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The human body becomes toxic or polluted from both external (exogenous) sources and internal (endogenous) sources. The most common external pathways of toxicity are from inhalation (smoking, air pollution, dental amalgam fillings, sick buildings), ingestion (chemical residues on food, chemicals in water, drugs) injection (vaccinations, flu shots, tattoos), absorption (chemicals from synthetic fabrics, paints, plastics, pesticides and chemical fertilizers sprayed on lawns) and irradiation (medical x-rays, nuclear power plants, bomb testing, uranium mine tailings, cell phones and towers, computer monitors and televisions, microwave ovens, and power grid and radio and satellite transmissions). The internal sources of toxicity are from fermentation, putrification, and rancidity from undigested foods consumed, and from dehydration, malnutrition, and toxic thoughts and emotions. This endogenous toxicity can also be caused from the effects of exogenous toxins contributing to malnutrition, and inhibition of digestion through damage to the nervous system, immune system, and enzyme systems.
There are 70,000 chemicals being used in commercial production in the US. The EPA has classified 65,000 of them potentially, if not definitely hazardous to human health. Over 6,000 new chemicals are tested in the US each week! Three thousand chemicals have been identified as intentionally added to food supplies and over 700 in drinking water. During food processing and storage, more than 10,000 other compounds can become an integral part of many commonly used foods. One of the major symptoms of chemical toxicity seems to be a breakdown of the immune function, which encourages all kinds of symptoms in the body. Another major symptom is damage to the nervous system and nervousness. We aren't rewarded immediately with good health and radiant well-being as soon as we change our "evil ways." The vast increase of chemicals in our environment, foods and medicines has greatly altered the body's ability to rid itself of toxins. Often, the recovery of health and improvement of the diet cause unpleasant symptoms. People truly seeking health have to decide to sacrifice their old comfortable diet patterns and habits to be rewarded by good health. It doesn't take long before they discover that after improving their diet, they sometimes feel much worse (temporarily). A common complaint is, "Do I really have to go through that?" They're going through what is called detoxification. Poor health and illness is progressive; it does not occur overnight. Good health and well being is also progressive; it may take weeks, months, or years.
The number of people using cellular telephones has risen dramatically during the past decade, and is expected to continue increasing. According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Associaton (CTIA), there are currently (2002) over 110 million wireless telephone users in the United States. This number is increasing at a rate of about 46,000 new subscribers per day. Experts estimate that by 2005 there will be over 1.26 billion wireless telephone users worldwide. A study by scientists in Finland has found that mobile phone radiation can cause changes in human cells that might affect the brain. A study by scientists in Finland has found that mobile phone radiation can cause changes in human cells that might affect the brain. The study at Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority found that exposure to radiation from mobile phones can cause increased activity in hundreds of proteins in human cells grown in a laboratory. Nonetheless the study, the initial findings of which were published June 2002, in the scientific journal Differentiation, raises new questions about whether mobile phone radiation can weaken the brain's protective shield against harmful substances. The study focused on changes in cells that line blood vessels and on whether such changes could weaken the functioning of the blood-brain barrier, which prevents potentially harmful substances from entering the brain from the bloodstream.
They also found that one hour of exposure to mobile phone radiation caused cultured human cells to shrink. The researchers believe this is triggered by a response that normally only happens when a cell is damaged. In a person, such changes could disable safety mechanisms that prevent harmful substances from entering the brain from the bloodstream. Radiation-induced changes in the cells could also interfere with the normal death process of apoptosis. If cells that are "marked" to die do not, tumors can form. The study found that a protein called hsp27 linked to the functioning of the blood-brain barrier showed increased activity due to irradiation and pointed to a possibility that such activity could make the shield more permeable, he said. Increased protein activity might cause cells to shrink--not the blood vessels but the cells themselves--and then tiny gaps could appear between those cells through which some molecules could pass.
Body Cycles
Life is a series of cycles of energy production, storage, and discharge. This general cycle defines all living organisms, from one-celled algae to man. All of nature follows the 24-hour cycle of a day. All creatures, from the oyster to the elephant, follow a daily pattern of work and rest, sleep and activity. There are biological rhythms within the body that dictate periods of tissue repair, tissue growth, waste elimination, and so forth. Body temperature, blood pressure, brain activity, hormone levels, and a host of other factors obey this rhythm, which scientists call circadian. Circadian rhythms are a blend of interaction of an internal clock and external cues of the earth's magnetism, electrical fields, gravitational fields and cosmic radiation, even the movement of other planets. Each of our twelve acupuncture meridians in our body have a two-hour period of heightened activity, together, totaling 24-hours--the circadian cycle of the earth's rotation. The body has bio-rhythms of 14-days for the physical, 28-days for the emotional and 33-days for the mental aspects of ourselves. Healing occurs in cycles. Some days the body has a high-energy level and it rebuilds damaged tissues. On such days, we may feel great. On other days, the body must do its detoxification and remove accumulated toxins. When this happens, we may experience low levels of energy or even depression.
Most people lead a lifestyle and follow a diet that inhibits the body in its cyclical work. For instance, when the body is cleansing itself via a cold, people become impatient. They try to suppress the cleansing cycle with drugs or food and the body must abandon its efforts. The body behaves in a sort of roller-coaster fashion as it conducts its detoxification process. One day it may cleanse heavily and we feel like shit. The next day, the toxins have been removed and we feel great. We feel so great, in fact, that the body decides to dig a little deeper and remove some of the older toxins, and then we feel worse. This is a continuing cycle in the process of healing. Once a certain level of health has been reached, we don't notice the cycles as much and they cause progressively less discomfort. The body goes through increased detoxification and healing crisis with every change of season. Notice how people seem to get sick at those particular times of the year. Fasting for 7-10 days with each seasonal change is practiced by those who understand the benefit gained from helping the body during these natural times of cleansing.
The Body's Infinite Wisdom
Your body wants to live forever; it wants to be free from all pain and illness; it actively desires complete healing to take place within it at all times. Your body is your friend and partner in your effort to regain health. The body has the innate capacity, knowledge, and wisdom to heal itself at any time--if it is allowed to do so. The body possesses its own healing ability and the wisdom to direct this ability. The only thing we must do is let the body conduct its work with as little interference as possible. We can furnish it with the highest-quality raw foods when it needs it or abstain from food when it doesn't desire it. We can exercise and rest the body, and give it fresh air and sunshine. Other than that, all we can really do is wait patiently and intelligently and not become alarmed by the symptoms of its healing or try to suppress those symptoms--even if we are healing heart disease, cancer, AIDS, or any other degenerative condition. If you have faith and trust in your body's ability to heal itself, the unpleasant symptoms, which may accompany this healing, become more bearable and are not a source of fear or misgiving. Ultimately, we must let our body perform its health-restoring work at its own pace. The real doctor is within--the body alone is capable of performing all the needed healing functions. The cellular intelligence driving the body is infinite in its capacity. We need not have any fears about its wisdom or ability to restore itself to the highest-possible level of health and well-being.
The Liver
The liver is one of the most important organs in the body when it comes to detoxifying or getting rid of foreign substances or toxins. Glutathione, the most abundant sulfhydryl in the body, functions to chelate and detoxify heavy metals; mercury and lead have also been shown to combine or complex with glutathione. Once complexed together, the bile becomes a major route used by the body to excrete the complex, thereby reducing the amount of glutathione available. The primary source of the sulfur portion of cysteine is methionine. Cysteine cannot be taken up by hepatocytes (liver cells) easily, whereas methionine is taken up more readily, and is then metabolized into S-adenosylmethionine, homocysteine, cystathione, and cysteine. Cancer cells utilize methionine in order to grow and proliferate.
Cancer or tumor dependence on methionine for growth is an artificial condition, brought about by some earlier failure in the transsulfuration and transmethylation pathways. Therefore, if the availability of methionine is reduced, not only will the capability of the liver to detoxify be impaired, but there will also be less glutathione available to complex with foreign substances. Studies have demonstrated that a deficiency of methionine can, in itself, cause liver cancer without the presence of a carcinogen, and also that the deficiency of methionine can permit a heavy metal to cause toxic effects.
The Colon
The colon is the sewer of your body. If it's not cleansed, the waste from head to toes can't get out. According to some estimates, about 70 million Americans suffer from bowel problems. These statistics cover only those people whose problems are severe enough to cause them to consult a medical doctor. The body's tissues won't eliminate wastes unless the colon is working. The bodily systems are connected. When the colon is cleaned out, the body will start pulling poisons out from everywhere, because it can. Wastes from the colon can leak out and pollute other organs. Other organs can be treated with natural methods--with only partial results--because these organs keep getting re-infected or re-irritated by poisons from the colon. The impacted colon creates diverticulosis which are herniations or pockets in the wall of the colon that contain fecal matter. If it stays in there long enough, it will leak into your body and cause what is called auto-intoxication. These diverticula cannot usually be detected inside the colon with colonoscopy, but on the outside of the colon where you can't see. The bowel pockets leak pus, blood, and fecal matter back into the bloodstream.
When the body is toxic, the cells cannot receive nutrients from the blood because the interstitial fluid surrounding the cells is plugged-up with wastes from sluggish lymphatics. This internal poisoning also causes mental depression and morbid thoughts. It's a vicious cycle--one condition feeding the other like a dog chasing its tail. Most people, instead of cleaning out their colons use incense, air wicks, underarm deodorants, foot powder, mouthwash, toothpaste, breath fresheners, perfumed sprays and colognes to cover up their stink because they are filled with impacted fecal matter. If the colon doesn't get cleansed, the other organs can't cleanse their waste. If a person can't get the bowels cleaned out, even if they clean the plaque out of the arteries--it's going to go back into the body. They'll just re-absorb it. Unless they clean out the colon, they will never regain vibrant health.
The Kidneys
The principle task of the kidney is to preserve the volume and composition of the extracellular fluid constant. This it must do despite a varying outside environment, and varying input. A part of this task--but only a part--is to remove from the body some of the waste by-products of metabolism which the cells cannot break down further. Thus the principal function of the kidney is not excretion, but regulation. We can move and live on dry land, even though we are three-quarters water, and survive; our cells tucked away in a carefully preserved ocean of extracellular fluid, whose composition is guarded with exquisite accuracy by the kidneys, a major part of our life-support system in this hostile environment. We can roam into deserts, and (usually) survive, or drink a six-pack of beer, or starve, or gorge, but essentially the extracellular soup remains of a constant composition, and because of this, the composition of the cells themselves is constant.
The kidney is less in control of the intracellular water, since if the kidneys do their job adequately, each cells is largely autonomous, and will extract and eject what it needs or does not need from the extracellular fluid. The kidney conserves what we need, but even more, it permits us the freedom of excess. That is, it allows us to take in more than we need of many necessities--water and salt for example--and excretes exactly what is not required. This is essential, since neither our ancestors nor we, animal or human know the composition of the foods we eat, and the only way to ensure a sufficiency of everything is to eat an excess of at least some. Finally, the kidneys preserve the volume of our body fluids as well as their composition. Given that we're almost _ water, quite simply weighing oneself each day can assess the precision with which the kidney achieves this.
Despite variations in diet, exercise or fluid intake, the figures remain constant. The kidney performs its tasks, with a precision of as good as 1% and never worse than 5%, under extremely varying circumstances. If the kidneys fail suddenly, death occurs after a few days, partly because some of the accumulated metabolic waste products are toxic to the heart, which stops. More interesting, is the way in which the kidney can adapt to slow destruction by dysfunction, so that one can survive on as little as 5% of overall kidney function. The kidney has greater reserve capacity in the face of disorder than (for example) the heart or the lungs.
Lymphatic System
Nearly 80% of your total body weight is water. One-third of your body fluid is extracellular, meaning that it's outside the cells. But only 12% of your body fluid is blood and 62% of your bodily fluid is inside the cells. What that means is that 36% of your fluid is lymph. Lymph is the fluid that surrounds all the cells. It is the cell's environment. There's 3-times more lymph fluid in the body than blood. Not all cells are surrounded by water. Bone minerals surround the bone cells. But all cells depend directly on extracellular water for food. The lymph fluid through minute channels feeds even bone cells. When waste material leaves the body cells, the two circulating body fluids, the blood and the lymph carry it away. The lymph is formed out of the blood but contains no red blood cells. Each cell in the body is bathed by the interstitial fluid, which consists of material from the bloodstream together with substances passed out of the cells. About 90% of the water and small molecules entering the interstitial fluid from the bloodstream are reabsorbed by local blood vessels. The remaining 10% of the water and small molecules plus the protein, other large molecules, and particles in the interstitial fluid collect in a network of tiny vessels.
The lymph vessels combine into larger ducts that eventually empty back into the blood stream. The lymph vessels contain one-way valves and are lined with muscle tissue that pumps the lymph through these valves. Because the lymphatic system carries away toxins from all body cells, its proper functioning is important to the health of the entire body. Lymph is filled with nutrients on their way to the cells, waste products thrown off by the cells hormones, and enzymes. Leukocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, antibodies and other white blood cells are able to travel wherever water exists. Just as the air around your body is in motion constantly, the lymph fluid that surrounds the cells is also in constant motion. Cells are able to function better with fresh lymph fluid filled with the proper concentrations of hydrogen, oxygen, glucose and all other nutrients. Valves exist in all lymph channels. In the large lymphatics, valves exist every few millimeters, and in the smaller lymphatics, the valves are much closer than this. Motion pictures of exposed lymph vessels show that when a lymph vessel becomes stretched with fluid, the smooth muscles in the wall of the vessel automatically contract.
Furthermore, each segment of the lymph vessel between successive valves functions as a separate automatic pump. That is, the filling of a segment causes it to contract and the fluid is pumped through the valve to the next lymph segment. This fills the subsequent segment and a few seconds later, it too contracts. The process continues all along the lymphatic system until the fluid is finally emptied back into the blood stream from the thoracic duct into the vena cava right underneath the collarbones. When fresh supplies replace the waste products of cells--the toxins, bacteria viruses, poisons, trash and debris--cells are healthier, and so are you. The removal of proteins from the interstitial spaces is an absolutely essential function, without which we would die with 24 hours. The colon is the principal organ through which mucoid matter from the lymph is eliminated.
When the lymphatic system becomes extremely full of mucoid material, a pressure is created that is felt all over the body. It starts as a tension in the muscles that becomes an aching of the muscles as the pressure increases. One function of a fever is to thin the lymph mucoid, improving its ability to flow and to pass through the walls of the colon. All lymph-purifying influences reduce fever by lessening the necessity for using fever to thin the lymph. If the colon cannot perform the necessary rate of purification of the lymph, then the body uses the liver to do the work instead. The toxins taken up by the liver are excreted as part of the bile. When the flow of bile becomes excessive, bile backs up into the stomach, and the result is nausea. Most grasses are lymph purifiers, which is why animals eat grass when sick. Now we can see how problems can originate when the colon becomes clogged. When this happens, waste material gets backed up into the lymphatic system. As this process continues, waste material backs up into the body tissues and disease can result. This process can affect any body part because the lymphatic system serves all body cells.
Rebound Exercise
Rebound exercise utilizes a mini trampoline to move the body up and down and as a result, moves lymphatic fluid 16 to 20 times more than not rebounding. Something fascinating happens when you start moving up and down. You begin to subject your entire body to the forces of acceleration and deceleration, plus gravity. At the bottom of the bounce, your whole body stops. That's deceleration. Then, it increases in speed upward. That's acceleration. The combination of vertical deceleration followed instantly by vertical acceleration of your entire body, combining with the constant gravity, creates an increased G force, which is felt by every cell in your body. You no longer weigh 1 G force--you weigh more! The cells react to this environmental stimulation the same way they react to any other environmental change; they adjust and become individually stronger. At the bottom of the bounce, every cell in your body identifies the combination of the three forces simply as an increase in the gravitational pull of the earth, much the same way they would react if they experienced your living on a larger planet than the earth with a greater G force. This happens a hundred times a minute! At the top of the bounce, as gravity counteracts the combined forces of the change in velocity, you become weightless for a fraction of a second a hundred times a minute. All cells of your body immediately become weightless. Virtually all immediate structural stresses and pressure are eliminated from all of your cells all at once.
Your cells depend upon diffusion of water through their semi-permeable membranes to carry oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and enzymes into the cell, and to flush out metabolic trash. The rate of diffusion of water into and out of the cells under normal conditions is 100 times the volume of fluid inside each cell each second. The oscillation of the cells of your body between an increase in G force and a no G force 200 times a minute increases the diffusion of water into each cell at least three fold! Nothing beats that kind of cellular cleansing. People who rebound regularly report a variety of benefits received, including boosted energy levels, clearer thinking processes, decreased amounts of back and joint pains, better attitudes, decrease in headaches, both in number and intensity, alleviation of arthritic symptoms, including pain and inflammation, breathing becomes easier, ease of weight loss, and more.
Body Awareness
A lack of body awareness accompanies a sickened condition. It is this absence of consciousness that permits the body to degenerate. If a person is in tune to their body's needs, s/he becomes aware when something is going wrong and then can fast, cleanse, juice, change diet, etc. Increasing good health also increases our awareness of the body. As the major pains and aches disappear, we become more sensitive to all the body's needs. Minor irritations that were not noticed previously may now enter our awareness. On a raw food diet, your body awareness and sensitivity increase. Little indulgences will cause strong reactions. Overdosing on certain foods will throw your body off balance. You will become aware every time you do something wrong--your body will let you know. This can be seen as a blessing or a curse when you cannot indulge anymore!
Drug Toxins
One of the largest sources of body toxins is the prescription drugs people take to supposedly fight disease. Medicinal drugs are very strong--they have to be to overcome the body's natural defense system. When such drugs are taken, they must either be eliminated from the body or stored within for later elimination. When drugs are discontinued, the old toxins may enter the bloodstream for elimination. The circulation of these old drug toxins in the system may produce bewildering symptoms that can be alarming. As drugs leave the body, you can taste them in your mouth. Every drug used, whether legal or illegal, leaves its mark upon the body. As the body regains health, the drug deposits are put into circulation for elimination. Old drugs that were taken, even many years ago, may reappear in the bloodstream as they leave fat tissue and the organs. Since a combination of past drug deposits may enter the bloodstream at once, disconcerting symptoms may arise. Drug toxin elimination may express itself in a series of rashes as they leave the body through the skin. Drug detoxification can be a lengthy process, but juicing and a diet high in fruits and green leafy vegetables and bitter-greens aid it.
Caffeine and Nicotine
Heavy smokers or coffee drinkers may experience similar symptoms when they withdraw from their drug. Nervous irritability and emotional outbreaks are common symptoms of these drug addicts when they are detoxifying. Nicotine and caffeine damage the nervous system and upset the vascular system, so symptoms such as headaches, edginess, extreme lassitude or mental cloudiness (feeling spaced out) are expected. Such symptoms from these drugs usually lessen after three to ten days.
Salt and Other Condiments
Once processed salt is stopped and the proper version is used, old salt deposits in the body exit through the skin and kidneys. Sometimes the elimination is so intense that a person may have a continual salty taste in the mouth.
White Sugar
Eliminating sugar from the diet may make a person feel slightly nervous and hyperactive until the energy levels adjust to a raw-food diet. Mood changes, however, are usually more noticeable than any physical symptoms when sugar is eliminated. Reformed sugar addicts may feel periods of unaccountable depression as their blood sugar level tries to right itself. Getting off the sugar roller coaster, with its rapid rises and falls in blood sugar levels, is easier when a raw-food diet high in salads and avocados is followed.
Heavy Metals
Deposits of heavy metals in the body poison almost everyone. Lead, aluminum, mercury, copper, cadmium, and arsenic collect in organs throughout the body. Because of their heavy weight, they are difficult to eliminate, and may cause discomfort as they leave the body. As these metals come out, headaches and a general achiness all through the body may occur. The gums may hurt and the kidneys may throb as these metals leave the organs and bones. Heavy metal poisoning can make you feel uncomfortable all over, and it is very common, due to all the environmental toxins and the amalgam fillings put into people's teeth. As you eliminate these metals, if you can bear the uncomfortable body aches and realize that they are leaving your body forever, it will help you go through it more gracefully.
Meat Eating and Acidity
Excessive meat eating creates an acid condition in the body. When meat is limited or eliminated, the body tries to reestablish its naturally-healthy alkaline condition, from the addition of fruit and vegetables. As the acid condition of the body changes to one of alkalinity, symptoms may arise that may confuse you. A sour, disagreeable odor may emit from the body as the acids leave or are neutralized. The breath may turn foul. Urine may be very dark and a sharp, bitter taste may be in the mouth. Weakness of the arms and legs may occur. Many people confuse this weakness for protein deficiency. Instead, the weakness has resulted from a consumption of too much acid-forming protein in the past. The body's energies are directed toward neutralizing these old toxins and so you may feel weak for a temporary period. Once the toxins are taken care of and an alkaline condition is reestablished, then strength returns to the limbs.
Specific Symptoms
Most people who change to a predominantly raw-food diet and improve their health may experience one or more of the symptoms described below. Depending upon your past health, these symptoms may be mild or intense, short-term or long-term, temporary or recurrent. As you improve your health, however, and stay on mainly raw-foods, all symptoms will gradually disappear. Never use drugs to halt these symptoms. Also, don't revert to cooked food or overeat as an attempt to stop these symptoms. Relief from some of these symptoms may come through fasting and rest primarily. Vigorous exercise (rebounding), is also indispensable. Sleep and freedom from stress (meditation, massage, etc.) is vital. Sunshine and fresh air are powerful helpers that you must seek at all cost.
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