Articles on Holistic Health and Natural Remedies ~
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Articles on Holistic Health and Natural Remedies ~ |
Auto-Intoxication: The Cause of Most of Today's Diseases! Related Articles: Toxic Yeast / Candida The Importance of Cleansing 4 Steps To Detoxing At the beginning of this century our average life span was only 45 to 50 years. The science of medicine has made tremendous strides and now we live much longer. In is not unusual for a person to reach the age of 90 or even 100 years. With this new found longevity we observe many chronic degenerative conditions that were relatively unknown just decades earlier. Cancer, arthritis, circulatory problems, Alzheimer's disease, auto-immune problems, psoriasis, chronic fatigue syndrome - the list goes on and on. Many people become what Dr. Jeffrey Bland calls "the walking wounded" - not sick enough to be considered very ill but not truly well either. What is the reason for this widespread disability? One of the major factors is the dysfunction and imbalance of our bowels causing the problem of auto-intoxication - the relentless release of toxins from within the body. From the time of Hippocrates, ancient healers have emphasized vital importance of bowel health. "The death of a person starts in the bowels" they taught us. Auto-intoxication is currently the number one source of misery and decay in society today. Through it comes a host of uncleanness, with its entourage of imbalance, derangement, perversion, sickness and disease. Auto-intoxication becomes a powerful master over the body, robbing the inhabitant of clear thinking, discrimination, sound judgement, vitality, health and happiness. The Function of the Bowels To get an idea of just how important normal bowel function is to the overall state of health, let's explore the inner workings of the intestinal tract. The intestinal tract is to us what the roots are to a tree. It has two main functions: 1. Digestion and absorption of nutrients, providing fuel and building blocks necessary for our continued function and survival. 2. Elimination of undigested food, waster products, harmful microorganisms and toxins, thus preventing various harmful effects in the body. Our intestinal (or gastro-intestinal) tract is a pipe that extends anywhere from 25 to 30 feet, beginning with the mouth and ending with the rectum. As food moves from the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, it undergoes the transformation that leads to the absorption of nutrients and elimination of waste. The function of the digestive system includes a series of finely orchestrated steps that are aided by digestive enzymes, stomach acid, beneficial bacteria and normal peristaltic movement of the intestinal muscles. What Can Go Wrong With Your Digestive Tract Unfortunately, most of us do not have healthy bowels. Just look at how many people suffer from heartburn, indigestion, bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea. These symptoms are extremely common, with well over 60 million Americans purchasing laxatives and antacids, spending over $1 billion one these drugs every year. Two reasons for this are lifestyle and eating habits. We do not eat the right foods, get enough exercise, fresh air or sunshine. The food we eat is not whole, but processed. The use of "junk food" - high in sugar and fat, but low in fiber is widespread. Alcohol, antibiotics, painkillers and other medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, disrupt normal bowel function. Plus, as we get older, there is definite decline in the level of digestive enzymes produced in the stomach, pancreas and small intestine. This leads to decreased digestion and absorption of nutrients and increased accumulation of putrefied fecal matter in the intestinal tract. Undigested food material and metabolic waste buildup lead to auto-intoxication and set the stage for disease. Unable to survive in this toxic environment beneficial bacteria die. They are replaced by pathogenic organisms, such as parasites and yeast, especially Candida Albicans - a condition known as dysbiosis. This leads to changes in permeability of the intestinal wall, producing a "leaky gut syndrome", which allows the absorption of many toxic chemicals into the blood stream. As a result, the total toxic load of the body is increased which places an additional burden on the liver and the kidneys, our main organs of detoxification and elimination. The result is that instead of being an organ responsible for supplying nutrients and eliminating waste, our intestinal tract turns into a gigantic waste dump that increases the toxic burden on our already overtaxed body. Most people are shocked and revolted to learn that an average person has between five and ten pounds of putrefied fecal matter, dead microorganisms, undigested food remnants, slime, fermentation byproducts and other foul material in their body. Just imagine the amount of toxins produced by this poisonous "cocktai". Toxic waste is absorbed into the blood stream and gets deposited in all the tissues. As the detoxification system becomes overwhelmed, more waste is retained in the body. Toxins accumulate in the tissues, interfering with normal cellular metabolism, causing degenerative changes and even cellular death. Poor Intestinal Health Can Lead to Life Threatening Diseases Because the body is amazingly resilient, impaired digestion, poor absorption and a general deterioration of the intestinal tract can go for years without producing any definitive symptoms. When symptoms first appear they are usually general and non-specific and can include: decreased energy, headache, fatigue, reduced resistance to infections and minor digestive problems, such as bloating, gas, belching, indigestion and constipation. Most of us either ignore these early manifestations of bowel dysfunction or suppress them with antacids, gas relievers, laxatives and numerous other drugs peddled by the pharmaceutical industry. It may shock you, as it does most people, to learn that the average person holds between 5 and 10 pounds of putrefied fecal matter and other foul material in the body. As the bowel function continues to deteriorate, more serious problems appear. They range from asthma and allergies to arthritis and cancer. They include auto-immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and lupus. Irritable bowel disease (IBS), Crohn's disease and colitis may appear. Chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema and hives are common. In short, faulty digestion, poor absorption, altered intestinal permeability, bacterial imbalance and massive amounts of auto-intoxication can be traced to most chronic conditions known today.Some of us may not develop serious life-threatening diseases from the intestines, but almost all of us will suffer from auto-intoxication caused by fecal matter buildup. The risk increases with every passing year as we consume more meat, white flour, sugar, coffee, antibiotics and prescription drugs. - Michael Teplisky, M.D. |