Spirals and Syndromes
Is this a private conversation??? LOL
I thought I would chime in here because I saw a pattern of comments that is worth commenting on. It has been distinguishing between primary versus secondary issues or causes versus triggers that has been the main focus of my work/research over the past 7 years. It has become painfully clear how many of the conditions we see are actually "syndromes" and how one things leads to another and suddenly we're in this vortex...this spiral...that takes us down or out. That's why I called my first major paper "The Answer- To Why is the Plane of Our Nation's Health in a Death Spiral." The spiral is the worst part.
For instance, you pointed out the role of Candida. Candida infections are a hot topic and have been a popular diagnosis over the past few years. And they are real and do all that you mention. BUT, they, like viruses, are secondary to over-stimulation and immune failure. There is no such thing as a primary bacterial or fungal infection. They are always secondary to tissue damage, concurrent illness, compromised local immunity or generalized immune incompetence. Strep throat is a good example, being secondary to viral infections, food allergies (e.g. milk), severe inhalant allergies (which are secondary to food intolerance, I am convinced), etc. Strep is a normal inhabitant of the pharynx of dogs, cats, birds and people. He's an opportunist, "waiting" for a chance to dig in, just like Candida...and Helicobacter.
Helicobacter pylori is another great example. This guy is a normal inhabitant of the stomach of the dog, cats and person and yet he has been implicated in the development of gastric ulcers, atherosclerosis, and even cancer. In fact, the toxins he produces are being looked at in neurodegenerative diseases. How and why does a normal inhabitant go so bad? He gets his opportunity when we insult the stomach and create a "bed" for him to lie in. Then, as we continue the insults, he creates a deep ulcer in the stomach. Then, as the spiral worsens and our immune system goes down by our doing the very same things that started the ulcer to begin with (e.g. food-related issues), Helicobacter jumps into the bloodstream and goes to distant locations. A shocking study done by cardiologists a number of years ago showed that a whopping 80% of atherosclerotic plaques removed from diseased carotid arteries and coronary vessels were positive for Helicobacter (in that one study). The entry of this guy into the bloodstream could very well be the act that triggers the long time-in-development vascular event called a stroke or heart attack.
And how did it develop? The trans fats set the stage for the atherosclerosis, the food intolerance set the stage for the stomach ulcer and the immune failure, the lectins of the "big 4" contributed to the inflammation in the vessel wall, and this normal resident bacteria of the stomach (Heliconbacter) was the guy who acted as the match that lit the fuse to this long-term explosive. This analogy can be applied to so many diseases/syndromes. And at the root of it all is our diet. Certainly, there are many contributing factors but the root is the diet, I am convinced.
So, it is we who keep giving these opportunistic organisms their chance. It is a sowing and reaping thing. It is we who keep throwing carcinogens at the latent viruses in our body (which have been there for years, some handed down in our genes) that finally start causing cancer. We develop cancer when we do because our immune system finally loses its grasp on the escalating situation. It took the viruses being present, the carcinogens and the immune failure for the cancer to develop, with the food intolerances, malnutrition, immunosuppressive pollutants, lack of proper rest/sleep, life's stresses, concurrent illnesses, and more all contributing to the immune suppression. The spiral tightens and bad things happen and they happen suddenly in many,many cases. But, it is usually a matter of the manifestation being another case of what we call "acute on chronic illness"...an acute (sudden) manifestation of a chronic (long term) problem.
And this is the main reason why my focus is on diet and the food intolerances. They set the stage for soooo many of these occurrences and the elimination of the trouble foods, including any secondary offenders (those food allergies that occur as a result of the leaky gut) can allow miracles to happen. Epilepsy is but one of those miracles, as we eliminate those things that are driving the viruses involved in epilepsy crazy as well as the things handcuffing the immune system. When we read about Dr. D' Adamo's work (Eating Right For Your Blood Type), we see a vast array of conditions that have responded to elimination diets, including lupus, diabetes, peripheral neuropathies and much more. And it all makes sense.
As I am fond of saying, "If we're not getting better, we just haven't done enough right...yet."
In some cases, we can do enough right and in others, that seems like an insurmountable task, especially when we consider the huge role of air pollution in neurodegenerative diseases. But, we can even deal with that if we are driven to reach our greatest potential. Some of it boils down to motivation, which usually comes from understanding.
Spirals and syndromes- this is how we need to look at many of those things that are plaguing us, our children and our pets. Once we do that, we can start picking away at the components and really get somewhere.
I hope this helps,
John
John B. Symes, D.V.M. (aka "Dogtor J")
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