As Promised last week, I will give a simple look at one theory of- the ANATOMY of DISEASE.
The state of self-poisoning is alternately termed Auto-Intoxication, Toxicosis, or Toxemia. It is the opinion of Doctors of Natural Hygiene that the one cause of all dis-ease is the toxic saturation of the bodily tissues through wrong living (eating) habits. There are virtually two classes of disease:
1. infections (caused by viruses or bacteria entering the body)
2. degenerative (caused by toxic substances, which are either manufactured by the disturbed organs themselves, or in our food, water, air).
Dr. Bieler, in his book, Food is Your Best Medicine, tells us that, “Illness, as we know it, is nothing more, or less than an attempt on the part of the body to rid itself of morbific (toxic) matter. It is the body’s attempt to burn up these waste products, which results in “fever”. And it is the changes (usually destructive) in the elimination organs, which constitute the conditions and process of a dis-ease.”
Therefore, according to this theory, all natural healing comes down to cleansing and detoxifying the body, as it strives in its wonderful wisdom to neutralize and free itself from the offending material.
Today, our environment is toxic. The foods we eat and for the most part, the water we drink are laden with chemicals, which are foreign to our system. Our bodies are constantly undergoing some type of detoxification just to maintain life. The kidneys, liver, bowels, skin and lungs are the primary filtering organs of the body.
The kidneys filter wastes from the blood into the bladder and urethra. Their tasks are more complex than any computer system. The liver is the body’s ‘master chemist’ and the most important detoxicator. Its natural avenue of elimination is through the bowel. It acts as an in-line filter for the removal of foreign substances and wastes from the blood. However, when the liver is congested, or when the kidneys are ‘inflamed’, waste matter is thrown into the blood stream. Toxic blood must discharge its toxins, or the person dies.
And so the body, with its natural wisdom, uses vicarious avenues of elimination, and this is where the lungs, whose job it is to remove volatile gases as we breath in, comes into play. The lungs, when the kidneys are over-taxed, will take over the task of eliminating some of the toxic wastes. Or the skin will take over for the compromised liver. It is the endocrine glands, which direct the toxins into other eliminative organs. The endocrine glands used for this purpose are the pituitary, thyroid, and the adrenal glands.
Now, the lungs do their best to filter out toxins, which the kidneys could not. But, the lungs are not kidneys. When the kidneys are compromised and the toxins, which they would normally (under healthy conditions) filter out, are sent to the lungs instead, we get bronchitis, pneumonia or tuberculosis. Likewise for the skin: if bile poisons are thrown into the blood, because of a compromised liver, they come out through the skin as various irritations such as eczema, or through mucous membranes as various catarrhs (colds), or through the skin as boils, acne, etc.
As deeper tissue layers are affected, the discharge causes such diseases as sinusitis, bronchitis, tonsillitis, mastitis, and other- ‘itis’ diseases. Vicarious elimination through the middle skin results in diseases such as arthritis, neuritis, bursitis, encephalitis, and meningitis. These diseases are all inflammations due to the forced elimination of toxins.
The names of diseases are based upon a description of changes in the organs, which are being used as ‘emergency’ avenues of elimination. When the cells in these organs become damaged by toxemia, it’s easier for bacteria to attack and devour them, causing further degeneration. Disease then, according to Dr. Bieler, is an unnatural elimination process of toxic waste from the system. He recommends:
1. Complete abstinence from food, i.e., fasting for a few days,
2. Abstinence from those foods which created the toxemia in the first place.
He sees the cure for disease as neutralizing the toxins by diet in order to relieve the congested kidneys, liver, lungs, bowels and skin, and to facilitate elimination of poisons through the natural channels chosen by Nature. Toxemia then, is caused by improper foods.
The cure for toxemia is to change the diet from the SAD (Standard American Diet) to a wholesome diet of fresh, organic fruits, vegetables and nuts- in their raw form. When one starts this natural path, there will most likely be – a ‘healing crisis’. That is, the body will undergo a physiological house-cleaning as it excretes this toxic load of accumulated debris. During the preliminary fast, one may experience headaches, nausea, vertigo, etc. for several days, depending on the severity of the condition.
But, compensation of health (if the new way of life is adhered to), will be the reward.
