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02. What’s Really Behind Chronic Illness and Pain

Read the following within 1-2 days. We invite you to bring any nutrition-related questions or topics to the Weekly Healing Q&A so we can best support your journey toward optimal health.

Science and medicine is unfortunately at a loss for our current epidemic of increasing chronic illness and pain. They are able to provide diagnoses and labels for what people are experiencing, might be able to identify some lab or radiographic markers associated with them but do not truly understand what’s really driving it nor how to effectively treat it. Their answer is typically some sort of pharmaceutical that masks the symptoms and does not address the underlying cause. They may postulate that your body is attacking itself or there must be something wrong with your genes.  It is expected that you just have to learn how to live with the condition without any offer or plan on how to truly heal.

Today's chronic illness list includes any of the following diagnoses and more. You most likely will be able to identify with at least one of these issues listed below.

At the most fundamental physical level, these conditions are ultimately caused by various combinations and patterns of pathogens and toxins in your body overlaid with physical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual trauma, tension and stress. This is compounded by a poor diet high in troublemaker foods, beverages, additives and fat further burdening your body.

 

Viruses and bacteria are the primary pathogens involved in creating chronic illness and pain.  There are many different types and strains of the herpes family of viruses (the one that causes sores is just one of many) including the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and shingles viruses of which there are even more strains that are continually evolving and mutating. Most of these are not able to be identified and/or cultured with current medical testing as they invade your organs (primarily your liver, spleen, thyroid and reproductive system), tissues, nerves and nervous system including your brain. 

 

With regards to pathogenic bacteria, streptococcus is the most prevalent and problematic one where over time it has evolved into even stronger forms due to excessive antibiotic use. It often co-exists with Epstein-Barr. It can lead to sinus pain and congestion, otitis media, UTIs, intestinal disorders, SIBO, sore throats, styes, cystic acne and more. It is easily passed between partners and from parents to children which is why these conditions tend to run in families (as opposed to genetic explanations). 

When viruses feed (eggs, dairy and gluten are their favorite food sources) they produce waste. This waste, in addition to dead viral debris, is toxic to your body and can inflame your nerves, brain, tissues and skin. What can be confusing to your immune system is that the source of these neurotoxins and dermatoxins (cause rashes) may not always be local to where you are experiencing problems. For example, your liver is the prime spot for viruses to inhabit as this is where toxins reside providing fuel for them. As viruses in your liver (or any other location) feed and release neurotoxins and dermatoxins into your bloodstream they may travel throughout your body, irritating vulnerable tissues such as your nervous system. They can also travel into the brain creating neurological symptoms. 

 

Viruses, such as shingles and herpes, may lay dormant in your body for many years where you are completely unaware you have them. However, when you become stressed and thus vulnerable to attack, they can activate and wreak havoc on your body causing any number of symptoms and conditions depending on the particular type(s), location and how many other toxins and stress patterns you have. Triggers can be any sort of traumatic singular or ongoing stressful experience such as an car accident, loss of a loved one, divorce, break-up, pregnancy, menopause, switching jobs, starting college, moving, acute exposure to another pathogen (Ex-COVID or Flu) or toxin, dental work, surgery, poverty, abuse and the list goes on and on. This is why any sort of physical injury can lead to someone with underlying pathogens and toxins with significant chronic issues. Examples include post-concussion syndrome, whiplash injuries and poor recovery after a surgery. Emotional traumas such as loss, abuse or any type of emotional hardship can also act as triggers that allow what’s been brewing underneath all along to finally make themselves known.

 

Long-haul COVID (or Flu) occurs because the COVID or Flu infection merely redirects your immune system’s resources in fighting off the acute COVID/Flu infection while simultaneously allowing the underlying pathogens to grow stronger. This is why some have more mild symptoms and recover quickly vs others have more intense symptoms with ongoing and sometimes debilitating symptoms. The COVID/Flu virus is really a trigger that sets off problems that have been brewing for a while. 

Toxins not only provide fuel for viruses to create more toxins but are inherently toxic by themselves. Toxic heavy metals are a prime example and particularly if they end up in the brain where they can disrupt the natural cerebral electrical currents and circuits resulting in brain fog, persistent emotional dysregulation, cognitive issues and/or any variety of neurological symptom or condition. Other potential sources of toxins include DDT still in our body and environment from past use, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, perfumes, air fresheners, scented candles, conventional laundry detergent, fabric softener, perfume, cologne, aftershave, gasoline, chemical fertilizers, lawn treatments and plastics. Radiation leftover from prior nuclear disasters such as Fukushima, Hiroshima and Chernobyl still affects you. Radiation from medical scans (x-rays) and flying in an airplane also significantly stress your immune system. 

Toxins and pathogens can get passed on from generation to generation through conception and while in the womb. This landmark study (Body Burden: The Pollution in Newborns) spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in collaboration with Commonweal, found an average of 200 industrial chemicals and pollutants in umbilical cord blood from 10 babies born in August and September of 2004 in U.S. hospitals. Tests revealed a total of 287 chemicals in the group. The umbilical cord blood of these 10 children, collected by the Red Cross after the cord was cut, harbored pesticides, consumer product ingredients, and wastes from burning coal, gasoline and garbage.

A child entering the world already burdened with toxins in addition to any pathogens that were passed on starts life already in a state of stress. This can negatively impact physical,  emotional and mental development further creating stress for them. Furthermore, any additional adverse childhood experiences will compound this burden. Typically, adults that have the most chronic illness usually have these factors in their history. 

 

Sometimes it is simply a gradual build-up and accumulation of stressors, toxins and pathogens over time where suddenly your body reaches a tipping point and starts to demonstrate symptoms. Your immune and detoxification systems can no longer keep up with managing your underlying pathogens and toxins. These are situations where you are unable to identify any particular event that correlates with the onset of your health issue(s) where they just seem to appear out of the blue. Common examples include:

  • Body aches, stiffness and pain (tendonitis, bursitis, joint and/or nerve pain)
  • Disturbed sleep
  • Fatigue
  • Difficulty focusing and remembering things
  • Feeling moody or irritable
  • Digestive issues 
  • And any other condition listed above…..

These situations are further compounded by a poor diet high in troublemaker foods, beverages, additives and fat further burdening your liver and body. These substances can:

  • Provide fuel for pathogens 
  • Be toxic to your body
  • Create acidity in your body (which pathogens and toxins also do). In order to maintain the tightly regulated pH, your body will primarily use calcium as a buffer against the acidity. Chronic acidity in the body will draw on calcium reserves in the bones and teeth explaining why osteoporosis and tooth decay have become so common. 
  • Be high in fat which over time can: 
    • Make the liver sluggish, stagnant and lead to fatty liver
    • Distract the liver from detoxifying the body as it needs to put its energy into  metabolizing all the fat
    • Thicken the blood thus reducing oxygen to your cells and brain. 
    • Lead to insulin resistance and thus Type 2 Diabetes. 
    • Strain your cardiovascular system
    • Clog up your lymphatic system leading to swelling and edema
    • And more!

Therefore, in order to truly heal from chronic illness and pain it is essential for you to to learn how to appropriately detox your body from pathogens and toxins in conjunction with addressing other layers of stress patterns that are unique to you. These may be physical (poor breathing or postural habits), emotional (unprocessed traumas and attachments), mental (self-limiting beliefs) and spiritual (sense of purpose, access to unconditional love and connection to the greater whole).

 

 

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