Elimination

Building Better Health

Part 3

"Elimination"

by Jay Constant PHD

     In my introduction to this series, I mentioned the systems approach of building better health. My attempt is to educate the reader, in layman's terms, the basic systems of the body, their functions, and basic chemistry. Last time I covered the first and most important system of the body, digestion. Apparently I offended multiple people on the importance of sodium not only for proper digestion, but also for the joints, the intestines, and numerous other parts of the body. Oh well, as stated in my introduction, if I offend you, simply stop reading, if you disagree with what I say, stop reading, and if you know more than me, stop reading. These articles are for the average person who in 12 years of education, or more, know absolutely nothing about the human body, and usually what little they do know is wrong. How can this be possible? Some of the experts would certainly like to make things complicated to confuse us for many reasons. However, fact is fact, and simplicity is generally the rule. Today's article on elimination will be no different.

    The human body has essentially four major elimination systems. The bowels, the lungs, the urinary tract, and the skin. Each system is specifically designed to eliminate excess and waste. If we don't eliminate the waste, then it becomes a poison. The colon eliminates solids, the urinary tract eliminates liquids, the lungs eliminate gases, and the skin, also known as the "blow out valve" will eliminate all three. Yes the skin is actually the largest eliminative organ in the body. The skin is like a sponge. Keep this in mind any time you use perfumes, bug sprays, sun blocks, and topical ointments. What ever we put on the skin, will go trough the skin, and be absorbed into the blood, to be filtered in the liver. The flip side is, any skin condition outside of perfect skin, is probably an excess of some toxin coming out, thus the body simply doing its job as designed. When I see people with skin problems, whatever the problem may be called, I assume 3 things. I assume the other eliminative organs are sluggish, I assume the person doesn't drink enough water, and I assume a lack of omega 3 fatty acids. I referred to the skin as the blow out valve, thus if the bowels, the lungs, and the urinary tract were functioning at perfection, the skin would be spared the role of eliminating excess. The skin will eliminate excess mucous, yeasts, and chemicals not getting out the other channels. I will get back this concept later.

    In the "old school" of natural healing circles, we have a simple saying: "Death begins in the colon". My last article covered the importance of digestion, and I referred to digestion as system one, and the most important system in the body. If we digested all we ate, there would be no waste. Thus, the less we digest, the more waste is produced. Thus, digestive problems create excess waste. Signs of poor digestion include burning, gas, body odor, and bad breath. From the stomach, everything enters the small intestines for processing and nourishment, then into the large intestine for elimination. We can observe from babies or animals in nature, that what ever goes in, comes out in about an hour or less. Thus, we can simply assume this is how it is suppose to be, and if we eat 3 meals a day, we should have 3 bowel movements a day. If we eat 5 times per day, we should have 5. If this isn't happening, then the waste begins to accumulate. Want to lose weight? Try digesting your food, and eliminating the waste, plain and simple. The concept that once a day is normal is ridiculous. The concept that once a week is normal is even more ridiculous, however, that's what we are told. Excess waste in the intestines, is reabsorbed into the blood, and deposited in the liver. When the liver gets overloaded, these toxins are rerouted and pushed out through the skin. Thus, skin problems are always liver problems, which are always bowel problems. Simple.

    Thus if the bowels are sluggish, we're going to gain weight, and if really sluggish, we're going to have skin problems. Thus the question becomes why are the bowels sluggish and what can be done? The first answer is a change in our routine occurs based on lifestyle and scheduling. Whether attending school or work, our habits must be modified and adjusted to coincide with our schedule. Diet is also crucial for proper elimination. This a major problem with the majority of people. The biggest problem with diet is the current lack of fiber, created by processed food, particularly white flour processed foods. These of course are our favorite foods, the pastas, cereals, breads, donuts, etc. These foods are low in fiber, and high in "gluten", with the key word in gluten being "glu". The intestines essentially get glued up over time. The walls of the intestines have little finger like villi that move things along. Over time, the gluten begins to form plaque along the walls of the intestines and colon. Gluten is also a mucous producing food, thus excess mucous adds to the problem. Also, not related to the subject but essential to know, no food spikes a high in blood sugar, and sustains it longer, than processed wheat. Thus our reliance on processed foods can be found in any health condition. We are told about fiber, and we are told to consume more fiber, however, more fiber is only half or the equation. We have to stop "gluing" ourselves up. The fiber comes in the form of whole grains and veggies. Many people also supplement fiber in the form of psyillum husks, flax, and others such as my favorite called slippery elm.

    The colon needs fiber, and it also has to be moist. Water is crucial for proper elimination. Lack of water accelerates the plaguing in the colon. Our reliance on sugar and caffeine now come into play as these foods are very dehydrating. The colon not only eliminates solid waste, its also a major lymphatic drainage area. If the bowels are plagued or plugged, the lymph's can't drain. This will in turn cause mucous to back up and affect the lungs and sinus areas, and eventually the skin. The bottom bend of the colon is called the secum, and this is where B vitamins are assimilated. Thus many deficiencies and symptoms can be traced to a backed up colon. How about the mysterious migraine headache? Think a toxic system may have something to do with it?

    Outside of habit, diet, and water, the next cause of sluggish bowels comes from poor communications from the thyroid gland. Briefly, glands manufacture hormones, and hormones are nothing more than messages or commands for the body to perform a certain function. Its the thyroid that triggers peristalsis. Thus sluggish thyroid, sluggish elimination, always. This applies to the many people who only go once or twice a week, much more common than one would think. When this occurs, we have been led to rely in laxatives. Laxatives themselves then become addictive, and gets us nowhere. I am not saying laxatives shouldn't be used. The day we stop eliminating, we die. So laxatives do have a purpose, but should never be seen as an answer. The thyroid does hundreds of jobs, and also acts as a filter. What happens in many people is the thyroid lacks iodine in the diet, and gets plugged with a protein from dairy products called casein. (Casein is used to make carpenters glue). Thus, be it from lack of iodine or excess casein, the thyroid gets "sluggish", and this is probably the number one cause of constipation in this country. Another link to diet. A sluggish thyroid will also show up as cold hands or cold feet or both, from sluggish circulation, weight gain from sluggish metabolism, and hormonal imbalances as the thyroid gland is the master gland that tells the other glands what to do. Wow, that just hit home for a lot of people. As an iridologist, I see low thyroid in at least 60 per cent of all my clients. Thus gets very confusing, as low thyroid doesn't mean a thyroid problem in itself. Its best to interpret as "poor communications" only. Most of these people run off and get the standard thyroid test, only to be reassured that I am a quack and the thyroid is fine. The thyroid test is a very basic T3, T4, and blood calcium levels test. T3 and T4 are protective hormones and blood calcium tells how much calcium is in the blood crucial for the heart (thought I was going to say bones huh?). The thyroid test is also "pass or fail". It either works or doesn't work is the gauge. However, a sluggish thyroid is just that, its working, but not very good, and thus in turn creates sluggish metabolism and weight gain, sluggish circulation and cold hands and feet and eventual heart issues, sluggish hormonal production and imbalances, and yes, sluggish elimination.

    The major mineral for the bowels would be magnesium, as well as a small amount of iodine for that thyroid. Magnesium is by far the most important mineral for the body. Its needed for over 350 different functions. Magnesium can be nicknamed the "relaxer", and is stored in the muscles, ligament, and tendons. Magnesium is the stress mineral. In fact, when we mention laxatives, they are just excessively high in magnesium. Magnesium deficiencies will be the subject of an upcoming future article, but briefly, appear as sleeplessness, restless sleep, cramps, spasms, twitching, fatigue, back pain, neck pain, breathing difficulties, and weakening bones.

    So in conclusion, the rule is "something in, something out", or its going to go somewhere else. The colon has to be moist, or major plaguing will take place. Ample fiber will clean the walls of the colon, to break up and prevent plaguing. Processed foods are essentially glue foods, and a major problem. Communications from the thyroid, as well as gall bladder (though not covered here), are all crucial for intestinal health and elimination.

The day we stop eliminating, is the day we die.....................j

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