By Valli Manley B.C.N.D, CNHP
Leviticus 17:11 The life of the flesh is in the blood (Bible KJV)
In order for life to be sustained, we must maintain the health and integrity of the blood. During my discourse of study as a Naturopath, I learned that there are 2 reasons why disease presents; there is either a deficiency or toxicity, and most of the time it’s both. Deficiencies can sometimes cause toxicity. Systemic toxicity occurs for different reasons. Toxins are introduced into the body by the food that we eat, the environment that we live in, and the thoughts that we think.
The blood supplies oxygen and nutrients to every cell tissue and organ of the body. When a person is seriously injured, and there is an extreme loss of blood, life cannot be sustained. When there is toxic overload, the body may not be able to sustain balance, and dis-ease may present.
FOOD AND TOXICITY
Toxicity and its connection to the food that we eat is huge! Growing up in America, and those in Europe have been on a processed food journey for as long as I can remember. Many of these foods contain chemicals and preservatives that are designed to make the food taste good, and maintain long shelf life. Of course, this is not beneficial to our health, but with big food corporations, the objective is not to build health, but to make as much money as they can; unfortunately, that does not come without a cost.
The price that we pay is systemic toxic overload, whereby the body’s avenues of elimination become backed up as a result of nutrient deficiencies, such as minerals that are needed to keep physiological activity functioning.
Minerals support the nervous system. In the same way that a car needs gas to function, nerves need minerals to power them up to help to direct physiological activity.
When we eat food that is dead, chemically laden, and void of vital micronutrients that we need to function, our bodies will begin to malfunction.
We are a culture of overconsumption. When we eat, before the last meal can digest, we are working on another meal. This causes our digestive system to become congested, and the result is a TOXIC MESS!!
Some of the symptoms are constipation, diarrhea, indigestion,
gas, and flatulence. When this happens, systemic health imbalances are sure to rise.
Some of the reasons may be poor food combining and eating food that is not for your metabolic type. One man’s meat may be another man’s poison.
When we eat dead processed food, that food is digested and utilized to make new cells. After it’s digested, it goes through the liver to be processed, and then sent out into systemic circulation. Those toxic chemicals that were designed to make the food look and taste good,
have now made their way into your body, and then your blood, unfortunately, this becomes a deadly mission that only requires a tipping point to explode into dis-ease.
It’s important to understand that if the food is not clean, then the blood can’t be clean. If the blood that is designed to carry health-building nutrients to every cell, tissue, and organ is not clean, then the body can’t build a new HEALTHY you. So, the bible is right when it says
that the life of the flesh is in the blood.
Dr. Cummings who was a Dr. of Natural Health said, “Clean blood is the instrument of health”. As he worked with his patients, he found that whenever someone was sick, the blood was toxic.
Whenever someone is sick as a result of a poor diet; detoxification should be a strong consideration. Many times, when you feel sick, you go to the Doctor, and he usually addresses the problem based on the symptoms that are present. There may be some testing, and when
there is a diagnosis, then there is usually a prescription for a drug to allay the symptoms or control them.
There are so many cases of people being healed from catastrophic illnesses as a result of a person getting on a Detox protocol, and cleaning up their diet. Changing your diet can open up avenues of elimination, releasing toxic waste from the body.
ENVIRONMENT
Another way that toxins are introduced into our bodies, and eventually the blood, is through our environment. Clean air is vitally important to our health. For those of us who live in big cities near industry, the air is seriously polluted. If there are chemical plants where they produce plastics then toxic fumes are released into the air, and nearby homes, as well as the water supply, are likely contaminated.
If the water in the springs or reservoirs that supply water to homes is contaminated, then those toxins can very easily reach those that live in those communities. Water filters throughout these homes are essential. When that water is ingested, toxins make their way into the blood.
How about conventional farmers who hire planes to drop pesticides and insecticides on their crops? Have you ever thought about the people who live near airports? They are exposed to toxic jet fuel daily. Just Imagine, that they are breathing in these toxic fumes daily;
and if they have a garden, their crops will most assuredly be contaminated.
When they eat the food, guess who is ingesting the toxins? Those toxins make their way into our bloodstream as a result of breathing them in, and create toxic overload, which circulates through the blood encouraging health imbalances, and the disease process!
I understand that we don’t usually think about these issues, especially if it is not a part of what we do, but that’s why I am conveying this information to you. Knowledge is power! When we know better, we can do better.
TOXIC THINKING
There has been a lot of talk about stress being connected to the disease process. I didn’t know how true that was until I had a life challenge myself. It was a season of great emotional pain; I was experiencing headaches regularly, which I never had before that time. Whenever I would look at the television, I would experience double vision, and the top of my head would hurt.
I learned in that season that toxic thoughts do become your physical reality if you park in a space of negative thinking. The Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart so is he. To change your life and your health, you must decide to change your thoughts.
Our bodies are controlled electrically via the nervous system and chemically via hormones. During times of great stress, chemicals are released to protect you from real clear, and present danger. Your body goes into what is called “fight or flight”. Energy is pulled from other physiological activities like digestion, and sent to your outer extremities so that you can have the strength to “fight or take flight”. In this case, digestion is compromised, and food will be converted to toxic waste as opposed to nutrients.
This causes autointoxication which simply means that toxicity takes place automatically if you live under these conditions for prolonged periods of time.
HOW DO WE FIX THESE TOXICITY ISSUES AND RE-ESTABLISH HEALTH?
We know some of the factors that can cause blood toxicity, but what are the solutions?
- We have to look at DETOXIFICATION as a lifestyle and not as an event.
- We have to decide whether we need to do a major DETOX or just support our avenues of elimination with herbal remedies, and by increasing our water intake.
- We must implement eating a clean nutritious diet based on our bio-individuality. As the old saying goes “one man’s meat may be another man’s poison”.
- We have to make sure that as much as we can, to get away into areas that have lots of trees and do deep breathing exercises. Oxygen has a systemic cleansing effect, it’s the first point of contact is the lungs. The lungs are one of the first points of contact with the environment. Introducing oxygen can have a cleansing impact.
- We live symbiotically with trees, they give off oxygen as waste, which is what we need to maintain good health; and we breathe out carbon dioxides as waste, which is what they need. Coexisting in nature is good for us as well as plant life. It vitally important that we don’t do anything to impede the body’s ability to engage in this physiological exchange. Preventing it may hazardous to your health.
- We should also consider air purifiers. They are designed to remove toxins from the air. Any time we can reduce toxic intake, the better.
Based on my journey as a Naturopath, I’ve discovered that a clean diet and lifestyle are the keys to balanced health. We should do all that we can to cleanse all toxicity and introduce things that are health-building. Health is a choice, and my hope is to help you find a way to build it one dietary and lifestyle change at a time.
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