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Nutritional Needs

• How does my body use nutrition?  Once again we see that light energy is a basic component in forming all matter. As the atoms are formed and then become molecules they form different minerals. They then are taken up thru the root system and into the cell walls of living things. They are intelligently combined with enzymes, proteins compounds, sugars, fats, etc. into substances we call vitamins.
  Vitamins combined with minerals and other substances we call organic living food. This type of food has an energy matrix organized by the organic living cells, which is much higher and faster than inorganic or non-living substances. It is usually a very highly complex pattern with many beautiful intricacies to it.
  
  Nutrition is the process by which our body takes this energy from the molecules in our air, water, and food and breaks it down thru our digestion and then takes it into our bodies transporting it to the cells. Here it is utilized by the cells to perform all bodily functions. It is important to remember that until the food is broken down and gets into our blood, it is not "in our body".
  
  Digestion begins with the saliva in our mouth and then our chewing to break down the food. Our stomach then acts as a churn to mix the food with hydrochloric acid and enzymes to begin the break down of the food into its molecular structures. Hydrochloric acid and enzymes also act as a defense against parasites by neutralizing them in the stomach.
  
  As it leaves the stomach, it is mixed with more enzymes from the liver/gallbladder system and the pancreas. These enzymes break down the bonds between the fats, sugars, proteins, etc.
  
  The brain is also receiving constant feedback from the system as to what nutrients are in the food and how much sugar is present. It is intelligently directing the rest of the body to maintain balance in the blood and cells, for instance, blood sugar and insulin levels.
  
  The food then enters the small intestine, which is 30 feet long! Here, it is broken down by over 600 friendly bacteria called probiotics or flora. These live in our digestive tract and have a profound effect on our health.
  
  As the food is broken down, there are cells that line the intestine that are constantly monitoring which energies are present. They are part of our immune system and alert the body to any perceived threats such as unfriendly bacteria, viruses, poisons, or parasites. If they detect a foreign invader there are messengers sent out which set off the alarm and the whole immune system gears up to fight off the invader.
  
  Scientists have shown that over 50 percent of our immune system is in a healthy digestive tract. As the food travels thru our 30 feet of tubing, it is broken down to the molecular level and then selectively absorbed into our blood steam as our body determines its needs. Many of the nutrients are then taken to the liver thru blood vessels and there are stored, combined with other enzymes or minerals, and sent throughout the body. The liver also acts as a large sewage treatment plant by taking in toxins and poisons and breaking them down in multiple step processing called detoxification. When this does not happen, we literally drown in our own poisons.

• Adrenal Stress Dr. Murray has discovered that a major key in getting the body to test accurately is to reset the Adrenal stress response first. If a person is in "Fight or flight", then their entire nervous system is in compensation. Therefore, it is essential to reset the adrenal and the stress responses in the body to get an accurate test of what is wrong and begin to correct it.
  
  Glands in our body react to chronic stress in very predictable way. The adrenal gland is the major power plant in the body. If it is not working, then the body and the cellular power plants don't have the energy to build and repair. They then go into protection or survival mode and this causes disharmony. Like the power plant at the dam, which sends power to the local city power plant. If it is not sending adequate power we get a brown out in the cities. Likewise, with adrenal fatigue we can have a brown out and every condition is worsened in the body or it may be the beginning of disease. (nutrition – DSF or DSF Herbal)
  
  In our bodies the city power plant is in our cells and is called the mitochondria. Remember we have 50 to 70 trillion of these cellular power plants in an adult body. Many are deficient or cannot rebuild their mitochondria in this day and age. (nutrition – Total Mitochondria) As it produces electrons of energy for the cellular factories to use as power, it produces an exhaust called homocysteine, which the cell must break down and recycle or it builds up and is a major polluting toxin to the tissues causing inflammation and damage.
  
  Homocysteine toxicity is a major cause of heart and blood vessel damage in the body causing significantly higher risk for strokes and heart disease. Research has shown that it is the number one best indicator for future risk of heart problems, better than cholesterol and triglyceride levels. We will check for both of these essential functions. Homocysteine toxicity causes inflammation in our muscles, blood vessels, and other tissues. (nutrition – Homocysteine Redux)
  
  As our adrenal glands and mitochondria fatigue, our body goes into protection. Stress from physical, emotional, or chemical factors are perceived as a threat in the hypothalamus area of the brain. According to Dr. Bruce Lipton Ph.D., this stimulates the pituitary gland to kick the adrenal gland on and release adrenaline type chemicals.
  
  Stress decreases our body's ability to use blood sugar and this increases our craving for sugars and sweets. The body then shunts energy away from digestion and our digestive tract is shut down. The energy to the immune system is decreased and transferred out tensing the strong muscles of the skeletal structure to either "fight the danger or flee from the danger".
  
  Stress causes the body to increase protein breakdown of the tissues and stop healing and repair of the muscles and joints. It then decreases effectiveness of immune cells in our intestinal lining and lets allergens get absorbed into the body's fluids which increases allergies. This causes inflammation of the lining in our gut and leads to a condition scientists call Leaky Gut. Over time toxins are absorbed thru the blood vessels from our gut and are taken to the liver. Our liver gets burdened with toxins, our colon inflames, and we start to ache all over and feel yucky. This increases the production of a host of chemicals which makes us more sensitive to pain, have more swelling and inflammation in our bodies, increases lactic acid which makes our joints stiff, and with all this autonomic (automatic) nervous system feedback from 50 to 70 trillion little cities to our brain we perceive that, "Boy, I sure am feeling old."
  
  Our brain goes into stress mode and the upper reasoning centers shut down and our reflex primitive survival areas are on high alert. Learning stops and reflex survival skills take over. We get "brain fog" and wonder why we can't think like we used to. It takes 30 percent of the normal waking energy while we sleep to heal and repair our bodies at night. If our power plants don't have enough power to heal and repair they will not allow the body to shut down and sleep for 8 hours. We may sleep for 2-3 hrs and then pop wide awake - not able to go back to sleep; or our brain may have us just lay there with our eyes open, but not let us sleep because it actually takes less energy to lay there awake than to go to sleep. Sleep patterns get out of balance with our bodies not regenerating at night and all aging processes speed up.
  
  Our fast paced lifestyles, sugar products, hydrogenated oils etc. and constant stimulation to our sensory organs from television, movies, computers, etc. are depleting our energy reserves and exhausting our adrenal glands at younger and younger ages in each successive generation. We will check for both of these essential functions. Many of our chronic health conditions are a result of chronic adrenal fatigue and exhaustion. We can look to many places and take handfuls of pills and supplements for help but if we don't have the energy at the cell level to digest and use these building blocks, we are just causing more stress to our system by dumping more coal into an already shutdown overcrowded power plant. Until someone fixes these issues, we will not have the energy to the cellular workers or to the power plant to use the nutrients to build healthy tissues and find health and harmony.

• Infective Organisms Infective organisms are always around us. They can come from air, water, food, and even physical contact. Bacteria, fungus, yeast, virus, and parasites are never completely out of our system.
  
  They have a job to do and a purpose - which is to help clean up the garbage our body produces and to keep each other in check. The key is to keep our immune system healthy and in balance.
  
  If the friendly bacteria in our intestines get out of balance this sets up a condition known as dysbiosis where yeast or Candida, fungus, unfriendly bacteria, virus and parasites can proliferate. This can cause the bowel to become inflamed and can lead to conditions such as irritable bowel, colitis, and maybe even set the stage for Crohne's disease. This may even be a forerunner to Leaky Gut Syndrome, (see Leaky Gut Link).
  
  This leads to toxins being absorbed into the blood stream yielding allergies, abnormal immune system response and sensitivities. This can cause inflammation throughout the body and be especially noted in the muscles. This can be an underlining trigger to what we call Chronic Fatigue, Epstein Barre, and Fibromyalgia.
  
  All of these potential infective organisms look for a friendly environment with lots of food. For example, yeast and fungus love warm, wet environments such as the sinus and vaginal areas. If they produce enough toxins and waste products the tissues get stressed and bacteria may move in to help clean house.
  
  You may seek medical care to relieve this condition and receive antibiotics. In your effort to kill the infective organisms you also destroy the 600 friendly bacteria (the good soldiers) in your system and set the stage for other infective organisms to move in unchecked.
  
  Parasites are the big garbage eaters and may get a start in this weakened condition. We could now start to develop food allergies and sensitivities with symptoms such as rashes, eczema, constipation, diarrhea, etc.
  
  Our bodies are meant to run slightly alkaline with our blood PH kept in a narrow range or we die. This prohibits the growth of the infective organisms.
  
  The body functions best with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Many of these create an alkaline environment in the body. Our diets are desperately lacking in these fresh vegetables, which are essential for us to maintain a balanced PH. The body pulls calcium from our bones and uses it to buffer if we become too acidic. This can lead to osteoporosis. Our connective tissues like ligaments and fascia act as large buffers for the acidity. This can cause us to be stiff and sore everywhere. When we become too acidic, we create an environment where infective organisms can grow and flourish.
  
  The answer is to become more alkaline by eating fresh fruits and vegetables and taking proper nutritional support such as Total Protect and Total Veggie. One of the 10 steps to Wellness is to use nutrition to help reduce infective organisms in the body using nutrition like Virx. The immune system should also be supported using nutrition such as Total Multimune. Other helpful aids would be Total Probiotics to replenish the helpful bacteria killed off by the antibiotics and Total Enzymes to help aid in digestion, assimilation, and elimination.

• The nutritional connection to a "Leaky Gut" In 1997, Newsweek published an article called "Gut Reactions", in which they reported that tiny leaks in the lining of small intestine might play a role in diseases as diverse as asthma and arthritis. This was one of the first times that the concept of "Leaky Gut" had permeated the mainstream literature. Although it is a phrase that conjures up visions of the intestinal lining with holes in it similar to a busted hose, the focus on the health of that lining has brought about a new awareness of one of the oldest immune weapons we have - our own gut lining! The lining of our intestine is meant not only to absorb food, but also to act as a barrier to keep out invading pathogens. The mucosal layer of a healthy gut filters out microorganisms and undigested proteins. When things like aspirin, bacteria, or even the pesticides sprayed on our food batter this lining, the lining loses its integrity. This is when the door is open to let in the bacteria, the viruses, and the parasites - (even undigested food molecules) which can activate the immune system (and also the autoimmune system). We refer to this loss of integrity as "the leaky gut syndrome".
  
  When the gut lining loses its strength and becomes "leaky", it opens the door to disease. Various toxins can make their way through the barrier of the intestinal lining when it is permeable and then travel to the liver to be detoxified. When the detoxification processes of the liver are impeded, toxins accumulate, and it results in manifestation of disease, depending on where the toxins exert their effect. The toxins can be recirculated or deposit in various places in the body. Either way, they will upset the apple cart of balance. The toxins can even go full circle back to the intestinal area where they increase the permeability of the intestinal lining even more. The relation to toxic overload on the liver and leaky gut is cyclical: A leaky gut will allow more toxins to enter the system, and conversely, toxic overload of the liver increases leaky gut.
  
  We are exposed to an amazing load of toxins in our everyday encounters, from environmental poisons to metabolic wastes that are not efficiently eliminated. As we are exposed to more and more toxic insults, we are losing the ability to ward off disease-causing agents. The body has no recourse but to malfunction and lose cell-to-cell communication. Zane Gard remarked that, "Although the human mechanism is known to be an accommodating species, ecological alterations are now occurring at a faster rate than our bodies are able to adapt. There is perhaps no single contributing factor, which has accelerated these environmental transformations more than that of our current widespread uses of harmful chemical substances".
  
  Disruption of the Barrier:
  The gastrointestinal lining is supposed to absorb our nutrients, and at the same time act as a barrier to toxins. Aside from the physical barrier to invading pathogens, the GI lining makes up a major part of our immune system. The word "GALT" refers to Gut-associated lymphoid tissue", which actually contributes to the body's defense against attack. The gut lining furnishes secretory IgA (antibodies) and white blood cells to attack foreign invaders before an attack can become systemic. Some of the things, which can disrupt that barrier, however, include:
  
  Bacteria,
  Virus,
  Parasites
  NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen),
  Alcohol,
  Free radicals,
  Endotoxins,
  Environmental toxins,
  Cytotoxic drugs inflammation (i.e. lectin binding or food allergy reactions)
  
  The inflammation that is caused by food allergies can increase the permeability of the intestinal lining even further. The process of food allergens being absorbed from gastrointestinal tract and initiating an immunological reaction is described in Gastroenterology by Walker & Isselbacher. Even in people who do not have excessive permeability, we know that the low-grade absorption of undigested protein into the blood occurs regularly in healthy adults, varying from 2% upward depending on the degree of "leakiness" of their gut.
  When we stop to consider the damage that can be done by a leaky gut, it's not surprising that many diseases are associated with leaky gut. These diseases include: Celiac disease, food allergy, asthma, eczema, dermatitis herpetiformis, psoriasis, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, pancreatic insufficiency, environmental illness, multiple chemical sensitivity, and various others. Even when the leaky gut does not directly cause the disease, the resulting leakiness exacerbates the disease. Symptoms of leaky gut can include: fatigue, arthralgia, myalgia, fever, abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, skin rashes, toxic feelings, memory deficit, and shortness of breath, among others. Undigested food proteins, which leak through the lining cause food allergies and other problems to occur.
  
  
  Food and the Leaky Gut:
  One of the first line nutritional defenses to prevent the absorption of these large "macromolecules" of undigested food is by supplementing hydrochloric acid, which uncoils protein and starts the digestive breakdown, and also by supplementing pancreatic enzymes, which continue the breakdown process. When the immune barrier is healthy, the brush border at the very surface of the lining secretes brush border enzymes which take the small proteins that have been broken down by pancreatic enzymes, and breaks them into individual amino acids. When people have protein-digestive problems even when they are on enzyme supplements, look to the integrity of the brush border that should be breaking down any remaining proteins to single amino acids. Single amino acids will NOT cause a reaction - it is protein structures, which activate the immune system! Later in this article we discuss nutrients that build a healthy intestinal lining and brush border.
  
  
  The Leaky Gut and autoimmune disease:
  The leaky gut and food proteins are also highly implicated in autoimmune diseases. Some people have more of a genetic tendency than others to activate normal resting T cells, which then attack cells. These cells are supposed to be foreign invaders, but sometimes T cells are activated against the body's own tissues, as in autoimmune disease. J. Hoofar implicated the leaky gut and undigested food proteins in this T cell attack when he said, "It is thought that some dietary proteins escape the enzymatic digestion in the gastrointestinal tract and could possibly launch a polyclonal activation of the resting T lymphocytes in susceptible individuals"
  
  It has been said that, "The immunological mechanisms of rheumatoid arthritis probably begin when antigens cross an excessively permeable intestinal mucosa. In 2000, the author of this article published an article in the British Journal of Nutrition relating food proteins to the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis.
  
  Diabetes is another autoimmune disease closely connected to the food proteins that can leak through a weak intestinal lining and initiate disease. A prominent researcher in the field of diabetes, F.W. Scott linked the leaky gut to type I diabetes and proposed it as a possible trigger in development of the disease. He said that post-weaning time is a crucial time, because the intestinal barrier is not yet strengthened, and proteins can pass through the gastrointestinal barrier and initiate the process of destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas. It is important to keep in mind that this is not the only trigger for diseases such as diabetes; however it may be an important one. One of the proteins leaking through the gut barrier to initiate diabetes is suspected to be the beta casein protein in cow's milk. Antibodies to the milk protein are thought to cross react with pancreas beta cell proteins in the body and destroy them.
  
  
  Healing the Leaky Gut
  Fortunately, there are positive solutions for protecting the immune barrier of the gut. Several nutrients help to maintain and fortify the integrity of the intestinal lining, including:
  
  Glutamine is the main fuel that the intestinal cells need for maintenance and repair. Glutamine reinforces the immune system, and there is considerable evidence that glutamine can enhance the barrier function of the gut against viral, bacterial, and food antigen invaders. (nutrition – Glutamine Plus)
  
  Lactobacillus Bifidus is a name for friendly bacteria, which offset populations of bad bacteria, boosting the immune system. Friendly bacteria especially counteract candida, which can spread long mycelia arms right through the intestinal lining and perforate it, increasing leaky gut and permitting wide-open entry to micro-organisms and toxins. (nutrition – Total Probiotics)
  
  NAG (N-acetyl glucosamine); aside from being able to heal the extracellular tissue surrounding intestinal cells, has the unique ability to decrease the binding of some lectins to the intestinal lining, which can cause inflammation. NAG is one of the few nutrients with the power to bind to the powerful wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) lectin, which can activate T cells and influence autoimmunity in susceptible people. (nutrition – Total Leaky Gut)
  
  Vitamins C and E, Lipoic Acid, Zinc and Ginkgo Biloba are all antioxidants, which can protect the lining from free radical damage. Ginkgo Biloba also increases circulation in the smaller vessels and capillaries, which increases nutrient delivery and tissue healing. The New England Journal of Medicine notes that zinc is involved in clearance of infection, increased levels of brush-border enzymes, regeneration of epithelial tissue, and improved absorption of water and electrolytes. (nutrition – Total Alpha Lipoic Acid)
  
  DGL (Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice) increases the integrity of the mucosal cells - it increases the life span of the intestinal cells, improves the quality of protective substances, and improves blood supply of nutrients. Additionally, it has a high healing rate and significantly low relapse rate for ulcers. (nutrition – Total upper GI)
  
  Slippery Elm is a soothing, protective demulcent renowned for its beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal lining. Slippery elm calms the inflamed mucous membranes of the stomach. In addition to a soothing texture that coats the stomach lining, slippery elm contains the fiber-rich ingredient mucilage, which stimulates mucus secretion (especially protective against ulcers). (nutrition – Total Upper GI)
  
  Cat's Claw is a novel herb that has been researched for its, "remarkable ability to cleanse the entire intestinal tract and help those suffering from different stomach and bowel disorders", including Crohne’s disease, gastritis, ulcers, parasites, candidiasis, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, leaky gut, and intestinal flora imbalance.
  All of the above nutrients work to support a healthy, strong intestinal wall that not only helps digest our food, but also boosts our immune system and plays an important role in our defense against disease.

• Specific Exercises  Exercise is important for our overall health because it helps stimulate blood and lymph flow, which brings nutrients and removes toxins from the cells. Stretching type movements like Tai Chi or Yoga create lymph movement. See Interference 6-Toxins for more information. It creates a stress release valve if done mildly and raises the metabolism, which helps with our weight. Stretching should be an important component of your exercise program and you should consult with your wellness professional as to specific stretches.