|
Understanding Toxemia Orthodox medicine tends to look for a germ as the cause of a particular disease (though not always for chronic or degenerative diseases). Where no germ can be found, the cause may be given as unknown. Natural health looks at a completely different picture. Realizing that almost all illnesses today are diseases of civilization – which means diseases of lifestyle- the underlying causes of our vast range of health problems, plus premature aging, become perfectly clear. We find the basic causes of illness in daily living: our modern diet, stress, lack of exercise, and man-made chemicals are the four key areas. The progression from modern lifestyle…to deterioration within the body… to disease is almost in- avoidable. When we understand this, it enables us to gain control of our physical and mental well being. This understanding is increased by three basic principles, which are considered natural laws that support human health and provide the key to the means of restoration and maintenance of our health. Three Fundamental Natural Health Principles. During the last 100 to 150 years, some prominent individuals while working in the fields of ‘Nature Cure’ and naturopathy have formulated their ideas and observations into philosophies, theories and principles related to health. Although there may have been disagreement on some of the details, in most cases there is a great deal of accord, and a set of principles could be drawn up with ease. The following here of theses principles may be considered the most important: 1. Good health is a normal state and should continue from birth until death. Illness and premature aging will not occur, unless we do something to cause them to occur. 2. Broadley speaking, disease is not an attack on the body by some foreign agent. Rather it is the body’s defenses at work attempting to preserve the status quo of good health. 3. The human body, given the right conditions, is an efficient, self-healing organism. We all know that a cut on the skin will heal, but damage to internal organs is another matter. They have just the same ability to heal. When we consider the phenomenal health of populations that were isolated from the Western world, it is easier to accept the first principle, which is absolutely fundamental. Arthritis, obesity, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, colds, flu, skin disease, etc. rarely occur because of defects in the human body: they occur because we unwittingly make them happen. Principle No. 2 depends on an understanding of the natural relationship between germs and humans. They are not the primary cause of disease. Principle No. 3 is explored in the following subject. Let us now start at the beginning of what, according to Natural Health theory and experience, causes illness – or, better still, what causes health – and look at how diet, stress, exercise, and chemicals affect body and mind. Toxemia from Food and Chemicals For many people the most important of these lifestyle aspects is the modern way of eating. It is too concentrated, containing too much fat, protein, and refined carbohydrate. It’s deficient in fiber, vitamins and minerals, and contains food additives, pesticides, and stimulants such as coffee, tea, salt, pepper and alcohol. (alcohol depresses the mind but stimulates elimination. The inevitable result of his kind of eating is that toxic waste products of metabolism are formed more rapidly than they can be eliminated by the liver and kidneys and as a result build up in the body. In Natural Health this condition is referred to as ‘toxemia’ or ‘acidosis’- because the wastes tend to be acidic in nature and so tissue fluids become more acidic than they should be.(In conventional medicine, the word ‘toxemia’ is used to relate to specific conditions. Synthetic chemicals, including air and water pollutants, pesticides, food additives and drugs, are often toxic and contribute to toxemia. Because of lack of exercise, the circulation is bad and it’s not getting the regular boost that is needed to flush waste products out of the tissues and to the eliminative organs for detoxification and removal from the body. Stress and inadequate sleep devour vital nerve energy and leave insufficient available for normal activities that include digestion, assimilation of nutrients and elimination of wastes. As a result, waste products build up even more quickly and the toxemia increases further. The effect of negative attitudes, like anger, resentment, bitterness, intolerance and greed may be like putting grit in the bearings of an engine – our systems wear out sooner. In contrast, positive attitudes, like love, kindness, tolerance and generosity works like oil to the bearings for smooth running. Negative attitudes indirectly contribute to toxemia. In coping with the demands of everyday living – plus the toxins – overworked organs and tissues become exhausted or more correctly, enervated (depleted in nerve energy). Enervation diminishes elimination, which further increases the toxemia. So, a vicious cycle is created. The combination of toxemia and enervation is the basic underlying cause of most diseases. There are no doubt other specific causes, but the toxemia that is just about ubiquitous in Western countries is almost always a prerequisite.
Related Articles -
disease, lifestyle, elimination of wastes, toxins,
|
