| Understanding Disease
The next major advance in health will be determined by what people
are willing to do for themselves. However, willingness is only part
of the equation-the other is knowing what to do.
In my book Never Be Sick Again, I outlined a new model of health
based on the revolutionary concept of one disease. As varied and
complex as "diseases" appear to be, all disease is the
result of malfunctioning cells. Cellular malfunction is then the
one disease. Modern medicine believes there are thousands of diseases,
but viewing all diseases as one presents a profound opportunity-the
opportunity to take the mystery out of disease and to gain power
over it.
The enormous pandemic of chronic and degenerative disease sweeping
the world today is characterized by complex neuro-immuno-hormonal-gastrointestinal
dysfunction. Complexity aside, all disease occurs at the molecular
and cellular level, and we now know that virtually all disease has
common causes and common solutions.
There is only one disease and there are only two causes of disease:
deficiency and toxicity. Cells lacking what they need or exposed
to something harmful will malfunction. Unless cells malfunction,
there can be no disease. The thousands of different diseases we
experience are merely the effects of thousands of combinations of
deficiencies and toxicities acting through a combination of inherited
genes, the environment, and our beliefs, thoughts, and emotions.
Preventing or reversing disease is about preventing and reversing
cellular malfunction.
The amount of disease in America today is astonishing. More than
three out of four Americans have a diagnosable chronic disease.
This is happening because almost all Americans are in toxic overload
and are chronically deficient in one or more nutrients. Our unprecedented
exposure to toxic chemicals is impairing cellular machinery, causing
cellular malfunction and disease. Chronic deficiency of even one
nutrient will decrease the efficiency of all the others, causing
cellular malfunction and disease.
As the amount of deficiency and toxicity in our society continues
to increase, illnesses that used to affect only the elderly are
now epidemic in younger people. Children are born with defective
brains and immune systems. Historically, cancer affected only 0.1
percent of the population. A century ago it was 3 percent. Today,
half our population will get cancer in their lifetime. Unless we
get this chronic disease epidemic under control, the economic and
social effects on our nation will be catastrophic.
Fortunately, we have the knowledge to end this epidemic. By addressing
how to prevent and reverse the two causes of cellular malfunction,
we can prevent and reverse almost all disease. But first we must
educate-prevention being our most important tool. Let us examine
some of the cellular malfunctions that are common denominators of
disease and explore how we can prevent and reverse them. First,
let's examine the sodium/potassium ratio in the cell.
Sodium and potassium are minerals critical to cell function,
but they must be in balance. Modern dietary practices create serious
imbalances. Our ancestors consumed low sodium, high-potassium
diets. Their sodium/potassium ratio was a healthy 1:4, the result
of eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Our current ratio
is reversed to an unhealthy 4:1, the result of too much salt (especially
in processed foods) and too few fresh fruits and vegetables. Cells
function as little batteries. They have an electrical charge created
by the difference in the amount of potassium inside the cell and
the amount of sodium outside. By changing the sodium/potassium
ratio in our diet, and consequently inside each cell, we damage
the "battery of life" and interfere seriously with the
body's self-regulation and repair functions. For example, increasing
the dietary sodium of laboratory animals will accelerate cancer
metastasis. Preventing and reversing this common cause of disease
is simple: eat less salt and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
That's how easy it is to achieve power over disease!
Another common denominator of disease is abnormal cellular pH.
Normal cellular pH is 7.4; maintaining it is critical. If your
cells become too acidic or too alkaline, certain functions are
inhibited and others enhanced. This causes cellular malfunction
and disease-cancer is commonly a disease of too much acidity.
Where is this acidity coming from? It's coming from a diet rich
in acid-forming foods such as sugar, white flour, milk products,
and cola drinks. Colas combine sugar with phosphoric acid producing
a powerful acidic effect. Cutting acid-forming foods from your
diet, while eating a diet rich in alkaline foods such as fresh
fruits and vegetables, and supplementing with minerals will work
to balance pH and to prevent and reverse disease. It's that easy!
Improperly constructed cell membranes are another common cause
of disease. Each cell has a wall called the cell membrane. Everything
that goes in or out of the cell has to pass through the membrane,
a "gatekeeper" making sure only the right things go
in and out. Improperly constructed cell membranes cause cellular
malfunction and disease. To prevent and reverse disease, the billions
of new cells we create every day must be constructed with the
proper building materials. The vegetable and hydrogenated oils
common to our diet are the wrong building materials. Historically
the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 oils in our diet was a healthy
1:1. Today it is an unhealthy 20:1. Fish and flaxseed oils are
the preferred building materials. Cut out all processed oils and
supplement with healthy oils. How easy it is!
Common to almost all disease is a process called inflammation.
Inflammation generates free radicals, which damage cell membranes,
DNA, and cellular machinery. The result is aging and disease.
To prevent or reverse aging and disease, it is necessary to prevent
or reverse inflammation. Inflammation is caused primarily by eating
the standard American diet. Sugar, white flour, milk products,
farmed fish and meat, and processed oils are all pro-inflammatory.
By consuming a diet high in pro-inflammatory chemicals and low
in anti-inflammatory chemicals, most of our population is now
suffering from chronic inflammation and disease. Making matters
worse, the American diet makes people fat. Two out of three Americans
are overweight, and fat cells produce a constant flood of inflammatory
chemicals. To prevent and reverse inflammation, avoid inflammatory
foods and eat a diet rich in fresh vegetables, fruits, and antioxidant
supplements. It's that easy!
Tragically, children today do not have to wait to get sick. They
are born sick. The deficiencies and toxicities of the parents
affect the health of the fetus, thereby affecting that child's
health for a lifetime and the health of grandchildren yet to come.
In the early 20th century, Francis Pottenger, M.D. proved that
eating processed foods affected the health of the children and
grandchildren of parents eating such a diet. Today processed foods
are the staple of our diet. That's why most of our children are
born with abnormal brains and bodies, even if it's not immediately
apparent. For example, throughout human evolution, our brains
grew larger. Now the process has reversed. The brains of our children
are getting smaller, and reduction in brain size has been accompanied
by an epidemic of behavioral disorders, violence, suicides, and
poor academic performance.
To maximize lifelong health, a growing fetus must be supplied
with all the raw materials it needs, and it must be protected
from toxins that could disrupt its delicate construction process.
Unfortunately, this rarely happens in America today. Instead,
fetuses are commonly deficient in essential raw materials and
are exposed to numerous toxins. Poor nutrition in utero and during
infancy programs genes for the early on-set of major chronic diseases.
Good nutrition is also required for detoxification. Without nutrients
to support detoxification pathways, toxins persist and do more
damage.
Among the many toxins passed from mother to child causing disease
in the unborn is mercury. Mercury, from dental fillings, vaccinations,
and fish, interferes with enzymes that control how the fetal brain
is structured. Even minor changes in brain structure will affect
behavior, learning, higher-level thinking, and other brain functions,
including control of the immune, hormonal, and digestive systems.
Fluoride is another problem. Fluoridated water, toothpaste, and
fluoride-contaminated foods pose an enormous health risk to the
unborn, lowering their IQs and dumbing down our population. Aspartame,
another common hazard, is an artificial sweetener found in diet
drinks and foods. It breaks down into a number of highly toxic
chemicals that can damage fetal DNA, alter brain function, and
contribute to cancer. To ensure the health of the unborn, we must
supply a fetus with everything it needs and protect it from harm.
No discussion of disease would be complete without addressing
how modern medicine contributes to deficiency, toxicity, and disease.
Medical intervention is one of our leading causes of disease,
and arguably our leading cause of death. Medicine's archaic and
unscientific approach to health and disease has led to a series
of epic blunders: x-rays, vaccinations, unnecessary surgery, and
prescription drugs. Each of these cause cellular malfunction and
have devastating effects on health.
X-rays, which are mostly unnecessary, damage DNA and cellular
machinery and have been cited as essential cofactors in 60 percent
of cancers and 70 percent of heart disease. Vaccinations have
been cited as "a medical assault on the immune system."
Perhaps the greatest blunder of all has been antibiotics. Antibiotics
fundamentally alter body chemistry, causing disease of every description.
Antibiotics alter the microbial balance in the gastrointestinal
tract, leading to a cascade of events with devastating effects.
The gastrointestinal tract functions both as a brain and as a
master endocrine gland that controls the immune system. Changing
the balance of microorganisms in the gut alters its chemistry,
affecting both the nervous and the immune systems. The resulting
malfunctions are largely responsible for our epidemic of neurodegenerative
disorders (Alzheimer's, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's,
etc.) and immune disease (allergies, asthma, arthritis, lupus,
AIDS, etc.). Abnormal gut flora contributes to cellular deficiency
by inhibiting digestion and the production of critical nutrients,
and by causing malabsorption. It contributes to toxicity through
the production of abnormal bacterial and fungal endotoxins. These
toxins interfere with protein synthesis and the production of
energy, causing fatigue and ultimately increasing cell death.
Since antibiotics are almost completely unnecessary, there being
safer and better alternatives, it makes sense to avoid them. How
easy it is!
Knowing that disease is the result of malfunctioning cells and
understanding what makes them malfunction gives us the power to
prevent and reverse disease. By paying attention to providing
our cells with what they need, avoiding toxins, and living a good
lifestyle, we can put an end to our epidemic of chronic disease.
Begin today to make these changes, and you will go beyond health
as you know it.
Raymond Francis is an M.I.T.-trained scientist, a registered nutrition
consultant, author of Never Be Sick Again and Never Be Fat Again,
host of the Beyond Health Show, Chairman of the The Project to
End Disease and an internationally recognized leader in the field
of optimal health maintenance.
To learn more about Raymond and his life giving products, go to
www.beyondhealth.com.
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