Toxicity:
Self Healing & The Root Cause of Disease
In over 50 years of practice Dr. Henry Bieler proved that high levels of toxicity in the body was the root cause of most common diseases and ailments. This includes conditions such as the common cold, flus, hayfever allergies, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, digestive disorders, skin conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headaches and others. This over abundance of toxins or "toxemia" helps create adrenal fatigue, overloads the liver and kidneys (the body's primary toxic elimination organs) and generally depresses the immune system, thus allowing a variety of harmful microorganisms and viruses to proliferate. These organisms in turn put a tremendous burden on the body, drain it of energy and create the disease conditions listed above.
Dr. Bieler also discovered that a primary source of toxicity for most people was their eating habits. This being the case he developed programs that eliminated incoming toxins and at the same time prescribed healthy foods that would balance and heal. Thus with food as his primary tool he successfully helped many people overcome a wide range of problems.
Healing Yourself By Eliminating Toxins:
To bring the body back to permanent health it must first be detoxified; for only then can the adrenals, liver, kidneys and other organs rebuild themselves on a healthy foundation. Since most people seem to acquire toxins primarily through poor dietary habits*, learning to eat the foods that will detoxify, balance and support the body is obviously essential.
*During the past 30 years an ever growing number of large and comprehensive studies generally confirm Dr. Bieler's work as they state that roughly 70% of all disease is caused by lifestyle choices such as diet; the U.S Dept. of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2000 report is a good example.
...A Root Cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome & Adrenal Fatigue.
Finding the cause or causes of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia can be a difficult and challenging process. With such a wide range of symptoms assigned to these conditions, diagnosing can often defy standard procedures. The following is a partial list of many symptoms assigned to these conditions:
generalized pain and fatigue, stiffness, headaches, facial pain, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, spaciness, memory lapses, digestive disturbances, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, diarrhea (IBS), increased frequency of urination, neck/shoulder and general muscle tension, sore tendons and connective tissue, hypersensitivity to light/sound/touch/odors, skin complaints, swelling, depression, anxiety and others.
Yet to those who study and chart the effects of the buildup of toxins in the human body these symptoms do point to a general cause, namely toxemia. One such researcher, Dr. Henry Bieler, the author of Food Is Your Best Medicine, in over 50 years of practice proved that high levels of toxicity in the body was very often a root cause of many common diseases and ailments. This includes conditions such as the common cold, flus, hayfever allergies, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, digestive disorders, skin conditions, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headaches and others.
A Primary Source of Toxicity
Dr. Bieler discovered that a primary source of toxins comes from the choice of inappropriate foods. Simple things such as stimulants (sugar, salt, caffeine, MSG), overcooked meats, rancid fats, hydrogenated fats, highly processed foods, food additives and preservatives, bad food combinations and even natural foods that are not appropriate for certain people easily load up the body with toxic substances that it has to process.
The Pathology of Toxicity
As Dr. Thomas Sydenham noted in the quotation above, many diseases are nothing more than the body's attempt to rid itself of toxins. And depending on an individual's strengths and weaknesses, the path which the toxins take on their way out of the body determines the disease. For instance in the case of the common cold, the mucous membrane or the "inner skin" of the respiratory tract is the final exit point for the toxins. Thus the common cold is primarily the result of a prexisting toxic condition which has significantly depressed the immune system; and the offending virus, which usually receives all of the blame, is simply the final catalytic factor. In the case of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia the paths which toxins are exiting the body can be varied and many. This is confirmed by the wide variety of symptoms chronic fatigue / fibromyalgia sufferers often exhibit.
Digestion - The first line of defense against disease
Whatever you put in your mouth has to be broken down and processed by an amazing and complex digestive system. If what you eat is beneficial the system works smoothly. But if what you eat is either toxic, imbalanced or in too large a quantity, your digestive system's defense mechanism will then go into action. Specifically, when offensive foods or substances pass through your stomach and enter the small intestine they will ferment or putrefy. This fermentation / putrefaction in turn creates an abnormal chemistry which produces products that irritate the delicate lining of the bowel. The bowel then tries to either quickly eject the irritating substances which results in diarrhea, or it puts a spastic clamp on the intestines which stops the process and results in constipation.
In this way the small intestine is trying to stop the absorption of unnatural and harmful food elements into the system, thus making it the first line of defense. If harmful elements are repeatedly absorbed over a period of time the delicate intestinal lining first becomes inflamed and is then gradually destroyed. It is at this point that toxic elements begin to overwhelm this line of defense and enter directly into the blood stream.
So when indigestion, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation occur, ie. irritable bowel syndrome, it is easy to lament the fact that one does not have a "cast iron" stomach. But given the information above it is perhaps easier to understand that unpleasant digestive reactions may actually be a blessing in disguise. One thing is for certain, these things are definitely a warning. For once toxins begin entering the blood stream a wide range of serious diseases is often the eventual result.
The Liver - The second line of defense against disease
A tremendously robust and resilient organ that performs many jobs, the liver is the primary blood detoxifier. Here toxins are neutralized that have gotten past the body's initial defenses and have entered the blood stream. In order for the liver to accomplish this it must maintain an appropriate PH balance. In cases where the liver has insufficient alkalinity to neutralize all of the toxins that it encounters, the bile flowing from the liver into the intestines becomes toxic and tends to irritate the entire region. This situation also further hinders digestion. A person with a liver working hard to process toxins may also experience chronic fatigue, excess heat symptoms, emotional irritability as well as irritable bowel syndrome.
The Endocrine Glands - The third line of defense against disease
When the liver becomes overloaded and can no longer neutralize all of the toxins that it encounters, the overflow of toxins then begins to generally circulate in the blood stream. To the body this has now become an emergency situation since the first two lines of defense, both of which were designed to eliminate toxins, have been breached. The endocrine glands, which constitute the third line of defense, now attempt to rid the body of excesses toxins even though it is not their primary function to do so.
The three endocrine glands primarily involved are the pituitary, thyroid and adrenal. These glands regulate the body's functions through the secretion of hormones, and when they sense toxins in the blood stream they become overactive and produce more hormones than usual. This increased hormonal activity then directs certain organs to expel the excess toxins through various pathways. In this way the endocrine system serves as an emergency toxic relief mechanism.
However there is a price to pay when these glands are forced to perform this function. And this price comes in the form of a wide variety of common ailments and diseases. Depending on the relative strengths and weaknesses of an individual's glands, the pathways which the toxins take to exit will vary. And it is the irritation caused by the toxins at the point of exit that determines the disease. If a pathway is used too often for this purpose, the glands involved will be weakened and the pathway itself will begin to atrophy and degenerate.
Adrenal Fatigue
This is a phrase that will become more widely known as more and more research confirms what Dr. Bieler and others have been saying for some time. Namely that when a person's adrenals are severely depleted by emotional and physical stress, stimulants such as salt, sugar and caffine, and by other toxic substances, a serious chronic fatigue will result. This condition most often is not easily nor quickly cured as it is based on a profound deficiency / depletion. Further use of stimulants is not the answer as they do not create energy but instead force the body to use up already stored energy at a faster rate. While a person may feel temporarily better upon taking a stimulating substance, in the long run they are only adding to the chronic adrenal fatigue.
Healing Toxicity and Fatigue
Dr. Bieler's time proven cure for healing toxicity and the resulting chronic adrenal fatigue, fibromyalgia and or irritable bowel syndrome was to restore the person through diet and rest. No matter the source of the toxins, he found it possible to promote detoxification and healing with foods. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, noted this in ancient times when he said, " thy food shall be thy remedy." The easiest and most natural way to do this is to eliminate or reduce offensive foods and substances while supporting the body's detoxifying abilities with a simple diet. Low starch vegetables lightly steamed are key as they contain an abundance of the organic alkaline minerals that the liver requires. Other factors such as proper food combining and when to eat and when not to are also important. These and other specifics are all discussed in detail in My E-Book, "Eat Your Way To Health.".
