Food Our Medicine — Medicine Our Food

As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.

As to diseases, make a habit of two things — to help, or at least, to do no harm.

Greek Physician, Scientist and the Father of Medicine wrote these profound words of wisdom that really were meant to steer medicine in a more natural direction. 

Everyone has a doctor in him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness.  — Hippocrates (460 BC – 377 BC)

I lifted the following article with picture from a post by Veganism on Face Book.  Lots of good information here. Enjoy!

Food as MedicineFood is medicine and organic fruits and vegetables take center stage in achieving ultimate health and longevity. Morally and ethically, what is on the end of your fork clearly defines your approach to compassion, your environment, your health and well being. The following foods are valuable in sustaining your health, embracing life and avoiding surgeries, prescription drugs and the inevitable .

BLUEBERRIES POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANTS

The dye that is released from the blueberries’ skin may well be the most valuable nutrient the fruit has to offer. The pigments in blueberries and also in red crops such as cherries, plums, and red cabbage are powerful antioxidants. They have been determined to be a much-heralded chemical warrior against heart disease and also cancer. Blueberries actually have the highest antioxidant capacity because of their large anthocyanin concentration.

Antioxidants in our food can save us from virtually everything. Most of our health misfortunes are due to the perversity of oxygen. Our cells are perpetually besieged by toxic forms of oxygen which have been proved to have fierce destructive powers. So far scientists have linked destructive oxygen reactions to at least sixty different chronic diseases, as well as to aging itself. Oxygen free radicals can attack DNA, the genetic material of cells, causing them to mutate, which is a step on the path to cancer.

RED CABBAGE A POWERFUL DETOX FOOD

Red cabbage is a good source of phytonutrients that help to detoxify pollutants and other carcinogens that most people are exposed to on a daily basis. Like other cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, it’s high in glucosinolates, compounds which are metabolized by the body to form powerful cancer fighting chemicals known as isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates activate the liver enzymes that break down carcinogens, allowing them to be safely eliminated from the body. People who consume high quantities of cruciferous vegetables have been shown to have a lower risk of certain types of cancer. Red cabbage is also a good source of indoles, compounds that may reduce the risk of breast cancer by altering estrogen metabolism.

RED BEETS HAVE ANTI-CARCINOGENS

Red Beet is unique for its high levels of anti-carcinogens and its very high carotenoid content. Red beets are high in carbohydrates and low in fat and it is an excellent source of folic acid. It is loaded with antioxidant that helps the body against heart disease, certain cancer especially colon cancer and even birth defects. Betacyanin is the pigment that gives beets their red color; this pigment is absorbed into the blood corpuscles and can increase the oxygen-carrying ability of the blood by up to 400 per cent. Don’t throw away the green leafy tops as they can be cooked like spinach and are also rich in beta-carotene, folic acid, chlorophyll, potassium, vitamin C, and iron.

BEET ROOT FOR LEUKEMIA

Beet root is a traditional treatment used for leukemia. Beet root contain an amino acid betaine which has an anti cancer properties. Red beet therapy, consisting of consumption of approximately two pounds of raw, mashed beets daily, has been favorably reported for cases of leukemia and tumors (includes cancer). Research also shows that beet juice can help inhibit the development of colon and stomach cancer. It is believed that red beets when eaten regularly may help against certain oxidative stress-related disorders. The fiber in red beets helps reduce serum cholesterol by 30 to 40%.Beets can help in normalizing blood pressure.

BEETS FOR HEALTHY ARTERIES AND VEINS

Beets helps to keep the elasticity of arteries, when consumed regularly it can help prevent varicose veins. The iron content of red beets, though not high but is of the finest quality that makes it a powerful cleanser and builder of blood. This is the reason why beets is very effective in treating many ailments caused by toxic environment and surrounding.

BEETS HAVE FOLIC ACID NEEDED IN PREGNANCY

Beet root is recommended for pregnant women because it contains folic acid that can help lower the risk of spinabifida and other neural tube defects in newborn infants.Beet juice helps stimulate the function of liver cells and protect the liver and bile ducts. Beet juice is highly alkaline which makes it effective in the treatment of acidosis. Drinking beets regularly can help relieve constipation. Beet juice and carrot juice when combined is excellent in the healing gout, kidney and gall bladder problem. You can tell that I love beets, I eat and juice at least six beets and the tops everyday religiously. One of my nicknames at the health food store that I frequent is “beet-man.”

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES DETOXIFY THE LIVER

Vegetables that are members of the cruciferous, or cabbage, family not only contain fiber and many vitamins and minerals (including antioxidants) that promote optimal health, they also contain sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol. These phytonutrients have been shown to stimulate enzymes in the body that help the liver remove carcinogens (and other toxic chemicals) and deactivate a powerful estrogen metabolite that promotes tumor growth.

STOP TUMOR GROWTH IN THE BREAST — ANTI-CANCER FOOD

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, various components in cruciferous vegetables have been shown to stop tumor growth in the breast, uterine lining, cervix, colon, lung, and liver and according to studies monitoring diets, eating calciferous vegetables can lower ones risk of getting prostate cancer. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, mustard greens, radishes and mustard greens.

KALE FOR THE EYES

Kale is absolutely rich and abundant in calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein. Kale is rich in Vitamin C not to mention the much needed fiber so lacking in the daily diet of processed food eating Americans. The “Icing on the Kale” are the naturally occurring all important phytochemicals sulforaphane and indoles which research suggests may protect against cancer. Let’s not forget the all important antioxidant Vitamin E. Rest assured kale spares nothing in providing one with much needed nutrients and associated health benefits. The naturally rich sulfur content of kale deserves a bit more discussion.

Science has discovered that sulforaphane, helps boost the body’s detoxification enzymes, possibly by altering gene expression. This is turn is purported to help clear carcinogenic substances in a timely manner. Sulforaphane is formed when cruciferous vegetables like kale are chopped or chewed. This somehow triggers the liver to produce enzymes that detoxify cancer causing chemicals, of which we all are exposed on daily basis. A recently new study in the Journal of Nutrition (2004) demonstrates that sulforaphane helps stop breast cancer cell proliferation.

BEANS ARE COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES

Beans are an often-overlooked source of incredible health benefits. – They have a lot of carbs, leading people to believe they should be avoided and seen as a weight gain risk only. Nothing could be farther from the truth though, as research has shown that the carbohydrates found in most beans are of the complex variety.

Complex carbohydrates are not contributors to any sort of weight gain, instead providing the brain and muscles with a lot of good, stable energy supplies. Beans actually contain a wider variety of healthy nutrients than most foods. These include calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium, folate, and alpha-linolenic acid. These nutrients work together on several key areas of the body promoting total health.

SOURCE OF COMPLETE PROTEINS

Beans also happen to be good sources of complete proteins, which is rare in plants. Plants, while having many different nutrients, often lack complete proteins of any kind. This is unfortunate, as protein is a vital ingredient to the healthy and normal functioning of the human body, and the most readily available sources of protein have negative effects on the heart. Beans, however, are plentiful in protein. Most of the commotion that beans are generating in the scientific community has to do with the fact that they are showing to provide protection from many of the most feared and lethal diseases plaguing Americans today.

Studies done in universities have shown that eating beans on a regular basis reduces a person’s risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and obesity. Sometimes the reduction in risk is substantial. The risk for heart disease, for example, may be reduced by as much as 22%. Beans help to curb hunger, and offer the body valuable sources of ready energy that it can burn quickly and effectively. Because of this, beans boost energy levels, and as a result, promote weight loss.

POWERFUL LITTLE FOOD

Beans are powerful little foods that have been ignored for far too long. Associated with Carbohydrates and gas, current studies have done a wonderful job of increasing our understanding of this plentiful food and revealed it to be packed with important nutrition. The benefits that can be attained from eating beans are as varied as all of the nutrients they contain, but what is important is that many of these benefits help to protect people from some of the most feared illnesses of our times. i eat beans regularly, both sprouted and cooked. I only buy organic beans in bulk and the ones that I fine the most nutritional is adzuki, mung and garbanzo.

WHOLE GRAINS PROVIDE UNIQUE ANTIOXIDANTS

Whole grains offer vitamins and minerals, plus high levels of antioxidants and other healthy plant-based nutrients. Whole grains contain protective antioxidants in amounts near or exceeding those in fruits and vegetables. They also provide some unique antioxidants not found in other foods. Studies have shown that eating more whole grains may help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. New studies show that whole grains may lower triglycerides, improve insulin control, help in weight management, and slow the build-up of arterial plaque. Optimal whole grains are hulled barley, wheat berries, buckwheat, rye, spelt, quinoa, black rice and brown rice. Quinoa and buckwheat are actually fruit seeds but look like grains so I call them grains. They are powerfully nutritional loaded with protein and calcium among lots of fiber and many other nutrients.

Tony picVisit my HealingTones.org blog for more interesting and extraordinary articles. This issue features: “The Shaman’s Gift of Healing.”

Here’s to your health and healing,

Anthony Palombo, DC, ACN

Picture of Hyppocrates by Shakko.

Iodine Supplementation

I interrupt this series of posts on the spiritual and vibrational essences of the seven endocrine glands to bring to my readers this important information about iodine, especially in light of the fallout alarm on the West Coast of the American continent due to the nuclear catastrophe in Japan.

PROTEIN-BOUND IODINE

Iodine is an important trace mineral, of which there are some 74 in the human body, ranging from Aluminum to Zinc.  If you live on the West Coast, or Hawaii and Canada, you’re probably concerned with protecting your thyroid gland against atomic radiation fallout from Japan’s nuclear catastrophe.  Iodine provides that protection, but take care in your selection of iodine supplements.  Iodine is best taken as a protein–bound trace mineral, otherwise it can be toxic. 

Standard Process Labs, founded by Dr. Royal Lee over a hundred years ago, holds the patent on the process that combines iodine with protein from the sea conch, an excellent source of protein and sea minerals.  John Courtney of Standard Process, who is now deceased but left a legacy of nutritional research papers behind, explains it this way:

 Iodine can be toxic due to its tendency to combine with protein. If you get a cut and you put iodine on it, the iodine destroys the bacteria because bacteria are a protein. A lot of doctors give iodine orally, an iodine and water solution. When you put this solution into your mouth, the iodine combines with the protein in your mouth and could cause irritation, not just in your mouth, but in the stomach, or wherever it goes. So that isn’t the best way to take iodine. It should be mixed with protein first, then it’s not toxic to your system. But the iodine is still available to your thyroid for making thyroxine. We have a patent on this process of mixing iodine with protein. We just refer to our products as “protein-bound iodine.” Blood chemistry tests give an iodine figure and a protein-bound iodine figure, “PBI.” The PBI figure is a measure of thyroid activity. If your thyroid isn’t working, iodine and protein are not combined efficiently in your system. So your protein-bound iodine will be low and your regular iodine high, indicting a sluggish thyroid. IODOMERE is a protein-bound iodine, which also contains sea minerals.

Another iodine product by SP is PROLAMINE IODINE, which contains a much heavier concentration of iodine than is found in IODOMERE. One tablet contains three milligrams of iodine, or 2000% of the adult minimum daily requirement.  Basically, PROLAMINE IODINE is used to restore iodine levels to normal, while IODOMERE is used to maintain iodine at proper levels. Hot flashes for menopausal women are one of the most popular uses of this product. 

IODINE LOADING

Under the guidance of a healthcare practitioner, a person who is quite deficient in iodine can go through a process called “iodine loading,” which entails taking an incrementally increased dose of PROLAMINE IODINE daily (one tablet added each day) until one develops an occipital headache and exceptionally clear sinuses.  At that point, you reduce the dosage by one tablet and take that dose for a week. Then come down off the loading process one tablet less each day until you’re down to one.  Continue with one tablet per day for ninety days.  Then one can start taking one IODOMERE tablet with each meal for maintenance.

Another popular product by Standard Process Labs is TRACE MINERALS B12.  Here you have all the trace minerals in a single supplement.  One tablet daily is the maintenance dose.  In the case of hair falling out, a daily dose of 6 (2 with each meal) daily for 90 days will solve the problem nicely.*

Enzyme systems throughout the body depend on trace minerals for activation. Modern agricultural practices have seriously depleted these trace minerals from the soil. Foods are increasingly deficient in trace minerals. 

TRACE MINERALS B12 contains a lot of manganese, a ligament strengthener, very useful in the repair of herniated discs. It also contains zinc, copper, iodine, and vitamin B12 (organically combined cobalt) — all trace minerals. Manganese is an enzyme activator, which makes this product beneficial for the person with chronic low resistance to infection, colds, flu, etc.  One other use for TRACE MINERALS B12 is for overall endocrine support. The trace minerals it contains are all required by the endocrine glands for proper function: iodine for the thyroid, manganese for the pituitary, copper for the adrenals, zinc for the gonads and pancreas, and vitamin B12 for the spleen and red blood cells. The B12 and other trace minerals are also important in supporting the integrity of the blood, so the product is beneficial in cases of anemia.  Overall, this is a very beneficial supplement to take on a daily basis. 

THERAPEUTIC FOODS

Standard Process makes therapeutic food supplements that are high in concentrated whole food essences, as opposed to conventional high-potency vitamin-mineral supplements.  They are designed to support the body’s healing process and help reverse the disease process by balancing body chemistry. Being therapeutic foods, they are rightly only available through licensed healthcare practitioners.  I am available for telephone consultations and monitored therapeutic food supplementation for a modest fee.  Email me to schedule your personal consultation.   

DR. MORTER’S TRACE MINERALS

I mentioned at the top that iodine is one of 74 trace minerals present in the human body.  While it is necessary to fill an iodine deficiency by taking a therapeutic dose of protein-bound iodine for a period of time, we must remember that Mother Nature doesn’t isolate her nutrients.  This is because they all work synergistically together for the benefit of the whole body. Therefore, it is only sensible to take all 74 trace minerals together, just as it is important to take vitamins in whole-food form.

Dr. Milton Morter of Morter Health Systems puts out a trace mineral liquid that is probably one of the most potent energy-boosters I’ve come across in all my fifty years of practice as a chiropractor and clinical nutritional therapist.  Here’s the scoop from his website:

Enhance Your Health with Dr Morter’s Powerful Trace Minerals


Loaded with 74 important minerals.

Unique 60,000,000 year old plant-sourced mineral deposit.

High bio-availability in liquid colloidal suspension


The human body requires dozens of minerals to function at optimum speed. Unfortunately, many Americans aren’t able to get these basic building blocks for the body.

Your lack of minerals isn’t your fault.

Years and years of over-farming the soil have leached the minerals from the ground, thus robbing the foods grown in these soils of life-sustaining minerals.

Apples today contain up to 2/3 less iron than they did in 1940. Spinach contains 53% less potassium. Across the board, numerous fruits and veggies have lost minerals.

The Bottom Line: 

It’s time to supplement your diet with a daily mineral supplement.


Dr. Morter is a biologist and tireless researcher of health and energy medicine. As a chiropractor, he discovered and developed the amazing energy-healing method of  BioEnergetic Synchronization Technique (B.E.S.T.).  His sons and daughter carry on his work of teaching holistic health and wellness and maintain their father’s health center in Rogers, Arkansas.  I’ve taken his trainings and am certified in BEST. Email me if you want to try his liquid TRACE MINERALS.

We will resume the series on “Seven Glands for Seven Spirits” next post.  In the meantime, I wish you the best in health and wellness during the coming year.  Until my next post,

Here’s to your health and healing,

Tony's picture 2 from PeggyDr. Anthony Palombo

Visit my HealingTones.org blog for inspiring articles on “Apocalypse of Light 2013.”

*The products mentioned in this blog are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease and should not be construed as doing such by my readers.  The advice given is not intended to replace the necessity of seeing a licensed physician for proper diagnosis and recommendations as well as options for treatment.

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Seven Glands for Seven Spirits—Part 6: Adrenals and the Single Eye

 Adrenal Glands atop the kidneys


Adrenal Glands atop the kidneys

THE ADRENAL GLANDS

“Two adrenal glands, more or less pyramid in shape, are located one above each kidney. Their primary hormones are adrenaline and its cohort, noradrenaline (produced in the adrenal medulla, the inner part), and corticosteroids or cortisone (produced in the adrenal cortex, the outer part). These are secreted upon demand and especially when the body is exposed to stress and strain. 
Adrenal hormones are essential for the function, strength and integrity of all the cells in the body. The adrenal glands are supported by B Vitamins, especially Niacin and B6, along with the full spectrum of amino acids, such as those found in nuts and other protein-rich foods. The vibratory frequency I hear pre-sounding in my inner musical ear in the adrenal glands resonates with Orange-red and the musical pitch of A sharp.” 

ONE SPIRIT

“From this sacred center, the Spirit of the Single Eye brings tranquility and sharp focus to the lens of the mind for concentration and for shining forth the Light of Truth. This spirit endows the mind with the capacity of logic and reason, as well as common sense. This works both ways, for as the mind is single in purpose and intent, power is released by this spirit through the adrenal glands for effective, creative action. The Creative Command, which always starts with “Let,” is thus released and articulated by the angel into the substance of love that fills this sacred seal.” (Both excerpts are from Sacred Anatomy)

Tranquility and Focus are the gifts of the Spirit of the Single Eye. Here is the sixth verse of my poem The Seven Spirits of God:

I am the Spirit of the Single Eye
I bring power to my body, focus to my mind,
precision to my movement, tranquility to my world

THE EYE, THE LIGHT OF THE BODY

There is a passage in the Gospels that speaks to the function of the adrenal glands and the Spirit of the Single Eye.

The light of the body is the eye. When, therefore, thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also if full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.  (Luke 11:34-36)

Then there’s this expansion on the theme in the Gospel of James:

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8)

Not much more can be added to these statements.  They pretty much speak for themselves.  Jesus was a physician of the soul. He is called the “Great Physician.”  Luke is also thought to have been a physician. The health of the body is dependent upon the health of the soul.  The soul of a man is invisible.  It is the spiritual, or vibrational, aspect of the human being that is connected directly to the endocrine system by way of light frequencies encoded with messages from spirit. 

The two adrenal glands are designed to be strictly under the direct control of the Spirit of the Single Eye.  The Single Eye radiates from out of the pineal gland in the center of the brain when the adrenal glands are engaged by the Spirit of the Single Eye.  Engaged by any other spirit these glands are not available to the Spirit of the Single Eye and will consequently fail in their normal function, which is to provide focus for clear and right thinking and power for precise action.  Such focus and power is born out of a tranquil mind, and tranquility is born out of patience.  We will consider patience in part 7 when we contemplate the Spirit of the New Earth and the gonadal glands. 

The one standing in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks is described as having eyes that were “as a flame of fire.” Two eyes, one flame.  This is true for us when our eye is single.  We have power to focus our minds to accomplish the task at hand.  That focus is none other than Love.  When we love what we are doing and our thoughts spring out of a mind that is bent on doing what is right, we have limitless power available to us by reason of our adrenal glands.

St. Thomas recorded Jesus’ words in a little different way:

Therefore I say that if one is unified one will be filled with light; but if one is divided one will be filled with darkness. —Jesus, from The Gospel of Thomas

SERVE ONE MASTER

One can be divided by the nature of the purpose one serves. If that purpose is not true to one’s sense of honesty and integrity, true to one’s spiritual essence and purpose for living and serving in this world, then one is divided.  The Master Jesus said something about this state: 

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.  (Matt 6:24)

Mammon relates to the deification of wealth and the worship of material riches set aside, as in a depository or investment, for security.  This pretty well describes the current state of affairs in our world.  I find there is much darkness present in human thinking regarding health and disease.  So little understanding of how the human body functions as a whole entity coordinated by the coherent light of life.  And I believe that this darkness of ignorance stems from the human scientific mind attempting to play God, only it doesn’t serve God. It serves mammon. It serves itself, thinking that by understanding the state of disease, which is darkness, it will be able to produce a state of health in human beings—and health is wealth, or so we say.  But we will never produce health by studying and understanding disease.   It is only by understanding health, which is light, that man will come to experience health.  Let the mind be filled with light and not darkness—the light of understanding rather than the darkness of ignorance. Light will then fill the human mind, and the whole body, when our eye is single—and that will happen when we serve God alone.  One master. 

Let your mind be single in purpose and light will fill your whole body.  Power and strength, then, will be made available to you in your service to God and your neighbor.  A worthy resolution for the New Year. 

Best wishes to your health and healing this New Year’s day and throughout the coming year.

Tony's picture 2 from PeggyAnthony Palombo, DC

Visit my HealingTones.org blog for inspiring articles about the apocalypse of light and the dawn of a Golden Age as we move into a new era with our Mother Earth and the solar system.

Art credit: David Stefaniak

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Understanding “Fibromyalgia” Part 4: The Chronic Stress Factor

THE HORMONE FAMILY

Before we talk about chronic stress, there’s something we need to understand about the endocrine system and hormones. So, let’s talk about hormones first.

Hormones, I’ve learned, are a family and cannot be isolated and treated separately.  This is likely why “hormone therapy” is the best we can come up with in treating the symptoms of hormone dysfunction.  In medical science, we do not yet know how to restore function to hormonal glands when they malfunction—or, if we do, we’re not taking that route. The sole approach we’re taking with medicine today is the prescribing and ingesting of synthetic hormones, and in some cases the surgical removal of the malfunctioning gland altogether.  Rather barbaric, I’d say, and a testament to our horse-and-buggy approach to sickness and health yet in this the twenty-first century.

Of course, “natural hormone replacement therapy” is now available. But we’re still putting the hormones into the body instead of correcting the malfunction. The old axiom can be applied here: “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him  how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”  You can give the body hormones or restore normal function to its own endocrine system. If you give the body hormones, the demand is taken away and the glands will not be called into action to produce their hormones.

FUNCTIONAL ENDOCRINOLOGY

Here’s were “Functional Medicine” comes into the health care arena to save the day—and our sacred endocrine system.  I’ve taken a few seminars in what is called “Functional Endocrinology” and, believe me, it’s a comprehensive and truly wholistic approach to balancing body chemistry. It also requires specializing, so I would encourage you to seek out an alternative practitioner who specializes in Functional Endocrinology and Clinical Nutrition, or a least uses muscle testing for system strength analysis, such as Contact Reflex Analysis or Quantum Reflex Analysis, in determining functional deficiencies and appropriate nutritional and herbal support.

THE STRESS RESPONSE AND THE “HPA AXIS”

In functional endocrinology we have what is called the “HPA Axis” (Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal).  These are the head coordinators of your endocrine family and are at the core of all hormonal activity, the most common of which is the “fight or flight” stress response.  Here’s how that works. The hypothalamus apprises the pituitary gland about conditions in the body and around it.  It’s the clearing house for information coming in through the five senses via the central nervous system.  It says if it’s hot or cold, dangerous or safe, turbulent or peaceful in your world—including your physical body, your closest and most personal world. The pituitary gland received the information via chemical messengers from the hypothalamus and proceeds to send out a hormone precursor to the adrenal glands (as it does to all the glands) for further hormone production.  The adrenal glands receive the precursors and squirts adrenalin into the blood stream to empower muscle cell activity.  The blood vessels contract and the muscles get ready to act on your command. This is so with all cellular activity in the body. Every cell in your body needs adrenalin to function properly—or to function at all. 

If the stress response is not shut off for a length of time—weeks and months—the stress becomes chronic. Chronic stress is a known contributor to fibromyalgia, as well as Chronic Fatigue (CFS), which is often caused by hypothyroid function. The adrenal and thyroid glands share a close relationship in the hormone family.  The stress response triggers the production of adrenalin to get the muscles moving for flight or fight in the face of a threat—real or imagined.  If a person doesn’t fight or flee from a threat and the threat is not removed, the adrenalin is not used up. 

Adrenalin, like all hormones, becomes a toxin if not used up or removed from the blood stream and muscle tissue.  It is used up in physical exercise.  It is broken down by enzymes and removed by the lymphatic system—which also depends on exercise to move lymph fluid through the tissues and on to its final destination at the left subclavian vein just above the heart where it enters the blood stream.  From there it is sent with the blood to the liver and kidneys to be filtered out and eliminated.  If this doesn’t happen and the adrenalin remains in the tissues, two things happen. One, the adrenal glands are shut down by the pituitary gland, which gets the message from the hypothalamus that there’s no need for more adrenalin as the muscle tissues are saturated with it.  Two, adrenalin, a steroid hormone called “cortisol,” is the bully of the hormone family if it doesn’t get its way.  It wrecks havoc in estrogen chemistry balance and interferes with thyroid function.  

There’s only one answer: deal with the stress factor.  Fight back or flee the situation.  Preferably, resolve it.  Now, you can’t always do that, especially if the stress factor is your job or your marital relationship.  You may need both—for a while anyway— so, denied a successful resolution, you stand or sit there in a state of quiet desperation while chronic stress sets in.  This sends a message to your hypothalamus that you’re not going to do anything about the stress.  A cascade of failures ensue:

  1. The hypothalamus gets confused and frustrated, or at best incoherent, and may simply shut down.
  2. This leaves the pituitary gland without clear and coherent instructions on what hormone precursors are needed by the family members of the endocrine system to make their hormones.  An incoherent pituitary gland spells confusion and depression for the brain.
  3. The thyroid gland falls off in its production of thyroid and parathyroid hormones, directly impacting your metabolism.  You gain weight and lose bone density.
  4. The thymus gland doesn’t get the feedback it needs about outside invaders and the possible need for an immune response.
  5. The Beta cells of the pancreas  (Islets of Langerhans) don’t know how much insulin to make to keep blood sugar balanced, resulting in hypo and/or hyperglycemia.
  6. The adrenal glands just shut down leaving you with restless nights and no stamina during the day.
  7. Finally, the sex hormone glands (the gonads) go haywire without the pituitary gland’s stimulating hormone precursors—the menstrual cycle loses its regularity and your libido shuts down in the absence of any desire to reproduce your stressed-out self.  Survival, not reproduction, growth and healing, is your body’s primary interest at this point.

You get the picture, I believe.  A family feud breaks out among your hormone glands—all because your hypothalamus is confused and your adrenal glands are exhausted. The result is pain and more pain and a complete lack of energy.  (I won’t repeat the diagnostic terms medicine has for these conditions so as not to re-enforce mental fixations that get in the way of healing.)

OXYTOCIN TO THE RESCUE!

There is one out.  Relax, throw your shoulders back, smile and be thankful for your circumstance . . . that you have a circumstance!   A thankful attitude releases oxytocin into the blood stream which disengages the stress response. So does a hug and a hand shake. So, find someone to hug—or just hug yourself— and shake hands with someone, anyone! Get that oxytocin flowing 🙂

CLINICAL NUTRITIONAL TO THE RECOVERY

While medicating for pain and and pep, consider this protocol as a general program until you can find a clinical nutritionist who can evaluate your need more specifically. This protocol will begin giving you back your life and your bubbling personality. The products are all by Standard Process and Medi-Herb. Divide dosages between morning and evening meals,  or between three meals if you’d rather.  

  1. 4 Hypothalmex tablets – ($24/60 tabs)
  2. 4 Symplex F tablets (women),  Symplex M (men) – ($17/90 t)
  3. 4 Black Current Seed Oil pearls – ($15/60 pearls)
  4. 8 Drenamin tablets – ($11/90 t)
  5. 3 Adrenal Complex for adrenal exhaustion – ($21/40 t) 
  6. 3 Thyroid Complex for hypothyroid – ($26/40 t)

To that add these for general wholefood nutritional support: 

  1. 6 Catalyn – ($11/90 tabs) 
  2. 6 Min-Tran – ($6/90  t)
  3. 3 Trace Minerals B12 – ($15/90 t)
  4. 3 Tuna Omega 3 Oil pearls – ($20/120 pearls)

Drop me an email and I’ll have the products drop-shipped directly from Standard Process within a few days.*  The cost for a 30-day supply of the above products with a 10% blog-readers discount is $280.  You will feel so good after taking these therapeutic foods for a month that you will re-order every month for two more months.  After this 90-day intensive therapy period, dosages on most supplements can be reduced to maintenance levels for the next 9 months.  Stay with this program for a year if you want to reap its full benefits.  We’re talking balancing your body chemistry and not just treating the symptoms of hormone imbalances for the rest of your life.  

*Drop-shipping applies to orders within the USA.  Postage and handling for out-of-county shipping will apply.

TOTAL PROTOCOL SUMMARY

1. First, detoxify. Do a 21-day total body purification using the Purification Kit by Standard Process. The cost: $240.  Repeat this purification program every 4 months for a year, then twice a year thereafter.

2. For gouty arthritis and fluid retention, abstain from highly seasoned and high purine foods (turkey, pork, heavy beef, lentils, dried beans, avocados, and beer) and take the following: 

  1. AC Carbamide  – 3 capsules with a tall glass of purified or spring water three times a day to support the kidneys in removing uric acid from the blood and excess fluid from the tissues. ($18/90 caps)  
  2. Iodomere  – 2 tablets with meals (6 a day) for thyroid support and to help the kidneys take up fluid. ($19/90 tabs) 
  3. DermaCo herbal – one or two tablet per day to help maintain a normal level of uric acid in the bloodstream. ($28/40 tabs) 

3.  During and after the 21-day purification, support your lymphatic system with daily brisk walks or rebounding exercise and take the following:

  1.  Take 10 drops of Lymphapar sublingual 3 times daily for 7 days then once daily for 90 days. ($14/1 oz bottle. You’ll need 3 or 4 bottles.  Email me and I’ll send you some as this is not an SP product.) 
  2. Add to that 1 Cal Amo tablet with each meal for 30 days. ($12/90 tabs)
  3. Take 4 Allerplex capsules twice a day to help get rid of metabolic waste and histamines, particularly from the lungs and bronchial tubes. ($24/150 caps)

 4.  Next, support your immune system with the following supplements over the first 90 days:

  1. Echinacea Premium (2/day)
  2. Immuplex (6/day),
  3. Thymex (6/day),
  4. St. John’s Wort (2/day) – Contraindicated with life-dependent medicines as it detoxifies drugs in the liver.
  5. Astragalus (2/day)  

5. Support the stress-response and hormone system as detailed above.   

Take this in steps and stages, and don’t rush the process.  You didn’t get fibromyalgia or CFS overnight.  Allow one month of correction for every year of chronic illness after going through a 90-day intensive.  It takes that long to turn a deteriorating health pattern around and build an integrating health pattern. And, above all, be patient—and aim to maintain an attitude of gratitude! 🙂

This completes my consideration of  fibromyalgia.  I will resume my series “Seven Glands for Seven Spirits” with the next post.  Until then,

Here’s to your health and healing . . . and a happy and healthy holiday season.

Dr. Anthony Palombo

tpal70@gmail.com

Visit my second blog, HealingTones.org, for intriguing thought around the current cosmic event, “4th Density Apocalypse 2012, Part 3: The Ascension Process.” 

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Understanding “Fibromyalgia”—Part 3: The Immune Connection

Tony Pics for SA BookThere’s an old proverb that says: 

“If you make people think they think, they will love you. If you make them think, they will hate you.”  

I trust that you will not hate me for helping you think for yourself on matters as personal and intimate to you as your health.  

THE IMMUNE CONNECTION

Let’s talk about the immune connection to “fibromyalgia.”  We’re talking about infection, a crucial step in the healing process. Without infection, we would quickly succumb to the ravages of toxic metabolic waste and invasive pathogens upon the body cells.  Sounds like what “fibromyalgia” is all about—the ravages of toxic metabolic waste and invasive pathogens upon the body cells, which calls up an immune response to create an infection.  

I’ve just made another “thought-process interrupt.”  We automatically think of infections as something “bad” and a thing to “fight.”  What I said above calls for different thinking—and that’s my intent in writing this blog: to help us think again and anew about dis-ease and health, but mainly about what we’ve called “disease.”

Notice I hyphenate that word when I use it, because there is no such thing as “a disease.”  We’ve been programmed to think there is and that “disease” is our enemy that needs to be fought and destroyed with man-made chemical bullets, bombs and “surgical warfare.”  But we’re only shadow boxing.  Where diseases need to be gotten rid of is in human consciousness, where they are being  invented, labeled and “cured” (as in preserved). That’s what you do when you cure something.  You preserve it.  Well, we need to stop curing disease and start supporting the healing processes of the body, which alone knows what to do about what we call “disease.” 

There is a dis-ease created by such things as inflammation and infection.  They don’t feel good. We’re not at ease with pain, and that’s as it should be, all things considered.  Pain keeps us from hurting ourselves even further with inappropriate lifestyle activities. It should cause us to ask “Why does that hurt?” rather than “How can I get rid of this pain?”  Pain is an alarm. You wouldn’t turn off the smoke or fire alarm.  You would first look for the fire and seek to put it out. The smoke alarm will automatically shut off when the fire is put out and the smoke cleared out of the house.  It’s the same with pain. 

Our immune system creates fires all the time in order to burn up toxic waste.  The only sensible thing to do is support it so it can do its job more quickly and efficiently.  Fevers are life-savers and are not to be suppressed. They need to be allowed to burn at moderate temperatures (100 – 104).  More than that is dangerous and should be brought down with cold applications to the head especially to prevent brain damage.  Covering the body with blankets to help break a sweat will often break a fever. 

So, let’s talk about supporting the immune system.  Here’s its mechanism of action in medical terms.  Read it first then I’ll break it down to help you understand it.

Cytokines mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses. Complex interactions exist between cytokines, inflammation and the adaptive responses in maintaining homeostasis, health, and well-being. Like the stress response, the inflammatory reaction is crucial for survival and is meant to be tailored to the stimulus and time. A full-fledged systemic inflammatory reaction results in stimulation of four major programs: the acute-phase reaction, the sickness syndrome, the pain program, and the stress response, mediated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system.

Phew! That’s a mouth-full.  First, let’s understand what “cytokines” are.  Here’s the Wikipedia definition:

Cytokines (Greek cyto-, cell; and -kinos, movement) are small cell-signaling proteinmolecules that are secreted by numerous cells and are a category of signaling molecules used extensively in intercellular communication. Cytokines can be classified as proteinspeptides, or glycoproteins; the term “cytokine” encompasses a large and diverse family of regulators produced throughout the body by cells of diverse embryological origin

Simply stated, these are the messengers that alert the body’s immune system that the body has been invaded by harmful pathogens or free radicals.  They mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses, just as it says.  There is the “Redox Signaling Molecules,” for example. They play an important role in the body by activating antioxidants and turning on the immune response naturally to restore and maintain homeostasis—balance.

Watch this 5-minute video clip put out by ASEA as it contains a graphic demonstration of how cytokines work.  Just bear with the promo for their product, although it represents a remarkable scientific breakthrough in the healthcare field, and I use the product myself and in my practice.  This is important information to help us understand such modern-day health issues as “fibromyalgia” and “chronic fatigue syndrome.”

As you can see from the clip, the message has to get through to the immune system or else the invasion of pathogens and free radicals and the vulnerability of the cell walls will go unnoticed by the body.  

IMMUNE ALLIANCE, NOT SYSTEM

Let me explain the so-called “immune system,” which is a misnomer. We do not “have” an “immune system” as such, although the thymus gland, spleen and bone marrow play pivotal roles in producing immune-response cells to deal with “non-self” toxins in the body.  What we do have in an immune alliance which involves all the organs of the body, especially the organs of elimination, which includes the skin, by the way.  So, just keep that in mind in your approach to supporting your “immune system.”  For example, if you simply take antibiotics, pharma grade of natural, without doing something to clean out the metabolic waste with herbs, for instance, then you’ll end up crowding your lymphatic system with too much to handle on its own.  

I’ll often give a client Congaplex or Thymex, “natural antibiotics” put out by Standard Process Labs, to support the body’s immune-response to strep and staph infections respectively.  In a day or two the client often comes down with sinus congestion or swollen lymph nodes.  This tells me that the lymphatic glands are congested, so I’ll back off from supporting the body’s immune response and start supporting its elimination system.  

Standard Process and Medi-Herb provide superior products for this purpose, even natural antihistamines, like Antronex,  Allerplex, and Fen-Gre  to break up congestion in the sinuses and lymphatic glands, and ResCo, Broncafect, and PulmaCo to help clear out congestion in the bronchial tubes and lungs.  A company by the name of Energique also provides a product called Lymphapar, which almost magically opens up the lymphatic glands—very helpful with lactating mothers, for which this sublingual homeopathic was formulated.  These are all non-invasive, non-toxic, “natural medicines.”  They are also quite affordable when compared to the escalating cost of drugs.  Unfortunately, they are not covered by most insurance policies. 

Invariably, a “virus” appears on the scene from seemingly out of nowhere to scavenge the debris left by dead cells that gave their lives putting out the fire of infection.  That’s what they are and what they do—and they do appear to come from out of nowhere because they are simply normal cells of the body that have been transformed, morphed, and re-programmed as scavengers to clean up the mess left by the immune response, which I think is simply amazingly ingenious.  So, we can then turn our attention to helping the body clean house so as to eliminate the necessity for the viral activity.  This includes viruses that originate outside the body.  They are still scavengers and they will not invade your body tissues if there is nothing there for them to scavenge. This emphasizes the importance of Fall and Spring full-body purification rituals.  

Immuplex and St. John’s Wort help the body respond to viral infections.  Herbal teas are helpful in eliminating waste.  Bowel, liver and kidney detox products are plentiful.  All one has to do is use them.  Standard Process has a complete full-body Purification Kit with all the nutrients needed to clean out the body’s systems and tissues. Email me for product acquisition.  My readers enjoy a 10% discount on all supplement orders. *

ECHINACEA & IMMUNE-RESPONSE MODULATION

When we are sick we usually think in terms of “stimulating the immune system.” Well, that may or may not be the right call.  It’s far better to think in terms of modulating your immune response. Modulation simply entails balancing the immune response, which will be under-active where infections persist and over-active where autoimmune conditions persist, such as AIDS and rheumatoid arthritis.  

Echinacea herb is probably the most effective modulating botanical in Mother Nature’s cornucopia of natural medicines.  Medi-Herb, a sister company to Standard Process, has the very best Echanicea product in their Echinacea Premium—and it can be taken daily as a preventative, by children and adults alike, to keep the immune response balanced and poised to act appropriately in response to infections and autoimmune issues.

Not all Echinaceas are equal.  For example, the root of the augustifolia plant has more goodies for the immune system than the flowers of the purpurea plant.  Traditional Echinacea is made from the flowers, which is why people who are allergic to plants of the daisy family have a sensitivity to traditional Echinacea (made from Echinacea Purpurea flowers).  Echinacea Premium by Medi-Herb is made from the root of the Echinacea angustifolia.  The natives in Australia, where Medi-Herb manufactures its products, would pass over the flowering  purpurea plants and dig up the root type augustifolia plant, which resembles a carrot, because they knew it worked better than the flower type plants.  

Master Herbalist Dr. Kerry Bone of Medi-Herb has discovered that it’s the high concentrations of alkylamides that impact the immune system and not the polysacharides, as traditional European herbalists believe.  Echinacea Premium combines the roots of Echinacea angustifolia and Echinacea purpurea to enlist properties unique to each one in supporting the immune system. The following are some of it benefits: 

  • enhance immune system function (particularly non-specific immune function)
  • support and promote normal interferon production
  • support and promote healthy white blood cells
  • support healthy immune response following stress, sudden changes in weather or temperature
  • encourage healthy upper respiratory tissue
  • support and maintain healthy throat tissue
  • support healthy lymphatic system function
  • stimulate the body’s normal tissue support and renewal function.

For maximum benefit, combine Immuplex and Echinacea Premium in your supplement protocol for immune response modulation and support. Email me for product acquisition and dosages.  

And friends, you just need to stock up your “Natural Medicine Cabinet” with these products if you’re going to make the break from pharmaceutical drugs and start supporting your body’s immune system naturally.  In this day and age, supplementation with wholefood nutritionals and herbs is unavoidable.  And  I walk my talk. Personally, I take up to 30 different supplements daily. That’s about 60 pills and capsules, a handfull at each meal.  But that’s not much when I compare it to the three plates full of food I eat daily—and these are essences of wholefood concentrates designed and prescribed to reverse the “disease” process by balancing body chemistry—not “vitamin supplements,” which I strongly advise against.

For a personal consultation, email me for my telephone number and to schedule a time.  My fees are very reasonable.  We’ll talk more about the inflammatory and stress response systems in connection with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, which includes the thyroid’s involvement, in my next post.  Until then, 

Here’s to your health and healing,

Anthony Palombo, DC, ACN

Email address: tpal70@gmail.com

*Network marketing products, such as ASEA and Nopalea, are not included in this discount.

Visit my HealingTones.org blog for inspirational articles about sacred energy.  The current series theme is Fourth Density Apocalypse 2012: The Science of Ascension. 

 

 

 

Understanding Fibromyalgia, Part 1: The Consciousness of the Sufferer

If we’re going to address this condition holistically, we must start with the consciousness of the sufferer and his or her understanding of what “fibromyalgia” actually is and how it has tended to define one’s identity, as many chronic diseases tend to do. We also have to do some critical thinking around our current healthcare system, the context in which this condition has been diagnosed, and begin to allow a change in consciousness to occur there as well. 

The word itself—which simply means aching muscle fibers— is a new name for what old folks today used to call “rheumatism,” or “la rheumatise” as the Cajun folk called it back when I got out of Chiropractic college in 1963 and opened my first practice in Crowley, Louisiana.  It’s a body ache that just won’t go away. You just hurt all over, and that’s not anything new.  In other words, it’s an old ailment with a modern diagnostic label.  

The only difference is we have a whole lot more pain-producing assaults to our bodies in the form of chemicals in our foods, water and air, than were around fifty years ago, not to mention mental and emotional stresses we didn’t used to have.  Then there’s the latest threat to our health and sanity in the form of Genetically Modified Organisms in corn and other food staples, such as fruits and vegetable.  All this to say we have many more toxins for our immune and elimination systems to process in body-minds that are a lot more stressed—and a lot less active physically but more active mentally.  All this bears on our predisposition to dis-ease.  

THE PROBLEM WITH A DI-AGNOSIS

I emphasize the word “diagnostic” to bring attention to the unpublished meaning of that word.  The dictionary gives this Greek derivation: [dia-, through, between + gignoskein, know], and defines it as an act of “distinguishing.”  But I prefer the one I heard some years ago at a motivational seminar: “di-, meaning two, and -agnostic, meaning not knowable”  When you ache and don’t know what it is, only you don’t know. That’s one.  When you take your condition to a medical doctor, he tells you he doesn’t know what it is either.  Now you have TWO who don’t know, only the doctor puts a name on it, mainly because that’s what you went to him for . . . and  he needs a legitimate condition to prescribe a drug for and get paid by the insurance industry to treat.  Now you have a diagnosis you can set your mind at ease with—at least it’s not “cancer”—and something new to tell all your friends and neighbors about. 😮  

One medical author actually writes that if people didn’t “demand” a name for their conditions, they would get well much faster—and that’s no joke.

Of course, I’m being facetious.  After 50 years in this work, which can be frustrating at times but, nevertheless, rewarding, I feel I’ve earned the right to interject a bit of humor into the otherwise heavy and futile undertaking health-care has become. People are perishing because of a lack of real vision. My purpose for blogging here is to hopefully bring some vision to the end that people will stop perishing. 

Sad as it is, that’s about where we are in our so-called “health care” and modern-day medicine, with 75% of medical diagnoses being wrong—and people sacrificing their lives every day at the research altar of the pharmaceutical industry—60,000 deaths worldwide from a simple pain pill before it was pulled off the market in 2004, not to mention those dying daily from contaminated steroid shots administered to relieve pain!  Tens of thousands die annually from medical mistakes, hospital-acquired infections, and “iotrogenic” (doctor-caused) diseases. 

The best medical specialists are only 25% right in their guesses about health conditions and their causes and treatments . Medicine does not deliver health and it never will.  It’s not “health care.” It’s disease management—and we do, unfortunately, still need to manage human disease and suffering—such as “fibromyalgia” and “chronic fatigue syndrome”—so I don’t want to come off as being ungrateful for drugs and surgery, certainly not for our well-meaning and compassionate doctors.  But what an indictment upon our way of life—or rather of dying—in the twenty-first century, and upon modern-day medicine!  Drugs are simply not the way to go.

Am I passionate about this blatant failure on the part of our healthcare delivery system . . . and the government’s continued support of it with our hard-earned tax dollars?  You bet I am!  I understand that research dollars are becoming harder to come by in the wake of decades of medical science’s failures to deliver on its promises to find cures for human diseases if we just give them more money and time.  It’s about time we wake up!

So, I will back off from calling chronic aches and pains “fibromyalgia” because, like all other diagnostic terms, it has become yet another mental fixation that people believe in with religious fervor.  Some time ago I learned that you cannot talk a diabetic, for instance, out of his or her pet topic of conversation.  Besides, it’s one of the four diseases that it is illegal in this country to “cure.” 

But, enough about human-nature antics.  People are suffering from pain that has no knowable cause  . . . to medical science, that is.  Not so. Everything in the world of effects has a cause that is knowable. We just have to put our critical-thinking caps on to figure it out.  That’s what chiropractors and other natural health care practitioners are good at.  So, let’s look at this modern-day plague, for which medical science loudly proclaims in its literature:  “The cause is unknown.” ___________________________________________________

EVIDENCE THAT HEALING IS UNDERWAY

1. PAIN AND INFLAMMATION 

It’s inflammation, pure and simple.  Inflammation is the first stage of the healing process.  It’s natural, in others words. Pain is the trigger for the healing process and inflammation is your first indication that you’re okay in spite of the pain.  The healing process is underway.  Support it . . . and find and eliminate the external and internal causes of the pain that triggers it. That’s all we can do.  The body heals itself.  It has an innate intelligence that automatically heals and repairs damaged and sick parts.

Read this excellent article by Dr. Samuel N. Grief, MD on the subject of inflammation for a better understanding of this mechanism of the healing process.

2. REPAIR AND INFECTION

The second phase is repair, which may include infection if the debris from damaged and dying cells is not eliminated properly. That debris is called “metabolic waste” in physiology.  If not eliminated, it becomes acidic.  Acid burns cells, and that can be quite painful.  It’s a toxin and needs to be cleansed out of the body tissues.  Infection is how the body deals with toxic waste.

That’s where alternative and natural healthcare can help with herbs and exercise, along with some Eastern Medicine techniques, such as Acupuncture, which is very effective in intercepting pain signals and opening up stuck energy pathways in the body—which is also what chiropractic spinal adjustments offer.  Spinal adjustments open up neural pathways between central control in the brain and peripheral tissues and organs in the body.  Pathways that carry vital signals and messages of the intelligent innate healing power of the body. Chiropractors have historically proclaimed the truth that “The power the made the body can heal the body.” Homeopathy and Naturopathy are also natural healing methodologies that offer totally harmless ways of supporting the natural healing processes of the body.

Tissue repair is done simply through a process of protein syntheses and cellular apoptosis (suicide) and replication.  Simply put, a cell sees that a neighboring cell has died so it replicates itself to replace the missing cell.  Innate intelligence at work! See this fascinating process in some of my earlier blogs on the Life of the Cell and Protein Transcription listed in the Archives of this blog. Also my articles on Bone Remodeling and The Healing Process published back in May and June of 2011.

3. SCARRING

The third phase of the healing process is scarring to fortify damaged tissue fibers.   For that process to work, building blocks are needed in abundance, and enzymes are called upon in greater demand to do the repair work. They are the workhorses of the body.  Here is where healthful dieting and nutritional therapies can help.  Raw foods supply us with enzymes, vitamins and minerals—provided they are organically produced in humus and mineral rich soils.  Otherwise, supplementation with enzymes and healing nutrients is absolutely necessary.

4. STRENGTHENING & REHAB

The next step for the injured person is  strengthening and rehabilitation, to break up the scaring so that new cells can come in and replace the collagen tissue where possible, and to strengthen the repaired tissues. This is where stretching, physical exercise, therapeutic massage, and physical therapy can help.

5. NUTRITIONAL AND HERBAL THERAPIES

This is also where nutritional and herbal therapies come in handy—and there are some remarkable products available to alternative healthcare practitioners today.  These natural healing  sciences are called by such names as “Trophotherapy” and “Phytotherapy.”  Trophotherapy includes the use of whole food supplements as therapeutic foods (“nutraceuticals”) that supply all the ingredients the body needs to repair and strengthen tissues, help the immune system process infection efficiently, and restore normal function to muscles, bones, organs and glands.  Phytotherapy includes the use of phytochemicals and herbs to supply natural medicines that act as catalysts for chemical processes, aid in the infection-fighting process and in the production of energy, as well as helping the body adapt more easily to environmental stress.  This work is called “Clinical Nutrition” and its rationale is to reverse the disease process and support the healing process.  

Doesn’t this kind of critical thinking  sound so harmonious and resonant with logic and reason? Don’t you just love the healthy sound of these words? They take us up toward health and life rather than down toward disease and death.  I love this work. 

We’ve come a long ways in our research and utilization of Mother’s Nature’s cornucopia of healing nutritionals and botanicals (herbs,  etc.) . . . and this is true health care research.  Research that delivers the goods of health as opposed to masking the symptoms of disease with drugs.

6. POSSIBLE CAUSES AND TRIGGERS

When I asked my Standard Process representative for some input for this post—he’s a Naturapath—here’s what he emailed me in response:

Yikes …you could write a book.  As you know it is a wastebasket diagnosis, a cluster of symptoms, and not definable by any marker other than tender point index.  I think finding the root causes and triggers is the real key to relief.  Also, as many practitioners will attest, a lot of long-term sufferers really don’t want to get completely better as the label of  “fibromyalgia” becomes their badge of honor or ingrained in their identity.  

His last comment echoes what I said earlier in this post. The problem, as well as the solution, lies within the sufferer and his or her consciousness.  That is both barrier and key to healing all physicians face daily in their clinics.  The Holistic approach takes this into account and addresses the healing of the person rather than the disease. Change is hard for those who don’t want to let go of what has defined them for so long, many for years.

Here are some of the known root causes and triggers for “fibromyalgia”:

  • Low thyroid function resulting in slow metabolism, the rate of energy metabolism and the breaking down of molecular structure (catabolism) and the building up of tissues (anabolism). 
  • Toxicity – especially aluminum
  • Post viral mitochondria dysfunction, resulting in “chronic fatigue,” another catch-all label
  • Un-diagnosed infective viral agents, such as Lyme disease, chronic staph and strep infections.
  • Food allergies, such as corn and wheat gluten, and dairy.

I will address each one of these areas in my next post, including known remedies and powerful, natural anti-inflammatory agents, such as the fruit of the Nopal cactus that thrives in the Sonoran Desert of southwest USA and Mexico, now available in a juice called “nopalea” put out by the innovative company TriVita. Until then, here’s to your critical thinking on health and healing,

Anthony Palombo, D.C.
Note: I’ve interrupted my series “Seven Glands for Seven Spirits” in order to bring you this special on Fibromyalgia and to honor a request from one of my blog followers. Your requests and comments are encouraged and always welcome. Thank you!
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Body-mind and Nutrition

 

Tony Pics for SA BookMind and body are inseparable until death.   The human mind arises from the physical body and vanishes with it.  The health of the mind, then, is directly related to the health of the physical body, particularly the health of the brain.  A child, for instance, diagnosed with an attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), or attention deficit disorder (ADD), may well be simply undernourished, or consuming too much sugar.

Sugar and the Brain

The brain and central nervous system run on sugar.  But not the kind of sugar found in candy and soft drinks.  The sugar the brain needs is called glycogen and is made in the liver.  Supplementing with inositol will stimulate liver production of glycogen.   Ironically, the process of making  glycogen in the liver is compromised with the intake of too much dietary sugar from candy and soft drinks.  High fructose corn syrup/sugar is probably the biggest offender simply by reason of the prevalence of it in processed foods.  It’s everywhere in our foods and beverages making our children fat and unable to process sugar at all.  It should be outlawed.  

ADD and ADHD

The problem with ADD is one of focus and concentration.  I’ve treated many children with ADD over the years and all of them responded favorably to inositol supplementation, often the next day.  They were able to get off Ritalin.  They were able to focus and concentrate on their lessons.

Ritalin is speed.  It’s a drug.  We are teaching our children to solve their problems with drugs.  What a horrible disservice, to say the least.   I’ve heard reputable psychiatrists say on television that more children needed to be put on Ritalin.  They should have their licenses revoked, and Ritalin should be forbidden to be given to children.  There’s a natural way to correct the cause of attention deficit and hyperactive disorders.

The problem with ADHD is one of poor nutrition and chronic stress.  The brain is simply starving to death and does not have the energy to turn itself off at night.  It runs all night and all day at breakneck speed.  I’ve treated many ADHD children with wholefood nutrition supplementation with favorable results.  Feed the brain with wholesome nourishment and it will perform like a Swiss watch.

Adrenal fatigue brought on by chronic stress can also cause ADD.  With chronic stress, the adrenal glands become exhausted and fail to produce sufficient adrenalin for the cells of the brain to function, even to retire for the night.   Every cell of the body needs adrenalin in order to function at all.  Waking up in the morning feeling exhausted is a classic symptom of adrenal fatigue caused by chronic stress.

Simply supporting the adrenal glands with therapeutic wholefood supplements and herbs will bring favorable results, often overnight.  Of course, the chronic stress needs to be dealt with in order to address the cause.  There are excellent herbal preparations now available that help us adapt more easily to change and environmental stress.

For more specific information on the nutritional and herbal remedies alluded to in this article, please do not hesitate to contact me.

To your health,

Dr. Anthony Palombo

Advanced Clinical Nutrition. Email dranthonypalombo@live.com .  Phone 337-802-5510

Visit my HealingTones.org blog for more inspiring reading on handling sacred energy and energy topics in general.