By Luc Chaltin, ND DIHom
As a consumer, you should know that promoting health and treating chronic disease is a matter of what a clinical homeopath calls “balancing the metabolism” Metabolism means the proper functioning of every organ system of the body, right down to the hormonal and enzymatic processes at the cellular and molecular level. The basic elements of a healthy metabolism are a natural and toxin-free diet, completed by a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and trace minerals taken as supplements. Balancing refers to keeping nature in your perspective. In other words, there is no such food or supplement that is so good that it should be taken in as large a quantity as possible. Any substance, even the most needed, taken in excess, becomes toxic to the body. The healthiest foods, eaten in such amounts that the individual is not able to digest it properly, also become toxic. For supplements, “broad spectrum” does not mean “as much as possible” but rather that all the necessary vitamins, minerals and trace minerals are present in sufficient amounts in a balanced diet, or as extra supplements if the diet does not contain all of them.
Nature provides that we can digest and assimilate only the amount of food and supplements (vitamins, minerals and trace minerals) that our enzymes are able to master. Every amount higher than what the enzymes can handle stresses our organs and cells, especially the liver. This stressing of the organs is most readily apparent in sickly and weak people. I am sure you know them. These people suffer from fatigue and digestive disorders and no longer have that sparkle in their eye.
Truly healthy people, on the other hand, can work long hours and eat large quantities of and any kinds of food. They never suffer from disease (such as the flu), do not tire easily, always sleep well and are in good spirits all the time. Their advantage is that they have ample, proper functioning enzymes in all the cells of their body. For this reason, they have a strong digestive system so that they are able to extract all the necessary elements from their food, especially the vitamins, minerals and trace minerals which are vital for the production of enzymes in the body. Their well-functioning liver removes all the toxins that enter into their system. The action of their enzymes keeps them healthy and gives them strength.
These healthy individuals (i.e. the Sulfur Type in homeopathy) are very rare in our present society. Sadly, the average person is deficient in enzymes and suffers from some sort of chronic health problem.
Why is this?
It is simply because the enzymes are not as strong or as numerous as is needed to have perfectly working cells. Since every organ in our body is composed of cells, the organs do not function properly either. The small intestine is not absorbing food properly; the liver is not excreting the toxins completely; the pancreas is not keeping the blood sugar level normal. Muscles do not work well due to the lack of enzymes, resulting in chronic tiredness. Exhaustion is a constant in this case.
Even as all the organs are suffering from the deficiency syndrome, each person has an organ or organ system that is more vulnerable than the others in his or her body. This will cause discomfort or even pain, and so it is thought that the organ is the cause of the problem. However, in order for recovery to take place, the whole situation needs to be addressed before the problem of the “sick” organ will go away.
How Does the Deficiency Syndrome Start?
It can start in different ways. The food that is eaten may be deficient in minerals, like food that is “refined,” and lacks essential nutrients, such as white bread. Or the food may contain toxic residues from chemical farming as well as toxic (but legal) additives, such as dyes and preservatives. The only solution is to switch to organically grown food.
If you happen to be sick (i.e. headache, stomachache) and you take a conventional drug, you will destroy some of your enzymes and further contribute to the deficiency in your body because synthetic drugs contain poisonous or toxic substances. The only solution to this problem is to use natural methods of healing such as herbs and homeopathy.
Any factor that is able to change the metabolic functions of the body negatively may cause a chronic disease. There are basically two major causes for the breakdown of a healthy metabolism resulting in the appearance of a chronic disease.
(1) Toxins in the environment and the food undermine enzyme production, causing a lack of enzymes in the cells. This action accumulates over the years and eventually leads to the aberration of many different metabolic functions, especially of the excretory organs and the immune system. They may also affect the normal functions of almost any other system in the body, such as the digestive system, the nervous system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, the endocrine system, as well as the functions of the muscles and the production of energy in the mitochondria of the cells (i.e. the production of energy in the ADP/ATP cycle). Sooner or later the immune system will be affected as well because it is impossible to have a strong immune reaction against diseases if the metabolism is not strong enough to create healthy cells for the immune system.
(2) A lack of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and trace minerals interferes with enzyme production and healthy metabolism. This problem is caused by a diet poor in these nutrients and by the presence of toxins that impair the normal absorption of them by the intestine. This is the reason why chronically-ill patients have constant trouble with their immune reactions.
The fight of a chronically-ill person’s immune system is mostly against toxins. Moreover, it is against toxins that are difficult to eliminate because many of them are synthetic molecules, such as those found in pesticides, medical drugs, etc. They all have to be eliminated by leukocytes and macrophages which engulf them and die in the process. These dead bodies end up in the lymph nodes or other lymphoid tissue where they cause swelling, inflammation and pain. When this accumulation goes on for some time the swelling may become noticeable. This is the way suspicious lumps may start forming in the body, especially in women’s breasts.
Signs of a troubled immune defense can be visible in the bloodstream as shown by high counts of elements of the immune system or lower than normal counts in the case of long-term chronic disease in an exhausted body. However, the blood is not always a reliable reference for the immune reactions. Many of these reactions occur in the connective and lymphoid tissues and are not detectable in the blood.
Heavy or long-lasting reactions of the lymphoid tissue can become a source of pain, discomfort and nervous tension in a chronically ill person as the symptoms worsen over time. For this reason, most people in this state become more and more sensitive and even depressed by the relentless symptoms of pain and stress, and they end up permanently depressed and exhausted by their disease. The resistance of these persons is already low because deficiency also causes troubles with the nerve and brain functions, and thus creates lower resistance against frustration and depression.
Immunological reactions in the brain tissue can be especially painful, not to mention mentally and emotionally distressing. The symptoms may seem complex, but the solution is simple. The natural health care community is a vital resource for those supportive elements mentioned previously. Those elements can remove impediments to true healing and supply the necessary resources to support recovery and return the body to balance and health.