What’s Your Headache Telling You?
Part one of this series on healing metabolism explains obesity and metabolic problems, and part two elaborates on the effects of environment and lifestyle on body weight, weight loss and metabolism. In part three we discuss the foods and diet choices that help heal metabolic problems and achieve ideal weight. And part four explains which herbs work to heal which metabolic problems in which kind of body type. Here is the final part in this series.
The metabolic state of the body can be, in part, an adaptation to other problems in the body. These problems can include toxicity, constipation, organic/glandular weakness or infection. In this article, we will discuss healing the body’s metabolism as a function of organs that govern metabolic processes and rate. We include the role of cleansing and detoxification, and key herbs and strategies for healing organs and glands that are weak, damaged or toxic.
Toxicity: This buzzword may not hold the value it once did. Today’s society is certainly toxic, but it is toxic with highly irritating toxins. Part of modern toxicity is also electromagnetic pollution, which is not a solid substance that can be detoxified in traditional ways. These irritating toxins are not the same as the constipated metabolic build-up of a few decades ago. In fact, in this article, we will treat constipation as a separate item, distinct as its own type of toxicity.
Traditional cleansing utilized very stimulating herbs that activated sedated and sluggish tissues and organs. The simplest example is the use of cathartic herbs to activate and strengthen the bowel. They are very stimulating and they cause increased uptake of nutrients and have a positive trophic effect on the bowel itself, meaning they cause regeneration of it. These herbs are usually cooling and push out phlegm and bile from the body. Often, they are mixed with warming and relaxing herbs to offset the cooling effect. These herbs are inherently stimulating. This is the perfect prescription for constipation and heavy mucus, but it is not a good solution when the person is toxic with irritating toxins.
Because of the trend in irritating toxins, some problems with healing are rapidly increasing. People do not just regenerate as they once did because the irritant load is so high that the body is literally exhausted from it. It follows that earlier discussions in part two of this series, where we talked about lifestyle, are supremely important. Dealing with irritation is a very different process from dealing with constipation or heavy metabolic toxicity. In the irritation model, we have to cool and calm the body, and eliminate stimulating and irritating foods, drinks and substances. We also have to consume loads of greens. The use of sprouts, grass juices, chard, kale, parsley, cilantro and other dark green leaves is highly advocated in large quantities. As it has been said, If I cut you, I want you to bleed green. This is what is required to deal with the modern world irritation and toxicity.
In the previous part of this series, we discussed different humors, but specifically, most bitter herbs are cooling. Many of the mint family are calming. A combination of Oregon grape root (cooling), motherwort (cooling and calming), catnip (deeply calming), Jamaican dogwood (cooling and calming) might work very well. This can be made into tea and drunk 2 ounces at a time (not very tasty) or it could be taken in capsules, 2 capsules at a time, 2-4 times per day when acute or one time daily to make slower, gradual changes in level of irritation.
Constipation: This problem is a little more traditional. Back in the early days of processed food or when farmers and ranchers lived off of pigs, milk and white flour all winter, this was the problem. They were constipated from the cellular level, through the capillaries, down through the bile ducts in the liver and into the whole intestine. Giving a whole food diet and more fresh produce along with some stimulating cathartic herbs was a miracle cure. They recovered from anything they had and the natural healers who understood the problem were heralded as magicians. This is the case with
Dr. Christopher, who started the School of Natural Healing. He was probably the most famous herbalist of his era and he got famous because he knew how to cleanse tissue and cause it to regenerate. Some decades later, he is still famous and still amazing to follow for his knowledge of regenerating tissue using herbs, but his cleansing routine is getting rapidly dated and the efficacy of his programs is declining.
Even so, if you find that you are living off of the fare mentioned and you live at high altitudes in relatively simple circumstances or if you know you have heavy, inactive constipation, you may find his style of natural healing a real miracle. His formulas or those of Dr. Richard Schulze (one of his disciples who got great at making Dr. Christopher style herbals, with a little Chinese Medicine mixed in, a lot stronger) are readily available on the internet and work great for these problems.
Organic Weakness: This is touched on in the last section while discussing Dr. Christopher’s style. Sometimes, vital organs are simply weak. This can be the liver, the thyroid, the adrenals, the stomach or whatever. When an organic system is weak, it becomes us to repair, regenerate and feed it. The discussion of every system or organ that could be weak is much too lengthy for a discussion here. Suffice it to say, it is well to seek a practitioner who understands the difference between what is weak and what is out of balance who also knows what to use from the many options available to regenerate your weak systems or organs.
One generic statement that is useful is that plenty of raw vegetable juices and wheat and barley grass juices are very helpful. In addition to Absolute Greens, one very good product is Dr. Christopher’s Jurassic Green powder and it works great stirred into a pint of carrot juice each day. However, there is no substitute for appropriately growing and juicing your own wheat and barley grasses. The use of micro-sprouts, such as broccoli, radish and clover, is also very helpful.
Infection: Now and then, maybe more frequent than we catch it, there is someone whose metabolism is greatly disturbed by a low grade infection. Viral infections can hang out anywhere and several infections can invade the lymphatic system, flaring up just often enough to keep the metabolism shifted toward immune defense a little too far. When you have this kind of infection, you have two options: starve it or kill it with radical invasiveness. The prior is what natural healers have always done. You go on a diet that is full of raw, live food in very simple combinations and you thrive and the infection dies. It might require more detailed help than that, but the approach works well, it is just a lot of work. The other option is to go see someone who will pull your blood out, saturate it with ozone, and put it back in. This works, but it is very expensive and a bit invasive. Various options exist besides these, such as a Rife generator or quantum biofeedback, but the Ozone is thought to be the best so far.
The above conditions may be serious, but they are relatively rare. There is one place where infection is very common and a very serious problem. This place is at the upper small intestine/duodenum. This may not be correctly called infection as it is most often friendly flora that has simply gotten into a place that it should never be in any concentration at all. When this flora overgrowth exists, the sphincter of Oddi can become swollen and may not open or close properly and the infection can even climb up into the pancreas and bile ducts, down into the gall bladder. This problem is very difficult to find because it is subacute, producing little or no fever ever. It can last for a very long time and is not immediately life threatening. Such infections are buffered from direct blood supply, but either infrequently overgrow and get into the blood or they affect other things, like gall bladder and sphincter of Oddi function.
Such infection is poorly studied largely because it does not attract medical attention and it would do no good if it did, since the use of antibiotics would be pointless. There is no blood supply to the inside of the bile ducts, so antibiotics fail for the same reason that the immune system does.
This problem is best understood if we recognize the origin of the problem. When the stomach is functioning normally, the flow of acids and enzymes from the stomach, even when neutralized in the duodenum, create a hostile environment for flora in the upper small intestine. The consequence is that flora never grows into that area and must wait until the strong chemicals from the stomach and the opposing chemicals from the duodenum have neutralized. This happens further down in the duodenum and the sphincter of Oddi, where the bile from the liver and gall bladder and the enzymes from the pancreas are allowed to flow into the small intestine, is preserved.
When stress, poor diet of processed food, insufficient chewing and exposure to long hours of cell phone or computer use are piled upon any person, the stomach (among other organs) will virtually shut down/off. The consequence is that there is poor digestion, inflammatory reactions to almost all foods consumed and, finally, overgrowth of flora up into the duodenum until the sphincter of Oddi is compromised. Swelling and dysfunction of that sphincter, which is the gateway for bile and pancreatic enzymes, along with possible flora overgrowth into the bile and pancreatic ducts are the result. Some studies have shown that the overgrowth of flora into the pancreatic duct and the backing up of enzymes into the pancreas are also related to some cases of diabetes.
The correction of this problem clearly would require changing of lifestyle and eating habits and will probably need additional help. Accelerated flow of bile from liver-cleansing herbs, such as Dr. Christopher’s Liver Gall Bladder formula and massage of the sphincter of Oddi will sometimes result in flushing out the flora. Some have had success from doing liver or gall bladder stone flushes. In addition to these options, it is recommended that a quarter teaspoon of cayenne be put in water and drunk 15 minutes before each meal and that green black walnut hull tincture be taken, half a teaspoon in a little water, on an empty stomach each morning or up to a few times per day. This kills the flora up high, but does not damage lower flora. Massaging the sphincter of Oddi is easy enough to do. Its value cannot be overstated. Anyone wanting to learn may email the author for additional instructions.
Metabolic Processes and Rate: It is possible to have a metabolic rate that is mismatched with the vital rhythm of the body. This mismatch may be either too high or too low with similar results. Too high will result in exhaustion. Too low will result in simple weakness.
When thinking about metabolic rate, just about everyone jumps directly to the thyroid. This may be a mistake, however. Especially in cases of obesity, the function of the thyroid is rarely the primary cause. Actually, overstimulation and excessive metabolic rate often results in inflammation and swelling which demand more cellular activity and the thyroid is stimulated. Eventual exhaustion of the thyroid gland is the result. While it may still be appropriate to work on healing the thyroid gland itself, doing so will yield disappointing results unless the underlying inflammation and metabolic state are healed.
One of the best ways to heal metabolic rate has already been mentioned. This is to chew much more and much better. If teeth are a problem, consider a blender and then swishing the food to mix it with saliva and to give the stomach notice and time to prepare to receive the food that is coming. In addition to this, a life out of balance is sure to result in a metabolism that is out of balance. Most people are well enough aware of areas where their life is out of balance. They do not need to be told what spiritual, emotional, mental and physical deficiencies and excesses exist. They would all do well, however, to connect with nature more. It is best to take off one’s shoes in the countryside where one is away from EM radiation and touch the planet. Humans need to feel the planet’s rhythm and energy and be grounded to it and balanced by it. This needs to happen regularly, at least weekly.
Metabolic processes are regulated by the liver for the most part. While the thyroid is truly important, it is usually secondary to the liver. The liver must be cleaned, energized, fed and loved. This is particularly important to anyone trying to lose weight, because in the liver is where fat is burned. A liver clogged with toxins is in no shape to burn fat. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the liver is only as healthy as a person feels loved by another or by many others. Dr. Bernard Jensen has been quoted as saying, “There is one thing that is more healing than any herb and more alkalizing than any carrot juice. That thing is love.”
In the modern world, complexity is increasing. This complexity is not just an intellectual matte. The complexity of chemicals and EM radiation must be managed by our bodies as well as the diverse stress experienced by us mentally, emotionally or physically. This burden converts directly to metabolic load and therefore modification as our bodies attempt to adapt. Consequently, we must manage our modern metabolism by managing many factors in the modern world. We have discussed several key factors that must be considered to moderate or heal metabolic health today. We CAN change these things, but we are fighting an uphill battle and all aspects should be simultaneously modified wherever possible.
Thanks for reading,
Kal Sellers, MH
