1. William H. Stewart, M.D., served as U.S. Surgeon General in the Johnson administration from 1965–69. His speeches, most notably December 4, 1967's “A Mandate for State Action,” presented at the Association of State and Territorial Health Offices, in Washington, D.C., are frequently quoted in infectious disease books.
2. SSRI is a term that refers to a class of antidepressant drugs called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. They are considered safer than and equally effective as the old tricyclics such as Elavil (amitriptyline HCI). More than half of all new antidepressant prescriptions in the United States are for SSRIs and include: Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), Paxil (paroxetine), Luvox (fluvoxamine), and Celexa (citalopram). There are natural methods of improving mood, including extracts of the herb St. John's wort, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and amino acids.
3. A presupposition of this book is that modern medical practice demonstrates a remarkable indifference toward and misunderstanding of the complex nature of disease and has been particularly unprepared to understand and treat emerging infectious diseases. By viewing all disease as external and by only looking for one specific cause, modern medicine developed a professional myopia. With the advent of drug-resistant infections, increasing incidence of cancer and chronic disease, and the onset of the previously unheard-of ailments—red flags that went up all over the place—modern medicine became viewed as not only ineffective but potentially dangerous, causing serious side effects and even death in the process of providing medical care.
Modern medicine is an extension of European medical thought first developed in the nineteenth century. It is often referred to as “reductionistic,” a system that focuses on reducing diseases into specific categories and then labeling them with technical names. Only when a title is given can investigation for an effective treatment begin. This system creates an impasse for doctors confronted with patients complaining about conditions that did not appear in medical school textbooks.
It has been reported that approximately 75–85 percent of all regular doctor visits are either for conditions that have a cause rooted in lifestyle or are not possible to treat effectively and safely with drugs or surgery, the main tools of modern medicine. One physician that I shared a desk with for two years in a large cooperative medical group often told me that 80 percent of her patients' complaints were non-medical problems—in other words, conditions that medical doctors were not trained to diagnose or deal with.
From my clinical experience, which includes twenty years of extensive practice working with medical doctors, psychologists, and a full array of alternative practitioners, I never thought this class of patients were the “worried well” as James Le Fanu, M.D., phrases it (Le Fanu 1999), but more of the “walking unwell,” as some physicians like to call them.
Due to the large number of increasing non-medical complaints by patients, an explosion of alternative therapies practitioners has emerged to meet the demands of these patients, and more openness on the part of conventional medicine to these new conditions results in more of them being defined, and many have been legitimized by official names and ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases, ninth revision) codes for diagnostic purposes and insurance billing.
Introduction
1. TT virus is a new virus discovered by a group of Japanese scientists in hospitalized patients that causes an acute illness similar to hepatitis. Though it has been found in the blood of 2 to 3 percent of the general population, where it appears to be harmless, the significance of TTV remains unclear (Mushahwar 1999).
1. Variolation, the transfer of smallpox material from one person to the other for the purpose of inoculation, is now believed to have originated in China in the first century. Documentation records such practices in the Sung Dynasty from 960 to 1280; however, it is not clear whether such practices actually originated in China or in India where variolation was also performed. The practice traveled to Persia and Turkey, and the Royal Society of London was first informed of such practices around 1700.
2. Viruses, like all living things, are given specialized names by scientists in order classify them into an organized system called taxonomy. This taxonomic method of biological classification was developed by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 and is still used today. Organisms are usually referred to by their genus and species names. However, the official nomenclature for viruses uses only families, subfamilies, and genera. Unlike other organisms, viruses have not been yet studied enough for scientists to have found unique individual species, so viruses do not have a species name. Latinized endings are used for family groups such as Herpesviridae and Adenoviridae.
3. Unlike modern Western science, which is only a few hundred years old and is devoid of spiritual implications, Chinese medicine is based upon a cosmology that is thousands of years old. However, the Chinese did not produce any definitive laws of nature as Western physicists did, and are still trying to do. Instead they discovered underlying forces of activity such as qi and yin and yang, that govern the laws of the physical world. Attunement with these principles, rather than manipulation of laws, generates harmony and balance and promotes natural health.
Western medicine, confined to the rules of biomechanics and biochemistry, produces results that tend to end in imbalance, disrupt peace and harmony, and do not promote health. The organizing principle behind the manifestations of qi and yin and yang, is called the dao. The dao is not the equivalent to what Westerners call God, but might be understood as the creative spiritual energy of the universe. Its particular manifestations on the Earth are animated by the qi, which can exist in two states: yin and yang. Therefore when referring to the qi in the body, the Chinese often call it yin qi or yang qi.
1. I remain continually puzzled by the way medical and scientific “experts” predict the future. Unknown diseases seem to always be five to eight years away and vaccines are always five to ten years away. In another five years, they repeat the same rhetoric. Similarly, the five-year survival rate for cancer survivors only says that with the drug and other conventional cancer therapies, the treated patients live longer within the five-year framework than do the untreated patients. It says nothing about their quality of life, their degree or lack of suffering, and nothing at all about the period after the first five years. There are also no studies comparing alternative methods to conventional methods for the same disease.
2. Vitamin C is considered a nontoxic substance even in high dosages and is well-tolerated by the gastrointestinal tract. Small amounts, ranging from a few hundred milligrams to a thousand milligrams, are readily absorbed from the small intestine. However, due to vitamin C's (ascorbic acid) acidic content, after saturation is reached in the gut irritation and osmotic effects can occur. Fluid is drawn into the intestine through osmosis and watery diarrhea can occur.
In general, this type of diarrhea is harmless. In fact many doctors use it as a sign that maximum absorption, called “bowel tolerance,” has been achieved. However, in cases of acute diarrhea during gastroenteritis, further fluid loss may lead to dehydration and worsening of the ailment.
3. Berberine (C20H19NO5) is a water-soluble isoquinoline alkaloid and acts as an astringent in inflammation of the mucous membranes. Other similar alkaloids, found in goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), are hydrastine and canadine. Berberine is considered a tonic alkaloid for the intestinal tract and is often found in combinations of herbs for constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastritis. Berberine also has antimicrobial and immunostimulatory effects. It can be used to treat respiratory, urogenital, and gastrointestinal infections, secretory diarrhea, fungal infections, and can be used as a natural broad-spectrum antibiotic.
Though it is considered nontoxic, high, sustained dosages can cause lowering of blood pressure, difficulty breathing, flu-like symptoms, intestinal discomfort, and possible heart damage. The average recommended dose of the extract is 200 mg, two to four times daily. The bright yellow color of berberine was favored in ancient Asian for religious paintings and manuscripts such as the Dunhuang Diamond Sutra.
4. The information on the Chinese origin of influenza contained in this and other sections of the book is based upon accepted scientific knowledge and personal experience. It is not meant as a commentary on Chinese culture or individuals. In fact, due to the high incidence of influenza viruses in China many effective natural medications were developed and are just as useful for treating Westerners as they are for Chinese.
5. In the German discipline of homotoxicology's view, immune impairment can occur from pharmaceutical drugs, environmental toxins, and chemical toxins released in the body. An immune-impaired body is vulnerable to new or reactivated viral infections, and conversely, a virus can increase the body's own toxic load as well as promote inflammation, both further damaging the immune system.
6. Though individual Chinese herbal names are given, unlike in Western herbology where individual herbs or herbs with similar functions are grouped together, in Chinese medicine herbs are nearly always combined in formulas. The combining of herbs requires extensive knowledge in herbal pharmacology and clinical symptomology. Herbs are combined for synergistic effects, to reduce toxicity of one or more herbs in the formula, and to make the formula more palatable to drink.
7. Dr. Stoff practices in Tucson, Arizona. Contact information can be found in the resource section.
8. Heart attacks and stroke are considered the end result of atherogenic disease, also called atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries, involving the development of plaques in the blood vessels of the heart, the coronary vessels. Current medical wisdom states that the most commonly associated risk factors with cardiovascular disease are age and high cholesterol. However, numerous other factors play an equally, if not more important role in the development of lesions. These other factors include cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia pneumoniae, homocysteine, and lipoprotein(a).
9. Koch's postulate has four main points, summarized as follows:
a. A microbial organism can be isolated from a host suffering from a disease and found in all patients with the same disease.
b. The infectious organism can be cultured in a laboratory outside the host.
c. The isolated organism causes the same disease when introduced into another host, either animal or human.
d. The same organism can be re-isolated from the experimentally infected host.
If all of these four criteria are met, the postulate is considered to be met and the isolated organism is considered the cause of the infection. As science progressed in the latter part of the twentieth century, and as more infectious diseases were discovered and studied, it became more difficult to meet Koch's postulate in all cases of infectious diseases. Some diseases, such as leprosy, were found not to meet Koch's postulate at all. Emerging antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections and the new viral diseases challenged the conventional and overly simplistic model of Koch's postulate.
Rethinking such assumptions is important in the assessment and treatment of the new infectious diseases like AIDS—to evaluate which symptoms are directly caused by the infecting organism and which are due to host immune dysfunction.
10. As explained earlier in this chapter, there is still no consensus on the cause, development, or spread of chronic fatigue. This confusion is exacerbated by a lack of definition, including what to call this syndrome. The two most common terms and acronyms are chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome (CFIDS). The only distinction between the two is that CFIDS implies a connection with immune deficiency disorders.
11. Thymosin is a synthetic thymus extract used to improve immune function. Several scientific studies found it useful in both AIDS and HIV patients.
12. Macrophages are large white blood cells that destroy foreign organisms in the body. Cytokines are a class of chemical substances secreted by cells and have a variety of effects upon other cells and organisms. Natural killer (NK) cells are large immune cells that actively kill cancer and viruses. Immune-enhancing substances often stimulate the function and activity of macrophages and NK cells, and regulate cytokine production to promote defense against viruses and tumor cells.
13. Several cases of fatal interstitial pneumonitis were associated with minor bupleurum decoction in Japan. The exact cause or mechanism, if the deaths were directly related to the herb formula, remains unclear, but the suspicion is that excessive stimulation of neutrophil activity caused unusual peroxide-induced lung tissue damage. In patients with compromised immune systems with a chronic virus, it is conceivable that such a condition could occur.
1. Antigens are large molecules composed of proteins combined with long chains of glucose, called polysaccharides, which trigger the immune response. Antigens, like cat dander or flower pollen, can be inhaled; or eaten, such as shellfish or milk products. All antigens can generate an allergic response in a susceptible individual. Antigens can also be introduced under the skin, as is done during vaccination, and they can be generated within cells such as during a viral infection or from cancer cells. The initial immune response to an antigen requires recognition by a T lymphocyte.
2. The body harbors a vast array of both friendly (beneficial) and pathogenic (harmful) bacteria. Friendly bacteria include Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium, found in yogurt and naturally occurring in the human intestine. These beneficial bacterial organisms, often collectively referred to as probiotics, function as health promoters, improving gastrointestinal function by lowering pH, protecting against harmful microorganisms like yeasts and parasites, assisting in the synthesis of vitamin K and many of the B vitamins, and influencing immunity. Probiotics are the opposite of antibiotics, artificial substances that destroy both friendly and harmful bacteria.
3. See step 1: A free radical is an unstable molecule containing an unpaired electron. Among health enthusiasts, reducing the number of free oxygen radicals in the body approaches the realm of an obsession, based on the fact that free radical molecules are implicated in many diseases including cancer and heart disease. However, what is less widely known is that free radicals, when in equilibrium in the body, are important in many natural processes including killing of disease-causing cancer cells and viruses.
4. The complement system involves a series of more than thirty proteins that have complementary functions with both innate and acquired immunity. The complement proteins act over a wide range of protective defenses including management of inflammation, the ability to directly kill invading microorganisms, the ability to neutralize viruses, and other immune functions. Deficiency of complement factors can lead to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease affecting the connective tissue and kidneys; angioedema, an allergic reaction involving tissue swelling; and recurring infections.
5. Antibodies belong to a class of proteins called globulins, named so because of their round structure, and are known collectively as immunoglobulins. Antibodies are formed in the body as part of an immune response. A similar term, antigen (see note 2, chapter 3), also begins with the prefix “anti-,” meaning against. An antigen is any initiating substance, usually foreign to the body, which is recognized by and activates the adaptive immune system. When the antigen is eliminated or neutralized, the immune response is switched off. Antibodies are immune substances produced in the body by B lymphocytes that bind with antigens marking the foreign substance (the antigen) for destruction by phagocytosis.
6. Immunoglobulins have several common structural characteristics that enable them to recognize and bind to a specific antibody in a lock-and-key fashion. They also share common biological activity including the neutralization of toxins, immobilization of microorganisms, neutralization of viruses, clustering of similar microorganisms to make them more readily phagocytized, and the activation of complement to facilitate the destruction of microorganisms.
7. HIV appears to infect CD4+ cells, and as the disease progresses, the number of CD4+ cells declines, sometimes to zero. (The normal range is between 500–1,600 cells per cubic millimeter.) Once below 400 cells / mm3, the immune system's ability to fight infection is severely impaired and opportunistic bacterial and fungal infections are common.
8. Interleukin-2 (IL-2), in a synthetic version of the naturally occurring cytokine, has been approved by the FDA as an immunomodulating drug (Proleukin) for the treatment of cancer. IL-2 stimulates the immune system and increases the CD4+ cells. It is given intravenously or twice daily as a subcutaneous injection in cycles of five days every eight weeks. Though not approved as a treatment for HIV, it is used for this condition. Side effects can be severe and include flu-like symptoms, reduced number of neutrophils, aggravation of psoriasis and diabetes, and hypothyroidism.
In the beginning of treatment with IL-2, the viral load can increase up to six times pre-treatment levels. Concurrent antiviral treatment appears to help keep the viral load in check, and there appears to be no negative interactions between IL-2 and antiviral drugs. However, this IL-2 is an experimental drug and should be used only under the supervision of a physician experienced in its properties and clinical use.
9. Antioxidants are substances naturally formed in the body like glutathione, provided in the diet like carotenes, or supplemented by vitamins and minerals like vitamin C. They reduce the negative effects caused by the burning of oxygen for metabolism and other cellular processes by countering the effects of the free radicals released by these processes.
1. Hormone or endocrine disrupters are manmade chemicals in the environment and pharmaceutical drugs that alter human and animal reproduction and health. Some of these hormonal disrupting substances include DDT, PCB, and DES (diethylstilboestrol). They have estrogenic effects in both males and females, and can lead to prostate cancer in men, infertility and possible cancers in women, and abnormal brain development in infants.
2. Using the waterfall analogy, treatment should aim at understanding the flow of the river rather than focusing on attempting to control the waterfall. Natural medicines are more effective at the source where the drops begin.
3. Mammals dominated the Earth after the extinction of the dinosaurs (Jurassic and Cretaceous eras). The first mammals appeared in the late Triassic era, about 200 million years ago. The Cenozoic era (65 million years ago to the present) is known as the Age of Mammals, which is distinguished by the rise of the incredible biodiversity we have on the planet today.
4. Homeopathic medications are measured by dilution increments of 10, 100, or 1000. For example, a remedy that is diluted 10 times is composed of 1 part medicinal substance to 9 parts of dilutant, usually alcohol. The nomenclature for homeopathics is in decimals (indicated by X or D), centesimals (C or CC), and by thousands (M).
1. We live in what has been called the information age, where the amount of information doubles every few years. However, information is not the same as knowledge or understanding or wisdom. Knowledge comes from processing information combined with experience and teaching. It is not merely the accumulation of more and more information. Yes, we live in an information age, but of information at the expense of true knowledge. What is necessary in medicine is more wisdom and perhaps less information.
2. The scientific method is described in different ways by different authors. However, the basic agreement is that it is a system or process of deduction by which scientists, those who apply the scientific method, endeavor to construct a representation of the world that is as reliable, consistent, and objective as possible.
It has four steps: observation and description of phenomena, formulation of a hypothesis, use of the hypothesis to predict an outcome, and the performance of experiments to prove or disprove the hypothesis. If the experiment holds up the hypothesis, it becomes regarded as a theory or even as an ultimate law of nature. However, the experiment must hold up to certain standards that are designed to eliminate error that may result in false theories. To accomplish this, the scientific method attempts to minimize the researchers bias or influence on the experiment.
According to Western ideas, the scientific method is the best way ever discovered to sort truth from rumor and fact from anecdotal evidence or hearsay. There are also many criticisms of the scientific method. One of the most interesting of them is that science itself has never been studied scientifically. Some critics are concerned that science has become a dogmatic belief system and is less and less concerned with truth and more and more taken with its results. They also say that one of its most obvious failings is that it allows for only things that it has analyzed by its own methodology and does not take into consideration the importance of careful and honest observation.
The social sciences, like anthropology, have long been called pseudo-sciences for this very reason. This distinction is extremely important in the new medicine, where not all theories or practices are tested or proven scientifically, and, though may be very useful for the treatment of patients, are not accepted. Ironically, many surgical procedures have also not been proven scientifically, but are nevertheless accepted in common practice. This is a double standard that places the concept of fairness in science at risk.
3. Though there has been an explosion of interest in Chinese ideas including acupuncture, herbal medicine, kung fu, chi gong, tai chi, and even feng shui over the last decade, it is amazing how under-informed and often how misinformed Westerners remain about Chinese culture and philosophy. One of the most common misconceptions is to compare Chinese thought to Western religions.
To the Chinese, only Buddhism comes close to a religion, but even that does not fit neatly into the Western definition of religion and is more of a metaphysical psychology; the means to end suffering, rather than a religion. According to noted Chinese writer Fung Yu-Lan, Confucianism, which underscores all activity, daily life, and thought not only in China but in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, is a clearly a philosophical system and is, “no more a religion than Platonism or Aristotelianism.”
The other main belief system in China, Taoism, is considered by the Chinese to be neither a religion or a philosophy, but “the way,” a method or practice of “self-cultivation,” or a way of becoming more in harmony with nature and more at peace with one's self. This makes writing about Chinese ideas very difficult indeed.
However, it is my purpose in this book to present only some of the basic theories as they relate to health and disease, and sickness in particular, and ask the inquisitive reader to pursue more in-depth discussions on Confucianism such as the works by Chen, or in other areas of Chinese thought or medical philosophy.
1. My Chinese tai chi and qi gong (pronounced “chee gong”), and Indian yoga masters are living proof of their philosophies. Rarely ill and very active even into their eighties and nineties, these extraordinary individuals taught me much of what I know and practice in my own life. My health is excellent and my physical examinations and laboratory studies confirm excellent biochemical, hormonal, and nutritional balance. I attribute this good health largely to the teachings of these men.
2. The acid / alkaline balance is an important issue in dietary planning and in recovering from illness, especially from infection and in wound healing. When the body becomes too acidic, you are more prone to common respiratory tract infections such as colds, flu, bronchitis, and sinusitis, because bacteria and viruses that cause these illnesses thrive in acidic environments. The pH of the blood falls in a very narrow range, between 7.35 and 7.45 (the higher the pH, the more alkaline). Some people can handle more protein since they are naturally high-alkaline producers. However, people with severe chronic illness and osteoporosis, along with the elderly can lose their ability to regulate pH and should be careful with eating too much protein.
3. In my recommended diets, protein is fairly high. Adequate levels of amino acids, the building blocks of protein foods, are required for muscle and the production of many substances in the body such as neurotransmitters and immunoglobulins. While living with the Siberian Eskimo people of St. Lawrence Island, I ate a diet composed of 80 to 90 percent meat and fat, and it was one of the healthiest times of my life. There was no heart disease or cancer or diabetes among them.
However, proteins create acid in the body, and to buffer the effect of acid, the body pulls calcium (an alkaline mineral) from the bone, which can lead to osteoporosis. It is generally considered that a diet that takes more than 30 percent of its calories from protein is too acidic. If no sugar (which is highly acidic) is used and the diet is high in alkaline vegetables, and other acidic foods are eliminated (like processed cheeses and meats, fatty and fried foods) more protein can be eaten than previously thought.
It is generally thought that the body can comfortably process 40 to 60 grams of protein per day without becoming too acidic. I generally recommend an average of 65 to 85 grams of protein is per day and often advise pushing the protein even higher for certain periods of time.
4. Glycemic index is a term used to rank foods on how they affect blood sugar (glucose) levels, measured by how much your glucose rises two to three hours after eating. High glycemic-index foods are mainly carbohydrates, those foods that raise glucose the most. High-glycemic index foods include rice, potatoes, corn syrup, baked goods made from refined white flour, and fruits.
1. Through oxidation, vitamins are expended in metabolic processes, and because they are not completely destroyed, they can be regenerated by chemical reactions requiring antioxidants. Both vitamins C and E have the ability to assist in regenerating oxidized nutrients.
1. Soy can cause gastrointestinal allergies when eaten in large amounts, especially when using soymilk as dairy substitute. In Asia, soy is rarely used as a drink but is prepared by a variety of traditional fermentation processes to produce soy products that have less allergenicity. Other common allergic foods include cow's milk and dairy products, and wheat and wheat products.
Immune response to chronic viral diseases causes abnormally high levels of immune chemicals that contribute to inflammation with the resulting symptoms of fatigue and pain. As allergic responses appear to aggravate the immune response to viral illness, avoiding the common allergic foods helps to reduce inflammation. Soy is considerably less allergenic than dairy and wheat, but many Westerners are sensitive to soy. However, when eaten in the traditional Asian way (small amounts in fermented forms), soy is better tolerated and there are fewer allergic reactions.
2. The German-born physician, Benedict Lust, M.D., D.O., N.D., (1872–1945) is considered the father of American naturopathic medicine, which was founded in 1987. The term “nature cure” is the more common term used to describe the style of treatment and was synonymous with both medically trained and lay professionals who practiced a form of healing using only natural and safe medicines and therapies. Later, naturopathy was routed out of orthodox American medicine, as was homeopathy, and its practitioners and followers were no longer medical doctors but lay healers like John R. Christopher of Utah.
By the 1970s, naturopathy as a medical profession was nearly dead. However, with the renewed interest in natural healing and the pioneering work of modern naturopathic physicians like John Bastyr, N.D., D.C., naturopathic medicine is now growing rapidly. In this book, I use the terms “nature cure” and “nature cure doctors” to refer to those naturopaths practicing before the current era of modern naturopathic medicine.
1. Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction involving water, resulting in one or more new substances, and dehalogenation is a chemical process that breaks down and removes halogen toxins (those containing chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluorine). Halogenated compounds are used in water treatment, swimming pool chemicals, textile production, and to produce pesticides.
2. Dosages of probiotics like acidophilus are listed in billions of live organisms, or colony-forming units per gram. The recommended daily dosage for general health supplementation is 3–5 billion units. For treatment of chronic disease and during detoxification regimes, higher dosages are required.
1. Throughout steps 1–10, I repeatedly point to the importance of sleep in the restoration of health and immunity. In the typical American lifestyle, which is essentially very unhealthy, the constant activity of work, recreation, getting from one place to the other, and passive activities that drain energy, like overuse of the computer and television, rob our systems of sufficient rest and disrupt the normal sleep cycle. A number of scientific studies confirm these observations.
1. I studied Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and tai chi under Dr. York Why Loo from 1980 to 1983 in East San Diego and Los Angeles Chinatown, and maintained a friendship with him until his death in 1989. Dr. Loo was originally from Canton, China. He earned his M.D. in Shanghai, and later retrained in traditional Chinese medicine during the Cultural Revolution. He is well respected in the Chinese community and a recognized master of five forms of tai chi. It was an honor to have known him.
1. The German Commission E was established in 1978 by the former West German government to evaluate and regulate the use of herbal medications in Germany. It is composed of scientists, physicians, pharmacists, and toxicologists. To date, more than three hundred herbs have been evaluated. The collected monographs are published as The Complete German Commission E Monographs: Therapeutic Guide to Herbal Medicines by Siegrid Klein and Chance Riggins.
1. Dr. Thierry Hertoghe comes from a long line of endocrinologists. His great-grandfather was one of the first medical doctors in the world to use thyroid hormone to treat hypothyroidism. He is considered the world's leading authority on natural hormone balancing to treat illnesses and for aging.
2. Laboratory values for IGF-1 are from Laboratory Corporation of America.
1. Although viruses are parasitic, they are also symbiotic. From the evolutionary perspective, viruses developed alongside, or even before plant and animal life; influencing immunity and participated in creating both health and disease. Over time, the human immune system is capable of achieving balance within a natural environment that is free from outside influences and within set boundaries.
Modern life, with air travel and global migration, has disrupted this balance. We are on the verge of an immune crisis of unprecedented proportions. Our immune systems must attempt to catch up, if they can, with chemical toxins, novel microorganisms, and stress. What once were symbiotic organisms may now become lethal infections.