Understanding Disease

[Guest guest]

Understanding Disease

 

by Raymond Francis

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Reprinted with permission from:

Beyond Health® News

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