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Lyme

Posted on May 30, 2017 | Leave a comment

The month of May has been Lyme awareness month.  The tick season this year is predicted to be the worst ever.  Lyme talk is everywhere.  Nowadays people even know that Lyme doesn’t just come from ticks, in fact many people with chronic Lyme do not recall ever having a tick bite not to mention a bull’s-eye rash.  Everyone with a chronic set of symptoms that no one is able to figure out is suspecting Lyme, and are being diagnosed with Lyme.  Lyme vaccines are in the works and chemicals (natural and synthetic) to kill ticks are flooding the market with the promise of prevention.  My inbox is flooded with emails and queries regarding tick-bites and Lyme, how to PREVENT the dreaded disease.  Is there a homeopathic prophylaxis?  Is there something we can take so that ticks don’t bite us?  And, if they do, so that we won’t get Lyme?  etc.  On the flip-side, the moment the doctors give a Lyme diagnosis, people are dropping every thing that they were doing to help their symptoms, even holistic-minded people, practitioners and patients alike, and jumping on the antibiotic bandwagon.  Strong antibiotics, for months at a time, to boot.  I see utter fear in people’s eyes when they get a tick bite, or goodness forbid, a bull’s-eye rash.  Not taking any chances, antibiotics first, everything else later.  If I could hit PAUSE on this madness, and knee-jerk, fear-based reactions to Lyme, I would gladly do so right away.  Why?  Because no one can think logically when they are consumed with fear.  That just leads one to seek the wrong treatments, setting them back months and years, and often driving the disease deeper, and a weaker vital force at the end of it all than they started out with.

My intention is certainly not to make light of the suffering of people with deep-seated disease.  6-8 years ago, I was one of the first ones educating people about chronic Lyme.  I had watched and was intrigued by the documentary “Under Our Skin – The untold story of Lyme Disease“, a chilling tale of microbes, medicine, and money, as they put it.  It’s a fascinating film, and I recommended everyone to watch it, to get educated about Lyme.  It was hard to get a medical diagnosis for Lyme then.  As a fairly new homeopath  at the time,  I was interested in the common symptoms of the disease, to discern what constellation of remedies might be indicated for people exhibiting these symptoms.  The diagnosis didn’t matter to me either way, as it never does in homeopathy.  The characteristic individuality and the constitution of the person seeking help for a certain set of symptoms is what we homeopaths always focus on.  But, we do have the concept of miasmatic theory in homeopathy which are “traits” passed down from generation to generation and certain pathogenic microbes can be part of the miasmatic case of the person, therefore I was interested in the Borrelia Burgdorferi and its co-infectious siblings from that perspective.  I wondered, did it have the potential to be a miasmatic influence in future generations?  Or have a relationship to a previous or existing one, perhaps?  (Which it indeed does – to the Syphilis spirochete.)

Fast forward to the current day from the experience of working with many chronically ill people since, I have a much better understanding of the power of homeopathy, and the underlying “obstacles to cure”.  Nowadays, the pendulum has swung to the other side as Lyme literacy has shot up in recent years, thanks to ILADS.  Virtually everyone with mysterious symptoms is getting diagnosed with Lyme, it’s even being cross-diagnosed with many other chronic issues like ADHD, Autism, OCD, ODD, SPD, etc.  Somehow people seem relieved when they get the diagnosis, as if they have finally found the answer to their problems.  Have they?  In most cases, they haven’t.  I know that from the way they are going about treating it, both practitioners and patients alike.  Antibiotics, antibiotics, antibiotics.  Even a homeopathic MD had said to me years ago that when it comes to Lyme, she recommends antibiotics.  With experience and a deeper understanding of the human body and the microbiome that I have now, I completely disagree.  Some choose “natural treatments” with no antibiotics, but they almost always seem to involve biocides such as tea-tree oil, olive leaf extract, grape seed extract, rife machines, etc.  These are NO DIFFERENT than antibiotics, and all such treatment is accompanied by debilitating herxheimer reactions in many chronic cases.  Just because it is “natural” doesn’t mean it is safe, or the correct thing to do.  No biocide (synthetic, natural or energetic) ever kills everything, they just don’t.  What does not get killed, comes back stronger.   Not only that, the antibiotics and biocides have certainly wrecked the microbiome in the process (even if countered with heavy-duty probiotics), the main weapon you already had in your system to help keep the pathogenic microbes at bay to begin with.  (When someone hears the word microbiome these days, they immediately think probiotics is the solution, but it is so much more complicated than that!)  So, now you have a combination of stronger pathogens, and weaker microbiome.  Things just get more chronic thereafter, and harder to resolve.  Every single DIFFICULT case of chronic Lyme I have worked with, have had lots of antibiotics/biocides in their case histories, period.  Therefore, you see, going directly and solely after the microbial kingdom is never a good treatment plan, and usually a big mistake in the long run… you eradicate one bacterium or virus, there will be another one to take its place.  There will always be a microbe if you look for it.  WHY?  Because Nature uses the microbial kingdom –  the bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites – to break down waste matter, dead cells, and toxins,  to keep each other in check and maintain ecological balance.  Our bodies are no different.  Microbes are not to be feared or targeted, but understood, as these are an intrinsic part of LIFE itself.  These will lodge and create a problem ONLY if the terrain (e.g. your body) is full of waste and decaying matter.  Therefore, one needs to take a smarter approach.

Treating Lyme for the best possible outcome

Here’s what one should understand about LYME.  Lyme is primarily nothing but systemic acidosis, similar to Fibromyalgia or Lupus or Multiple Sclerosis, and many other similar chronic diseases – all diseases of systemic acidosis.  It’s no wonder that it gets mis-diagnosed for so long, but, what’s the point of even getting the correct diagnosis?  I repeat, notice how no antibiotic touches chronic Lyme… it may offer temporary relief, but symptoms come back with a vengeance, or morph into something else.  That’s because the spirochete is not the main problem (the terrain is) nor do the antibiotics do anything about cleaning and draining the lymphatic system, instead they simply add to the acidosis, as they proceed to wreck the microbiome.  The lymphatic system is the sewer system of our body, and the majority of the immune system lives in it.  It is the key missing focus in the treatment of chronic diseases.  The blood is always alkaline, and blood tests may not correctly and accurately show the toxicity that is the job of the lymph to carry, except for inflammation markers when they show up in a “blood test”.  (The blood deals with the nutrition, the lymph deals with the sewage.)

Acute:
The simplest protocol to use if you get a tick bite is to apply a little paste of food-grade calcium bentonite clay to the site of the bite to help draw out any surface toxins (helps with itching).  Followed by a dose of Ledum 30c.  Repeat 4-6 hours apart for up to 3 doses (water dosing preferable for those of you who know how), ONLY if the bite continues to be irritated.  If redness and itching persists after 48 hours, or if there are subsequent symptoms, then seek a consult.

Chronic:
The best way to address chronic LYME and all similar diseases, is through understanding chemistry, and biology.  That we are made of a bunch of cells with two fluids surrounding each cell, the blood (20%) and lymph (80%).   The toxicity, the sewage, the waste are part of the lipid based lymphatic fluid.  Clean and reduce the acidosis by opening the body’s elimination channels.  How?  With the chemistry of the right foods (Diet) and herbs (Gemmotherapy) to alkalize and clean and drain this gigantic sewer system in our bodies.   (I have to mention here that I don’t recommend enemas, especially coffee enemas!)  Acidosis results in erosion and corrosion (death) of organ systems and their functions.  This includes the body’s methylation capabilities and genetic polymorphism (like the MTHFR) slowing down detoxification as a result, which in turn leads to more acidosis.  It’s a vicious cycle, like many progressively degenerative phenomena out there.  Through cleaning and drainage of the lymph, inflammation can be reduced, the vital organs and systems in the body can be re-generated and the microbiome strengthened, epigenetic markers reversed, ultimately facilitating the body’s self-healing capabilities, and it’s ability to appropriately DIGEST, ABSORB, UTILIZE, and subsequently CLEAN itself without help.  The vicious cycle then transforms to a health-promoting cycle.  Nothing magical about it, but simplicity accompanied by due diligence.  Along with the diet and Gemmotherapy, constitutional and miasmatic homeopathy is crucial to balance energetically at a deeper level, affecting mental, emotional (and even spiritual, if so inclined) of a person’s totality, sometimes you need that inner shift and growth to take place before physical symptoms start resolving… for sure, toxicity and acidosis can occur from mental and emotional stress and traumas in life, as well.  Stress affects the parasympathetic nervous system and shuts down the kidneys thereby slowing down detoxification.  EVERY SYSTEM in the body and mind is CONNECTED, and imbalance in either manifests as symptoms in both.  Furthermore, the role of the MIASM (hereditary susceptibilities) in Lyme is pretty significant and that’s what sets Homeopathy apart as we are able to address miasms so beautifully and effectively with it.  When thus addressed holistically, voila, no more symptoms.

Understand, not fear the problem.  Choose treatments and tools that regenerate your body and mind, not take away function from them even more.   By that I emphasize on cleaning and drainage first, BEFORE thinking nutritional deficiencies, as the norm is to always jump to thinking “nutrition” when hearing the words “regenerate” and “repair”.  Supplements are pretty useless (or temporary) until and unless digestion, absorption, and utilization are restored.  Those three important functions can not happen until the dead/damaged cells are cleared out and the remaining cells/organs/tissues are cleansed of the acids (waste) in the lymphatic fluids surrounding them so that they can perform their designated functions optimally.  This also allows the microbiome to re-seed and grow stronger, as the pathogenic microbes reduce with the reduction of waste matter in the body, resulting in a balanced eco-system within the body (and mind).

That brings me back to the tick population going out of control in the first place.  That  has been attributed to an imbalance in the eco-system of our environment subjected to the harsh chemicals and toxic wastes from industrialization, animal husbandry practices, all resulting in climate change.  What does that mean for all those toxic tick-killing products on the market?  (Tick Populations Booming due to Climate Change).  Sounds like a similar story to what’s happening inside our bodies, doesn’t it?  As within, so without.

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The human microbiome – acute and chronic illness

Posted on February 19, 2017 | 4 comments

Earlier this month, the New York Times published Microbes, a love story, in time for Valentine’s Day.  Yes, your microbes are what make you sexy… and brainy, and healthy, and what have you.  After all, inside our own bodies we are outnumbered ten to one (in the intestines alone there are 500-1000 different species of bacteria, and ten times as many living in it as human cells in the entire body).  This micro-biologic life in and on the human body is called the MICROBIOME.  The understanding of the microbiome is going mainstream and challenging the medical community to rethink many assumptions of health and illness, but, not nearly fast enough.  Doctors still prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics or other biocides all too often, and all too soon!  (See my post on biocides.)  On the other hand, probiotics have taken the non-conventional health world by storm, and dirt is the new superfood!

But, let’s understand this human microbiome first.  This mass of micro-organisms collectively weighing over 3 lbs. forms a continuous living shield, or bio-film, of nonhuman tissue that covers every square inch of skin, colonizes every orifice and lines most of the respiratory, gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts.  It plays a crucial role in almost every aspect of life including immunity, digestion, respiration, social interaction, sexual attraction, bonding, and reproduction.  Survival without it as NASA scientists have determined is nearly impossible.  Incidentally, it was the scientists working at NASA who first discovered the effects of depleting the microbiome while studying the results of long journeys into space in a bacteria poor environment.  Later on, the National Institute of Health (NIH) delved deep into it using genetic sequencing technology, and called it the Human Microbiome Project (HMP).  Amazingly, just as the human organism is completely dependent on the microbiome for growth and development and survival, the microbiome is also completely dependent on the human organism for its survival.  THIS IS TRUE SYMBIOSIS.  The more diverse the bacterial spectrums present in the human microbiome, the more stable and healthy the resulting super-organism.  Germophobes, take heed!  The erstwhile antibiotic premise that germs are bad and that impeccable hygiene is the cornerstone of human health is not correct anymore.  This emerging reality shifts away from the fear-based relationship one has with the environment and instead informs us to nurture and educate the complex microbiota within.  A self-sufficient, successfully operating ecosystem then becomes perfectly capable of dealing with pathogenic microbes (the “bad guys”) on its own, as and when the need arises.

It all starts at birth, as the baby makes its way down the birth canal and inoculates itself with a heavy dose of the mother’s vaginal flora.  Thereafter, the infant is a sponge for new bacteria and viruses, getting the nourishment and protection it needs mostly from mother’s milk while it figures out what is “self” and “friends of self” and what is not.  This process impacts all levels of development.  The nervous system, the limbic system, the immune system, the digestive and respiratory systems, and the sexual and reproductive systems all develop based on complex interactions with the microbiome.  Reduced biological exposure and microbiome diversity, particularly during early infancy is associated with significantly increased risk of developing immune related allergic and inflammatory conditions in childhood, adolescence and adulthood.  Cesarean section, formula feeding and overly hygienic conditions around these events dramatically reduce and limit exposure and accumulation of normal bacterial flora from the mother.   The earlier in life that bacterial exposure takes place the greater likelihood that immune system maturity and tolerance to these organisms will develop.  After this crucial neonatal time period passes, newly introduced organisms are more likely to trigger an oppositional immune reaction, or an infection.  Psychological trauma is another major factor known to influence and alter the gut microbiota.  Stress-induced alteration of the gut microbiota early in life may elicit long-lasting immune consequences and increase the risk of developing stress-related disorders later in life.  Throughout every activity for the rest of life, we are exposed to multitudes of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites and the overwhelming majority of these organisms enter long-term complex relationships with the body, ultimately helping it survive in the environment.

Role of Acute Illness and the Immune System

Your microbiome is influenced by where you live, how much time you spend outdoors, people you work and live with, your diet, traumas you have experienced, etc..  The composition also changes at different points in life: adolescence, pregnancy, old age, etc.. Traveling abroad will often make people sick due to the change in environment, food, water, etc.  Seen through the lens of environmental science, acute infections are part of the normal negotiation process between the immune system and the microbiome, in fact they may even be considered essential training processes. Childhood infectious diseases were once considered necessary rites of passage for children.  Acute infections can result from first-time encounters between bacteria (or viruses) that the immune system has never seen before, but they can also result from changes in the balance of organisms in the microbiome, for example from the use of an antibiotic.  When that happens, some organisms that were previously held in check, may now overgrow and become invasive, triggering an immune compensatory response (such as the occurrence of yeast infections after antibiotics).  To reestablish balance, the immune system and the microbiome must adjust.

The first response to an acute infection is usually an acute inflammation such as fever which is just one of the tools used by the immune system to help it resolve the infection more efficiently by inhibiting the pathogens from multiplying.  Rushing to treat with anti-pyretic, anti-inflammatory, and steroidal medicines that are used to reduce this inflammation only end up impairing the immune system, making it impossible to fully resolve the infection.  The person may “feel better” in the short term due to the suppression of the inflammation.  But, what happens to that pathogen that has infiltrated the microbiome?  Well, then the recommendations for the antimicrobials follow.  Treatments using antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, etc.  then proceed to damage the microbiome and further prevent the immune system from negotiating with the microbiome to incorporate and deal with the pathogen effectively.  Inevitably, these interventions prevent both the immune system and the microbiome from maturing. Permanent or lasting immunity cannot result under these circumstances, and the result – RECURRING infections.  Autoimmune conditions potentially also develop when the immune system is thus prevented from reacting to foreign antigens and ends up eventually attacking antigens within the body.

In reality, only the combined activity of both the immune system and the microbiome results in a healthy response.  This article, Microbiota talks cholera out of the gut, describes a study that provides an example of how gut resident bacteria can protect the host by reducing the pathogenicity of invading organisms, rather than simply competing for resources.  Acute infections thus are inevitable events in immune system development and diversification of the microbiome.
A quick side note: the systematic eradication of many childhood infectious illnesses through routine vaccination also prevents the immune system from experiencing the routine challenges of acute illness that helps it mature and provide lifetime immunity along the way, and therefore, deserves a re-evaluation.  Bacteria and viruses are intelligent life-forms and they have a directive to survive, they are going to mutate if necessary, as we are seeing with “superbugs”.  True herd immunity is this learning and negotiation and this ability to accommodate each other in a way that creates greater health in us and maintains the circulation of these bacteria and viruses within the society.  Support the process, not suppress it.  Most acutes can be safely, effectively and efficiently treated with homeopathy, gemmotherapy, tissue salts, the right foods and herbs, etc. without destroying the microbiome!

Let me re-emphasize that the stability of one’s health is directly related to the diversity of the microbiome and the integration of these communities of microbiologic life in conjunction with the host, that is the human body.  Microbiome damage and lack of diversity have both been associated with the tendency to develop many physical and mental illnesses. More and more medical conditions have been linked to either the failed diversity or the damaged ecology of the microbiome.  Disruption of these highly evolved and finely tuned bacterial relationships in the microbiome leads to failures of immune regulation, modulation, maturation, and tolerance.  When these functions are interrupted, the stage is set for the development of a host of CHRONIC health problems.

Chronic Inflammatory, Allergic, and Autoimmune Illness

Nearly half of all Americans have been diagnosed with at least one chronic health condition and at the current rate of growth, this number is expected to increase by another 42% over the next few years.  The incidence of chronic illness in children has also more than tripled since 1960 with asthma, learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism to name a few.  There is a virtual epidemic of chronic illness with nearly 70% of all deaths attributable to one or more of these conditions.  Unless we understand, and get on board with the importance and role of the microbiome, unfortunately that’s the reality we will have to be dealing with for a while to come, as most disturbances of the microbiome are iatrogenic: the result of well intentioned, but misguided medical interventions.  We have literally traded in epidemics of acute diseases for epidemics of chronic inflammatory diseases.  One of the most important lessons of the HMP is that humans must learn to live within the world of microbiology. “We’ve just spent the better part of a century doing our unwitting best to wreck the human-associated microbiota with a multifronted war on bacteria and a diet notably detrimental to its well-being.”

From experience with working with a wide array of chronic ailments in my homeopathic practice, I have observed the workings of the human microbiome first hand through remedy actions.  A fever, an acute incidence of diarrhea or a cold, and temporary aggravation of certain symptoms are some of the common reactions to well-chosen constitutional remedies that are prescribed for ANY chronic condition after a thorough intake and analysis of the person’s life history.  Followed by wellness and resolution of the chronic symptoms, immediately or gradually improving layer by layer depending on the person’s vitality and level of suppression that the microbiome has undergone in its lifetime.  Although the mechanism behind homeopathy is not well understood by many, neither was the human microbiome until it was studied with the most advanced scientific machinery available.  Homeopathy is a truly remarkable modality that synchronizes the actions of the body with the microbiome to promote natural healing and immune maturation.

According to researchers at California’s Institute of Technology (Caltech):
“A healthy, mature immune system depends on the constant intervention of beneficial bacteria. ‘It goes against dogma to think that bacteria would make our immune systems function better, … But the picture is getting very clear: the driving force behind the features of the immune system are commensals.'” – J. Ackerman, The Ultimate Social Network.

Needless to say, it behooves us to choose healthcare and treatments that work in conjunction with the microbiome, not against it.

Reference: Dr. Ron Whitmont’s excellent article – https://www.homeopathicmd.com/2015/09/chronic-illness-and-the-human-microbiome/.

Further reading:
The Human Microbiome Project (HMP)
The effect of infections on susceptibility to autoimmune and allergic diseases
Harvard study shows how antibiotics disrupt babies microbiomes
Aliens Inside Us: A (Mostly Friendly) Bacterial Nation
An Epidemic of Absence. A new way of understanding allergies and autoimmune diseases
Commensal bacteria control cancer response to therapy by modulating the tumor microenvironment
Microbial Manifesto: The Global Push to Understand the Microbiome
Postraumatic Stress Disorder: Does the Gut Microbiome Hold the Key?

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Biocides – colloidal silver, tea tree, et al.

Posted on January 19, 2017 | 11 comments
bi·o·cide
/ˈbīəˌsīd/
noun
  1. a poisonous substance, especially a pesticide.
  2. the destruction of life.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines biocides as “a diverse group of poisonous substances including preservatives, insecticides, disinfectants, and pesticides used for the control of organisms that are harmful to human or animal health or that cause damage to natural or manufactured products”.
Thus a biocide can be:
A pesticide: this includes fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, algicides, molluscicides, miticides and rodenticides.
An antimicrobial: this includes germicides, antibiotics, antibacterials, antivirals, antifungals, antiprotozoals and antiparasites.  In short, because biocides are intended to kill living organisms, many biocidal products pose significant risk to human health and welfare. (source: wikipedia)

You see, if you simply attack a symptom with biocides, whether they be synthetic or natural, things may, and often do, become worse.  Why?  Because symptoms are created by the interaction between the germ and the terrain.  The vulnerability and sensitivity of the terrain, aka the susceptibility, is ignored or overlooked when using such an approach.  And, DISEASE essentially begins and ends with this susceptibility and how well that is able to be addressed.  In the famous words of Paracelus – “Those who merely study and treat the effects of disease are those who imagine that they can drive away winter by brushing the snow from the door.  It is not the snow that causes winter, but winter that causes the snow”. When going after the microbes with biocides, one is going after merely the snow, and mind you, it is not as gentle as using a broom.  Besides, the microbes that survive the killing spree return strengthened.  We all have heard about superbugs, correct?  Yes, biocides can create them, too.

Well, take, for example, colloidal silver – one of the most widely used “natural antimicrobials” out there and people swear by it. Unfortunately (as well as fortunately), biocides do not kill everything, which is why we can get away (almost) with using them in our living bodies to begin with.  But, that which doesn’t get killed comes back stronger, over and over.  It’s the law of Nature, survival of the fittest.  Not to mention the accumulated toxicity from repeated use of the biocide.  I just saw two cases of silver toxicity last month.  One client was on 1 teaspoon of colloidal silver a day for almost two years.  One of her presenting symptoms was restless leg syndrome which started about a year and half ago.  Just taking her off the daily oral dose of the stuff reduced her restless leg by 50%.  And it got completely better after a dose of a homeopathic remedy chosen to match her overall symptoms and which also incidentally had an indication for silver toxicity.  Go figure.

So – if you have come to the awareness and are no longer turning to antibiotics and medications to help resolve your symptoms like before, that’s wonderful news!  But then, if you have switched to alternative killing methods, like colloidal silver, tea tree oil, oil of oregano, parasite cleanses, etc.  you are still inadvertently setting yourself up for potentially further problems in the future.  Just like antibiotics, these alternatives have their place in medicine and can be tools at certain times for certain situations. But, I see them as being useful in very limited ways only, for a short term or once in a while strategy, when there is access to no other resource, or the person is very very sick.  They may appear to work, but be aware that it’s a symptomatic approach, and actually may lead to suppression instead of resolution.  Hence, if you find yourself needing to use these biocides frequently, then know that you are over-doing it, and that something is amiss, and that it would be better to seek out a better solution.

What would be better?  It would be much better, and more effective, to equip and train your own microbiome to fend off the pathogenic microbes than to go to war inside your own body and risk having your body be collateral damage.  Think of it like raiding (or bombing) the whole village to take out the robbers that have infiltrated it.  Not too smart, is it?  Instead, the appropriate intervention would be one that resolves the susceptibility, aka miasmatic and constitutional weaknesses, that led to the infiltration in the first place.  When we put to use our body’s vital energy and tap into our body’s self-healing capabilities, we train our immune system, our microbiome, and reduce susceptibility.  I prefer and recommend constitutional homeopathic care for any and all such symptoms that seem to indicate an issue with microbial imbalance, be it skin issues, recurring infections, yeast issues, chronic infections, lyme, or any symptom that on the superficial level seems to call for a biocide, recurrently and/or for long periods of time.  The idea is to boost your overall well-being so you can fix your individual susceptibility and balance from the inside-out.  Know that if you still choose or have to use a biocide however natural, that is totally fine, it’s your choice.  Just be aware, and know the risks.  Don’t operate with the mindset that it is safer just because you are choosing a “natural” killer of living things rather than a synthetic or a patented one, and then wonder why you are still sick, or getting sicker by the day.  Knowledge is power.

How to tell if something is being used as a biocide?

A thorough treatise on the subject of biocides is available at GreenFacts, a very useful resource.  I also love the following criteria succinctly put forth by Mary Aspinwall, a noted homeopath with over 20 years of experience, to identify a biocide.  She also aptly says – “Sadly, when we use biocides our bodies and our natural immunity are collateral casualties and we are increasing our susceptibility to the next thing looking to colonize us.” (emphasis mine) –

1.  A biocide kills things.
2.  It targets the symptom or the perceived “invader”.
3.  It’s a one size fits all approach.
4.  It is intended to work in exactly the same way for everyone (except that it doesn’t).
5.  It is used without any need for individualization.
6.  It is an outside-in strategy.
7.  It doesn’t seek to increase the natural immune response from the inside-out.

In my opinion, the last two items in the above list speaks to the paradigm that the body is too weak to defend itself (again a matter of susceptibility).  Therefore, it always needs help from the outside to restore health – it’s a common paradigm in conventional western medicine that is adopted in the world of alternative medicine with the use of antimicrobial alternatives.  Using a biocide essentially imposes on the vital force and the immune system – here, let me do the killing for you, every single time, because you are incapable.  Any parent raising a child will quickly realize the fallacy of such an approach, the disadvantages of doing everything for your child instead of teaching and supporting him or her in the right ways to be self-sufficient.  It is no different when dealing with the body’s own immune system.  And, that’s just one facet in understanding the complexity of it all.

Some popular natural biocides include Pau d’arco, Colloidal Silver, Hydrogen Peroxide, Tea tree oil (also called Melaleuca), many other essential oils, GSE (Grape Seed Extract), Oregano oil, Natural lice treatment with Neem, and Olive leaf extract.

I have come across many natural health articles on the internet that list the above substances as holistic treatment for various symptoms.  These substances when used in this fashion as biocides are simply not holistic methods.  Bring in your awareness and seek out truly holistic and nurturing means to strengthen your body’s own innate ability to restore order and balance.  The right foods and exercises for physical and emotional nourishment (indeed diet and lifestyle are always first in my book); and homeopathy (well-matched homeopathic remedies) to remove susceptibility; these are my top choice tools to strengthen from the inside out, and thereby getting rid of symptoms!

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