Whole Health (21 page)

He explained that while serving in the Persian Gulf, he and a number of his fellow soldiers were forced by the U.S. military, against their will, to take a number of toxic agents. He explained to me that they were given oral doses of pyridostigmine bromide. This drug is also known under the trade names Mestinon and Regonol, and it is intended to combat the effects of drug toxicity. The problem is that it has been implicated as a causal factor in Gulf War syndrome because of its known side effects—nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, and tearing.

He told me that they were also forced to take 30 mg doses of anthrax bacteria orally every eight hours. Anthrax—
Bacillus anthracis
—is an acute, rapidly developing bacterial infection of the skin, lungs, and intestinal tract. According to investigative reporter Gary Matsumoto, the army used an unlicensed, experimental anthrax vaccine that contained squalene, a dangerous, oil-based adjuvant. Adjuvants like squalene tend to intensify the effects of
whatever else is contained in vaccines. Squalene has been shown to cause permanent organ damage and irreversible autoimmune disease in animal trials.

The U.S. Army contends that they were advised to administer such treatments for the purpose of building up resistance in the event of combat exposures.

I immediately began his EMT and food energy testing. I discovered extensive energy weakness in his nervous system, caused by an exposure to neurotoxins. It was as if he had a neurodegenerative disease. Not surprisingly, I also discovered that he had a number of severe food allergies. His immune system was clearly compromised from the toxic exposures, and his diet was obstructing his body's efforts to throw off the toxins.

We completed his Whole Health energy diagnosis and put together a comprehensive program. I asked him to strictly avoid all his food allergens, as well as all fermented foods, and to take neurological-supporting and immune-supporting supplements—methyl B
12
(5,000 mcg) and propolis (2,000 mg). I also recommended that he take a homeopathic detoxification medicine called Drugtox from Molecular Biologics—ten drops under the tongue twice a day, to help remove elements of the pyridostigmine bromide he'd been given in the army.

I further recommended microdoses of anthricinum—homeopathic anthrax bacteria. Like using snake venom antidote, homeopathy is a safe way to antidote toxic exposures. These once-toxic substances are formulated into dilutions beyond any material trace, on the principle that there is energy remaining within the existing molecules. By exposing a subject to an extremely diluted homeopathic medicine that was once a toxin, you can safely stimulate their immunity to detoxify it from their system.

I am pleased to report that after six months of our working together, he is symptom free. He tells me that he feels as though he's gotten his life back together at last. Here's the key—I believe that
his avoidance of food allergens and fermented foods such as vinegars, yeasted breads, processed sugars, and marinated foods was the main reason for his recovery. Food allergens obstruct the liver and large intestines, and fermented foods produce ammonia and acetic, lactic, pyruvic, and carbonic acids in the body, making it virtually impossible for the body to naturally detoxify endotoxic poisons.

His is a classic case of “food as medicine” from the “addition through subtraction” perspective. The Whole Health philosophy emphasizes that the first guideline for food as medicine is “It's not just about what you add—it's also about what you subtract!”

SUBTRACT TOXIC FOOD

The first and most basic step in Whole Health Healing is to subtract toxic food from the diet. When it comes to health care problem solving, ours is a culture that tends to add, not subtract. To heal you and rid you of your symptoms and maladies, the present approach offers to add special diets, detoxification plans, vitamins, herbal remedies, medications, and the like. This approach to health care is largely the result of “problem-solution” programming. “You've got a problem—we'll sell you the solution.” This is also a very disempowering approach, as it makes the patient more codependent on the solution, and they cannot supply the solution themselves. Take inflammation, for example. Seventy-two percent of all inflammatory disease is the result of poor diet. Inflammatory diseases, like some cancers, heart disease, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, come about because of elevated COX-2 hormones, which are the result of elevated arachidonic fatty acid, which comes about from overconsumption of red meat, dairy, egg yolks, peanuts, and sugar. Instead of empowering patients by teaching them to eat fewer inflammatory foods, the present health care system opts to prescribe them steroids. The side effects of the steroids often cause
serious side effects, especially with long-term use, and they further send the patient's body a message to turn off their innate anti-inflammatory chemistry.

Remember, the Whole Health approach is the result of more than thirty years and 60,000 consultations. It has been proven to be effective time and time again. This section on subtracting toxic foods isn't intended to take all of the fun out of life! The intention is rather to offer an effective nutritional protocol for those interested in healing chronic or acute health conditions. If it seems overwhelmingly restrictive, Whole Health advises you to consider taking its twenty-one-day challenge. Just follow the plan for twenty-one days and reevaluate. Your mind and body will work it out from there. The more common strategy recommended by Whole Health is to abide by its 85 percent law. That is, you follow the plan strictly during the week (this is the 85 percent) and take two meals off (within reason) on weekends (this is the 15 percent). Most notice the distinct contrast between how great they feel by Thursday and Friday and how poorly they feel on Sunday night. Again, your mind and body will work it out.

When it comes to toxic food subtraction, the first rule of thumb is to know exactly what you want from your food. Then you will know precisely what you're going to get. You must consciously choose the experience you want to get from your food—neutral, medicinal, or toxic. Whole Health recognizes three categories of toxic food: junk food, fermented food, and inflammatory food. The first step to eliminating toxic food is to subtract junk food.

Junk Food Subtraction List

Processed sugars

Fried foods

White flour

White rice

Cakes

Pies

Cookies

Ice cream

Fast food

Juices

Soft drinks

Pizza

Hot dogs

Cold cuts

Condiments

Gravies

Sour cream

Alcohol

Creamed soups

Then there's the issue of additives. If you can't pronounce the chemical ingredients in your foods, don't risk them! To get the full medicinal value, make the commitment to consistently consume only truly organic food. The Organic Foods Production Act assures the consumer that any food product with a “100 percent Organic” label is truly organic. Products labeled “Organic” must be at least 95 percent organic.

The second type of toxic food to subtract on the Whole Health plan is fermented food. There is a great deal of confusion about fermented food. Many people are quick to point out theories that suggest that fermentation has a medicinal value. For example, they may make mention of the many immune-enhancing studies of medicinal fungi, such as kombucha. Still others may point to the fact that fermented soy has been shown to neutralize phytic acid, which is detrimental to nutrient absorption. Some would be quick to point out that sauerkraut produces probiotic benefits that support intestinal flora.

Whole Health posits that there are inconsistencies with fermentation, and not all human chemistries have the capability to safely assimilate it. It comes down to a matter of risk and reward. The rewards are potentially great, but so are the risks. For those who can't effectively process fermentation, their bodies may produce toxins, such as acetic acid, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, carbonic acid, and ammonia. With fermentation, there is simply no middle ground. You'd better get it right! In the words of two-time Nobel Prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg: “The prime cause of cancer is the
replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells with the fermentation of sugar.”

Fermented Food Subtraction List

Yeasted breads

Mushrooms

Truffles

Vinegars

Nuts

Seeds

Melons

Beer

Wine

Champagne

Fermented soy (miso, tempeh, tamari)

Aged cheeses (blue, Limburger, cheddar, Parmesan, Asiago)

The third and final toxic food avoidance category is inflammatory food. The topic of inflammation has changed dramatically over the past twenty-five years. Not too long ago, the world thought of inflammation as a bad case of tennis elbow. Following the 1930 discovery of eicosanoid molecules as a component of semen by gynecologist Raphael Kurzrok and pharmacologist Charles Leib, our understanding of inflammation began to change and expand.

Today we know that eicosanoids (signaling molecules), often referred to as “local” hormones, are where inflammation and anti-inflammation patterns begin in the human body. Eicosanoids are called signaling molecules because they send communication commands to cells, molecules, and hormones. In relaying these commands, they initiate the body's production of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. When you consider that experts now believe that 72 percent of all disease is the result of inflammatory programming, this is a very important aspect of biochemistry. Now for the clincher—fats trigger both the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory systems. The fat that triggers inflammation is arachidonic acid. Where do we get inflammatory arachidonic fatty acid? We get it from foods. Therefore, foods trigger the
inflammation responsible for 72 percent of all disease. The inflammatory process is global in the human body, affecting virtually every anatomical system. Elevated levels of arachidonic acid can result in heart disease (blood clots), cancer, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine headaches, and numerous other ailments. The subtraction of inflammatory foods represents a significant factor in the three decades of success of the Whole Health System.

Inflammatory Food Subtraction List

Food allergens

Red meats

Dairy products

Egg yolks

Nuts (especially peanuts)

Nori

Seaweed

Tilapia

Catfish

Duck

Fried foods

Yellowtail (Japanese amberjack)

Most vegetable oils (except for olive and flaxseed oils)

Processed sugars and starches

FOOD ALLERGY/INTOLERANCE SUBTRACTION

I recently worked with a fourteen-year-old boy with severe malabsorption. His digestion was so severely impaired, he was unable to digest any fats, 75 percent of his carbohydrates, and more than 60 percent of his proteins. The boy's health became further jeopardized due to the buildup of high levels of fungal bacteria in his gut, resulting from malabsorption of starches and sugars.

At their wits' end, his parents took him to the gastroenterology department at one of the more well-known Boston hospitals. Due to the fact that he was losing a great deal of weight, the gastroenterology department referred the family to one of the hospital's registered dieticians. The dietician proceeded to recommend that the boy commence a steady diet of BOOST brand milk shakes and muffins to help him gain weight. The problem is, the boy was
severely allergic to dairy and wheat, but because the gastroenterology department didn't believe in the food allergy testing protocol, and lacked education in food science, the family was ordered to keep the boy on the milk shakes and muffins. He continued to complain of severe gastric pain from the diet. When his parents requested a healthier dietary plan for their son, the gastroenterologist threatened to report the parents to the state Department of Social Services to have the child removed from the home on the grounds of parental neglect if they failed to maintain the diet.

I saw the boy in my office, EMT tested him for food allergies, designed a meal plan from the list of foods that passed, and within six weeks he was clear of his condition.

ACID/ALKALINE BALANCE

Inflammatory foods are problematic for more than one reason. One very important problem generated by inflammation is acidosis. Acid robs cells of oxygen, while alkalinity donates oxygen to cells. Our bodies and minds move through cyclical rhythms triggered by light, temperature, and diet. Among our many cycles are a seven-day and a twenty-eight-day biorhythm cycle. We also have a twenty-four-hour metabolic cycle, during which certain hours are favored for specific body functions. For example, digestion is best suited between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., while tissue repair takes place between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The third metabolic cycle, when the body detoxifies itself, occurs between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. One of the key cornerstones for supporting these metabolic cycles is maintaining a stable dietary pH.

Most fruits and vegetables are alkaline, while animal foods, most grains, nuts, seeds, and processed foods are acidic. Earlier I quoted Dr. Otto Warburg, who underscored the importance of maintaining alkalinity by reminding us that the primary cause of cancer is the fermentation of sugar. Fermentation and sugar generate
acid-producing systems, which initiate the degeneration of healthy cells. Whole Health recommends testing the urine on occasion with pHydrion 0.067 calibrated urine strips. Test the morning's urine first. These strips reflect a pH range between 5.0 and 8.0. Optimal balance is reflected in a first morning's urine between 6.4 and 6.8. If acidic (below 6.4), increase vegetable, fruit, and pure water consumption and take
¹
/
₄
teaspoon of baking soda in water before bed at night. If levels don't correct within three weeks, add two tablespoons of liquid chlorophyll in six ounces of water, three times daily. Both the baking soda and chlorophyll doses may be doubled if necessary. Continue testing urine.