DISEASES

Attention deficit disorder (ADD) – Not a disorder, but a symptom!!

Every function in our body is guided by millions and millions electrical signals that run through an intricate and extensive layout of nerves in our body. A good analogy would be something like the complex electrical wiring system that runs in a huge building. The key to understand ADD is to imagine what would happen to this electrical system if the electrical cables had improper or weak insulation. The result would be a leaky or faulty circuit. This would present itself as fluctuations in the voltage and sometimes a tripping of the circuit all together. Similarlyerve impulses are not carried along and information cannot be transported optimally.

How a normal functioning nerve looks like:

The nerves that run in our body are very similar to electrical wires. They have an inner core of nerves tissue through which the electric impulse runs through. Each one of these nerves has an outer insulation covering. This outer insulation is mostly made of a a phospholipid and is called the myelin sheath, i.e., myelin is electrically insulating (see Figure 1). The myelin sheath also increases the impulse conduction rate. The production of the myelin sheath is called myelination. During infancy myelination occurs quickly and does not stop until the adolescent stages of life. Because of this rapid myelination, it is essential that children under the age of two receive a diet high phospholipids compared to that of an adult.

Figure 1: Typical neuron.

Nerve impulses pass from one nerve to the other by one dendrite end connecting with the axon terminal of another nerve as sketched in Figure 2. At each junction there is complex network of Ca++/K++  voltage gated channels, neurotransmitters and neurotransmitter receptors which facilitate the passage of electrical impulses. The neurotransmitters are made of a chemical called acetylcholine.

Figure 2: Neuronal junction.

What could go wrong?

Some key components make a healthy nervous system and play important role in transmission of electrical impulse e.g. Phospholipids, Acetylcholine and Ca/K ratio. Deficiency can lead to some major malfunctioning of our nervous system. Unfortunately, the kind of nutrition we receive from our diet and environment is limited in many ways and may not be sufficient to support healthy functioning.

• Deficiency of Phospholipids may lead to poor formation of the myelin sheath as a result of which the individual axons will not be well insulated. This leads to a slow flow of electric impulses.
• Choline plays an important role in maintaining a normal neurological function and in the alleviation of many kinds of neurological disorders. It is a key component in the neurotransmission substance called acetylcholine. Neurotransmitters are essential during the salutatory movement of a nerve impulse that occurs when the impulse jumps from the gap in one neuron to the other. Neurotransmitters not only play a role in the flow of nerve impulse but also have important biochemical significance. Nerve impulse conduction defines how we humans act and feel. Lecithin, an oily compound sourced from soybeans or corn and also found in raw egg yolks and raw milk, is the best natural source for choline used in supplements. Choline is almost always found in other sources of B vitamins, in foods like yeast and whole grains, in fish and eggs, in liver, other organ meats and legumes.
• Ca/K ratio: The ratio between Ca++ and K+ is important in maintaining an active and functional gateway in the cell wall that will allow the recycling of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

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Cancer

Cancer is a generalized name for a group of disease’s that occur secondary to an uncontrolled growth of cells. These cells are abnormal cells since they carry damaged DNA.

Conventional or Allopathic medicine standpoint:

When it comes to the etiology of cancer conventional medicine has many explanations that boil down to the fact that cells with damaged DNA are responsible for the starting of cancer. Under normal healthy conditions the cells carrying damaged DNA should undergo cellular death, i.e. removed from the system, or be repaired. However, in cancer these abnormal cells do not undergo this, they continue to multiply and recreate more of the abnormal cells, i.e., out of control growth of abnormal cells. Environmental and life-style factors are being labeled as trigerring factors.

The spread of cancer happens by the migration of abnormal cells from the tumor to other parts of the body through the different fluids i.e. arterial, venous or lymphatic system or by local spread.

Different conventional approachs to treat cancer is being explored continuously. Some of the key ones are chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Some of the newer ones are immunotherapy and hyperthermia. These may be used in different combinations with varied result. It is very encouraging for me to see that conventional medicine looks into the avenues like immunotherapy and hyperthermia. However, due certain limitations these last two treatment modules are being used more as adjuncts to the other protocols.

 

My Approach:

Without doubt, cells with defective DNA are continuously being formed in the body and under normal conditions the body is able to eliminate it. However, the question that needs to be addressed with cancer etiology is why the body chooses to respond differently and is not able to remove or repair these cells with defective DNA. A naturopathic understanding is that in these cases the body does not have enough nutritional support (hence is out of balance) to respond to these abnormal cells in a manner that restores health.

There is tremendous amount of research going on in the field of cancer and a lot of focus on how to cure it. The question that I like to address is “why the DNA got damaged and why the body failed to identify these abnormal cells and remove/repaire it?” How could something so obviously wrong escaped the immune system of the body?

• From my understanding a body that is out of balance and nutritionally poor harbors low grade sub-acute infections. These infections release toxins that “mess” around with the intricate biochemical reaction of the body triggering a series of abnormal reactions. These abnormal reactions interfere with the natural healthy regeneration and degeneration processes. Under normal situations there is a certain cellular intelligence that tells the cell when to start multiplying and the same intelligence also triggers cell death. There is a constant fine balance that is being maintained when the body is in health.
• Some infections manage to find their way inside the cells, causing loss of intracellular (inside the cell) balance.This leads to abnormal intracellular biochemical activity and subsequent DNA damage.
• Infections rob the body of essential nutrition causing further imbalance and, very soon the body gets caught in this vicious cycle.

How can I help?

This problem needs to be addressed at multiple levels.

• The nutritional imbalance needs to be corrected.
• The infection both extracellular and intracellular needs to be eliminated.
• The immune system has to be stimulated and “trained” using blood electrification and UVBT so that they are able to not just fight the infection but also find the cancer cells in the body to remove them.

 

To summarize I feel compelled to share that killing the cancer cells with cytotoxic treatments (chemotherapy, radiation etc.) may not be the answer to curing this condition. Cancer is like a monster with tentacles. It reaches out everywhere. It is very possible after all the conventional treatment a few cancer cells could be left behind in some nook or corner of the body and this is enough to start the whole process all over again (Relapse), maybe in another place in the body and in another form (and we can give it another name). With the help of a customized nutrition plan and a well-trained immune system the body’s balance can be brought back and, better still, maintained. The answer lies in going to the root of the problem and actually changing the way the body responds to cancer cells. The body must learn to identify, target and eliminate abnormal cells and infections that may be responsible for the cancer to originate in the first place. The body “can” be trained to do so!

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Crohn's Disease:

Looking at it from a different perspective…..there is hope!

In conventional medicine Crohn’s Disease is considered to be an autoimmune disorder of the gastro-intestinal tract leading to mild to severe inflammation of the tract. This is an extremely debilitating disorder and most of the time patients need to live with it and suffer for the rest of their life. In conventional medicine there is no cure for it.

A lot of different factors have been attributed to the etiology of this condition e.g. including genetics, diet and environment. However, most of these are ill explained and patients are mostly put on a lot of medications that only provide partial or no relief of symptoms. It is common knowledge that these medications are very damaging to the body, long term as well as short term, and frequently lead to another set of medical issues at some point of the patient’s lifetime.

It is important to understand the root cause of the disease, i.e. the causative agent. In concise the following are the causative factors for Crohn’s Disease:

• A low grade, localized or systemic infection in the gut wall coupled with an immuno-compromised state is responsible for the inflammation. We perform the Functional Leukocyte Observation test (FLO test) at our center during which we observe the patients red blood cells and immune cells. Based on this test we have concluded that the infection often is an anaerobic microorganism called candida (yeast) which can colonize the gut and even enter the blood stream. This infection thrives when there is an imbalance in the amount of friendly bacteria and oxygen producing algae in the intestinal tract.
• It is not only the yeast that causes the inflammation, but also the toxins and by-products that the yeast releases after metabolizing the carbohydrates from our diet that greatly contribute to the inflammatory process.
• There are select foods that cannot be completely broken down by the digestive system. Incompletely digested foods are consumed by the vast array of organisms living in the gut and release toxic metabolites. It becomes the source for abnormal chemicals and toxins in the intestines. This can explain why some of the symptoms of Crohn’s disease get worse after we eat certain kinds of food. Making food choices based on an individual blood type has seen to greatly improve and relieve the inflammation and bowel irritation.
• The liver of a healthy individual makes on the average one to one half quart of bile everyday. This bile aids in the complete break down of food. When the liver and gall bladder does not function optimally the amount of bile made by that individual is greatly reduced. This leads to an increase in the amount of incompletely digested food that again feeds the organisms in the intestine thereby leading to worsening of symptoms after eating.

Primarily, we stimulate the immune system (not suppress it like conventional treatment!) so as to enable the body to fight any infection that may be contributing to the inflammation. It is not uncommon to find various localized infections like bacteria (especially anaerobic bacteria) and parasites that are actually adding to the symptoms. Again, it is not only these organisms that generate the symptoms but also the toxins released by them that make the symptoms worse and contribute to the inflammation.

Secondarily we get a control on the yeast. It is not easy to stay away from yeast. It is wide spread in our diet. Foods such as breads and dried fruits and drinks such as wine and beer are loaded with yeast. The idea to completely eliminate yeast from our diet may be challenging. A smarter way to deal with this is to create an oxygen rich environment in the gut which will not favor the growth of yeast (Remember yeast is an anaerobic organism!). This is what we help you do. We help you create this oxygen rich environment in your gastro-intestinal tract by giving you certain supplements.

Concomitantly we also evaluate the liver and gall bladder function and make sure that enough bile is being produced to carry the pancreatic juices to assist maximum break down of ingested food.

We understand that giving antibiotics is not the answer to the infection. No amount of antibiotics can eliminate the microorganisms to the very last and even one left behind is capable of starting the whole colony all over again making the effect of the antibiotics short term; not to forget the side effects of these strong medications. I may conclude that :

• Empowering the immune system to fight the infection
• Having optimal functioning liver and gall bladder …

… is the natural and permanent route to overcome such “autoimmune” disorders; but fore most I feel compelled to add that maybe it is also the smartest route, too!!

Carvalho et al. (2009) from University Clermont, working in association with scientists from McGill University in Quebec, have published a scientific article where the research team has been able to demonstrate the colonization of the intestinal mucosa of patients suffering from Crohn’s Disease with a bacteria called Escherichia coli. This is a major break-through because finally the role of a localized active infection is being attributed to this debilitating chronic inflammatory disease.

 

Reference:

Frédéric A. Carvalho, Nicolas Barnich, Adeline Sivignon, Claude Darcha, Carlos H.F. Chan, Clifford P. Stanners, and Arlette Darfeuille-Michaud, Crohn's disease adherent-invasive Escherichia coli colonize and induce strong gut inflammation in transgenic mice expressing human CEACAM, J. Exp. Med. 2009, vol. 206: 2179-2189.

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Psoriasis:

What is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes the skin to be red and irritated. Most people with psoriasis present with thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.

Figure 1: Healthy skin (left) and skin with Psoriasis (right).

Patients commonly show history of “flare ups” of the condition where the skin worsens and gets better. Factors that cause these "flare ups" can include emotional stress, injury to the skin, some types of infections and reaction to certain drugs.

The Conventional Medicine standpoint

In conventional medicine Psoriasis is considered a disease of the immune system.  The role of the immune system is to protect the body from infections and diseases. In patients with Psoriasis, certain immune cells are activated and produce too much of a protein called tumor necrosis factor (TNF). This protein can cause skin cells to grow too quickly. As a result the skin cells build up and form raised, red patches often with silvery flakes, known as scales very characteristic of Psoriasis. These scales may itch, be painful, and can bleed (see Figure 1).

My approach

I trust the innate capability of the body to heal itself. There is only one catch to this: the body must be nourished with the kind of food and nutrition that will actually support the regenerative powers of the body. Symptomatic drugs may help alleviate the symptoms but they do not address the cause of the disorder/disease. It does not make your body any smarter or better!!

It is important to understand the root cause of the disease or the causative agent. From my understanding and perspective psoriasis is not a disease rather it is the body’s way of reacting to a certain imbalance. It is not only about the infection or immune dysfunction, but rather how our body is choosing to respond to this underlying dysfunction that becomes the deciding factor for the disease presentation. Taking this into account I understand that the following are causative factors for psoriasis:

• The rate of cell division is controlled by a delicate balance of two compounds found in the body: cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate) and cGMP (cyclic guanidine monophosphate). cAMP is concerned with increased cell maturity and decreased replication. cGMP is concerned with increased cell division. Therefore, a state of decreased cAMP and increased cGMP creates an ideal situation for decreased cell turnover as seen in psoariasis.
• Role of bowel bacteria: It is common to have bacteria in the gut. However, when the body is not able to break down protein or absorb broken down protein optimally there is a build-up of amino acids and polypeptides in the gut (see Figure 2). The bacteria present in the bowel on these proteins and release toxins. Some of the key toxins are called polyamines. Polyamines are known to be inhibitors of cAMP formation which in turn create an imbalance in the cAMP/cGMP ratio. The net effect is increased cell proliferation.
  
  Figure 2: Possible mechanism of psoriasis.
• Bowel toxins such as endotoxin (part of the cell wall of bacteria), by-products of certain bacteria and candida (yeast) are seen to cause an increase in the cGMP in the skin causing increased cell proliferation.
• The liver is the key detoxifying organ. It does this by secreting certain enzymes that assist this process. Individuals with compromised liver function may not be able to efficiently perform this process. As a result there may be a tendency for the body to accumulate toxic by-products that try to exit through the skin.
• Deficiency of vitamin A can lead to an imbalance in the rate of skin turnover and hence present itself as different types of skin disorders. Leukotrienes are inflammatory compound found in very high levels in the skin of patients with psoriasis. It is formed from arachidonic acid which is a fat found in meat and other animal food sources. The EPA and DHA found in cod liver oil compete with arachidonic acid for the same receptor or binding-site in the body. Therefore, having high levels of EPA and DHA does not allow the arachidonic acid to bind in the body consequently keeping the levels of leukotrienes low.
• Other than deficiency of vitamin A, low levels of zinc, selenium, vitamin D3 are also seen in psoriasis.
• A localized or systemic low grade infection in the skin coupled with an immuno-compromised state is responsible for an increased turn over of skin cells. We perform the Functional Leukocyte Observation (FLO) at our center allowing us to observe the immune cells and assessing its functionality. Apparently most of these patients show evidence of bacterial and parasitic infection. Presence of inclusions is also not uncommon. Inclusions are basically red blood cells that have a bacteria or parasite egg intracellular (i.e. inside the cell). The challenge with such infections is that it exists under the radar of the immune system, making it difficult for the immune cells to detect.
• The skin is the largest organ in the body. As a result it becomes one of the key routes for elimination of by-products and toxins. Based on the individual’s constitution, it is very possible that the body chooses to primarily eliminate via the skin which again can lead to skin disorder and increased cellular turnover.
• Eating nutritional deficient food leads to a body that is starved for some key vitamins and minerals. One of the systems that suffer the most is the immune system. A nutritionally deficient immune system is like an ill-paid employee. Even though it exists it is not motivated enough to do a decent job. As a result the body becomes prone to a multitude of infections.

Sustainable healing approach

• Correcting the cellular and biochemical imbalance, especially cAMP/cGMP is key to addressing the problem of psoriasis. A few ways to achieve this are:
• Increasing digestion of food in the gut consequently minimizing formation of polyamines.
• Reducing the amount of intestinal bacteria and candida by stimulating the immune system.
• Increasing dietary fibers allows absorption of bowel toxin (generated by infection in the gut). Once absorbed by the fiber they can easily be eliminated from the body.  
• Improving liver function (detoxification and elimination of toxic by-products) by increasing microcirculation and stimulating formation of bile.
• Correcting nutritional imbalances (that may be very specific for every individual!) such as Vitamin A, Zinc, chromium, Vitamin E, Selenium, water-soluble fiber, nutrition essential for healthy bile formation and foremost nutrition essential for an active and agile immune system.
• Suggestion around stress reduction.

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