FOUR
Healing from a Cellular to a Spiritual Level: Biological Medicine
“In my opinion, everybody coming to see me is a psychiatric patient,” says Bradford S. Weeks, MD, whose practice is based in Clinton, Washington. “By this I mean that everyone has compounding spiritual issues that affect the soul and the physical body. I don't make a distinction between psychiatric illnesses and other illnesses.”
Dr. Weeks's medical training is both extensive and an unusual combination. He specializes in the sophisticated discipline of biological medicine, with a focus on anthroposophic medicine. His conventional medical study was in two particularly rigorous fields, neurology and psychiatry. Now his practice (and the workshops, seminars, and lectures he regularly delivers around the country) is devoted to addressing the body, mind, and spirit components of illness—in other words, to treating his patients holistically.
What Is Biological Medicine?
Biological medicine is based on the principle that illness is a reflection of imbalance in the body, and imbalance in one part affects the whole. Multiple factors, such as diet, psychological stress, toxic exposure (to heavy metals, chemicals, or radiation, or the overuse of pharmaceuticals), intestinal disturbances, and immune system overload, can disturb the natural balance in the body. Thus far, biological medicine is similar to other holistic medical approaches.
What distinguishes biological medicine from these other approaches is that biological medicine identifies disturbances in the natural balance of the body down to the tissue and cellular level, where dysfunctional patterns can be seen (often before they manifest in symptoms). In other words, the multiple factors cited can throw your cellular function out of whack, which in turn generates the symptoms of illness if balance is not restored.
The disturbances in cellular, tissue, and organ function can be identified and remedied. Since cellular function is at the root of all action in the body, restoring balance at the cellular and connective tissue level restores the balance of all body systems and helps the body improve its regulatory functions and its natural ability to heal itself. Thus, looking at the biological (cellular and tissue) terrain of the body—the “internal milieu,” as it is known in biological medicine—goes to the roots of the illness. Biological medicine relies on special blood, urine, and saliva tests to assess the internal milieu.
To restore the chemistry and internal balance of the body, biological medicine draws from a wide range of therapeutic modalities. A biological medicine physician may employ dietary changes, nutritional supplements, enzyme therapy, detoxification techniques, phytotherapy (herbal medicine), anthroposophic medicine, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine, neural therapy, craniosacral therapy, heat treatments, and/or homeopathy. The last may consist of classical homeopathy; combination formulas; drainage remedies that improve organ and tissue capacity to drain toxicities from the body; or preparations called Sanum remedies, which are formulas developed by Dr. Guenther Enderlein, a German bacteriologist and microbiologist whose work in the early decades of the twentieth century became a cornerstone of biological medicine.
Detoxification is another important component of biological medicine treatment. If the body is overloaded with toxins, cellular integrity is compromised, and the dysfunction of organs and systems will follow if the load is not reduced. Many diseases, including cancer, are diseases of toxicity.
Biological dentistry is also a vital facet of biological medicine. Dental factors, such as root canals, chronic asymptomatic jawbone infections, and mercury toxicity from fillings, are primary causes of disturbance in the body. Biological dentistry recognizes that problems in the teeth can create problems throughout the body, both through blockage of energy and the spread of infection. Correcting teeth and jaw problems is therefore essential in restoring health.
As a holistic medicine, biological medicine regards psychological and spiritual factors as important as physical factors in the creation of illness and the restoration of health. Thus, psychological and spiritual counseling are often part of biological medicine treatment, as is anthroposophic medicine.
Anthroposophic medicine, developed in the 1920s by Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner, is based upon the view that humans are spiritual beings and the body cannot be treated separately from the spirit. The medicines, which are an extension of homeopathic remedies, address the spiritual aspect of a patient. Anthroposophic medicine is widely practiced in Europe, and the number of practitioners in the United States is increasing.
Biological medicine originated in Europe, arising from Dr. Enderlein's theory of pleomorphism, which is in direct opposition to the germ theory advanced by Louis Pasteur in the late 1800s and embraced by conventional Western medicine. In contrast to the view held by the germ theory, which says that bacteria and other micro-organisms invade us from without to cause illness, pleomorphism holds that these microbes already exist in us. It is when they change shape (morph), moving through many (pleo) shapes, due to biochemical alterations in the internal milieu of the body, that they produce disease.
Good health depends upon our coexisting in harmony with the millions of microorganisms in our bodies (a state called symbiosis). The toxicities and stress of modern life, and attendant deficiencies, disturb this balance and lead to illness if the imbalance (dysbiosis) is allowed to continue. With pleomorphism as its base, the emphasis in biological medicine is on monitoring the cellular terrain and maintaining or restoring its balance to both prevent and reverse illness.
Some practitioners in the United States are now using the term “biological medicine” to describe a range of holistic therapies, which may not reflect the mission and focus of the biological medicine that originated in Europe. Those who are rooted in the European tradition of biological medicine, with its focus on cellular terrain, the internal milieu, and the other principles just delineated, use the term “European biological medicine” to designate that alliance and practice.
Biological medicine begins by identifying what is happening in the body on a cellular level. Treatment is not a matter of simply substituting an herb or other natural medicine for a prescription medication. Regardless of the natural medicine used, this is “still thinking like conventional medicine,” says Thomas Rau, MD, a pioneer in European biological medicine. A comprehensive and accurate approach to treatment, which reflects the quite different orientation of biological medicine to health and healing, is to determine exactly what is occurring in the cellular terrain, and then to begin there “to clean and to build up the milieu.”
For information about and referral to practitioners of biological medicine, contact the Biological Medicine Network, c/o Marion Institute, 202 Spring Street, Marion, MA 02738; 508-748-0816; www.marioninstitute.org/biological-medicine-network. For information about anthroposophic medicine, see the Anthroposophic Press; PO Box 960, Herndon, VA 20172-0960; (703) 661-1594 or (800) 856-8664; www.steinerbooks.org. For referral to practitioners, contact the Physicians' Association for Anthroposophical Medicine (PAAM), 1923 Geddes Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1797; (734) 930-9462; www.paam.net.
From Cell to Spirit
From Dr. Weeks's perspective, bipolar disorder involves imbalance in what is known in anthroposophic medicine and other traditions as the four harmonious members of the human body: the physical body, the etheric body, the astral body, and the spirit. (These correspond to the Physical, Electromagnetic, Intuitive, and Spiritual levels, respectively, in Dr. Klinghardt's model of healing described in the previous chapter.) This imbalance can be seen as a dis-ease or disharmony between the four. In Dr. Weeks's experience, correcting imbalances at the physical level alone can produce excellent results with bipolar disorder. However, he encourages his patients to consider the psychological and spiritual components of their condition as well.
The Physical Level
In treatment, Dr. Weeks starts with the physical because there are typically biochemical imbalances that can stop the mood swings relatively quickly when corrected. The first step is to run blood tests such as a red blood cell-essential fatty acid profile and amino acid profile to identify specific deficiencies and design a treatment plan accordingly. Initially, it is also important to eliminate an under- or overactive thyroid as a factor, as both can produce bipolar manifestations, notes Dr. Weeks.
At this stage, it's also a good idea to consider whether allergies or, more accurately, food sensitivities or intolerances are playing a role. “Most of what are called food allergies are really food intolerances,” he says. “If you enhance the digestive enzymes or reduce the amount of wheat and dairy and so forth, then the person does well with digesting the problemfood.” In Dr. Weeks's experience, “most mentally ill patients are dairy intolerant.” As discussed in chapter 2, food intolerances can affect the brain and behavior, thus the term “brain allergies.”
For more about allergies and how to identify and eliminate them, see chapter 8.
While everyone is different and treatment needs to be individualized according to test results and other factors, there are certain conditions that are frequently present in bipolar disorder at the physical level, according to Dr. Weeks. They are hypoglycemia, dehydration, GABA dysfunction, essential fatty acid deficiency, and amino acid deficiency.
Hypoglycemia
“It is critically important to control hypoglycemia in bipolar patients. Most are hypoglycemic,” says Dr. Weeks. “People just have coffee and doughnuts for breakfast, then they crash, and they have another coffee and doughnut. That can really exacerbate bipolar disorder.” Eating nutritionally balanced meals and avoiding coffee and fast-burning carbohydrates can help prevent hypoglycemia.
Dehydration
“The number one issue for people with bipolar disorder is dehydration,” Dr. Weeks states. “Almost without exception they're dehydrated. They're doing Pepsi, Coke, sugar, coffee. These are all things that lead to net water loss. Water is a buffer and a solvent. When people are adequately hydrated, things are calmer. When they're not adequately hydrated, people run more acidically. Electrolytes are a little imbalanced. Nothing quite fires correctly.”
Dr. Weeks tells his patients to drink half their weight in ounces of bottled or filtered water daily. This means that if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink 75 ounces of water a day. It is best not to drink the water with meals, as it dilutes digestive stomach acids and enzymes, he says. He advises keeping bottles of water by the bed and in the bathroom, so you can drink 16 ounces of water as soon as you wake up in the morning, and another 16 ounces when you brush your teeth. He tells his patients to treat it “like it's heart medication. Just as most of us get heart attacks first thing in the morning and it's hardest to start your car in the morning, our most stressful time biochemically is first thing in the morning. That's when you really need to be well hydrated.”
GABA Dysfunction
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is an amino acid that also acts as a neurotransmitter. It exerts a calming effect on the brain. People with bipolar disorder typically have a deficiency of GABA and a dysfunction of some kind in their GABA receptor sites, says Dr. Weeks. Certain substances, including alcohol and the tranquilizers Valium and Klonopin, stimulate GABA receptors, he explains, adding that “back rubs and massage, nice music and lullabies” do so as well. GABA can be taken as an amino acid supplement to promote GABA's calming influence on the brain. However, “if the receptors don't work, plenty of GABA won't help,” Dr. Weeks notes.
Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency
Dr. Weeks assumes unless it is proven otherwise that his patients with bipolar disorder are deficient in essential fatty acids, specifically the omega-3s. A simple blood test, called the red blood cell membrane-essential fatty acid panel, confirms this. “It's also easy to test by asking about the person's dietary history,” he notes. If McDonald's French fries and other junk foods containing trans-fatty acids feature prominently in the diet, then EFA deficiency is more than likely, he explains. As discussed in chapter 2, trans-fatty acids interfere with EFA metabolism in the body.
To illustrate the role of EFAs in mood regulation, Dr. Weeks turns to an ancient sailing practice. “In the old days, when sailors were coming into a seaport, they would slash open a keg of whale oil and throw some on the water because the wind can get no purchase on the waves that way. While the wind can still blow, the oil slick in the harbor made the waves drop so they could cruise into a safe anchorage. Oil has the same effect on the brain.”
Fish oil supplementation demonstrates this effect on mood. “Oils can be considered a first-line, stand-alone therapy for bipolar disorder,” states Dr. Weeks.
Amino Acid Deficiency
Deficiency in amino acid precursors to neurotransmitters is another common feature in bipolar disorder. Amino acid supplementation is typically part of the protocol for bipolar disorder. Tryptophan, its close relative 5-HTP, and tyrosine supplements provide the precursors for the “feel good” neurotransmitters.
As amino acids are the building blocks of protein, people are usually deficient in B vitamins as well. Dr. Weeks has found intramuscular injections of vitamins in the B complex family, with a special emphasis on vitamin B12 and folic acid, to be “very, very helpful in calming people down.” He teaches his patients how to administer the shots themselves so they are not dependent on him and can reduce the cost of their medical care.
Mental Illness as a Phospholipid Spectrum Disorder
“On the physical level, what you have with every mental illness is a phospholipid spectrum disorder,” states Dr. Weeks, crediting Dr. David Horrobin and his landmark book Phospholipid Spectrum Disorder in Psychiatry (Marius Press, 1999) as the source of this concept that has the potential to produce radical change in the psychiatric field.
—a man with bipolar disorder, describing one of his manic episodes
As discussed previously, a deficiency in essential fatty acids can be a factor in mood disorders. While research has established this link, very few scientists or healing professionals are investigating the relationship between oils and light and the issue of light metabolism. (Oils as a category includes fats and essential fatty acids. “Light metabolism” refers to how the substance of light is handled in the body.) Here, Dr. Weeks explains the relationship and its significance for mental well-being:
At the biochemical level, cell membrane abnormalities (phospholipid disturbance) are directly implicated in mental illness. But what does that mean in terms of light metabolism? What have oils to do with light? What have light and oil to do with mood disorders? These questions can be understood on the biochemical level as well as on the metaphysical level.
Phos is Greek for “light,” and “lipid” means “oil,” so one could restate the word “phospholipid” as “lighted oil.” The ancients taught “All life from light,” yet today we smear on sunscreen immoderately and hide from the source of our life. Balance in light exposure is critically important. Disruptions in light metabolism contribute to sleep disruption, for example, which itself directly contributes to mental illnesses, most notably mania and depression.
What about the role of oil in mental illness? Oil has served throughout our human development as a dependable source of light. Oil is the least terrestrial of our physical substances; its hydrogen is the “lightest” of all elements and therefore has the least relationship to the earth. Oils have always been used to anoint kings, not for comfort alone but also to enhance the king's ability to receive cosmic wisdom from heaven for the benefit of his subjects on Earth … Sixty percent of the brain's dry weight is oil. Thus the term “ fat and happy.”
Yet American consumers are taught to be terrified of oils in their diet. Patients tell me that these low-fat diets drive them crazy. I do not discourage my patients from eating organic fatty foods as long as they are also getting regular exercise and minding their cardiovascular health. The ubiquitous phospholipid membranes, literally our custom agents for all cell-to-cell communication, are built from a diet rich in essential fatty acids.”
Dr. Weeks expresses the hope that in the future medical professionals will refer to a range of mental disorders simply as phospholipid spectrum disorder, rather than labeling them bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, or another psychiatric term. And as an accompanying revolution in treatment, “omega-3 fatty acids may represent a new class of membrane-active psychotropic compounds, and may herald the advent of a new class of rationally designed mood-stabilizing drugs.”172
“Nobody Has a Prozac Deficiency”
In addition to the protocol of supplements and other measures taken on the physical level, Dr. Weeks encourages his patients with bipolar disorder to consider the effect of certain activities or environments on their mental/emotional states. For example, computer games and television have an “overhyping effect” on the brain. Highly stimulating environments may be problematic for them as well. Bipolar disorder can be regarded as a “kindling response,” he observes. “Kindling is a neurological response. It suggests that when a cell has problems, it spreads those problems to the next cell, the next cell, the next cell, and so forth. With bipolar, there is a subseizure sort of process going. Kindling needs to be well controlled. This means that you've got to control stimulation to a certain degree.”
In some cases, Dr. Weeks uses a low dose (5 mg daily) of lithium orotate, a form of natural lithium that does not create the problems associated with lithium carbonate, the form prescribed in conventional psychiatry, usually in dosages of 900 or 1200 mg daily.
“Very few people have frank lithium deficiencies,” he says. “Nobody has a Prozac deficiency. No one has a Depakote or a Tegretol deficiency. While these medications help by suppressing the symptoms, they don't address the real issue, which is often addressed in a curative way by some of the things I'm talking about—the B vitamins, amino acids, and fish oil.”
If someone comes to Dr. Weeks before starting on the drugs typically described for bipolar disorder, he is easily able with this program to keep them from having to start, he says. Further, the natural protocol has the advantage of not dulling the brilliance often associated with the condition. This dulling effect is one of the reasons noncompliance in taking medications is high among those with bipolar disorder.
Many of the people who come to Dr. Weeks have already been on drugs, however, as was the case with Derek, whose story follows. In these cases, the protocol is a complementary approach. It is not necessary, nor is it safe, to suddenly stop the medications. “By figuring out what you're deficient in and replenishing that, and what you're toxic in and diminishing that, gradually you need less and less medication, and ultimately get off the drugs,” explains Dr. Weeks.
“You can't simply stop the drugs, however,” he says. If you do, “you can get a rebound problem or a detoxification problem. It's much easier if people can avoid the drugs at first, but the drugs are life-saving in many cases.” Dr. Weeks stresses that while most of his patients are able to get off their drugs on this protocol, some of those “who came in on medications have to stay on medications to a certain degree.”
Dr. Weeks has found that for the most part with bipolar disorder he doesn't need to add homeopathic or anthroposophical medicine to the protocol. The physical measures prove sufficient. It is important to emphasize again, however, that treatment must be individualized.
“That comes back to the general homeopathic principle that everyone's earache is different. Everyone's spirit, astral, and etheric bodies have different relationships with each of the other members,” says Dr. Weeks. The restoration of balance and harmony in body, mind, and spirit is an individual matter.
Mind and Spirit
One aspect of exploring the psychological dimension of dis-ease is helping people to see that we are all in a position to determine what we think about, says Dr. Weeks. “People need to appreciate the fact that they're responsible for their reality. Their reality is entirely dependent upon their thought process.” He emphasizes that this does not translate into blaming people for their illness. It is a matter of information and understanding. Once people see that they have a choice about what they think about, they can learn not to dwell on thoughts that increase their manic or depressed feelings. This psychotherapeutic model is known as Psychology of Mind, or the Health Realization model, and was developed in the 1970s by psychologists George S. Pransky, PhD, and Roger C. Mills, PhD, based on the ideas of Theosophist Sydney Banks.
Dr. Weeks also asks his patients what meaning their illness has for them, what purpose they think it serves. Generally, the first few times he asks them, they say they don't know. But on the third or fourth time, they have an answer. “Patients have been disempowered by doctors who don't ask for their participation,” he notes, adding that many doctors ignore what patients say about why they are sick. The result is that “the patients have stopped informing the doctors.”
With bipolar disorder, a common response to Dr. Weeks's question about purpose and meaning is, “I act this way because this is how I get my energy up to be creative. The reason I have this is because it keeps me in touch with my creativity.” To that, Dr. Weeks responds, “Great, what a nice goal. Is there a more reasonable way for you to achieve that same goal?” When it comes to the depression pole in bipolar, some view it as the necessary rest period after going “a million miles an hour,” he says, observing that “it's hard for people to attribute meaning to the depression because it is so painful.”
When it comes to the spiritual realm, Dr. Weeks believes “that the spirit informs the soul, the soul informs the vitality, the life forces, and the life forces inform the physical body, more so than vice versa. I think we're fundamentally spiritual beings trying to make the world a better place and basically learning how to love. To focus on the material is to miss the game.”
He explains to his patients that spirit requires that they figure out what they want to do with their life. He asks them, “Why are you alive? How are you going to mean something with your life? Who are you going to help?” These are spiritual questions, and not having answered them can be a component of mental illness, says Dr. Weeks. “Maybe a deficiency of doing something valuable in their own eyes, not in my judgmental eyes, but in their eyes, contributed to their illness.”
Dr. Weeks is in agreement with Dr. Klinghardt (chapter 3) that healing happens faster from the spiritual level downward. “Whether it's homeopathy or talk therapy or something else, we can affect the physical body more from the top down than from the bottom up,” he says. This is not license to neglect treatment at the physical level, however. “To simply do the top down, and ignore the fact that the person has an essential fatty acid deficiency, you're stepping on the gas and the brake,” he says. His approach is to take care of the various factors concurrently.
Derek: Off the Drugs
When Derek came to Dr. Weeks, he was on lithium and trazodone (antidepressant), Depakote (anticonvulsant), Halcion (sleeping pill), and the tranquilizer clonazepam as needed. At 44, he had been struggling with bipolar disorder for 25 years. It wasn't his idea to consult another doctor, however. He had come to please his older brother. He was quite manic at the first appointment—“grandiose, hypersexual, expansive, pressured speech, typical manic process,” recalls Dr. Weeks.
Derek sat sipping a Coke he had brought with him while Dr. Weeks introduced the notion that moods change with food. Derek agreed with the concept, reporting that chocolate and ice cream made him feel good. Dr. Weeks then explained the hypoglycemia process, using the illustration of how coffee and doughnuts make you feel good for a while, and then you crash. He gave Derek some articles to read on the subject.
Next, Dr. Weeks talked about sleep and exercise, how important it was for people with bipolar disorder to make sure that they get a good night's sleep and to exercise regularly, to get a rhythm going in their lives. “He was enjoying all this,” said Dr. Weeks, “but he had no intention of giving up Coke or making any other changes.” Derek submitted to a blood test before leaving.
At his next appointment three weeks later, he was still in his manic state and had acted on none of Dr. Weeks's suggestions. “I sat him down and showed him his blood results, which revealed all sorts of severe deficiencies. Now I had his attention, because I kind of popped his bubble, where he thought he was grandiose and perfect.” He was deficient in all the essential fatty acids and neurotransmitter amino acids and had severe intestinal dysbiosis, with candidiasis and the attendant buildup of toxins in the body.
Dr. Weeks recommended the appropriate supplements to redress his deficiencies and also gave him a natural sleep aid. In addition, he talked about dietary changes, specifically the avoidance of foods that feed the Candida yeast (see chapter 2), to help restore intestinal health. In the month that followed, Derek was noncompliant and disregarded the treatment. But at the end of the month he was back because he had plunged into depression. At that point, he was ready to listen. “When you're in a depression, you want to get out of it. You can take direction then,” says Dr. Weeks.
He gave Derek vitamin B injections and essential fatty acid supplements. Within two weeks, Derek's depression, which normally lasted for several months, had lifted, and he did not go into a manic phase, which was also his pattern. (He was a rapid cycler, going up and down every two to three months.) With that development, Dr. Weeks had Derek's attention. Derek took the EFAs religiously and gave himself vitamin B shots, according to the doctor's instructions. He took tryptophan to help him sleep, and GHB in a very low dose if he started to feel himself getting manic. GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), a carbohydrate naturally present in the human body, is synthesized from and converted back into GABA; dietary sources of GHB are animal and many vegetable proteins.173
Derek also implemented the recommended dietary changes, ate a nutritious diet rather than junk food, gave up Coke and other detrimental beverages, drank lots of water with a little lemon instead, and made sure he got exercise. The dietary changes were sufficient in his case to restore his intestinal balance.
After a month of compliance with this program, Derek was off all of his prescription drugs. “A typical taper schedule lasts from one to three months, depending upon the degree of compliance,” states Dr. Weeks. Now, three years later, Derek has still not had a bipolar episode. He continues to take the EFAs and maintain good eating and exercise habits.
As for the psychospiritual component of his disorder, “he didn't really discover the message, but he discovered that there was a message, and part of his life process is to figure that out,” says Dr. Weeks. Derek did develop a sense of appreciation for the quieter joys in life, however, instead of running after manic highs. Perhaps you could say that he developed “a more mature sense of appreciation.” His relationship with his wife improved tremendously, and his children have a father for the first time.
For the process of cultivating this appreciation, the psychology of mind approach was very important, says Dr. Weeks. Derek learned that he chose to think that the manic highs are more fun, and he can now choose to think that spending time with his children is the real fun and far more satisfying. He knows now that it's up to him what he thinks, and he can control it. As for his creativity, Derek does not feel that it was cut off with the end of the manic episodes. He just views his process differently now.
In conclusion, Dr. Weeks notes that many people have the biochemical deficiencies and toxicities that testing of Derek's cellular terrain revealed, and they don't develop psychiatric components. In his view, the difference lies in the realm of soul and spirit, and it is up to the individuals involved to explore that mystery if they want to get to the other facets of their bipolar disorder.