy self-antigens found in healthy tissue. T-cells can further divide into helper lymphocytes (Th) and cytotoxic (Tc) or suppressor cells. In response to a foreign pathogen, T-cells secrete communication molecules known as lymphokines, cytokines, interleukins, and interferons. T-helper cells assist B-cells and further divide into two special lines of defense. These are Th1 and Th2. When one of these lines (Th1 or Th2) overexpresses, an opportunity for immune dysregulation occurs, resulting in either a hyperimmune response causing autoimmune disease or a hypoimmune response leading to uncontrollable infection.

Sterinol, a combination of natural plant sterols and sterolins, modulates the function of the body’s T-cells by enhancing their ability to divide. They further promote interleukin-2 and gamma-interferon without enhancing Th2 helper cells that promote inflammation and produce more antibodies. Conventional drug treatment inhibits the entire immune response. Sterolins, however, modulate immune response and are able to reverse immune abnormality at the disease site .

Alkylglycerols are derived from shark liver oil. Studies indicate that the activation of protein kinase C, an essential step in cell proliferation, can be inhibited by alkylglycerols. Although the mechanism of antiproliferative and immunomodulatory action is unknown, hormonal action of both the autocrine and paracrine systems has been suggested. Alkylglycerols have been promoted for use in immune system stimulation. However, benefits have been reported in those suffering from asthma, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune disorders.

L-carnitine (see above) is an amino acid that is known to improve conditions associated with low cellular energy. L-carnitine has been shown to reduce the impairment of immune function caused by the consumption of dangerous fats. This beneficial action is attributed to L-carnitine’s ability to lower serum lipids (fats) by enhancing the transport of beneficial fatty acids into the cell’s mitochondria, where they are used to produce energy. Acetyl-L-carnitine is the form of carnitine that is utilized more efficiently in the mitochondria. Dangerous fat sources are plentiful in modern diets and include canola and other hydrogenated plastic oils.

Supporting the GI Tract: Intestinal permeability is often disrupted by health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, pancreatic dysfunction, and food allergies from GMOs and other non-foods.  Events such as aging, stress, medications, and alcohol consumption also alter permeability, compromising the barrier that separates food and intestinal bacteria from the rest of the body.

Poor intestinal motility and peristalsis can change beneficial bacterial flora by altering the natural flow of nutrients that are available to them. These same factors can add to the overgrowth of abnormal bacteria and the byproducts they produce, leading to the absorption of antigenic substances into the bloodstream. Immune-related disease is associated with antigenic substances produced by intestinal flora. To correct the problem, bacterial balance must be restored through the consumption of probiotics and prebiotics that feed the underproduced bacteria. Species of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli will help restore microfloral balance and stabilize permeability. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are simple sugars that are the preferred nutrient for lactobacilli and bifidobacteria (with the exception of the bifidum species).

Food sources can assist intestinal cells for growth and function. They include:

* L-glutamine, a nonessential amino acid that increases the number of cells in the small intestine along with the number and height of villi on those cells
*Drinking kombucha, keifer and eating real yogurt.

* Butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid that enhances function and integrity in the large intestine and is an anticancer agent.  Sources are whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.

* The fatty acids DHA (from fish oil) and GLA (from borage oil), which decrease inflammation and improve intestinal functioning.

Appendix A of this protocol provides specific information relating to dietary and intestinal factors involved in autoimmune disease.

Reducing Stress: Stress is a major risk factor in developing disease. Prolonged low-level stress stimulates the adrenal glands to produce cortisol, which, in excess, impairs immune function. Lack of proper rest and sleep, depression, and emotional disturbance contribute to immune dysfunction. In addition, there is a connection between the limbic system, the part of the brain that gives rise to emotion, and immune function. Therefore, to balance the immune system, one must balance the mind and emotions. Biofeedback, guided imagery, yoga, deep breathing, musical participation, positive affirmations, meditation, and prayer all help maintain balance.

An exercise program will produce endorphins and other neurotransmitters. These polypeptides exert a regulatory effect on the nervous system enabling an individual to adapt to mentally and physically stressful conditions.

Another antidote to stress is an amino acid found in green tea called theanine. Although theanine creates a tranquilizing effect on the brain, it appears to increase concentration and focus thought. DHEA supplementation is the most effective way of blocking the effects of excess cortisol secretion.

Chronic worry, stress, anxiety and depression all lead to extended suspension of immune system function due to an internal program known as “fight or flight” response. Essentially, when you are confronted by a threatening condition, your body will suspend most non-essential system functions to facilitate your ability to fight the threat or to flee from it. Becoming aware of your own realities will facilitate a better approach to dealing with them. This can be achieved by study and meditation.

Improving Liver Health:

The liver plays a critical role in all aspects of metabolism and health. It is important in the synthesis and secretion of albumin (a blood clotting protein), in the storage of glucose, and in the synthesis of vitamins and minerals. Because the liver has a major role in the purification and clearance of waste products, drugs, and toxins, disease states may be improved by supporting liver function.

The herb milk thistle and its components silymarin and silibinin have two therapeutic mechanisms. First, they alter the structure of the outer cell membrane of the hepatocyte to prevent penetration of liver poison into the interior of the cell. Second, they stimulate the action of nucleolar polymerase A, resulting in an increase in ribosomal protein synthesis, thus stimulating the regenerative ability of the liver and the formation of new hepatocytes.

SUMMARY

Autoimmune diseases may be greatly improved by strengthening the immune system by making healthy lifestyle changes in diet and stress reduction. The protocols needed are covered in our 2-week wellness retreat and our information blog on this site.

Appendix A
Leaky Gut Syndrome The healthy gastrointestinal tract (gut) performs a multitude of functions. It digests foods; absorbs small food particles that are converted into energy; transports vitamins and minerals across the intestinal lining and into the bloodstream; contributes to the chemical detoxification system of the body; and contains immunoglobulins or antibodies that act as the first line of defense against infection.

Leaky gut syndrome represents a condition in which large spaces develop in the intestinal mucosa, allowing bacteria, toxins, and food to leak into the bloodstream. This hyperpermeable condition leads to inflammation and atrophic damage to the mucosal lining. Once the gut lining becomes inflamed or damaged, the functioning of the GI system is disrupted, allowing large food molecules and toxic pathogens that are foreign to our natural defense system to be absorbed into the body.

The result is the production of antibodies that launch an attack on the foreign invaders, with our own healthy tissue often being damaged in the process. Food allergies often complicate leaky gut syndrome. An elimination diet should be undertaken to determine food irritants.

Maintaining Proper pH Balance in the Gut Diet can significantly impact complete immune function. Because 80% of immune system cells reside in the area of the small intestine, numerous potential antigens can form from the incomplete breakdown of food products. Autoimmune states can be induced by food sensitivities that cause intestinal gut permeability and complicate leaky gut syndrome.

A first defense against the alteration of protein structure that produces autoimmunity is in the consumption of food sources as close to natural as possible. In addition, the body should be kept in the proper acid/alkaline balance. The correct ratio by volume would be 25% acidifying to 75% alkalizing foods.

In general, it is important to eat a diet that contains both alkalizing and acidifying foods. Allergic reactions and other forms of stress tend to produce acids in the body. The presence of high acidity indicates that more of your foods should be selected from the alkalizing group.

For more information:        Dr. Patrick          patriley24@gmail.com